Let the hive mind of Engadget get that for you.
"I just moved into a new apartment and have been reading about all of the new power strips out there, especially the green ones. I was wondering if you had any suggestions about which "green "power strips are out there with decent joules ratings. And when I say green, I mean power strips that have the remotes or switches to turn off all electricity flowing to certain plugs and with at least 2 plugs that are always on. I was looking specifically at sub $50 because I will need two, but if that is not possible I could be convinced otherwise. Thanks!"
Ben,
It is so you can bring your own Cablebox or DVR. Lets say you hate that DVR supplied to you (Like me) and you want to buy a TiVo. You should be able to buy your TiVo put ONE cable card in it and enjoy recording two HD channels at once.
Even if you don't want a TiVo, but your a big PQ nut, you might buy a differnt cable box that has extreamly nice components or some special feature. Maybe a high end scaller with a CableCARD slot.
The point is choice like we had for years with NTSC, but still a balance that allows the content providers protections.