The Slingbox

It was inevitable, I suppose. A gadget that lets you watch and control your local programming (even Tivo preferences) from your cube, a Hawaiian condo or a wifi cafe in Azerbaijan. With "place shifting" technology, Slingmedias' Slingbox redirects your home TV signal from an antenna or cablebox to your laptop. Just attach the chocolate-bar-like hardware to your TV at home and download the software on your PC. Don't expect rocking resolution from streaming video just yet, but it won't be long. A couple hundred bucks will set you up with a Slingbox (I'm quite fond of the word.) Just remember, TV is a master at the art of time-suckage. . .sometimes it’s good to escape from the idiot box, so I stress: everything in moderation.