i've gone without, but now we have expanded basic and a dvr for like $50/mo, so it's whatever. my buddy has one of those screwdrivers that takes the filters off, so the whole house has analog cable, which is nice when i'm doing laundry.
hulu plus didn't really have enough shows, and you couldn't watch shows immediately after they aired anyway. netflix is pretty great, though.
if you're making a media center pc, i'd recommend Boxee.
ps apple tv is bullshit
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