I have been playing with the new MSN Video Download service announced with CES. What I have discovered, unless I am missing something, is that I cannot play the content though the Media Center. I can play it on my PC or on a portable device (which I don’t have). What’s up with that?

Last night, for the first time, we discovered "Crank Yankers" on Comedy Central. I had seen a few minutes here and there, but read something about the show on the Internet and decided to record an episode. I have to say, the last time I laughed so hard was when we saw Bill Cosby in concert and he did a routine based on his father telling him to pull his finger. Both times, I laughed until I cried.

In the Yankers we taped, there was a segment in which Wanda Sykes (who also is in "Curb Your Enthusiasm"—"Larry," she said, "You have to know when the play the (race) card.") calls a mechanic and informs him that the shop left a turd in the backseat of her car. I kid you not. Remember that the stars of Yankers are puppets and the dialog and staging is brilliant. Catch it for yourself. We have our DVR set to record all of them. BTW, this is low-brow, hilarious bathroom humor.

Which leads me to wondering why anyone believes Howard Stern will be successful on satellite radio; actually, I wonder why anyone would think satellite radio (another controlled content distribution environment)  would be successful. Podcasting is taking over the world. I am serious. Podcasts today range from below the home-brewed category, to some people who have talent and serious mixing skills. Podcasts allow users to download spoken word, music, talk shows or whatever to their music players (not just iPods) and listen to them at their leisure in any situation including the car. In the future, Podcasts will take over "radio" as we know it except for live sporting events and breaking news. KOMO Radio in Seattle does Podcasts, and soon, I sense others will join them.

Which leads me to Howard Stern. You want to hear people cursing and begin rude on the air? You need not wait til Stern joins XM or whatever network he’s on, because in the world of Podcasts, everyone is a shock jock, and honestly, a few are funnier than Stern.

Those in entertainment power underestimate the sheer desire of individuals to break through a politically controlled distribution system and deliver content to the masses. Everyone asks how you can make money at this. Well, that’s part of what Mike McGuire and I get paid for, and shortly, as part of our research, we will suggest some scenarios.

Stay tuned.