First, I had already been using Netflix streaming on the Xbox 360 for a lot of my TV and movies. The experience is so good that Netflix is my primary source; if it’s on Netflix, that’s where I watch it. Because of the way Netflix works (these are generally things available on DVD), these shows are older.  So, here are the things I’m watching on Netflix.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is a great example of what animation can do.  The show takes place in the near future, as people begin to become more and more “plugged in.”  Some are more artificial than others: cybernetics range from implants that allow a person to be constantly connected to the Internet to fully cybernetic bodies, such as that of the main character, Major Kusanagi.  Ghost in the Shell also represents on of the great failings of anime companies in North America.  This is a show that should have been on TV in the same time slot as 24 or Law and Order, not late night on Cartoon Network.  It’s a perfect example of truly adult animation.

Robotech: The Macross Saga is a beast of a different nature.  This is one of those shows that I have a great deal of nostalgia for as it was one of the first Japanese cartoons I remember watching.  Fortunately, unlike some of my other childhood favorites (G.I. Joe and Thundercats, for example), this one is still watchable after twenty-five years.

Although I didn’t watch all of it, Jen also watch most of season one of Arrested Development, which, despite personal recommendations from my brother David and a lot of positive reviews we never got around to watching.  The show is definitely great, and I will probably go back and watch the episodes I missed as I was doing other things while Jen marathoned them.

The second piece of hardware instrumental in getting rid of cable is a five-year-old laptop coupled with an IR remote sensor.  I’ve had a computer in the living room for years, but we primarily used it as a DVR with Windows Media Center (still my favorite DVR software).  I don’t use Media Center on this computer (I don’t currently have a USB tuner capable of receiving ATSC over-the-air content), but I do have two great pieces of software installed on it: Boxee and the Hulu Desktop app.  Through Boxee I primarily watch internet television such as that from Revision 3 (Film Riot, Tekzilla, and Hak5 are some of shows I watch from them).  Certainly for me Boxee goes a long way to replacing mainstream television almost entirely, but its compatibility with Hulu has been iffy, and that’s where the Hulu Desktop app comes in.

On Hulu’s website, the Desktop app is touted as being a lean-back experience for the PC.  We, however, are using it as a lean-back experience in the living room.  Running it with a remote is really easy (although I’m still looking for a way to start it from within Boxee or Media Center), and they have a lot of mainstream content right there.

On Hulu, I’ve been watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.  I watched a bit of the original version of this show when it aired on Cartoon Network.  I haven’t seen the original in a while so I can’t compare the two.  What I can say is that I really like the show; it’s got a good mix of comedy, action, and drama as the Elric brothers search for the elusive Philosopher’s Stone.  While not as smart as Ghost in the Shell, this show is no slouch when it comes to ideas either, whether it be faith and science, or a soldier’s responsibility in war time.

On the lighter side, I’ve also been watching Sgt. Frog.  I’ve read up to volume six of the comic for this, and it’s really funny.  The title character is Sgt. Keroro, an diminutive frog-like alien leading an advance reconnaissance mission to prepare Earth for invasion.  However, his crew ends up scattered in Tokyo, and Sgt. Keroro becomes the prisoner (or rather housekeeper) of the Hinata family.  The show is goofy and fun, as Sgt. Keroro struggles between his desire to conquer humanity, and his love of Gundam models.

Outside of Netflix, Hulu, and Boxee, I’ve also been watching some shows on Crunchyroll, an anime and Asian drama streaming site.  One in particular I’ve enjoyed is The Book of Bantorra. The show takes place in a world where people become “books” (actually, stone tablets) when they die.  These books contain the life of the person and are stored in Bantorra Library.  Because of the immense knowledge contained in these books, they are defended by the Armed Librarians.  The show has a great deal of action in it while still maintaining some good human drama.  Like Ghost in the Shell, one of it’s core issues is what it means to be human.  The primary antagonists of the show is a religious cult, the Shindeki Church, divide people into “true” men and meats (people used as slaves).  The first story arc focuses on a young man brainwashed by the Shindeki Church into acting as a bomb, and his struggle to accept that he is, in fact, human.

Well, there you have it: my summer watch list for 2010.  The jury’s still out whether or not we can totally go without cable, but we’re well one our way.

When the iPad was announced, many (myself included) were amazed that the starting price was only $499. Most estimates were putting the price at $800-1000, which, given how much Apple charges for relatively underpowered computers was very likely. I believe, however, that this price, combined with the device’s limitations, will prevent it from being as revolutionary as its proponents make it out to be.

The iPad, quite simply, is not a need. This isn’t a new criticism, of course. Even those most wanting one will acknowledge that everything you can do on the iPad can be done on a much cheaper netbook, or a much-more powerful laptop. However, given Apple’s penchant for elegant design, most of us acknowledged that doing those things on the iPad would be a better experience.

The catch, however, is that price. I have a fairly powerful desktop-replacement laptop (a Dell Studio 1735) that I use for the majority of my mobile computing. It’s big, heavy, hot, and the battery life sucks. The iPad would be so much better for so many things. But I can’t do without my laptop. I use it for too many resource-intensive activities: it’s a video editor, a music studio, a game console, and a photo editor. The iPad will be be able to do some of this in a basic way, but it will never replace my laptop.

At $499, I would need something that could reasonably replace my laptop. In fact, I can buy a laptop for that price. Thus, until the iPad comes down in price, the choice is going to be to get the iPad and a laptop, or just a laptop. It’s a pretty clear choice.

While Apple has not created a new category (despite their PR), Apple might just do what tablet makers for years have failed to do: create a market for tablets. That’s necessary because without a market, developers have little reason to enter a space and because it will help to lower prices (most tablets before were over-priced and under-powered laptops).

I also think that Apple’s potential entry into the tablet space has helped spur other companies’ development of tablets, as companies want to have something to offer in the marketplace.

Now, I won’t buy the iPad for the same reason I won’t buy an iPhone: I don’t want Steve Jobs or anyone else dictating how I’ll use a product. (I’ve already been burned by the Zune on that front.) I want to use my devices the way I want to, and I enjoy playing around on them to see what they can do. Jobs’s mentality on products is too centrally focused, too technocratic for my tastes.

But despite that, I’m glad they entered the space, if only to spur other companies to give me the device I’m looking for.