Liberate your iTunes library
Techies have been streaming content from their laptops to large-screen HDTVs for years—now, with Apple TV, a sleek, small wireless device that you attach to your television, even the most analog among us can do the same with the press of a button. You can synch your iTunes music and your photos, rent movies or television shows using your Apple TV remote, and (coming soon, rumor has it) even play video games—all without getting off the couch. The days of huddling around your computer screen are officially over. apple.com

Create your own soundtrack
Instead of downloading podcasts each morning in hopes of hitting gold, you can use Stitcher. The mobile app enables you to live-stream a customized mix of hundreds of shows from all the major news organizations, from the Wall Street Journal to Air America to NPR, right to your iPhone or BlackBerry. It even offers TiVo-style recommendations of shows you might like. It’s the best way to make every minute between the treadmill and the traffic jam count. Available at the iPhone app store or via stitcher.com

Stay-at-home film school
In the five years since we first picked GreenCine, this San Francisco online-rental company has gone from good idea to local institution. Think of it as Netflix mashed up with your local independent video store. It offers the wide selection of obscure genres and art films that cinephiles crave, along with the helpful advice you’d normally get from the person behind the counter. Intrigued by film noir but embarrassed because you don’t really know what that means? GreenCine explains the genre and recommends its favorites. Instead of a list of popular rom-coms, the site offers the Top 10 Environmental Documentaries That Don’t Rhyme with a Schminconvenient Schmuth, plus interviews with hot new indie filmmakers and discussions about the best cult vampire films. greencine.com

Party on your computer screen
Two guys plugging away in coffee shops with free Wi-Fi across the city invented a whole new computer-game genre when they came up with World of Goo: part puzzle, part theme park, part witty comic strip. Your job is to build structures that allow cute little gooballs to navigate various obstacles and pitfalls—and the game requires you to dig up your high school physics knowledge to keep the balls moving. It’s available for $20 on Mac, PC, or Linux. Four players can even team up via Nintendo Wii by downloading the game from the WiiWare site, making it a great party activity. worldofgoo.com

iPhone pinball
Rolando is to the iPhone what Super Mario Brothers was to Nintendo. Made by San Francisco game studio Ngmoco, it’s a whimsical platform that turns your phone into a handheld arcade machine. You tilt the phone to make your characters roll around, and a flick of your finger makes them jump, the goal being to get them from point A to point B. Watch out: This one is more addictive than most. Look for Rolando 2 this summer. Available at the iPhone app store or via ngmoco.com

PlayStation, begone
Steve Perlman, the cofounder of WebTV, is coming out with something exciting this fall: OnLive, a video-game service that eliminates the need for expensive hardware. Unlike PS3, Xbox 360, or a high-end gaming PC, OnLive is all online, so if you have high-speed Internet access, you can enjoy high-def, intense gaming through your PC or TV alone. Already, top game developers, like EA and Ubisoft, have promised to make some of their best games available for the new service. Sign up now to be one of the company’s beta testers ahead of the official launch. onlive.com

Try before you buy
At-home game nights are all the rage, but once you’ve mastered all the Scattergories cards or grown tired of Monopoly, check out the hand-picked selection of board games at Noe Valley’s new Just Awesome. Unlike other Bay Area game stores, it has an open-box policy, so you can give your pick a test run before you lay money down. 816 Diamond St., S.F., 415-970-1484, justawesomethewebsite.com