Will iTV Connect Directly to iTunes Store?

Is it conceivable that, just maybe, Apple hasn't given us the whole story on iTV yet? Sure, it's cool if it's sorta a streaming network hub that connects to your TV so you can play back downloaded videos. That makes it an AirPort Express with video out ports right? (And, presumably, a processor that's needed to do some decoding for H.264 on the fly.)

So why does it have a USB port? For a keyboard and mouse? A printer?

My guess would be external storage -- if it's a wireless hub with a processor, why not allow it to be a home file server, too? It would be handy to let you store images on your iTV and call them up anytime, whether or not your Mac is close by.

Of course, that would also be nice for audio and video, wouldn't it? In essence, whether using internal or external storage, the iTV could easily become an essential home entertainment component, capable of calling up and playing back tons of stored material to the TV -- or to any Mac or PC -- in your household.

Which, if true, leads to another logical extension of the iTV concept -- why couldn't it function as a standalone interface for iTunes Store, enabling you to download music and movies and TV shows for direct display on the connected TV -- and then, if desired, allow you to sync with your Mac or iPod?

Wouldn't that make sense?

In theory, I guess all of those things would be possible with a Mac Mini connected to a TV, although you'd need keyboard and mouse to navigate. But picture a Mac Mini slimmed down enough to run just Front Row, Darwin and a special TV-centric version of the iTunes Store...and you've got a device that enables you to buy last night's Battlestar Galactica for $1.99 and watch it as it streams in on the fly.

And games would be nice, too.

That wouldn't just be an interesting box for Mac users, but it could be a salvo at NetFlix, DVRs and an incredibly smart implementation of the Windows Media Center solution. It'd be a very Apple thing to do, IMHO, as it would be the sort of solution that might sell in the tens of millions of devices, not just the hundreds of thousands. Translation: Sony would be jealous, and I often wonder if that's Steve Jobs' primary passion.

Or am I dreamin'?