So you want to kill the cable box?
The new gadget from D-Link and Boxee is a looker, right? They got tired
of waiting for the world to plug laptops and Mac Minis into their home
theaters, I guess.
heroes who tried to attack the set-top stack. Good news is that making a box fixes three big issues with the "download Boxee now!" approach: 1. No set-top PCs. Few people want to spend $500-750 on a PC and
dedicate it to being a media box. Consider Windows Media Center. Hence
Boxee Box. Only $200. Awesome. 2. Need a 10 ft UI. No mousing from the couch. E.g., Netflix or iTunes
on a TV screen. Painful. Boxee app on the Box is remote
control-friendly. Awesome. I think it's better than Apple's Front Row,
even before you consider it's wider content sources and social features. 3. TVs still exist. People are indeed watching video on laptops in the living room, but it's a 2nd screen. TV is still there. It's huge, and the colors are great, there are a few around the house, the live/new content is hard to get on other platforms, and 70-80% of homes already have pay TV so they don't perceive a marginal cost for it. And TVs are amazingly cheap too. Here is what has vanquished past heroes: 1. Another box. Real estate is scarce and you have to win your spot. Cf. TiVo. When cabelcos bundled it in, game over. Also note that many nerds have PS3s, Xboxes, etc. But this just shrinks the market down to people who actually care for good media stuff. TiVo is a winner in many ways
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