Cutting the cable cord and embracing a digital media world

[Commentary] I have seen the future, and it doesn't have cable TV. Our house is undergoing some repairs, so we've been staying elsewhere. I've been using my tablet computer for online access to HBO, Showtime and the other premium networks that make up the bulk of my TV viewing. And you know what? It hasn't been the eye-straining, no-fun experience I'd been expecting. In fact, watching movies and shows while kicked back on the couch, my tablet resting on my tummy, has been rather pleasant.

That's bad news for Time Warner Cable, my service provider. If the company can't adapt to changing times and stop making me pay for hundreds of channels I never watch, it'll count me among the growing number of cord-cutters embracing a digital media world. "You have more control than ever before," acknowledged Mike Ananny, a professor at USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. "I have to think Time Warner is aware of that."