If you're like me, your first reaction to hearing that the web is available on your TV is "why?" The answer is quite a bit different than you might think. The answer is not that you want you want your TV to go out to the web to browse content, which is by and large not the most inspiring concept. The answer is that you want web content brought to your TV. In other words, the Web and all the interactive web 2.0 tools are tools that are well suited to bring rich content to your TV.

Ravenexus Summer of Code project is a great example. Check out this video capture of it in action and you'll quickly understand that the point of the web browser is not "browsing the web" per se, but as a tool that allows all kinds of participation in an integrated TV experience that hasn't existed before. Wiki information populating information about shows and artists is just the beginning. Links to shared favorities, community feedback, etc are all vastly more realistic when the tools to bring them are webtools rather than the typically embedded morass.

This Blog Posting from the BBC's Director of Future Media and Technology really illustrates the power of an open device. The Neuros OSD is being considered along with devices from the biggest brands in the world, and effectively leapfrogging a whole host of other global brands, both big and small. I'd love to take credit for this, but the truth is the credit rightly belongs to the free software movement. The BBC is right to consider the OSD because it is an open box. It's just natural that the BBC, all things being equal, would prefer to invest time and effort in integrating with an open solution v a proprietary one. It's also likely that if there are enough entities like the BBC, that the open solution will be likely to gain critical mass and prevail in the marketplace. The "ifs" and "all things being equal" in the previous sentences bear a lot of weight and we know that the big companies have a lot of resources to bring to bear to this, but the mere fact that we're in consideration speaks volumes. The BBC is not the only entity to inquire with Neuros and we certainly hope this is harbinger of more good things to come!

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE HERE

Years ago, the Electronic Frontier Foundation came up with an idea to brand "DRM free" products. Now that we're selling recording devices like the Neuros OSD "DRM Free" isn't just a political statement, but a real consumer benefit: such files are compatible with virtually everything, any PC, Windows, Linux or Mac, and virtually any handheld, from iPods and iPhones to Sony PSPs and smartphones of all flavors. Suddenly the idea of branding those "unlocked" files started to make perfect sense. So we decided to create the "Unlocked Media" trademark and logo. The idea is pretty simple, we define "unlocked" in a way that isn't company or product specific, but rather stands for open, standard files, and allow anyone selling or creating unlocked files to use it. Then, of course each time the mark is used in conjunction with a product or store, it reinforces that meaning. Ultimately, over time, the hope is that consumers come to associate the 'unlocked' mark with compatibility and versatility, and to make a distinction that will shame all the DRM vendors (although they are obviously not easily shamed).

This is a brief proposal I'm whipping up for a UI for browsing a music library. It takes inspiration from the "paned browser" present in players like iTunes and Quod Libet among many others, as well as the Xbox 360's "blades" (which unlike Sony's XMB doesn't seem to have any patents on it).

Background

I have noticed in the discussions recently, that it looks like there isn't a very bright future for the N3. I, like many others in the community, initially got involved with Neuros because of their line of portable audio players, ultimately, the N2. When initial development began on the OSD, there was always the issue of the N3 looming about, with no progress towards it. Instead of moping over the situation, I have a plan on how we can make the N3 a reality.

This represents my vision on how the community can build an N3. It is an initial push in what I consider an interesting direction, intended to instigate thought and stir discussion. It is not the gospel of the N3. This is a pretty big project, and would need community support to be a success.