The Democratization of the News

USAToday.com has been big in the blogosphere about its new redesign and social networking features. Following the change has been quite interesting. Here are some things I've noticed:

Comments are well thought out, insightful even. Even debates over controversial topics stay very civil. Comments have created a true forum for discussion. People are replying to each other multiple times.

The diggers are pissed...again. I realize that Digg came out with a revolutionary way to promote great stories but let's face it, the feature is easy to implement so why not? I remember the first blogging tool that lead the charge for mainstream blogging was greymatter from noahgrey.com. I don't remember Noah getting kudos for pioneering blogging. Why do people think that Digg is worth $160 million? What do they offer that others can't duplicate on sites that already provide the news?

A lot of people were pissed about the change. I read a ton of bitching by people who thought the new design and features were unnecessary. Do they realize that the new features are the vehicle for them to do all of their bitching? Why are people so afraid of change? USAToday became who they were for providing the news differently 25 years ago. Yes the page is loading slow, but they just released a MAJOR redesign with a slew of new features that is allowing them to call bullshit on articles that may be wrong in fact or biased.

The fact is, we cry and cry about news outlets filtering our media. USAToday.com is the first major news source that is helping us evolve into a society where discussion about important topics can flourish.

Blu-Ray

I've been wanting to buy a new High Definition DVD player to go along with my new 40in LCD, but have been waiting to see who would win this silly format war. I've been siding with HD DVD because of Sony's awful track record (BetaMax and MiniDisc). A guy friend of mine IMed me a post from Engadget last night that listed all the companies who are behind each format, and I have to say I'm a convert. Since I'm an Apple junkie, I've decided what Steve Jobs says goes. Blu-Ray has at least twice the companies behind the format than HD DVD does!

But there is one thing I'm confused about...

If I were to go to Best Buy and buy a Blu-Ray player right now, it would cost me in the $500's. If I buy a PS3, it will cost me in the $500's. What's the point of buying anything but a PS3 right now? Can anyone explain this to me?