With an opening salvo about AOL's IPTV offering in2TV, writer, Gina Bellafante wrote in The New York Times on March 24th that, "LAST week, America Online introduced the first broadband television network on the World Wide Web, fueling the question, Has the Internet truly been a net positive for civilization?"

My question then is, did the advent of moveable type in 1440 by Gutenberg cause the deterioration of civilization at that time or since?

"The fashion world has already demonstrated, that "vintage" in modern parlance has simply come to mean old."

Since this is not the fashion world, I would reserve to an individual's particular tastes as to what they considered old verses, vintage or even classic. John Coltrane is old material, but some might consider his material vintage, La Femme Nikita, though not vintage, could be considered by some, classic. It is all subjective.

The rest of the article delves into questions that seem far removed from the relevancy of what IPTV can offer, namely allowing people to view content--any content--when they want and on any platform, be it wired or wireless and in a time and place of their choosing.

AOL has made a bold move here, having jumped into the not-yet-so-warm- waters of IPTV content delivery, which I applaud. Clearly, some people seem to be watching these programs and this is an evolutionary process. Using existing content before ramping up production or co-producing with established directors is an incremental step from a Cap-Ex perspective and that it does not appeal to Ms. Bellafante personal tastes, is not really the point.

As I am a bit verklempt by this article I am going to chill out in front of the tube (unfortunately not yet on-line) and see if I can find a syndicated episode of "Northern Exposure" or "The X-Files", definitely classics, and beside that, I like them!