First this is an attempt to become the defacto platform for Internet enabled tv, So you'll have set top boxes, televisions with integrated functionality, dvrs with it built in, blu-ray players, etc. The "Google TV Box" is to Google TV what the Nexus One is to Android.

Second, I think their strategy is just like every other Google product out there. They are going to enter the market early with a so-so product and then just iterate the hell out of it. So this version might not be all that great, but in 2 years when they've gone through 8 upgrades its going to be much better. Android, Chrome, Docs, even their search engine followed this exact strategy. This is how they've always done business. I'm not saying they're going to succeed here, its a tricky market and a product that doesn't have a a quick answer to the "What problem does it solve" question, but knowing Google I wouldn't count them out on a review of a v1.0 product.

You just have to change the user agent in the Google TV browser. Its trivially easy to do, but of course Google can't "officially" support a work around like that. The issue was resolved like 5 minutes after it happened. I fixed the problem on my box before I actually experienced it.

God I wish we would just implement all of the CSS print features in the spec so I could do exactly that. The only reason I've incorporated any type of PDF functionality into any web app I've written recently is that you still can't hit print from your browser and get a well formatted document out of it. Unfortunately I need this in IE because of my user base, and it'll be a cold day in hell before Microsoft does this as it moves Office one step closer to obsolescence.

The comparing of the opening shots of The Phantom Menace and A New Hope was a great piece of film design analysis. The scene of the blockade runner getting blasted by the star destroyer set up everything; there was a conflict going on, the rebels were weak and ill equipped and the empire was big, scary and not afraid to use force. The Jedis approaching the trade federation ships in The Phantom Menace told you nothing about either side, and that sort of weakly defined sense of design pervades the entire movie. The battle droids were never intimidating, they looked like they were designed purely to stand around waiting to be light-sabered in half. I mean storm troopers were a joke in an actual fight but at least they looked bad assed. Darth Maul had some scary design going on but he was out doing his own thing. Vader not only looked like a bad guy but he was also the fist on the long arm of the empire which added to his menace. Epic fantasy (yes, Star Wars has more in common with the Lord of the Rings then 2001) needs its clearly defined villains and heros, and some trade dispute is just not the right kind of conflict for this kind of movie.

I vote paranoid. In all the places I've heard of this used its only used as a way for the students to collect their own information and to monitor themselves and their own heart rate. These devices are generally only heart rate monitors, in no way are they designed to notice an arrhythmia, and I've never heard of the data being collected in any way. Besides since they've asked you to purchase the equipment, you would be better able to know exactly what the capabilities of the model you were asked to buy then a bunch of random Slashdotters. Stop reading the site and do some research.

The sequels really needed to continue the genre change to be successful. Aliens 3 should have been a romantic comedy.

I thought he did, just a couple of months ago.

Have you even seen the original in all its pre-CGI glory? There's that ultra realistic rubber Arnold head featured prominently in one scene that would have at least required a full torso mold of him. They might have made a full body cast at the same time just to have it available for other effects shots they had in mind. Total Recall would have needed one too. Hell, there are probably several full body casts of Arnold from various points in his career floating around because of all the special effect heavy movies he was in.

This is just the British press trying to stir things up and now that they have the "theme" of Obama being such a bad gift giver they're hoping to run with it. But look at the facts. They gave her an antique Rodgers and Hammerstein songbook that was signed by Rodgers; a very valuable antique, a great piece of American cultural history and supposedly Rodgers is one of the Queen's favorite composers. Then in addition they gave her an iPod Touch to replace her old iPod nano (which she supposedly enjoyed very much) filled with Rogers and Hammerstein songs and videos of her last trip to America. So we have a valuable piece of American history combined with an example of cutting edge American technology. How is this not a great, diplomatic, well thought out and appropriate gift? Of course the "story" the press is selling is that they gave the Queen something they sent an aide off to buy from the airport gift shop at the last minute. *sigh* This is going to become another "Al Gore invented the internet" meme isn't it?

We watch ours on our TV. The s-video out on our video card works great under Ubuntu. Getting the video onto a TV is a video card driver issue, not a mythTV issue.