A Plea From Couch Potatoes Everywhere: TV Service Providers, Stop Screwing Up TV!

[Commentary] With Dell's Mini 5, Apple's iPad and HP's Slate, we're at the precipice of a drastic change in TV watching, streaming, and interactivity. Here's how: By moving the source of interaction from your set-top box or TV, to your lap via a tablet. The prospects can get really interesting!

Think about being able to use your tablet as a remote control. You'd scan TV listings and set DVR options much more quickly and intuitively, and hell, the tablet may even solve that pesky problem of turning off half of my peripherals when I'm trying to kill them all! A tablet makes interacting with social networks and games even easier (two things that are virtually impossible to do comfortably with a simple remote). So, if I'm so smart as to tell TV service providers what they should do with their remote, where do I think they should start? Hint: Check out Boxee or Plex.