Internet Television

Though webtv is old and seemingly dead, something new has popped up. As television has become more homogenized and stagnant, groups of people have been taking television to the internet. Video on the internet is one of the most popular features of the internet right now. Huge sites now for watching and uploading videos are YouTube and MySpace.
sites that are amazing channel 101 and 102
groups that are cool: lonely island, ragtag productions who put out the highly popular "We Need Girlfriends", and individuals who can't seem to stay apart are david cross, bob oedenkirk, tim hiedecker, eric warehiem, michael cera.

Web TV

I heard about a great new device called webtv, when I was 12. I saw advertisements and news stories about the idea of being able to surf the web from your couch. I think at first I felt excited by this new product but that quickly dissolved after hearing about countless problems with the device, it's usability and its problem with being able to view websites the way they were intended to be viewed. It seemed as though it was just some pipe dream that really wasn't well thought out. I have read that developers got the idea after seeing a web address at the end of a television commercial and wishing they were able to have an actual tie in with the internet. Perhaps they hoped they could just click on the link at the end of the commercial. (that actually sounds kinda cool) But it never totally came out that way. One could switch between tv and web by the press of a button, but you still had to remember that address. I know people who arrange their work areas so they can use their computer and look over at the television with a slight turn of the head. People don't seem to mind having to write down web addresses or running over to the computer, if they see a site they'd like to visit on the tv.

It's hard to say whether we are missing much without integrating our home televisions with our computers. There are certain game consoles that allow you to use the web, though I've heard from users the same complaints registered by webtv users: on screen keyboard is terrible to work with, sites look different and are hard to navigate.