The first usage of embedded video in a magazine is happening. See
http://news.bbc.co.uk/....
The first video advert inside a print title has been published inside the American magazine Entertainment Weekly.
The small screen, built into a cardboard insert, contains an advert for Pepsi Max and trailers for US TV network, CBS.
There are also in-built speakers, so the viewer can hear the advert too.
While the geek in me is very interested, I have serious concerns about the spread of this technology as I view it as an unnecessary, expensive, and environmentally toxic piece of junk mail. In my opinion, the usage of this technology should be derided and discouraged as much as possible. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should and this is one of those cases.
When I think of the billions of poor people who don’t have personal access to computers and the internet because of costs and compare it to this technology which is basically wasting resources on the equivalent of junk mail, it makes me very sad.
At a time when we are fighting to reduce our toxic wastes, this will only increase the problem. Currently, the cost is going to make this very unattractive, however, I have no doubt that in the near future the cost will shrink enough that this could be done at a reasonable expense. The thought of real-life electronic junk mail frightens me.
I work in the technology field as a software engineer and I am not a ludite, I just think that this sort of usage of technology is obscene and wasteful. I really encourage everyone to shun this technology and to deride it every chance you get.