Perlman Observes What He Learned at WebTV
Microsoft Releasing New WebTV with Windows CE
The three most important things Steve Perlman learned as
President of WebTV, according to an article in the EE Times,
is that 1) you must never "underestimate the time and money
it takes to educate the channel on how to sell a new category
of consumer products"; 2) start-ups must take the long-term
view and create their own measurements for success; and
3) "Consumer-electronics products are a new beast", he said.
"Your success has less to do with the early sales. It has a lot
to do with customer satisfaction."
The man who co-founded WebTV is taking some needed time
off after founding his multimillion dollar company. Bought by
Microsoft in 1997, Perlman has decided to step down as president
and spend time tinkering around his home multimedia laboratory
in San Francisco. Ultimately, Perlman believes people want interactive
television to incorporate the Web as the primary form of interactivity.
He's hoping he can invent something new that can improve that
experience.
It has been a long time coming. With but a few versions of WebTV
on the market today (Classic, Plus, and Plus for Windows 98)
Perlman leaves at a critical juncture as WebTV weds itself
to satellite firm, EchoStar, incorporates a digital hard drive, and
integrates Microsoft's Windows CE platform. "In an area where a TV
and a PC meet our goal is to see, over time, every DTV embedded
with WebTV and running Windows CE", said Craig Mundie.
The new WebTV-CE box will incorporate technologies which support
enhanced TV and all the other standard offerings. Prices will be $99
for Classic, $199 for Plus, and $499 for the EchoStar satellite box.
Processor speeds will increase to 175 Mhz - chips from Quantam
Effect Design - and things will be tweaked to fit the new
architecture.
The prevailing belief is that WebTV will become less a set-top
box and more a software solution. But, as interactive television
technologies and applications increase, will WebTV evolve with
into a browser or will it become a component technology
residing on advanced boxes? Developments in standardization and
market fluctuations will tell the tale. Microsoft will certainly attempt
to accomplish what it has done for the PC for ITV. But will IP broadband
emerge as a greater challenge or will a new configuration appear to
challenge our expectations? |
