Digital Home Thoughts: Sony and Panasonic to Create Net TVs

"Sony, Matsushita and three other Japanese electronics makers plan to develop a joint standard for new Internet televisions that will make it easier for people to see video available on the Web, a Sony spokeswoman said Thursday. The TVs aim to make accessing video and similar online content easier than with computers, spokeswoman Mina Naito. The other companies involved are Sharp Corp., Toshiba Corp. and Hitachi Ltd... The Internet TVs will features a remote control that allows online access with the touch of a button and will also eliminate the need for a personal computer keyboard to make the gadget more user-friendly, the Nihon Keizai said. The new televisions will use Linux operating systems instead of Microsoft Windows, it added. That feature is aimed at cutting the time needed to boot up and reducing the risk of virus infection."

As opposed to previous internet-tv initiatives, Sony and friends plan on incorporating mini operating systems into the TVs themselves, rather than a doomed-to-collect-dust set-top device. We're already using our TVs, right? Well, what if watching stuff on YouTube was as easy as changing channels? I think that's what Sony et al is hoping for here. What do you think? Does this sound like something you might actually use, or just another lame attempt at hyping over-priced TVs?

By the way, I think their choice of Linux had more to do with price than with boot-up times and virus paranoia, don't you?