• by David , October 8, 2007

At my college apartment I've got a phone. I've got Internet. I've got beer, food, a microwave and an oven.

Notice what's not in there? Cable.

We probably could afford it, but it's not worth it to us. I don't know a single student with a landline phone, either - but that's no surprise. We have a DVD player and Vista-powered laptops with Media Center to watch streaming video. Our Internet connection is wireless and hosted out of a neighbor's apartment. Three apartments share one Internet connection, with only one of those apartments having cable. We almost opted for DSL, but the age of our apartments and the local service do not allow for a super fast connection.

"Nip/Tuck," "The West Wing," "Entourage" and "Grey's" rotate through the DVD player. I'd never watch these shows as a loyal regular viewer - not that I have the cable connection to do to - but I find myself tearing through a season in a matter of days. It's great to jump right from scene end to scene beginning without the commercials in between.

A neighbor without cable, however, is addicted to "Grey's." He watches it on ABC.com the morning after, mentioning something about an adblocker toolbar making life easier.. (Just giving you a heads up, industry!)

My neighbor with cable uses his Comcast DVR to tape record the show when he's out at work. You can bet what he does when he plays it back. (Hint: Fast Forward, anyone?)

Advertisers, welcome to the world's largest game of hide and seek.