Jessica Vascellaro of the Wall Street Journal [subscription required] reports that the Home Shopping Network HSN is ready to announce a deal with Satellite-TV operator EchoStar Communications Corp (NASDAQ: DISH) to allow its subscribers to buy merchandise through their remote controls rather than making a phone call.

The deal with Echostar, which has 12 million subscribers, is expected to be fully launched nationwide in a few weeks. HSN, owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) hopes to offer the "Shop By Remote" service through other satellite and cable operators in the future.

A few years ago, a similar concept by HSN's rival, QVC, owned by Liberty Media Corp (NASDAQ: LINTA), launched an interactive TV shopping service in the .

Analysts believe it could be years before this concept takes off. I know the technology already exists on current set-top boxes. On my set-top box for Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), I could order movies and have them charged to my monthly bill, without taking out my wallet - without even getting up.

I believe this is going to be the standard format for making purchases in today's world. With the development of technology, people will use less "paper money" on a daily basis. My handy ATM card can swipe for everything and even give me cash if I really needed it from millions of machines around the globe. My job pays through direct deposit and I have most of my bills paid automatically on certain dates.

While I can't stand the HSN or its competitors, I think they're finally reaching out to the younger generation's need for instant gratification and their impulsive shopping habits. Think of everything you could buy from your couch without even calling someone! Now we just have to wait for a teleportation device to be made and we'll never have to see the delivery man again!

What do you think? If you had the ability to use this service, would you?

Color me surprised. Along with the rest of the investing world, I was happily wandering around, lulled to contentness by the belief that the highest-paid CEO was the nice, boring Eugene Isenberg of Nabor Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR). And why wouldn't I believe it?

Well, mostly, because it's not true. IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI), you see, filed the proxy indicating its CEO's pay later than most companies. And the end result? IAC CEO Barry Diller blows poor Eugene out of the water. Eugene? $71.4 million (that's a lot Eugene! congrats!) Barry on the other hand:

$295. Million. Dollars.

What did Barry Diller do for this money (which was mostly stock options)? Well, during 2005, the year covered by the executive pay survey, his company spun off Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE), the online travel site, which was -- I suppose -- a useful thing (although the spin-off's stock is down 30% this year). Stock in IACI declined during 2005, 7%, and while operating income improved by almost four times in 2005, it was still a quite-modest $868.2 million.

And, as this article points out: if you add in stock options from Expedia, Barry Diller pulled in $469.7 million.

I think we can slice and dice the numbers however we like, but none of us are ever going to believe that he's worth that much. The Home Shopping Network is a fascinating slice of Americana, a weird, wacky and wild-eyed universe in which Midwestern grandmas discuss their impending purchases of lawn ornaments and appliqued baby sweaters with highly made-up wannabe "Personalities." An unqualified Wall Street success it's not, and I, for one, vow never to buy anything from HSN again.

That doesn't mean I won't watch the scrapbooking marathon ...

Everyone in the FCC and the powerful Christian Right lobby is pushing cable operators to create more family-friendly options. And they finally have. But just because something exists, does not mean that it's well-publicized.

My husband and I chuckled behind our hands when my brother-in-law told us to ask for the Spanish-language package on Comcast - but it saved us money on the channels we used most. The cable company's new Family Tier, priced at only $33.29 in the Denver, Colo. area, would be even better for us (and keep us away from the dreaded Fox News, which for some reason is considered non-family-friendly option - a topic for an entirely other post, I'm sure). But, as the Denver Post reports, Comcast isn't exactly being proactive about letting consumers know they can opt in to the kindler, gentler bargain content.