Ooh. "Riding for a decade or two" with the pace of technology today is ... well, it's not going to leave you very happy, I don't think. 20 years ago, an IBM AT was a state of the art computer and the (commercial) Internet was a twinkling in someone's eyes. What you're talking about can be done in a slightly different manner than you're stating. There are combination LCD monitors/TV monitors (many of which come with built-in tuners) which can be used to show TV programs on your computer screen (sometimes as picture-in-picture). I'm not aware of too many LCD TVs which advertise the ability to hook up a monitor, but I will admit to not paying much attention to that market because ... well, OK. I don't watch that much TV and my 20" Sony CRT will be here till it dies. :-) Anyway, it is possible to do this now. One thing to think about, though, is whether your family is OK with TV use competing with computer use on the same box. If you have another computer (for the kids or whatever), it's far more do-able to combine the two. If you want to watch TV while the kids want to get info on harbor seals for a school project, well, ... Another thing: right now wireless video is not quite there. Video (especially high-definition) takes a tremendous amount of bandwidth; if you can use it at all on your wireless network, everyone else on that network will know about it. At least for now, a wire is best. As far as learning more, I would search for the term "convergence" along with TV or video or computer, etc.

I believe that TV is about 9 or 10 years old. To confirm, there should be a Date Of Manufacture sticker on the rear of the TV. If my dating estimate is correct, and you are watching TV using an antenna, the answer is yes. If you are watching satellite or cable, the answer is no.

greenhouser, May I suggest that you try using your zoom. What you need to do is find out the closest you can get your camera lens to your subject....and still get a focus. What you are trying to do, is fill the frame with your subject. Some cameras have capabilities to let you get really close some don't have this feature. Move your camera closer without zooming and see what happens. Be sure you can still get a focus. You also may want to try the portrait setting on your camera and see if that does what you want. The second option you have without buying a new camera is to take your photo at the highest resolution your camera will allow......then crop your photo in an image editor. Crop to make the subject fills the frame if you can. Once you crop, you can resize your photo. Most basic image editors will allow you to do this. The resolution of your camera will determine the size you can make your photo in an image editor. If you stretch it to far it will look pixelated. Micro is a term used by Nikon for their Macro lenses. I believe Canon uses the term Macro. I don't know of any other name for cameras or camera equipment for Macro. So when asking about this, ask about macro capabilites. Don't be surprised if you get weird answers...not everyone that sells cameras knows their products. Some point and shoot cameras have an extra macro lens that can be attached. The flower setting, usually gives you shallow depth of field.....which means the flower or bug will be in focus but the back ground will be blurred out. DSLR's have macro lenses, extention tubes, tele extenders and macro filters that can be used.You can also use a reverse lens, if you want to get into some really interesting macro photography. I hope this helps, it can be very confusing when you are first starting out with these things.

My cable company (Cox) went digital a couple of years ago. For my big TV in the family room, I did not need the mini box because I have a DVR. For my little TV in the kitchen on the kitchen table, I needed to use the mini box. It looked a mess with that box and the cables. I returned the mini box, got rid of the TV, put my ipad on the kitchen table, downloaded the Cox TV app, and now I watch TV on the ipad.