Digital Home Thoughts: BLOBbox Hits the Blogs

"An Italian company called TVBLOB has announced the BLOBbox, a product that lets people share their digital photos and videos via standard or high-definition television. Additionally, the BLOBbox brings multimedia content and social networking to people who are averse to using computers and mobile devices for accessing the Internet. In short, the BLOBbox blends the traditional characteristics of broadcast TV with new Web TV possibilities."

Maybe I'm getting jaded, but I have a hard time getting excited about the ever-growing population of network connected set-top boxes. My initial reaction to the BLOBbox is that it's just another network connected box to sit alongside the TiVo, VUDU, and Roku. It's a lofty goal to bring "multimedia content and social networking to people who are averse to using computers" but haven't we heard that before? I mean, if you are averse to using a computer, are you going to have a home network to plug this thing into? I'd love to be proved wrong, but I'm not holding my breath.