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Technology Stocks : WavePhore (WAVO)- VBI fed WaveTop for WebTV -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: AJ Berger who wrote (1203)	4/9/1998 11:18:00 AM
From: Stang	Respond to of 2843

boston.com Advances let PC users watch TV, bypass Internet bottlenecks By David E. Kalish, Associated Press, 04/08/98 23:44 NEW YORK (AP) - Personal computers that weave together speedy Internet access with television are coming soon to a desktop near you. And the computer industry may treat you to at least part of the admission price. Microsoft Corp. plans to include software in its forthcoming Windows 98 operating system for computers that enables users to receive Internet pages and TV programming through an unused portion of the TV broadcast spectrum. By using a TV tuner to transmit the information, the software from Intel Corp. and WavePhore Inc. lets computer users bypass Internet bottlenecks across telephone lines originally built for voice transmission. The deals with Intel and WavePhore were announced separately this week. The two moves could put within reach the computer industry's dream of turning desktop machines into full-fledged entertainment systems, with users doing far more than just word processing, games and other basic applications. Microsoft, though, is hedging its bets on the Internet's future. Last year, it bought Web TV, which enables people to view the Internet over conventional television sets. In the meantime, Microsoft reportedly is pushing makers of personal computers to include TV tuners needed for the PC-TV technology. Tuner cards for PCs can cost consumers $80 and more, a big stumbling block to wide acceptance. A industry source familiar with the promotion on Wednesday said Microsoft has offered several major PC makers financial incentives for giving away a TV tuner card or other tuner technology in at least some Windows 98 PCs they sell starting in July. The source spoke on condition of anonymity. The incentives were first reported by Electronic Engineering Times, a trade publication. Craig Mundie, senior vice president of Microsoft's consumer platform division, would only say the company was encouraging PC makers ''through normal marketing programs.'' He declined in a teleconference to comment on specific negotiations. But the incentives could raise eyebrows at the Justice Department, which is probing Microsoft's alleged effort to use its dominance of operating systems to control other technology businesses. A Justice Department official declined to comment. In its announcement Wednesday, Microsoft agreed to include Intel's Intercast software in its Windows 98 operating program, scheduled to hit retail shelves on June 25. In addition to television programming, the technology enables computer users to view related information sent by broadcasters across TV airwaves - such as programming guides that look like Web sites. For example, a viewer might be able to see news about Jay Leno during the comedian's late-night show on NBC. The viewer can manipulate the TV picture so it takes up the entire computer screen or just a small corner. Computer users do not have pay for the service. Broadcasters that have agreed to provide the service with programming related to their shows include NBC, CNN, Lifetime and the Weather Channel. Intel and Microsoft said their technology will initially transmit conventional analog broadcasts, but will gradually expand to carry digital signals as the technology is upgraded later this year. Broadly, the technology will help the computer industry capitalize on the upcoming wave of high-definition digital television that is changing the way TV is used and watched. The two companies said by working together they will ensure there won't be an internal industry battle over technical standards for bringing interactive television to computers and other electronic devices. ''It's tremendous news. It's an industry agreement there won't be a battle for digitally enhanced analog television,'' said Richard Doherty, an industry consultant with The Envisioneering Group, based in Seaford, N.Y. In another agreement, Microsoft on Monday said it would include WavePhore's free, advertiser-supported services, in its upcoming Windows 98 program. The service sends millions of pages of Web content around the clock to computer users equipped with a special circuit board. Providers of the Internet content include Time Warner's New Media unit, USA Today, Weather Channel and Wall Street Journal Interactive.