Joost (click on title for link)

I have a few friends who are pretty obsessed with TV and can't figure out why I don't pay for DVR or TIVO to watch what I want when I want. Here's the deal. I spend $20 a month on cable - YES. That's IT. I spend an additional $25 or so on Netflix, b/c what I really want to watch is movies. I would like to watch whatever little TV I want more efficiently, and not have to rush home to see, for example, my beloved Earl, as 7 p.m. is impossibly early to watch a show.

I ask the obsessed, do you watch more TV b/c of video recording, and they answer... Honestly, yes. I do not want to watch more TV. So, to spend more money to watch more TV seems to be counterproductive.

And now the people who brought us Kazaa and Skype are bringing us Joost. First, free music, then free phone, and now free TV.

Joost will let viewers watch TV for free over the Internet. The service will feature channels that users can flip between to find shows and a keyword search function so viewers can pull up programs on demand. Joost will also let users chat among themselves as they watch Internet TV. Joost says it wants nothing less than to merge the best of television with the best of the Internet.

Not as great news for people who do not want to watch tv on their computers - BUT, Joost promises to eventually move this service to TV sets through set-top boxes. Apple TV is already doing this, but the programs have to be on iTunes to be on the TV.

Joost works on a peer-to-peer basis like Kazaa, so it will take some time to get the shows you want when you want them, and it will still be easier to watch TV during "prime time". But it is a step in a positive direction.