They Promised Us Convergence

I am still waiting for my hover-car and my bionic elbow, but something that "they" promised us long ago has finally arrived. My TV has mated with my computer. Unfortunately the offspring is an unruly tike in desperate need of potty training.

Although the technology has arrived and the content has begun to flow, the landscape is still very much like the wild west days of the early web. We see multiple standards competing. We see sites that exist one day, but are gone (or gobbled up in an acquisition) the next day. Quality is all across the board. The method of presentation and delivery is varied from site to site. It sure ain't one kind of idiot box, it's full-on control for the user with no owners manual.

Here are a few sites that are combining TV-style entertainment content with the web:

Joost: All the things you love about TV, fused with all the fun and interactive power of the internet. From the guys that brought you Skype and Kazaa. Full screen. Downloaded client.

FORA.tv: "The World is Thinking." Political, social and cultural issues via web video.

AtomFilms: A source for independently produced, online entertainment for ten years.

Zattoo: Live TV on your PC from all over the world.

TVTonic: Watch, subscribe and manage video content. Designed to be used with a remote on Windows Media Center.

AllOfTV: An archive of streaming TV content on the web. A site with this range of free content is surely going to be shut down soon.

JumpTV: Free live TV from all over the world on your PC.

Current TV: A global television network that gives you the opportunity to create and influence what airs on TV.

BabelGum: "TV experience, Internet Substance." High-resolution and full-screen.

Veoh: From home videos to premier internet television content.

Acceptable: Watch. Vote. Create.

Amazon UnBox: The ecommerce giant begins to experiment with online delivery of entertainment content.

Adult Swim: Cartoons for adults.

CinemaNow: Movies. Buy, Rent, Burn. Online.

Ustream: "Live interactive video for everyone."