Tell us what’s on your mind
UK viewers still love BBC and ITV
At first glance Issue 664’s news story (page 7) on changing TV habits suggests the public are falling out of love with BBC and ITV. But on closer inspection it’s more likely that it’s the viewing habits that are changing, and that our affection for these traditional channels remains strong.
For example, while the number of hours watching broadcast TV has fallen sharply, a lot of that viewing has switched to BBC iPlayer and ITVX. What’s changed is that hardly anyone assumes that you need to watch a programme at the precise time that it’s broadcast.
In some ways, these ‘catch-up’ services are simply modern equivalents of video recorders. Back in the 1980s I used to work late evenings, and would often set my timer to record shows like Blackadder, Question Time and anything that David Attenborough presented. Looking back, what was that if not a forerunner of ‘catch-up’ TV?
Geoff Salcombe
It’s not surprising that the number of viewers watching news bulletins has plunged. It’s a result of our 24-hour news culture, where websites and news channels are constantly updating stories. When I was younger, if you didn’t watch the news in the evening then you’d miss out completely on what’s happening. That’s no longer the case. I never watch the news now, and yet thanks to the news coverage on the internet I feel better informed than ever.
Gary Hadley
Why I’ll miss Cortana
I expect to be in a minority of one, but I will mourn the demise of Cortana (Issue 664, page 6). For a few years after it launched it was better than both Alexa and Siri. My favourite trick was opening browser tabs using my voice. I could open the door to my office, tell Cortana which tabs to open, and they would be waiting for me when I sat down.
I also used it to remind me of phone calls I had to make, and to create a news feed of subjects I was interested in. At the end of each working day, it obeyed my command to shut down my PC.
But I noticed about three years ago that it was getting unreliable, and then I read that Microsoft was planning to abandon it. What a waste. It had so much early promise. I’ve yet to find another voice-command tool that had Cortana’s potential.
Paul Newton
AI can be a force for good
New technology can scare people, which is why artificial intelligence (AI) is getting such bad press. But Issue 664’s story about AI cameras capturing drivers using their phones (page 9) shows how it can have positive effects for society.
Despite the efforts of campaigners, there are too many people who still don’t take seriously
