Are you sure that retailers are using "online" POS systems? These would not possibly be VPN'd to a server and give internet access as an additional feature would they? Or have an onsite server in the store (servers for such simple tasks are cheap these days…and most already are pipelined into some form of server system with their previous POS machines [AS400 servers are common]).

Having *MY* personal storage on some anonymous web server through a typical internet connection is much different from me OWNING a server with a VPN connection (VPNs come at higher cost mind you!) that I use for remote storage. It isn't just a question of actual real security but a question of perception & acceptance as well.

By the way – if you start streaming a movie (say 1 minute to buffer and you have a good solid 6Mbit/s download speed), how do you guarantee a QOS that keeps 30 other people in the neighborhood from downloading at the same time? You might end up with a movie pausing half-way in the middle of a download to "buffer" more data…if my kids want to watch a movie (which I get from an online storage source) and I am trying to simultaneously move some large files around…well I see problems with this until bandwidth increases.

1. You do not need a Mac. iTunes is a free software that runs on Windows or Mac OS. To watch your movie download on a computer you don't have to buy any new hardware or software.

2. To watch iTunes movies on your TV you can use Apple TV, but you can also use most iPods with a TV cable. Apple TV is $230 (not $300 as someone suggested). The smallest iPod nano plus video cable is $200.

There's a great deal of truth in that. Hollywood doesn't care what we want or how we want it – they will give us what THEY want to give us in the manner that makes them the most money. There's plenty of evidence of this: the HD format "wars", lawsuits against their customers, the DMCA… If bandwidth starts costing or being limited, and we have movie studios that own cable companies (Time Warner?), won't they make even more money on VOD from the bandwidth usage?

They are not interested in what we, their customers, want. They'll give us what THEY want and we'll like it, by golly. All arguments about what has the best picture or sound quality are immaterial against profit margin.

Its about broadband speed and bandwith… we are way behind the rest of the world.

It doesnt make sense today…. but the implication of Warner Bros ceo capitulating, to digital distribution will shortly be seen as revolutionary.

WB owns the patent on dvds and receives residuals for every dvd sold,do you think they would take this step lightly?

Search online web storage.

In the retail business an unstoppable trend is online base Point of sales systems. You would think that having all the issues with that,security,unreliable storage etc. would be prohibitive,but no with web based backups every several minutes,huge advances in server technology. Its cheaper than owning your own systems.

You're going to need a storage unit for all those lps,cassettes, cds, dvds and bluray discs.

Once the speeds(new spectrums) are up to snuff hard drrives will probably be a thing of the past as well. Why use them if you can get easy access to your content online.

Heres a link to the issue about video quality.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/blu-ray-the-future-has-been-delayed/

Frankly, it took quite a long time for the broadband infrastructure to become sufficient for music distribution and that was a piece of cake compared to what is needed for HD video. In the developed world, we are very far from that as our existing infrastructure is the enemy of progress.

And for those who deny it, there really is a HUGE difference between compressed audio and compressed video. These prophets of technology don't get it: there isn't a simple formula you can use and bring to new situations which will always work. Different media may require different solutions—at least until the technology catches up. And believe me, other than the occasional convenience of a VOD or a "HD" (highly compressed 720p at best) download, the arrival of large 1080p flat panels is not only going to make DVDs relevant again — upconversion looks better than downloads in many cases — but has made Blu-ray the medium of choice for serious movie watchers and collectors. Large 1080p sets show the deficiencies of lower quality content far more readily than a much cheaper portable digital player can show the limitations of mp3s. Humans are primarily visual creatures; a huge portion of our brains is devoted solely to visual processing. Because of this, the challenge of downloadable video to replace physical media is much greater, but we aren't prepared technologically to bridge that gap yet.

Let's talk again in 5 years…by then, maybe FiOS will be available to me (I hate cable monopolies!!!!… Heck, these monopolies ALONE should be enough to inject some critical doubt into the 'death of the DVD' claims…!)

They will complement one another. I thought this column was meant to inject a bit of skepticism into Jobs' reality distortion field???

If it's ipod quality, its not even compariable to DVD…when run on my 55inch hd tv, it's going to look like crab. If it's regular dvd quality, think 4G or 8G file is going to take me hours to download.

Don't want download time more than me watching the movie.Even when using cable…plus comcast is putting limit on download….double suck.

if it's HD quality…it will be days to download one movie…

forget it.

it's not like applie don't have movie on itune..just that no one want to buy it.