NEWS Consumer Electronics Show, Part II
Dexter reports from Las Vegas on the latest and greatest trends in the consumer electronics industry that could be hitting your home soon. [Published 01/14/01, Written by Dexter Davenport]
America Online-Time Warner Merger Receives Final Approval
Two of the largest companies in the world have spent the last year trying to get hitched, and the US Federal Communications Commission has just blessed the marriage. Will there be any room left for their competitors? [Published 01/14/01, Written by Nancy McPoland]
MS/DOJ: Government Asks Court to Uphold Microsoft Breakup
Department of Justice officials filing in the appeal of Microsoft's anti-trust trial say that claims of bias and error by the lower court judge are false, and that the court should uphold the dissolution of the giant software company. [Published 01/14/01, Written by Nancy McPoland]
Survey Says: E-Scanner Damaging Older WebTV Plus
Net4TV's survey of e-scanner problems is revealing that the video decoder in older WebTV Plus units may be damaged when it is used with the scanner. WebTV and HP are still investigating to identify the cause and cure. [Published 01/14/01, Written by Net4TV Voice News Staff]
The Buzz: Leaving for Las Vegas
G. Nat URL is missing, AIBO is presumeed destroyed, RoboFly and archie are missing, Sony is having a fire sale, and Echostar is moving on in life. Our rumorologists look at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. [Published 01/14/01, Written by Mehitobel for G. Nat URL]
Tidbits: A Few Good Items
Smart Disney, not-so-smart Marines, and the death of chad, all in our look at the World Wide Weird. [Published 01/14/01, Written by Nancy McPoland]
Update: New WebTV Pluses Hit by E-Scanner Problems
WebTV has confirmed that the problem with the HP e-scanner that is causing the video inputs of some WebTV Plus units may affect all models of the Plus. [Published 01/18/01, Written by Laura Buddine]
California Blackouts Affect All of Us
Your favorite website suddenly unavailable? The rolling blackouts that are part of California's electricity crisis may be affecting more than just the locals. Dark days in California may mean some dark screens across the world for Internet users. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Nancy McPoland and R. Michael Johnson]
FCC to Inquire into Interactive Television
The Federal Communications Commission will inquire into the possibility of new regulations for the nascent interactive television industry. Is it too soon, or should the agency get in now before the major players get entrenched? [Published 01/21/01, Written by Nancy McPoland]
HP Studies e-Scanner Failures
Hewlett-Packard has told Net4TV Voice that it is still investigating reports of malfunctioning e-scanners and possible damage to WebTV units. The number of affected units is small, according to HP. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Net4TV Voice Staff]
Tidbits: Gimme A Break
Internet users take a holiday break, librarians hit the (law) books, and Bahamian phone books list a wrong number, all in our look at the up and coming stories from the World Wide Web. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Nancy McPoland]
FEATURES I've been to the Mountain Top
This is the speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at The Mason Temple, Memphis, Tennessee on April 3, 1968. All historical references in this speech have links to sites of interest. Happy Birthday, Dr. King. [Published 01/14/01, Written by Rogi Riverstone (annotations)]
Net4TV Presents: FITNET 74
Get up off the couch and let physical activity energize you for a new outlook on life! [Published 01/14/01, Written by Tim Lane]
Beat the Winter Blues with Freebies and Bargains
Got the mid-winter blues? Let Dudette cheer you up with her latest collection of bargain finds, freebies, and sites where you can win real cash! [Published 01/14/01, Written by Dudette]
Hoax Report: To Your Health
The Klingerman virus, the PPA recall, and the NPR funding crisis. One of these currently-circulating e-mail warnings is true, can you pick which one? [Published 01/14/01, Written by Nancy McPoland]
Astronomy: An Evening with Venus
Venus. Even the name is beautiful. It outshines every other planet and star in the evening sky. Often called Earth's twin, this cloud-shrouded, incredibly hot, perfectly round planet is worth a second look. [Published 01/14/01, Written by RainSong]
A Scrapbook Uploader For Your Hompage
Why should you have to go to someone else's site just to use their uploader? GlimerMann shows you the easy way to put an uploader on your own site - and it only takes a couple of minutes! [Published 01/14/01, Written by GlimerMann]
Year of the Snake Folds
To help usher in the Chinese Year of the Snake, our very own Origami Swami has a cobra bookmark (complete with fangs!) and a great spiral snake for you to make. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Origami Swami]
Webtv Mail via Telephone
Shades of James Bond! Now you can read AND answer your e-mail Ð from any telephone. And if that's not enough, you can also check on restaurants, movies, taxi service, travel and ski reports, stock reports, traffic, horoscopes, soap operas and more. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Bill Johnson aka Le Fantome]
Hoax Report: Pardon Our Blushes
Spiders that blush (is it because of what it's seeing?) an e-mail project that got out of hand, and updates on previous reports, in our roundup of the junk found in our Inbox. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Nancy McPoland]
How to Buy a Digital Camera
Digital cameras are all the rage right now thanks to the wide variety of cameras available, the ease of use, the low cost, and the quality that approaches film. Net4TV Voice offers this primer of what to look for when you buy a digital camera. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Dexter Davenport]
Net4TV Debuts Shops4TV!
Looking for shopping that works on WebTV? Net4TV (finally) introduces Shops4TV, a growing collection of TV-friendly online shops and services. It's ready to try out, and we need your help to make it perfect! [Published 01/21/01, Written by Dudette]
Surfari: Electric Pickles
This week the casual mention of glowing pickles has set our intrepid author on an impassioned hunt for truth. A few weeks ago it was innocent paper clips being misused. Maybe next week we'll mention the old sport of tossing cow piesÉ [Published 01/14/01, Written by Rogi Riverstone]
Presidential Inauguration Guide
George W. Bush is about to be sworn in as our 43rd President in the 54th Presidential Inauguration. Thanks to the Internet, you can enjoy it as it happens - from the comfort of your home. [Published 01/14/01, Written by RainSong]
COMMUNITY Trish's Zephyr
Snowbird loves her WebTV. Anyone who knows her knows that if she is home and awake, the phone is busy! Her family and friends don't even try calling. They just jump online and send her an Instant Message. [Published 01/14/01, Written by Don]
Couchpapa's Gifs & Midis
This great grandfather purchased his first Classic WebTV in 1997 just to gain some Internet experience. By early 1999, he upgraded to a Plus unit and started building websites. Now he builds websites for others, making certain they are WebTV friendly. [Published 01/14/01, Written by nobells]
Sam, aka Sman
Sam never intended to buy a WebTV. He was just walking through the store, came across it, and just had to get it. Now he's thoroughly hooked. [Published 01/14/01, Written by Master Dunc]
Better Homes: January Jewels
This Better Homes and Websites features a family site with a page dedicated to Erma Bombeck; a page with links for every type sig you could ever want; the story of sentry dog, told from his point of view; and a charming tale of "The Ancient Ones". [Published 01/14/01, Written by RainSong]
The Scoop on Susan and Bekki
Meet Bekki and Susan, two ladies who share websites and newsgroups together. One is from Kentucky, the other from Oregon. They met on-line and have become best buddies. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Bee Bee]
Annie's Web Treasure Box
When Annie first came online, she went to chatrooms and was mostly a lurker. However, her attention was soon drawn to webpages. Almost every page she found in the WebTV community was like gold to her. [Published 01/21/01, Written by nobells]
RAOK - Random Acts of Kindness on the Web
This group of people are making a difference spreading their acts of kindness across the internet. Whether it's signing a guestbook for someone's birthday, or sending an e-mail greeting card to make someone smile, they are a really great bunch! [Published 01/21/01, Written by Lisa Crowe]
OPINION AND EDITORIAL Welcome to Issue 74
Dexter wishes the new president well and gives just a little bit of advice to make the next 4-8 years a more enjoyable ride for all. [Published 01/14/01, Written by Dexter Davenport]
Imagining iTV
If you haven't heard of any "iTV" ideas that make you excited, maybe it's because the TV programmers have run out of imagination. Dudette tries to imagine iTV, and invites you to do it, too! [Published 01/14/01, Written by Dudette]
In the "Out" Door
Let's just say Murphy's Law was apparently a prominent provision in the cat door contract. It took three trips to the hardware store and an entire day to accomplish a project that should have been done in time for the 1st coffee break. [Published 01/14/01, Written by Uncle Bob]
End of the Free Ride?
Marketeer Marc H. Schaffer tells the online industry that the 'free ride' is over, and that they will only survive by getting back to basics -- addressing the needs of individual communities. [Published 01/14/01, Written by Marc H. Shaffer]
VOX POP -- Reader Opinions QOW: Games People (Want to) Play
One big thing people want to do on their TVs is to play games of all sorts. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Vox Pop]
QOW: More iTV Programming
We asked our readers what they wanted from TV. These users want more and better Interactive TV programming. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Vox Vop]
QOW: More Web Compatibility
Compatibility with more websites in the form of HTML compatibility, Java, and support for more multimedia are at the top of the list of things people want to make iTV fun and useful. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Vox Pop]
QOW: Give Me the Ability to Download
A frequent request we hear is WebTVers wishing they could download material from the Web. Of course, all WebTV's can download, but what some are seeking is being able to store it for off-line use. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Vox Pop]
QOW: Improve E-mail
WebTV has e-mail, but some users wish it were built in to their TV or that it was improved with features such as blind carbon copy. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Vox Pop]
QOW: TV is Fine the Way It Is
Many people like things just the way they are, but maybe it should work better and be faster. Many people don't really care for iTV or doing a bunch of things on your TV. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Vox Pop]
QOW: I Want Everything
Some people have a laundry list of ideas of how their TV and iTV experiences could be better. Others just want to weigh in on the state of matter. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Vox Pop]
QOW: Productivity
Productivity can mean different things to different people. Some want better shopping. Others want a word processor, easier banking, tax filing, stock management, keep a callendar, or access a world of information from a library. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Vox Pop]
QOW: Need for TV Speed
Broadband Internet Access is hot. You can now get fast connections from your cable company, satellite provider, or phone company through DSL. These people have a need for speed. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Vox Pop]
QOW: Personal Video Recording is Cool
Recording your favorite shows to a hard drive, personal video recorders are quickly becomming popular with TiVo, ReplayTV, DISHPlayer, and soon, Ultimate TV. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Vox Pop]
QOW: Immediate Need--Fix WebTV
Some users have an immediate need for a quick fix to WebTV's technical problems. [Published 01/21/01, Written by Vox Pop]
