400 Google workers test TV at home

When I worked at MSFT on Windows XP, poor Patti endured an automated nightly download of the daily build installation that transformed our “house Laptop” into the most recent prototype copy of the OS.  Patti’s interaction with the changing security profiles, app compatibility, home networking, user logon, etc. were all tracked and logged to help us make changes to the designs.  Since then I’ve worked on other set top boxes, including Moxi, as a beta tester for TiVo, and on my own Linux based system that we jokingly called SteeVo (the SteeVos were used to collect television recordings for automated political analysis).  What I’ve learned in more than a decade of using these boxes is: (1) even 52” televisions aren’t big enough for what I want to do on the screen. High resolution 100”+ projector solutions come closer; (2) using the Internet on the TV like you use it on a laptop has always been unsatisfying. What works best is working on a screen to the left or right of the “TV projection” (or on local screen in your lap) and then switching to project a desktop to the TV section of the screen for people to see. I do this wired but wireless would be better.  (3) these devices need to work automagically with wireless keyboards. Connecting an Apple, Logitech, or MSFT keyboard to the set top boxes should be an “it just works” operation.