NYT: Low-Cost Internet Device Being Unveiled
A new company has created a low-cost device to browse the Internet's World
Wide Web, blasting in front of computer industry veterans who have talked
about the idea for months but not delivered. WebTV Networks Inc., a Silicon
Valley startup firm, was demonstrating its device publicly for the first time
Wednmesday and announced two powerful partners. Sony Electronics Inc. and
Philips Consumer Electronics Co. will produce and sell machines based on
WebTV's technology in September, The Associated Press reported. Nearly a dozen
companies, including large ones like Oracle Corp. and IBM have talked about
lower-cost Internet access devices in recent months.
WebTV's machine uses a phone line and universal remote control to navigate
the worldwide computer network. Logging on is as simple as pushing a green
button marked "Web" on the remote. A wireless keyboard is optional. The
company has overcome a major hurdle by making Web pages look good on a TV
screen, which portrays images with less resolution than most computer
monitors. One important limitation is that the machine's operating and
browsing software are different from the Netscape and Microsoft programs that
now influence the Web.