Justme... Thanks again for the link to Fox News, but I wonder how your found it given the link: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nocksfuze That is, how did you relate "nocksfuze" to Fox News. I did explore the site at ..../channel and found many choices, but never found the Fox News Channel. I searched on "Fox News" not on "nocksfuze". To answer my other question, a 1.5 mb Internet access (DSL in my case) is sufficient to get the tv programs I watched. There may have been a few breaks, but not many. I did note extra commercials to pay for this service which were far more annoying than any down load speed limitation. As luck would have it we had a thunder storm in Northern NJ yesterday and it took my cable service down. It was off and is still off as there appears to be a problem unique to my address - Comcast tech is coming by around noon time today. So, the Internet access was the only access I had to my favorite Fox programs last night - it works, but I'll admit I like the big screen tv better. In any case, this gave me a trial run on getting Fox News only on my computer.

I'd get a TV, as most new ones today will accept a computer output. They'll have better resolution and compatibility for TV as that sounds like what you do most. Some have a USB slot and ethernet ports so you can hook up to the network. An HDMI cable will allow you get High Def content there too. You'll need a switch of some type if you want to use one DVD player on both TV's. Usually cheaper to just get a dedicated DVD player. Best to enlist a local company or someone like Geek Squad to plot out a course of action for you based on your needs a specific equipment and access to run wires.

We spent an eon agonizing over how to incorporate a computer into the kitchen -- the computer is where we get all of our recipes, all of our music, as well as all of our news/movies/info/entertainment. We came _this close_ to buying an i-mac and putting it on an articulating arm mounted to the side of the pantry (which is next to the prep area). Our thinking was that it could face someone seated at the island for t.v. or could be used for recipe sites in the prep area, while also being able to play music or podcasts over the in-ceiling speakers. In the end after visiting the Apple store and talking at length with an APple guy (who happens to be a lawyer by day and about to embark on his own kitchen renovation), with his help we went an altogether different route, although the new i-macs are beautiful, we realized that we'd rather search for recipies (and music, and everything else) on our individual laptops while seated in the living room and then carry the laptop into the kitchen as opposed to doing this while sitting or standing in the kitchen. By our way of thinking, the hours that the kitchen computer would get used would not be enough to justify buying a new computer for the job, and most of what we wanted it to do could be better done on a laptop (and I'd argue even better done on a brand spankin' new i-book, but so far no dice). Thus this is the route we chose instead: 1 - speakers installed in the kitchen ceiling (and living room ceiling too)and wired to the back of the pantry, we had our electrician put an outlet inside it 2 - a shelf installed in the pantry that holds the following: 2- powered amps (0ne for each set of speakers), and an Airport Express that my laptop (or any computer in the household) that allows me to opt to play through the in-ceiling speakers (I-tunes, or Pandora mostly, but could play anything the computer can get to). 3 - a slate lazy susan (ordered from Amazon) to hold a laptop on the island while cooking, the thought here is that it keeps it up out of spills, and also turns as the cook changes positions while cooking. 4 - as for the t.v., there are lots of small, high-res lcd t.v.'s at Sam's Club/Costco that would do the job and fit nicely in a small space for less than $300, it didn't seem to make sense to buy a dedicated computer to primarily be a t.v. (at 3x the cost of the t.v.). We don't actually watch t.v.(just Netflix, I-tunes t.v. shows and Hulu) so it hasn't been an issue, but if we did, say want t.v. going while in the kitchen, II think I'd buy an inexpensive one rather than buying another/dedicated computer to be a t.v. (though that could be done as well). 5 I'd till like to add a wireless keyboard and mouse tothe laptop because they're under $100, cute as a button and would allow me to not worry about having messy hands on the keyboard while cooking. Although the island is still under construction, the speakers, amps and airport extreme are up and running, and we're...

I've come to the conclusion that it's best to use an iPad (even a cheaper earlier version) to access the Internet, and leave the TV for TV. We have a 46" TV mounted on the wall, and it's Internet-connected, but we use the Internet connection for things like Netflix, not to browse the web. Tablets are also nicer because you don't have to worrry about where to put the keyboard or mouse. NDSA -- for the cable box, in my case I pulled cables through a wall and put the box in a cabinet. You also have to remember to have a remote sensor from the cable box to the TV, so your remote control will still work. Either that, or you would buy a custom remote control that can work through cabinet doors. You may also need to deal with venting because cable boxes produce modest amounts of heat.