In a simple hardware-based usage of the term, the personal computer, television, and telephone are all examples of platforms. The term is also used to refer to underlying software or network configurations. In this sense, for example, Microsoft's Windows 95 and other personal computer operating systems are platforms, as is the Netscape Web browser software. A device that allows a television to receive cable television network signals. Plans for future television systems that offer interactive capabilities and greatly increased channel selection call for new types of set-top boxes that contain enhanced computer intelligence.
Customers typically place the boxes on top of their televisions, hence the name.
A law passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Clinton that extensively revises and updates the 1934 Communications Act, heretofore the principal law governing U.S. communications industries. The new law is intended to increase competition and innovation by diminishing legislative and regulatory barriers. The law is to be interpreted and implemented by the Federal Communications Commission and the 50 states' individual Public Utility Commissions. The use of specialized computers, software, and other gear to construct computer-generated environments. A user wears a headset that blocks out vision of the physical world and projects these computer-generated environments onto a screen near the eyes.