I got Joosted, and it was pretty good.

A few weeks ago I filled out a beta test application on the Joost homepage in hopes that I would be able to try the program (or "service"?) out for myself. After days of anticipation I recently received an email from the Joost team with an invitation to the beta build of their project. Here's what its like.

Content:
Fresh of their deal with Viacom, Joost has not placed any MTV, BET, or Paramount content up as of yet. For the most part what you get are old reruns of "World Strongest Man" competitions, PBS-like programming from unique stations like the National Geographic Channel, and a host of various music video content (including "how it was made" programming).

Even with this limited (and somewhat insipid) collection the Joost library still managed to kill a few hours of my time with its available content.

Interface and Accessibility:
One of the first things I noticed about Joost was its incredibly intuitive GUI and aesthetically pleasing setup. Even the loading screens are fun to watch. Transparent widgets can be placed on your screen as you watch your favorite programs (such as instant messaging clients, clocks, and RSS news feeds) and navigation is very simple. The advertising and Joost screen elements are all unintrusive and well-designed.








Other thoughts:
At this point, even with its limited library of content, I am very impressed with Joost and what it has to offer. The project seems to be in great shape and I anticipate that "Joost" will become a familiar neogism within the next few months as distribution begins to pick up some speed. Joost has all the makings of a prolific upstart prgoram: it works great, looks great, and doesn't hog system resources. Plus, when you consider that the amount of television content it offers is only going to increase from this point forward things are looking good for Joost.