Google’s ‘Free TV’ button is everything wrong with streaming remotes

Anyone who owns a Roku streaming player is familiar with the Roku remote, the one with the four “shortcut” buttons in the bottom third of the device. 

The buttons are marked with a revolving door of streaming service logos, from Netflix and Hulu to Max and Apple TV+. Press one of the buttons, and you’ll jump directly to that streaming service. 

That’s great if you happen to be subscribed to those four particular streaming services, but if you’re not—and I’d wager most of us...