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How Amazon Fire TV Works

By: Dave Roos

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Author's Note: How Amazon Fire TV Works

I'm an Amazon Prime subscriber and I'm conflicted about it. On one hand, I love the convenience of getting just about anything in the world shipped for free to my front door. On the other hand, I worry that I'm contributing to a world where one-click online convenience is killing off smaller competition like local retailers. I also worry about the fossil fuels burned to ship my daughter's pink softball bag from a monstrous warehouse in Kentucky to my doorstep in less than two days. And then there are the workers in that Kentucky warehouse running around packing toilet paper and workout DVDs into boxes on 12-hour shifts so we can have the convenience of instant delivery.

One reviewer described Amazon Prime TV as a "Trojan horse" in your living room pretending to offer streaming entertainment, but really trying to sell you on everything that Amazon offers. As a conflicted Amazon Prime subscriber, am I willing to invite this Trojan horse through the front door? One thing's for sure: if I do, it will be here by Wednesday. Free shipping.

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  • Amazon. "Amazon Fire TV" (April 21, 2014) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CX5P8FC/ref=amb_link_411425142_2?ie=UTF8&nav_sdd=aps&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1F8MB0KVWAXVHX95KBQX&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1777175882&pf_rd_i=507846
  • Associated Press. "No TV? 5 Million U.S. households bid boob tube goodbye." USA Today. April 8, 2013. (April 21, 2014). http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/04/07/zero-tv-homes/2061127/
  • Beaujon, Andrew. "Third of millennial watch mostly online video or no broadcast TV." The Poynter Institute. Oct. 10, 2013 (April 21, 2014) http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/225528/third-of-millennials-watch-no-broadcast-tv/
  • GFK. "51% of Total US Population Watches Streaming Video Weekly — New GFK Study." Sept. 10, 2013 (April 21, 2014) http://www.gfk.com/us/news-and-events/press-room/press-releases/Pages/Streaming-Video-Weekly-Study.aspx
  • National Cable and Telecommunications Association. "Cable's Story" (April 21, 2014) https://www.ncta.com/who-we-are/our-story
  • O'Brien, Terrence. "Amazon Fire TV review: the set-top that tries to do everything." Engadget. April 9, 2014 (April 21, 2014) http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/09/amazon-fire-tv-review/
  • Waldman, Steven. "The Information Needs of Communities." FCC Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis. July 2011 (April 21, 2014) http://transition.fcc.gov/osp/inc-report/The_Information_Needs_of_Communities.pdf
  • Wood, Molly. "Expressway to Amazon in a Box." The New York Times. April 6, 2014 (April 21, 2014) http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/07/technology/personaltech/the-amazon-fire-tv-streaming-media-set-top-box.html?_r=0
  • Wood, Molly. "Where the Amazon Fire TV Fits Into the Living Room." The New York Times. April 2, 2014 (April 21, 2014) http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/02/where-the-amazon-fire-tv-fits-into-the-living-room/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0