Interactive game consoles, telephones, digital cameras, wireless Web pads and handhelds, PDAs, dedicated Internet terminals, entertainment devices, and even kitchen appliances can be networked into a residential information infrastructure, constantly accessing the Internet along a two-way path. Tritschler projected that even display screens, nearly ubiquitous in first generation information appliances, will begin to disappear as applications become more widespread. Many of the information appliances will appear as simple embedded devices whose functions are completely transparent to the user. Liberate s Internet-based client and server software enables network operators, telecos, cable and satellite television operators, and ISPs to offer consumers access to branded applications and services. We are focusing on set-top boxes and interactive TV right now, says Tom Neumayr of Liberate s marketing group.
TV seems to be the home device that people want peripherals attached to.
The set-top box is an information appliance. There are 1.4 billion TVs in the world today, adds Tritschler. I only want a few points of that. Two people watching a television game show and playing against the show, each other, and the rest of the audience. Viewers will be able to order products as they watch them, send messages, view enhanced content, and monitor their telephones.