> Anyone got more info? the webtv website is someone else.... RK
>
> NYT: Low-Cost Internet Device Being Unveiled
Well, I think I've found the other shoe. From other news reports and the
http://www.webtv.net/ site (not .com), I see that they're trying to wield some
patents wrapped around net standards:
> The WebTV Reference Design --a suite of patent-pending,
> standards-compliant enabling technologies and guidelines
> for the development of WebTV set-top boxes and integrated
> devices. These technologies make it possible for consumers
> to use their televisions to browse existing and future
> Internet content, as well as communicate through
> electronic mail.
> the WebTV Network also has advanced caching and
> transcoding features that improve the performance of the
> Internet, making the WebTV Internet browsing experience
> faster and more reliable than current browsing
W3C's exposure is similar to that for DAVIC and NC Reference Platform: style
sheets, png usage, http caching, media/content negotiation, etc. Like @Home,
WebTV will likely be pushing the limits of caching, replication, etc. Note
that *none* of these organizations are W3C members.
A pretty large number of technical people have been working at WebTV for over
a year on this project.
Rohit
> Compatibility with existing Internet standards: Virtually
> all web pages created for HTML 3.0 as well as Netscape
> Navigator and Microsoft's Internet Explorer 2.0 work
> beautifully. The WebTV set-top box is automatically
> updated by the WebTV Nework to accommodate future
> standards as they evolve.