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To: Black-Scholes who wrote (41028)	5/13/1999 5:00:00 PM
From: Maya	Respond to of 50808

Has this been posted? Don't have the time to check the thread. Consumers to get choice of set-tops By Reuters, ZDNet WASHINGTON -- Federal regulators Thursday adopted a compromise to speed competition for new high-tech cable boxes, expected to be the gateway to a host of gee-whiz services in coming years including high-speed Internet links, on-demand movies and interactive television. Consumers will gain set-top box choices starting next year, when, instead of being required to pay $2 or $3 a month from their local cable company to lease a box, they will be able to walk into a neighborhood electronics store and purchase their own equipment. The key to the new boxes will be a separate plug-in security module that cable operators will be required to provide to allow the equipment to operate. Analog boxes exempted Thursday's compromise, approved by the Federal Communications Commission, exempts old-fashioned analog cable boxes from the rules the FCC adopted last year requiring a separate security component. Consumer electronics manufacturers and cable operators agreed that the expense of refitting analog boxes would needlessly delay the development of new digital and hybrid analog/digital boxes with separate security. Under rules required by the 1996 Telecommunications Act and adopted by the FCC last year, cable operators must provide separate security modules for boxes bought in retail stores by July of next year. Kennard pleased The FCC rules forbid cable operators from providing their own boxes with built-in security starting in 2005. Cable operators had asked to have the phase-out date extended or scrapped, but the FCC declined to change the date at Thursday's meeting. FCC Chairman William Kennard said he was pleased to see the cable and consumer electronics industries working together to meet the deadlines. ''I'm glad that we're on track,'' Kennard said. Analog boxes generally provide only cable television channels. Cable operators are rapidly converting their networks to digital technology, allowing them to carry far more TV channels and offer new services like Internet access through newer set-top boxes. The multifunctional set-top box of the future has been the focus of recent megadeals among cable and other communications players. Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) agreed to invest $5 billion in AT&T Corp. (NYSE:T - news) to get its Windows CE operating system on more of the boxes that AT&T plans to roll out to millions of its customers in coming years. Leading manufacturers of set-top boxes include Scientific-Atlanta Inc (NYSE:SFA - news) and General Instrument Corp. (NYSE:GIC - news), but other companies could jump into the market if strong demand develops at the retail level. Manufacturers are expected to integrate the boxes into television sets, VCRs and other home electronics devices as well. Cell phones go 9-1-1 Separately, the FCC Thursday also adopted a rule requiring cellular telephones to include circuitry that will connect emergency calls to 9-1-1 operators more effectively. The agency also asked for comments about what rules it should establish for use of a part of the airwaves now used by some TV channels that is expected to become available for other uses as broadcasters switch to digital technology. An auction of the bands now used for TV channels 60 to 62 and 65 to 67 is expected in 2001. dailynews.yahoo.com

To: Black-Scholes who wrote (41028)	5/13/1999 5:01:00 PM
From: BillyG	Respond to of 50808

Don't think this is limited to digital still imaging......... news.com Digital cameras to take market by storm By Stephanie Miles Staff Writer, CNET News.com May 13, 1999, 11:00 a.m. PT The critical time for digital imaging is now, according to a new study. For the past few years, digital cameras have remained a niche product, despite analysts' predictions of a mass-market explosion once picture quality improved and camera prices fell. That time may finally be here, according to a study released today from International Data Corporation. Worldwide digital camera shipments will reach 4.7 million this year, IDC found, growing to an "astounding" 22 million shipments by 2003. "With falling prices, increasing quality and resolution, and new applications, digital cameras have begun to attract the attention of the average consumer," said Kevin Kane, an IDC analyst, in a statement. "The next several years will be key in determining what part digital cameras will play in leisure and business budgets and activities worldwide." Annually, digital camera shipments are expected to grow 48 percent through 2003, IDC predicts, with revenue increasing 25 percent each year. The worldwide digital camera market will account for $6.4 billion in sales by 2003, according to the report, driven by U.S. and Japanese consumer sales of photo-quality cameras. Previously, poor picture quality and high prices have stunted sales of digital cameras and peripherals. In addition, consumer digital imaging has been predicated upon the existence of a PC in the home, a tenuous proposition until recently. But in the past year, these barriers have largely been broken down, IDC says. For example, the highest-quality megapixel cameras, or those offering images of over one million pixels, were priced over $1,000 last year. Today, megapixel cameras are considered mid-range, compared to the two-megapixel cameras now on the market. Half of American homes now have PCs, and advances in photo printer and imaging software is such that most home users can easily take and process images digitally. In addition, giants Microsoft and Intel have both focused their efforts on expanding the popularity of digital imaging as a way to drive sales of high-end computers and software. "The main factors in the steep price decrease are improvements in manufacturing capabilities and the development of economies-of-scale as well as the decreasing cost of components such as sensors and memory," Kane concluded.