Roku player helping to bridge TV + apps

I was psyched to hear this morning from the Orlando Sentinel Tech section (via Twitter’s @etanowitz) that the Roku player, originally commissioned to stream NetFlix movies straight from your queue to your TV, is now adding more free services to its lineup.  A year after its release, the player now boasts 10 free channels: Pandora, Facebook photos, Revision3, Mediafly, TWiT, blip.tv, Flickr, FrameChannel, Motionbox, and MobileTribe.  (I’m still not familiar with the last couple on the list, but will have to check them out.)  Personally I cannot WAIT to ditch my way-overpriced DVR cable box when the time comes when I can stream all of my favorite TV shows on demand (and this is not far off – Hulu just needs to sign on a few more networks), plus listen to music and watch video podcasts.  Imagine how cult internet shows will explode when given access to people’s living rooms!  At this year’s Emmys, Julia Louis-Dreyfus “joked” that she was “proud to be presenting on the last official year of network television.”  She may not have been too far off.  Who wants to pay $100+ per month for a cable box when you already pay for high speed internet and can buy a player like Roku for only about $130? Apple is rumored to be developing something similar, and with their clout and connections, it could really be the tipping point for the “new” television.  (Bring it on, I can’t wait!)

Google Wave’s potential impact

This week I finally got my coveted Google Wave invitation.  Have you seen this yet?  It’s like Gmail on communication steroids.  It looks very similar to a standard email platform, but its features go way beyond and really stretch the limits of how we are used to communicating with each other.  I’ve heard over the last year or so that millenials consider email to be for “old people” aka for work purposes, not for friends and fun.  Kids growing up on MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter rarely use email, but the evolution being pushed by Google Wave could change that. Everything can be done in real-time, wiki-style, with the ability to follow and unfollow different “waves” which combine email, chat, photo sharing, maps, and even real time translation.  It has so many features that on the “About” page, there is a 1 hour, 20 minute presentation video about how it all works. This may get too complicated for those who like simple email, chat, and social networking, but the possibilities are pretty exciting. My first thoughts are how this can impact both the business world and the education realm.  Planning an event, having a brainstorming session, holding meetings, conducting interviews, and even reviewing for an exam can become much more fun and interactive.