Fun Friday Blog: Death to the Mini disc player plus other fun happenings

Friday is finally here and after an eventful week chock- full of rather mundane tech blogs, what better way to end the week than with a light-hearted Fun Friday blog.

This week, Netflix challenges conventional TV for real, Sony announces discontinuation of the Mini-Disc player, Apple trumps all during Q4 of 2012 despite pending lawsuits with Samsung. Plus, the cutest animal pics trending on the internet.

NetFlix Challenges Conventional TV

Much like the music industry, technology continues to challenge conventional business models. The Netflix original mini-series, "House of Cards", aims to become HBO before HBO can become Netflix (if that makes any sense to you) making the entire season available all at once. This approach is in stark contrast to traditional programming methods in which people are made to wait for each episode to unfold. 

These days, it's preferrable to wait until your favorite TV show ends on regular programming only to take in the entire season at your own leisure. Netflix is investing millions into this business model and truth be told, the industry will forever be changed. 'House of Cards' is a take-off of an original British television series and packs an all-star cast to boot. Look out HuLu and HBO.

Sony Kills off The Mini-Disc Player

First off, did anyone even realize that Sony still made Mini-Disc players? Us neither. Fact is, Sony will be discontinuing all manufacturing of Mini-Disc players this March. What's really sad is that the mini-disc player, which has been around since the early 90's, never really took off to begin with. In reality, it really wasn't bad technology.

Smaller than a bulky disc-man and cassette player, the mini-disc was marketed as a digital tape recorder/player of sorts and promised to be the next big thing in portable music technology. Problem was, Sony jacked up the price so high that young people couldn't afford to buy one. Perhaps it was a victim of bad marketing. Sony didn't invest too much in mini-disc back in 1992 and decided half-heartedly, to revive the brand again in 1998.

Unfortunately for Sony (and early adopters alike), it was too little too late. The iPod hadn't yet happened but somehow the writing was on the wall  Hard to believe the min-disc has managed to hang on this long. R.I.P. min-disc player. You are loved but not forgotten.

Apple Trumps Q4 Smartphone Sales

In other news, Apple tops Samsung and Motorola during Q4 of 2012. Smartphone markets have been ultra-competitive and despite pending lawsuits with Samsung, Apple proves they have what it takes to outsell everyone.

Apple is following by Samsung and Motorola as the leading manufacturer, although all three suffered sluggish sales growth percentages throughout 2012. Lets see if Blackberry can make a triumphant comeback with its latest rendition of the smartphone. Best of luck to them as the competition is tough. Hopefully they don't get sued by Apple or Samsung, who seem to have a penchant for aggressive marketing campaigns.

And Finally, Cute Animal Pics

No Friday Fun blog would be complete without the mention of cute animal pics currently trending on the internet. If you're anything like us, you're most easily distracted for 10-15 minutes if you are posting to buzzed day in and day out. Click here to see the 50 cutest Instagram accounts. From everyone here at Colocation America, Happy Friday! Have a great weekend and we'll see you back here on Monday. 

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