Zatoo now carrying BBC Alba.

Frustrated that you can't watch BBC Alba and type at the same time? Or just frustrated that you can't watch BBC Alba full stop?

I've just been introduced to Zatoo, an online television system, that allows you to watch live streaming TV from your computer. It works, as well as can be expected, and it has just started carrying the Gaelic channel which is currently only available via a Sky subscription or on that rare Freesat service.

When I tell people that the BBC channel isn't available on Freeview they laugh and ask, how does anyone watch it? Good question. Bizarrely, high viewing figures is one of the fences the BBC Trust has put in the way of the channel getting onto Freeview. Despite being available to only a third of Scots the channel is doing very well for itself in terms of audience figures.

What's really annoying is that when the BBC Trust review comes around in 2010, at the time of the digital switchover, it will only consider making BBC Alba available on Freeview in Scotland only , cutting off a pretty large audience in the rest of the UK.

I'm not sure if Zatoo viewing figures will count in that argument although I'm sure that the downloads from the BBC's i-player, the way I access more and more programmes, should. downloads from the BBC's own site should.