Joost = Internet + TV

Last April (2006), I turned of the TV, permanently, I thought. Since I live in an area where you need cable even to see the local commercial channels, the TV is now only good for DVDs. I don't miss TV at all. "300 channels and nothing on" was really true. I don't even miss anything that I used to watch.

But now, I think I might change my mind about TV, if Joost lives up to the hype. (Joost site: http://www.joost.com ). Joost is TV that you download over the internet, and watch what-you-want, when-you-want-it. It's still in beta, and they've had more than 10,000 requests to sign up for beta testing (including me).

This is not just the equivalent of using the internet as a broadcast channel for the same old TV. According to the site and other materials, there will be additional content (I hope lots of access to international shows, independent shows and film, and experimental works). I also like the idea of creating your own 'channels' - I envision this as a kind of personal subscription list, so that you can pull from all of the available material, organize it and schedule for your own tastes. All of this is probably possible, because you have to load software to your PC to take part in Joost.

This is even better than using the internet to broadcast radio; it's probably the most intelligent use of TV, ever. It's probably not really TV, and shouldn't be called TV, but I think TV is the closest broadcast content/ model for this. Future posts if I get to beta !