[tmar89]

There are channels on cable/satellite that I just can't live without and I don't necessarily need to watch them live. Channels like FoodNetwork, HGTV, Spike, TLC, Discovery, History and NatGeo. I know many of them have alot of their newer shows online as full episodes but you have to go to their site and use their player. Hulu does a good job of getting content, but its not perfect. And then there's Boxee, Zinc and other apps that aggregate content, but pretty much just have an interface that brings you to a website and use the website's player. Are there any programs coming down the line that will get be a portal to more online sites but provide a cleaner way to access their videos. I know that Boxee and Hulu had their spat which is making this effort slow down, but the motivation is not for me because I know my way around the Internet. It's for my girlfriend who looks at me strange when I run Zinc and says, "how come I can't just hit play?" And these are the people they need to consider. Not us. I'd even be willing to pay a fee or subscription for a program that does this because its FAR less that how much cable and satellite cost.

And there are times when I like to have the live news on, and the only thing I could find that I like is CNN live. Are there any other options for getting live news (and it doesn't have to be the political biased and agenda-driven major news channels; just current US news).