The content will begin appearing in April and include current content such as Medium and Flashpoint, as well as content from CBS’ classic library including Family Ties, Cheers, and Star Trek. CBS programming would be provided at no extra cost to Netflix users.

With the CBS deal Netflix becomes the only online entertainment service to offer content from all four major broadcast networks. Hulu comes close with Fox, NBC, and ABC on the service, but CBS still is holding out.

Fox may follow, an anonymous source tells Reuters. Either way, this is devastating news for Google TV. One of the platform’s main draws, I suspect, is the ability to watch any web show on the big screen. There’s still plenty of content on the Internet that isn’t created by a major network, but without the heavy hitters, Google TV has little chance of disrupting cable. It’s certainly less attractive for would-be cord cutters.

I’m only sort of worried that this unified assault on Google TV sets a bad precedent for all set-top boxes. Hulu’s been blocked on other platforms, such as Boxee and Android phones, but the action by individual networks suggests that they’re making a desperate stand to defend cable, which pays lucrative licensing fees to networks.

On the other hand, blocking Google TV could be a one-time thing. As Gartner analyst Van Baker pointed out to Reuters, Google’s primary business on the Internet, and all the platforms that deliver it, is advertising. Television networks rely on web video advertising for revenue, so while blocking Hulu might be an attempt to push people towards Hulu Plus subscriptions, blocking individual networks might be a way to keep Google out of television ad sales.

In other words, watch what happens when the Boxee Box arrives next month. If ABC, NBC and CBS disappear from that set-top, you’ll know the networks aren’t just terrified of Google, but of cord-cutting in general.

If I stick around with Comcast, I might as well enjoy it–and I’m guardedly optimistic about On Demand Online, the Web-based service which the company is cooking up. It’s signed up a respectable list of content providers: Time Warner, A&E, Starz, and others–and, most recently, CBS. They’ll provide programming for a Hulu-like site that’s supposed to start testing this month.

Unlike the free, ad-supported Hulu, Comcast’s service is apparently going to be available to paying Comcast subscribers only. I hope that means it’ll be ad-free and have access to some shows that Hulu can’t get–in other words, that it’ll be a true Web-based version of Comcast’s On Demand video-on-demand service. (Which, incidentally, I can’t get–it’s not compatible with my TiVo HD box.)

I persist in being perfectly willing to consider paying for content on the Web when opportunities arise–in part because vast amounts of content are simply going to disappear unless the people who own them figure out how to convince consumers to pay up. So even though I continue to flirt with the idea of canceling Comcast and subsisting on a diet of Hulu and iTunes, I’m actually rooting for On Demand Online to be really good. So good, in fact, that I stop talking about kissing Comcast goodbye.

Found: Atlantis. In Google Earth!

Intuit questions Mint user claims.

Greeeeaaaaat: Conficker worm variant appears.

Is this leopard a clue?

CBS and Hulu are squabbling.

Pirate Bay: YouTube pirates more.

Apple kills 20-inch display.

Senior citizen shoots analog TV.

NetFlix may offer streaming subscriptions.

Asus might make Android netbooks.

Apple: Buying all Samsung’s memory?

Hackers bump Xbox Live players.

Frenemy: Someone who is both friend and enemy, a relationship that is both mutually beneficial or dependent while being competitive, fraught with risk and mistrust.

–Urban Dictionary

That’s not a bad first stab at a definition, but let’s expand on it: A frenemy can be a friend who evolves into an enemy. Or an enemy who morphs into a friend. Or a friend who seems to be an enemy, or an enemy who seems to be a friend. Or someone who teeters precariously between friendship and enemyhood, sometimes over the course of decades. One thing, however, is undeniable about frenemies: The technology world has always been rife with them. Consider these twelve outstanding examples–past, present, and future.

The TV shows would be provided at no charge and would include advertisements that would play before, during, and after the videos. CBS will sell the advertising for the show, and YouTube would get a cut of the revenues.

Here’s hoping that this deal is a sign of improving relations between the video site and the entertainment industry. As you may remember, CBS was formerly a part of Viacom, the company who sued YouTube for $1 billion in March of last year.

While Viacom no longer has anything to do with the production arm of CBS any longer (it only retains rights to MTV Networks, BET Networks, Paramount, and Paramount Pictures’ home entertainment operations), the ties are still there. This move could wrm Viacom’s heart ever so slightly, and may give YouTube a slight edge in any negotiations.

It also seems to be a bit of a concession on the part of the entertainment industry that it needs the leading online video site. While industry-backed sites like Hulu are doing okay, they aren’t even close to touching YouTube.

Maybe its time for the two sides to bury the hatchet, as it would be financially beneficial for all. As the old adage goes, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”