This could be a beautiful friendship

Scott Kirsner writes:  "... Consumers now spend nearly 200 hours a year using the Internet, compared to 13 hours in a movie theater, according to the investment firm Veronis Suhler. Sales and rentals of DVDs aren't as brisk as they once were, and studios worry that new digital cinema equipment, once installed in thousands of theaters, will increase the intensity of competition for screen time, since the digital gear will be capable of showing Brazilian soccer matches, live Madonna concerts or the season finales of popular TV shows -- not just ``Spider-Man 3'' and similar studio fare.  ¶  While movie moguls in Southern California are popping Pepcids and worrying that their connection to their audience is dissolving, companies in Northern California are devising new technologies and services -- from TiVo to Netflix to Open Media Network to Apple's iTunes Music Store -- that deliver content in a new way. The divergent goals and perspectives of the dominant industries of Northern and Southern California (high tech and motion pictures) have led to friction -- and a few wary alliances. ..."  Link:  San Jose Mercury News.