Last year was a really exciting time during MacWorld in January.  The anticipation for Apple to enter the cell phone market had reached a boiling point.  Steve Job’s presentation was perhaps his best.  The phone or as I like to call it, a palm laptop with a phone, is an incredible piece of technology.  A product that is leaps and bounds ahead of the competition.

The iPhone has been a valuable device in meetings with potential sponsors that haven’t downloaded Culture Catch’s vidcasting show.  As a digital assistant, the iPhone has been a homerun for me.  Apple really delivered another great digital device.

January is upon us again. What does Steve have up his sleeve this year? I don’t know.  Those who say they know, don’t.

As a member of ADM, I can tell you what I want that would improve my downloading lifestyle.   I want Steve to introduce an Apple television set that does to the TV industry what the iPhone is doing the cell phone business.  A total revolutionary device that simplifies the viewing of network, cable and downloadable media content.

I see in my crystal ball Steve’s presentation on stage at the Mascone Conference Center.  He’s standing before a giant image of an old television set with a stack of electronic boxes on top of it.  One for the cable, one for DVDs, and one to power the home theater speakers in the room.  On the table in front of the TV set are six remotes.  Three remotes work while the others are kept around just in case they might do something if the instructions ever turn up.

This photo of a typical U.S household’s home theater room is dissolve to the new Apple television set.  A flat screen television set surrounded by an aluminum casing.  The design of the set is stunning but not enough to get a stand ovation.  The set rolls the set out on to the stage.

We find out that inside the Apple television set the hardware includes wifi, a 500 gig hard drive, DVD player, a camera, and 4 wireless home theater surround sound speakers for 5.1 surround sound.  Additionally, Steve has made a deal with AT&T and the all other MSO’s to allow Apple to put the cable box device inside the Apple television set.

Turning on the set, we see the familiar Front Row interface with links for Music, Movies, Photos, Podcasts, TV Shows and a new link for Live Television.   Clicking on the Live Television link takes us to iTunes, which now has a live television-programming guide as a new feature.  As Steve scrolls around the live TV channels and recording shows like TiVo, his iPhone rings.

Up pops on the screen, an iPhone prompt asking if you’d like to answer the call using your Bluetooth Apple TV device.  Of course, since there’s a camera build into the set, this call is also a live video chat with another Apple television set owner.

The die-hard couch potatoes in the audience are now crying with happiness.   My self, I’m just happy I can download Culture Catch directly to my TV set.

One remote. One box.  It’s that simple.  Converge!