This morning I’ve just downloaded the beta of Joost, a Peer-2-Peer TV application.

It was very easy to download and get going. The TV image even has good resolution on my MacBook. It has a useful interface that appears when you click the screen whilst in the application.  Roll over (alt) text clearly informs you of what the little buttons do.  Scrolling between channels easily on the control panel and the channel doesn’t change until you click the forward arrow.

Navigation feedback in the interface could be improved. There is no change in the mouse cursor and minimal change in the navigation buttons, so it is a little difficult to operate.  For example, the scroll ‘>’ buttons are a bit small to get your mouse on and it is hard to see when you are in the right place.

You can jump easily between programs on Joost, but the fast forward and Rewind functions are hard to find.  Initially I didn’t see the hidden slider in the control panel, shown below, between the icons and program arrows on the left.

Joost does however, provide good functionality tips.  If you are in small screen mode.  Indicating that more stuff is available in full screen.  You can even enlarge the screen from within the pop-up message.

If you bang your mouse into the top of the Joost screen the file menu appears, offering all the usual fields.

Help is available and very simple, indicating what the shortcut keys in the system are.

In the MyJoost panel you can load screen widgets and get into discussions about programs you watch.  It has news feeds, ratings, invite-a-friend immediate blogging about the program you’re watching, even chat. If you click off the widget you get back to the control panel screen.

MyJoost shows promise for social networking, although it provides only a limited profile, possibly because it is a beta?

Lastly, there are ads in there.  I couldn’t see them in the fast forward and rewind of a program; but when you hit them you can’t skip over!!

Have you used it yet? I’m interested to see how the social networking side of it takes off.

Let me know what you think!