01:25 PM CDT on Friday, July 7, 2006

By WALT ZWIRKO / WFAA-TV

There's a tattered volume on my bookshelf titled Here is Television: Your Window on the World.

Published in the late 1940s—before most people had even seen a TV set—it was one of the first guides for people who were interested in finding a career in the new electronic medium.

Its author, Thomas Hutchinson, predicted that television would "do more to develop friendly neighbors, and to bring understanding and peace on earth than any other single material force in the world today."

After 60 years, many people would say that TV has failed to live up to that lofty goal. I still harbor hope for the World Wide Web, though.

OK, we all know the Internet is already filled with more shady offers and other questionable content than television could broadcast in 100 years. But every week, new sites and services appear to reaffirm my belief that the Web can make a real difference.

This week, the TED Web site began offering a series of lectures from a collection of the world's greatest and most influential thinkers.

"TED is really the official pre-release version of heaven."

That's Chris Anderson talking. His non-profit Sapling Foundation sponsors an annual conference focusing on the convergence of technology, entertainment and design (TED—get it?).

"You get to spend time with some of the smartest, most talented, most creative people in the world," Anderson explains in an animated introduction at TED.com.

If you haven't heard of TED, that's probably because you're not one of the 1,000 "thought leaders, movers and shakers" on the invitation list.

Even they have to pay $4,400 to get in.

But attendees are privileged to hear some of the great thinkers of our day, like Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the MIT Media Lab; Lisa Randall, a theoretical physicist; and Al Gore, former vice president and environmental crusader.

Starting this week, you can hear them, too.

BMW is underwriting the Ted Talks for everyone, and it's free.

You can watch online, download the audio or download the video. The audio and video files can be replayed on your computer or on the go using an iPod or other portable music and video players.

A new TED Talk is promised every week. The program started with a roster of six lectures (from Al Gore, Sir Ken Robinson, Majora Carter, David Pogue, Tony Robbins and Hans Rosling) recorded at this year's TED conference in Monterey, California.

Each talk is an easy-to-digest 18 minute program—about the length of a half-hour TV show without the commercials.

And lest you think that these are nothing more than dry lectures, check out the offering from Pogue. The New York Times technology columnist wows the crowd with spot-on song parodies, including one mocking Microsoft honcho (and 1994 TED speaker) Bill Gates.

Take advantage of this free invitation to an ultra-exclusive club. It's a great idea that I hope will inspire others just like it.

Watch Computer Corner every Wednesday on News 8 Midday at noon, or online any time.

E-mail askwalt@wfaa.com