i initially blew it off as a promotional tech display for apple. but the more i think about it, the more sense it makes. i don't have a dvd player, and every time i play a dvd it means hooking up my macbook to the tv. on top of that, i rarely have time to rent dvds the same day i watch them, so i usually wind up renting 5 or so at a time, ripping them, and then watching them over the next month or so. And my wife, japanese, downloads gigs of japanese tv dramas and primetime tv that, again, means hooking up the macbook to the tv.
interestingly, i can't remember the last time i actually watched a cable program in its entirety. and the only show we DO watch on cable, grey's anatomy, is usually over by time we get home so we just end up buying the damn thing off itunes, and, again, hooking up to the tv.
So i guess i fall squarely into apple's target market here. but only if it's available for $149, tops.
it isn't THAT hard to plug in a couple cables.