The one problem with pre-blogging a few posts to go up while you’re busy with invading guests is that the posts run out before the guests do, sometimes … sorry for the quiet!

So the hub sent me a link to information about the Roku player. Wonderful! Except … it’s 1.0. I’m already ready for something a little more advanced.

If I got one of these to augment our NetFlix subscription, I’d want more kid things available (this they can do without changing the hardware). I’d put it up next to the kid’s TV (that doesn’t get a lot of use) and give them a simple menu system they could navigate, like TIVO but with pictures. Additionally, I’d like parental tools to customize our own play list of kid’s stuff.

Speaking of TIVO, we need playlists for that, too. Unlocked for kid’s stuff, locked for higher-age stuff (separate from the V-Chip), and hidden for folks who want to pretend to their kids or guests that they aren’t a fan of horror movies (or Lifetime romance movies, YMMV). Additionally, they need show-chaining. What if you want to spin up a series of little 5 min shows to watch for the kids? Or you’re setting up your parents to babysit the kids and they want to watch a couple of shows or movies in a row? Or you want to queue up a party mix?

I’m glad to see these 1.0 devices on the market (I love everything about the iPhone except the phone and camera part …) but we also need to be able to design these for the way users want to use them.

What would you like to see in a player/device that’s not quite there yet?