My cat has recently taken to sitting on top of the Virgin + STB in our living room since it's the warmest place in the apartment when her owners are away and the heating is off.
And then it occurred to me, she's got a point.
Very soon these boxes will be bought from Lakeland and similar retailers, with some padding on top, as animal comfort devices. They will certainly be redundant as content delivery vehicles within a few years, I reckon, as screen manufacturers build ever more sophisticated functionality at marginal cost into their LCDs.
With Cablevision pioneering head end PVRs, the age of the box is almost over.
Watching the cat trying to drape herself over a 4 inch thick screen is going to be something to behold.. Miaow.