3 ms·
So like webtv 2.0? I think that'll end the same as the first version
by rgbrenner 10y ago
So like webtv 2.0?
I think that'll end the same as the first version
- gumby 10y agoYeah, Microsoft's WebTV unit morphed into a conventional set top box business and was sold off to Ericsson.
- rgbrenner 10y agoodd wikipedia doesnt mention any of that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSN_TV https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSN_TV
- gumby 10y agoFeel free to update it :-). My GF worked for WebTV/MS and then Ericsson and traveled to various countries to do research on their STB usage so I observed this process directly. But if I wrote that it would be original research. Here's an article I just found about the acquisition: http://www.lightreading.com/cable-video/video-software/ericsson-buys-microsofts-iptv-unit/d/d-id/702101 http://www.lightreading.com/cable-video/video-software/erics...
- Entangled 10y agoJust like the Apple Newton the first time, the world wasn't prepared, now the content providers are a dime a dozen, just bring in the apps. I would be writing this from my TV instead of my laptop and finally Facetime would be like in the Jetsons.
- rgbrenner 10y agoThat makes me laugh.. As it so happens, I actually used a webtv when they were first announced. The problem wasnt a lack of apps. Around the same time I also connected a computer to a tv. It's difficult to understate just how terrible attempting to use a computer on a tv screen is.
- hueving 10y agoIsn't that just a UI problem? The different between the iPhone and PDAs was the improved UI.
- rgbrenner 10y agoPart of it.. but not entirely. To me there's something very irritating about trying to focus on details (like a mouse pointer, or reading a page of text) from a distance. There's also the low PPI and size of tv screens; the viewing angle of the TV; the fact that your keyboard and mouse are sitting on your lap or whatever surface is near you (that's not at the proper height); that your chair/couch was designed for relaxing, and not sitting up and typing. A small part of the could be fixed with a different UI.. but its still a bad experience.
- camhenlin 10y agoNo it is a resolution problem and a distance-from-the-tv problem. Text is basically unreadable, or if it's large enough to be readable, you can hardly fit anything on the screen
- ryandrake 10y agoAhhh, WebTV. Brings me back to the glorious late nineties. So much $$$ was wasted trying to get people to use a computer on their TV screen and trying to get people to watch TV on their computer screens. Reminds me of that classic Onion article: [1] 1: http://www.theonion.com/article/new-5000-multimedia-computer-system-downloads-real-1618 http://www.theonion.com/article/new-5000-multimedia-computer...
- whiddershins 10y agoExcept pretty much everybody under a certain cutoff age watches tv on their computer, exclusively. So the entire media revolutions the cable companies feared, happened.
- whiddershins 10y agoExcept pretty much everybody under a certain cutoff age watches tv on their computer, exclusively. So the entire media revolution the cable companies feared, happened.