I've been musing about Joost since it went off a couple of months back. I felt that it would be great to tune in to worldwide stuff while you're on the computer.. just like watching TV! I have really been wasting my time infront of the computer and barely have enough television time with the rest of the family. In truth, I barely even know new sitcoms or series or even the latest commercials! I just can't join in with the others when it comes to television stuffs. 
The television is/was the biggest market
In the early 80s, when the internet was still the thing of the nerds or the military, the television was reigning king in the field of communication. It was shortly followed by the breakthroughs for modern cellular phones. It became the craze, and by then, the telcos are now the king in the field of communication. These major players know that when the market moves in to a new horizon, they must pick up pace fast. Regroup and refactor–that's what I always say to my developers. You'll miss the sweet spot when you don't refactor. You'll get left behind when you don't regroup. Always stay on the market.
Now, who is the king of the field of communication? Around 5-6years ago, everyone was still running on dial ups. Yes, dial ups. The 28.8 to 56.6 kbps transfer of information of the net that made everyone crazy as hell to get their own computer and chat til the wee hours of the morning. A fairly cheap price, you must've said back then.. compared to the tons of fun and amusement and awe that you get from surfing the net. Of course, during these times, only the fairly rich people can afford their own DSL connections at home.
I can still remember when I troubleshooted the computer of a former cabinet member (ca 2001). Back then I don't have my own computer yet and I don't even have multiple presences over the net. I was amused by the fact that he had a DSL connection and it made my troubleshooting the PC way easier than normal. And now, its already 2007, and I just got my broadband last year. Tsk tsk tsk.. Ah well, that goes without saying, everything that seemed unreachable is now moving onto where the market is. Correct?
Now, its the internet that reigns the field of communication. When you're not on the TV doing commercials or marketing stuffs, you're on the phone, SMS-ing, or you're on the net over the YM, Skype or GTalk. Ah yes. No more excuse for not being heard. 
As you all might have been involved in, social networking sites are the hot thing of this time. You're not a person of the net when you don't have your own Friendster, Myspace or Multiply account. Yet, there are others who are slowly catching up in the bandwagon. You have Twitter, Hi-5, Delicious, Technorati, etc. Everything is about hooking up on the net and getting visibility.
Everything is online. Being online is like being seen
Being online is being seen. You know how hard it is to research in your library or the national library (who still goes there??). But now, you just send an SMS to ask for the latest exchange rate, and one Google and you have your site to check on the latest rate. You have Wikipedia to aid your research when you used to find them cataloged in your dusty Britannica that took up 1/4 of the space in your room because of its size and number of physical volumes. Ahh, yes. Gone are the days.
Everything is online. I hate saying this, but this is true. Your email, your todo list at Basecamp, your chatting needs over Skype or YM, your friends, your photos, your music, your files, and even your mobile needs. All the contents are being put online. Storage is now getting cheaper and cheaper and everyone is now having the liberty of keeping more photos as the digital camera is moving closer onto the cheap market. You have your memory card for your phone that will store all the shots and the sounds that you have. Even these little electronic devices can now get you onto the net for quick sharing of files! Mobile top ups, credits, etc.. are now sold on the net. What else is not there?
Streaming was introduced by YouTube
When the social networking bandwagon came into the picture, YouTube quickly jumpstarted a revolutionary way of getting people connected. Who would have thought that videos, the large files that cannot usually fit into the phone's memory, or eats up a huge percentage of your drive at home can now be put online?? YouTube made it possible for the users to put all their videos for sharing online. Isn't great? The flash technology made it possible for them to put the contents in a semi secure way and make it easy for the users to share.
Soon after, back when I was still heading th development of a social networking site, we were working on making video uploads and streaming possible for the subscribers. A couple of months back, it looked to me like everyone was gulping on huge bytes just to be able to watch videos from YouTube. Even Friendster allowed YouTube embedding. All of a sudden, everything was about streaming… a.k.a. delivering content fast! as in really fast! … just like watching a video!
Just like watching a video
It seemed like watching a video over YouTube was watching movie online. This could be an impossibility for the user with a slow connection, but with the proliferation of broadband connections, this is no longer an excuse. When YouTube became a craze, more hackers came into the scene and began stealing videos. There has also been rampant putting up of contents with digital rights. This is a real scene, and it gets dirtier for the techie behind the scene to infiltrate the minds of hackers in order to protect their creation.
What came about as another diversion was a new technology. Joost - The new way of watching free, full-screen, high-quality TV. Now, contents are made more dynamic, and continuous. And not just that! Its quality is even better. Now, don't ask how they are doing it, coz its a very tricky and lengthy thing to discuss. 
There is only one problem. I have been waiting long before for something like Joost to arise and conquer other micro technologies. But, as my fervent readers might have known already, I am running a Linux top and Joost is a standalone installable technology that sits on top of a Windows box. Sigh.. uh-uh.. it won't work for me. Bummer!
A new found baby
I have been searching for other alternatives, and I found a site that dwells on serving locally made contents. They're up to providing live streaming soon, but right now, they are already offering movies and specials to watch! This is great!!! The difference is that, with this technology, you don't need to install anything. Everything is embedded onto the browser. This gives you much liberty in watching the contents on your favorite browser.
See, neTVision is serving quality movies. Some of which I've never watched before. They have indie films too that cannot be seen in popular video stores or even over the net. This is great! I hope that they might come to find more contents to put in over time. I can't wait for live streaming to become available. If they can conquer local products and put them online, and/or hit streaming of local channels and movie channels abroad, my kudos to them! I'm gonna sit and watch for their prosper. If so, neTVision will become the television future's baby. I can't wait for this!