I guess I’d better write something about the Netflix/LG television set-top box. The whole free world (wide web) is gushing and oohing and aahing over this new development.

Here’s the scoop: Netflix, which already lets you download content to your PC, would like you to start downloading movies straight to your television. But apparently that’s only possible with another piece of hardware. So they’ve partnered with LG to create a box. This box–once you pay for it–will sit atop your television or entertainment center and will basically be a liaison between your Internet connected Netflix download service and your TV.

I’m sure Netflix is supposing that you’ll then be much more inclined to use the download service, and that helps them make more money. And believe me, if I paid a few hundred dollars for this set-top box, I’d sure as heck be more inclined to use it… just to get my money’s worth.

Problem is, for Netflix, that I’m not going to be buying that box.

First of all, isn’t this the exact same thing as the Apple TV? And isn’t the Apple TV being called one of the biggest failures of 2007, meaning, that hardly anybody bought it?

Secondly, can someone tell me why this box is necessary? I download content to my laptop all the time, and I’m able to watch it on my TV without any kind of magic box. I use a magic cable instead; it’s called a VGA cable. I plug my computer into my TV and just like that my TV becomes my computer monitor, and I’m able to watch my content on it.

I guess that some people don’t have laptops, and if their PC isn’t sitting right next to the TV, they’d have a problem running aVGA cable between the two. Okay, fair enough. But is this seriously the only way we can do this? We have to have an expensive box to make this work? Come on, people, we cracked the gene code! We’re going to send astronauts to Mars for Pete’s sake! We can’t come up with an easier and cheaper way to get our content from the PC to the TV?

Everyone keeps telling me that in the future, the TV and the computer will both be rolled into one piece of equipment. Why don’t we skip this set-top box step and just go straight to that, huh?