Google has been working on improving and updating Google TV quite a bit lately. Just last week the TV & Movies app was updated to include a new recommendation service. This week, the YouTube app for Google TV has been updated to include a similar recommendations. These types of improvements will probably be ongoing, if the success of the Google TV Hackathon is any sign.

Today’s update of the YouTube app was announced this morning on the Google TV blog by Maciek Molerus, a Google TV Software Engineer. The update will include recommendations that will suggest YouTube videos based on those a user has already watched and favorited. Also, the app will now allow users to perform a channel search, making it easier for users to find the channel they are looking for.

In addition, Molerus promises users will see a smoother experience using the YouTube app. The app will now automatically select a resolution for videos based on user’s network connections. It will switch to a lower resolution rather than stop to buffer the video. Also, users can now +1 videos from Google TV, sharing them instantly to Google+.

All of these changes sound nice, but they do beg a fundamental question surrounding Google TV. Why add PC features to a television? Why is that the direction of the trend, and why is television so special. Thought of the other way around, isn’t video just one aspect of what is possible on computers? Shouldn’t we all have computers hooked up to our large, central monitors where we view video, play games, and chat with our friends and family? Let me know where you stand and leave a comment below. And don’t tell me about a wireless mouse and keyboard being harder to use than a TV remote – those things are some of the most poorly designed gadgets of the last three decades.