I'm considering getting a Roku. I'm thinking a Roku 1, but could be talked into a Roku 2. Not really seeing the need for a Roku 3 but I'd love to hear from folks who already have any of these models.

Thanks!!!!!

We used our Roku 1 quite happily for a couple of years, but then it stopped playing well with our internet feed. It kept dropping the connection, and the feed was slow, and getting worse. We got a Sony Media Player, and the connection speed and constancy has been miles better. We're very happy with it.

You can network it with your computer to play vids or do photo slide shows you've downloaded onto your hard drive.

ETA: The Sony can also access your internet connection, YouTube, Amazon video, VUDU, Hulu, and a bunch of other channels. The Roku doesn't have that capability.

I have the Roku3...and it does have You Tube, Amazon Prime, and Hulu Plus? I don't know what VUDU is though.

I just got it recently and have so far pretty much only used it to watch Veronica Mars, but it's working well.

So my brother is paying me to update his business' website, which has lingered in obscurity for the last dozen years. My SIL re-established it on GoDaddy with the same terrible text and obsolete photos that he had on the old site, but it needs a complete refresher.

I have poked about enough to know that I LOATHE the GoDaddy interface: it's cluttered, non-intuitive, and damned annoying. And I've heard enough to know that they also have lousy customer service.

So does anyone have any recommendations for a commercial hosting service for a small business? One that provides basic design templates and an easy interface for updating content? This won't ever be a site with a lot of traffic, but it needs to be easy to maintain and will need to have an option for a password-protected section of the site for some of the content.

Suggestions?

I have a fancy Sony DVD player that is supposed to connect with Netflix and Hulu but it has never connected for me. I've followed all the instructions to just hit a wall.

Big picture is I want to be able to get mlb.tv in my room. I know if I get a newer TIVO I can get that but I don't want to pay for another lifetime service.

You can get mlb.tv through the Roku. I'd suggest a Roku 2, there's some minor differences in the Roku 2 and 3, mostly the Roku 3 is faster, has a sd slot on it, and you can pair a smart phone or tablet with the 3 and it has YouTube, the other versions don't. But Roku plans to add YouTube to Roku 2 at some point.

You can get Netflix, AMazon Prime, Vudu, NHL, PBS and tons of other stuff with the Roku.

Consuela, have you ever dealt with a WordPress template? They're not just for blogging any more, since you can use the same back-end interface to set up static pages, connect to e-commerce, and so on.

Also, some providers offer very pro-level-looking templates with most of the grunt design work done for you, plus hosting. I haven't dealt with those much, so I don't know specific good providers, but it's something you may want to investigate.

Squarespace is good, if a little pricey.

I'm hosted through DreamHost, and I use WordPress for my sites and the sites I build for my bar owner clients who want to be able to update with a minimum of fuss.

Wordpress sounds pretty good. Can you host through WP, or is it just content-management?