Unless you’ve been under a rock lately, no doubt you’ve heard about the proposed merger between media giants Comcast and NBC Universal. In today’s round of hearings for what is sure to be a landmark media merger (and not in a good way), a slandering of all that is good in the world of open access digital content was brought to fruition by one simple question from Rep. Mark Boucher: “What about Boxee?”

Starting sometime in the Summer 2010, Boxee will roll out a pay-to-access platform that could be used by Hulu and the like sometime this year — but in a way you might not expect.

What to you get when you mix a Mac mini, Boxee and a geek who loves movies? The ultimate in technolust. John Fox takes you inside a real-life home media center build and shows you just what you need to do it yourself in your own home.