EMG Technology, LLC v. Apple, Inc.

Filing 209

MOTION to Change Venue by Apple, Inc., American Airlines, Inc., Dell Inc., Hyatt Corporation, Marriott International, Inc., Barnes & Noble, Inc.. (Attachments: # 1 Declaration, # 2 Exhibit A, # 3 Exhibit B, # 4 Exhibit C, # 5 Exhibit D, # 6 Exhibit E, # 7 Exhibit F, # 8 Exhibit G, # 9 Exhibit H, # 10 Exhibit I, # 11 Exhibit J, # 12 Exhibit K - Part 1, # 13 Exhibit K - Part 2, # 14 Exhibit L, # 15 Exhibit M, # 16 Exhibit N, # 17 Exhibit O, # 18 Exhibit P, # 19 Exhibit Q, # 20 Exhibit R, # 21 Exhibit S, # 22 Exhibit T, # 23 Exhibit U, # 24 Exhibit V, # 25 Exhibit W, # 26 Text of Proposed Order)(Rambin, Daymon)

EMG Technology, LLC v. Apple, Inc.

Doc. 209 Att. 14

EXHIBIT L

Dockets.Justia.com

by Brad Hill

IOOG DKS B
WORLDWIDE

lOG Books Wo r l d w i d e , Inc . An Int e r n a t i o n a l D a t a G r o u p Co m p a ny
Foster Cit y , CA · Ch icago, I L · Indi an a p o lis . IN · N e w York , NY

Contents at a Glance
· · · ·· · · · · · ·· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ··· · · · · · · · · · · · · ·· · · · · · · Il1trC7efttt:tiC711 1
l't1rt I: ~ttlrtil1l1 !yC71l1 ~t:rtltt:If ········· ································· ~
Cha p t e r I: What WebTV Is a n d ls n ' t C h a p t e r 2: E v e r y t h ing You Need Cha p t e r 3: Using th e Re m ot e a nd th e Key b o ar d Cha p te r 4: Th e Web Home Scre e n C h a p t e r 5: The TV Ho me Scr e e n II 27 43 59 81

Part 1/: Gettil1l1 CC7Il1(C7rttlbfe
Cha p t e r 6: Using E-Mail C h a p t e r 7: Cho o s i n g Favo r i t e s C h a p l e r 8: Explo r i n g Explore Cha p t e r 9: On a Que s l wilh Se a r c h Cha p t e r 10: Around Town a n d My WebTV

~5
97 119 127 141 161

Part III: Crttisil1l1 ulitlf WebTV...................... ......... ..... 173
C h a p t e r I I : Us ing Int erac tive Tele vis ion Cha p l e r 12: T h e Mu lt im e d ia We b Ch a p l e r 13: Meeting a nd Findi ng Pe opl e C h a p l e r 14: Creating Web Page s wit h WebT V Th e WebTV For Dummies Int e r net Direc to ry 175 193 205 2 19 0-1

Part If/: WebTV (C7r HC7ll1e t1l1ef Ftlll1i1lJ
C h a p t e r 15: Family Su rfing C h a p t e r 16: On line Learning a n d Homewo r k C h a p t e r 17: News a n d Finance Cha p t e r 18: Weath e r, Movie Di r e c t o r ies , an d Clas s ifieds C h a p t e r 19: S h o p Till You Drop ( t h e Rem o t e) C h a p t e r 20: Pu rs uing Yo u r Pa s s ion s

231
233 255 265 281 287 295

Part V: Ihe Part C7( Iens
C h a p l e r 21: Ten Tips fo r Bel l e r WebTVing C h a p t e r 22: My Ten Can't-Do-Wit h o u t Sit es

301
303 31 1

Index

319

8C7C7« Reqistration 111(C7rll1t1tiC711

8t1t:« C7( 8C7C7«

Chapter 1

Wh at WebTV Is and Is 't n
················································ In This Chapter
~ ~ ~

Using WebTV i n s t e a d of a c o m p u t e r D i s c o v e r i n g how WebTV w o r k s Finding o u t t h e b a s i c s of b e i n g a WebTV u s e r U n d e r s t a n d i n g th e Int e r n e t a n d t h e Wor ld Wide Web Unde r s t a n d i n g s o m e c r u c i a l te r m s

~ ~

················································
} f y o u ' re re a d i n g th e s e w o r d s , y o u h a v e e i t h e r a c q u i r e d a WebTV s y s t em ( c o ngrat ulatio ns!) o r are c o ns id e ring d o i n g s o . Either way. you a re

em b ar ki ng on a new adventu re and are on the fro nti er of an e n t i rely new

t e c h no logy for c o n nec ti ng p e o p le t o t h e d igita l age , You d idn 't t h i n k it was s u c h a b ig d e a l, d id yo u? T h e g r e a t p a r t is t h a t you do n 't n e e d to kn o w v e r y m u c h to p a r t i c i p a t e in t h i s e x c i t i n g d e v e l o p m e n t. But it d o es h el p to be a w a r e of w h a t you b o u ght a n d t o h av e a n s w e r s to a fe w ba s i c q u e s t i o n s , Don 't w o r r y, I d on 't ge t t e c h n i cal on y o u - at l e a s t not u n til I get t o t h e p a r t a b o u t r e ve r s e q u a n t u m
mechanics .

By t he way , in t h is c h a pte r, I t h row in a nu m b e r o f gee k-friendly wo r d s t h a t yo u may ha ve h e a rd on t he e ve n in g n e w s o r re ad in t he p a p e r. If you d o n 't kno w w h a t t h e y m e a n ( o r w hy p e o ple a re s o exci t e d a b o u t th e m ) , c r u is e t o t h e s e c t i o n in th is c h a p t e r titl e d ' So me Wor d s t o Know ( T h is Is Not a T e s t) "

Welcome to a New Era
Long, lon g a g o , in th e d ark a ge s o f t h e In te r n e t ( t h a t is , b e f o r e O c t o b e r 1996) , t h e o n ly way t o ge t on th e Int e r n e t was w ith a c o m p u t e r. Com p u t e r s w e r e u n u s u a l c r e a t u res w ith st r a n g e , t ro u bl e s o m e h a b i t s . Pe o p le wo u l d b u y c u t e c o m p u t e r p u p p i e s , o n l y to w a t c h t h e m g r o w up i n t o digital mo n s t e r s ,

72

Part I: Starting from Scratch

_

s h a r p - t o o t h e d a n d i n c a p a b le of b e i n g h o u s e b r o k e n . Well, m a y b e n ot th at b a d. But co m p u te rs a r e c o m p lic a t e d , no d o u b t a b o u t it , a n d c o m p lic a ti o ns te n d t o m u l t iply o v e r t i m e , l e a d i n g to f r u s t r a t i o n a n d wa s t e d e ffor t. An d th e e x p e n s e : A go o d m u l t i m e d i a c o m p ut e r t h a t s it s on a d e s k c a n co s t ma n y
t i me s as much as a n ew T V, or fiv e to ten t i m e s as m uch as th e co st of

WebTV e q u i p m e n t . P o r t a b l e c o m p ut e r s a r e e v e n mo re e x p e n s i ve . WebTV b r i n g s a n ew angl e i n t o t h e p i c t u re . With t he WebTV I n t e r n e t t e r m in a l o r Plu s Re c eiver, c o m p l exity a n d high c o s t a re left in th e d u s t (e v e n t h o ug h t h e n a m e Intern et te r m i n a l s o u n d s p re t t y co m p lex). WebTV is a p erf e ct s o l u t i on fo r pe o p l e w h o d o n 't c a re t o s p e n d ir r e t rie v a b le h o u r s ( d a ys? w e e k s ?) w r e s t l i n g with st u b b o r n s o f t w a re , finicky m o d e m s , a nd re b e l l io u s p r o g ram u p gr a d e s - n ot t o m e n t i o n pe o p le ( pe r h a p s t h e s a m e pe o p le) wh o wo u ld r a t h e r n o t g o u g e t h e ir b a n k a c c o u n t s for t h e pr ivileg e of bein g intimid a t e d by a m a c h ine . More t h a n a nifty pr o d u ct, WebTV m a y h a v e a p r o f o u n d e ffect on th e i n f o r m a t i o n age by un loc king t h e d igital d o o r s fo r n o n t e c h n i c a l , p r a cti c al folks w h o a re i n t e re s t e d in t h e I n t e r n e t b u t a re u n d e r s t a n d a b l y unwillin g t o i n v e s t hug e a m o u n t s of t i m e a n d m o n e y t o a c q u i r e it. So u n d like y ou ? Welcom e t o t h e new fro n t i e r.
If you 'r e alr e a d y a c o m p u t er u s e r ( l i k e me ), y o u still h a v e s e v e r a l go od re a s o n s w h y y o u m a y ha ve a c q u ired WebTV ( a ga in, like mo l) . WebTV isn ' t j u s t fo r be gi n n e r s . Here a re a few re a s o n s fo r co m p u te r-lite r a te, t e c h n i c al folks t o go fo r a WebTV s y s t e m :

".. WebTV is a way to a d d a s e c o nd In t e rn e t t e r m inal t o t h e h o u s e , with o u t
i n v e s t i n g in a second c o m p u t e r.

".. WebTV b r i n g s t h e In t e r n e t in t o t h e living ro om, w h e re g r o u p s o f p e o pl e c a n e n j o y it m o r e e a s i l y than th ey c o u l d wit h a c o m p u te r. ".. Surfing t h e Web t h r o u g h a TV is fun , p e r h a p s e s p e c i a l l y for p e opl e a c c u s t o m e d to s e e i n g Web i m a g e s s q u e e z ed t h r o u g h a re la ti v e ly sm all c o m pu te r m o n i t o r. With WebTV, y o u c a n s lo u c h a n d l o u n g e on y o u r c ou ch i n s t e a d of h u n c h ing o ve r a c o m p u t er k e y b o a rd . Using WebTV
se ems m o re rec r e a t io nal t h an us ing a c o m p u t er i m m ens ely for t h a t r ea so n alone .
V ' W e b T V Plus is m o re t h a n an Inte rn et d evic e -

and I enjo y it

it ex pan ds tel evisi on

vi ewing a n d pl a n n i n g d r a m a t i c a l l y. It' s a gr eat co m po n e nt t o a d d to y o u r TV s y s t em , e ve n if y ou 'r e n o t s u re wh e t h e r y ou w a n t th e Int e r n et features .

Chapter 1: What W ebTV Is and Isn't

13

Do I really hate computers?
No, I certainly don' t Alt hough I' m not saying nice t hings about t hem in this chapter, I' m irr evocably fascinat ed by computer s, and most of my fri ends think I spend to o much time w it h them. l a wn several comput ers and usually have at least one connect ed to the Internet at all t imes. Bei ng on such close t erms wi t h computers has given me a heightened appr eci ation for both th e w onder and f rustration they inspire. The poi nt is, WebTV isn't tryi ng t o replace compu t ers. It is, how ever, an alternative to the compu t er as an Int ernet vehicl e. As such, it solves the two biggest computer problems : difficulty and price. People who enjoy spending all their money for the aggravation land, admittedly, the rew ardsI of comput er s get w hat they pay for. On the otherhand, if you cast your lot with WebTV, it's smooth sai ling - right i nt o the digital age.

It's a Bird. lt's a Plane. No It's. . . .
We b T V p r o v i d e s th e same I n t ern et eve r y b o dy 's t al ki n g abo u t, o n l y o n yo u r t el e v i s i o n - w i t h o u t a pe r so na l co m p u te r. T he W e b T V sy s t em i n c l u de s a set - t o p b o x t h at sit s on t o p o f y o u r te le vi s i o n ( o r so m ewh er e n ear t he TV ), a r em ot e c o n t r o l , and an o p t i o n a l w i reless k eyb o ard f o r t y p i n g e-ma i l . (E-m a il is elect r o nic m ail, as yo u ca n see in th e "So me Wor ds t o Know . . . " sectio n n ea r t he en d o f t h is c ha p te r.) Th e h a n d h eld r em ot e co n t ro l i s all t h a t y ou need to s u r f t h e Web - t h a t i s, th e Wo r l d W id e Web - t h e m ost d azz l i n g p o r t i o n o f t h e I n t ern et. T h e set-t op b ox o f t h e f i r st v e r s i on o f W e b T V i s ca l l e d t he W e b T V I n t ern et t er m i n a l . Th e Plus b ox ( t he seco n d v er si o n o f W e b T V ) is ca l l e d t he Web TV Plus Recei ver. WebTV Pl u s h as th e sam e fun c t ion a l i t y as t h e o r i g i na l WebTV, plus s o m e new feat u re s i nsi d e th e set-t op b o x an d in t h e WebTV Plus Net w o rk se r vice. Fo r t h e m o s t p ar t , th e i n s t r u c t i o n s a n d t i p s t h at I g i ve y o u a p p l y t o bo th t he ba s ic an d Plus se r v i c e. Wh en di f fere nce s ex i st, I h ig h li gh t th em wi th ic ons l i ke t h e one n ex t t o t h i s pa rag r ap h . ( Cu t e, isn ' t it ?) Web T V Plus subs c r i b e r s get an e x t r a Ho me scr een and s o m e e x t r a featu res t h a t l i n k th e I n t ern et seaml e s s l y t o t el evis i o n p r o g r a m m ing - p l u s a f ast er m o d e m. Th e t wo se r v i c e s - We b T V Cl ass i c and WebTV Pl us - are d e p en de n t o n t h e set - t o p b o x, w h i c h means t h at th e o n l y w a y t o get W e b T V Plu s i s t o have a We b T V Plus Recei v e r. You ca n ' t sw i t c h fr o m b asi c ser v i c e t o Pl u s se r v i c e w i t h o u t b u yin g a WebTV Plus Rec e i ver. For I n t ern et n e w c o m e rs , WebTV is l i ke a b e g i n ne r ski s lo pe : gen tle and saf e. For t h e expe r i e n c ed Net iz e n (t h a t is , a fi ne, up sta nd ing me m b e r o f t he I n t erne t c o m m u n i t y), WebTV o ffe r s a r ec rea t i o n a l al t e r n a t i v e t o t h e r el at i v e l y sm all , g l a r i n g , in -you r-fac e c o m p u t er sc reen . Fo r t h e TV af i c i o n a d o , WebTV Plus f u r n i s h es a gr eat i n t e r f a c e be t w een y o u r tele v i s i o n , you r cab le

14

Part I: Starting from Scratch

_

s er v ic e (i f y o u ha v e c a b l e ), th e Int e r n et, a n d yo u r e y e b alls. In e i t h er ca s e , WebTV p r o v i d es ev e r y t h i n g you n e e d (e x c e pt fo r a p ho ne lin e a n d a TV s e t , whi ch y o u m u s t p r o v i d e ) r ig h t from t h e b egin ning . Th e s ys t em ta ke s ca re o f a ll log on d e t a i l s ( w he n y o u c o n n ec t t o t h e Int e r n et , y o u a re s ai d to b e loggin g on ) - n ot o r i o u s l y o ne of th e h a r d e s t p a r ts o f t he Int ern e t fo r co m p u te r us e rs , WebTV a l s o mak es th e Web, wh ich is inh e ren tl y c h a o tic
and dis o rgan i z ed , co h er en t by p r o v i d i n g m enus, d i rect or i es, t o p i c al sel e ct ions o f grea t Web s i t es, and a w a y to sea r ch for wh a t yo u w an t.

Alt ho u gh WebTV pr e s e n t s an o r g a n i z e d v e r s i on o f t h e Web , y ou d o n ' t ha ve t o s t i c k t o WebTV's p l a n , w h i c h is go o d n ews fo r Int e r n et v e t e r a n s wh o al re a d y know w h i c h s i t e s in t er es t t h em. Most of t h e Wo r l d Wide We b is a v a i l a b l e t h r o u gh WebTV j u s t as it is wit h a co m p u te r. Th e s y s t em e ven e v o lv e s au t o m a t i c a l l y as th e Web ch an ges - a n d t h e Web is c ha ng ing at a ma d d e n i n g p a c e . T e c h n o l o g ies a n d fe a t u r e s a re inv e n t ed a n d inc o r p o rat e d
co n t i nuo u sly, b u t yo u d on 't hav e t o go t o a sto re to bu y n ew soft w ar e as a

WebTV s u b s cri b er : Th e WebTV Ne t wo r k pe r io d ica lly u pd a t es yo ur t e r m i n a l, e n a b ling it t o d i s p l a y th e m o s t r e c e n t e n h a n c e me n t s t o t h e Web . We b TV u p d at es its elf p e r i o d i c a l l y by s e n din g s oftw a re up gr ad e s t h rou gh t h e ph on e lines a n d i n t o y o u r s e t- t o p b o x . T h e s e u p g r a d e s a re a c c o m p lis h e d a t t h e begi nnin g o f a WebTV s e s s i o n - an d o nly wh e n you initi at e a lo g-o n .
Such so f t w a re u pd ates ca n take 15 or 2 0 m i n u t es, w h i c h is in co nv eni en t if

y ou a re p l a n n i n g a qu ick s e s s ion to get y o u r e-mail , for e x a m p le. Not t o w o r r y - WebTV a l w a ys a s ks b e f o re b e g i n n i n g t h e up gr a d e , a n d y ou ma y a lw a y s d e c l i n e it . If y o u d o p a s s on t h e u p g ra d e , WebTV co nt in ue s a s king you e ve r y tim e y o u lo g on , until you finally a c c e p t t h e d o wnl o ad . ( T h is is a go od tim e t o cl e an o u t t h e r efrig e r a t o r.) WebTV Plu s o f f e r s a u n i q u e t y p e of u p d at e - a c o n te n t u p d a t e , n o t a o s o f t w a re u p d a t e . Y u c a n s e t t h e s y s t e m to re t r iev e u p d at ed TV listin gs fo r y o u r b r o a d c a s t a r e a (o r c a b i e c o m p a ny) ev e r y nigh t , a u t om ati c all y. Y u may o a l s o foreg o t h e a u t o m a t i c u p d a t e s a n d r e t r i e ve n ew listings m a n u all y wh en ev e r y ou pl e as e . I've p u t t h e c o m p l e t e i n s t r u cti o n s fo r u pd a t i n g TV listings b o t h a u t o m a t ically a n d man ually in Cha p t e r 5 .

WebTV and Computers
So if WebTV is n ' t a c o m p u te r, h o w d o e s it w o r k? Isn 't t h e Int e r n e t a co mp u te r n e t w o r k? (Ye s.) How do e s WebTV co n n e c t t o th e Int e r n e t if it' s no t a co mp ute r? Goo d qu e s t i o n s , if I d o s a y s o my self . Th e WebTV s et- t op box is a c o m p ut in g d e v ic e of s o r t s b ut n ot a p e r s o n a i c o m p u t er by a n y s t ret ch . It h a s c i r c u i t s
insid e . just lik e a c o m p u t er. But cars h av e co m pu te r c i rcu it s in t he m , and

Chapter 1: What WebTV Is and Isn 't
th ey a ren 't com p ut ers - neithe r are microwave ove ns. WebTV is a specialty d evi c e fo r get t i ng y ou o n t h e I n t e r n e t t h r o u g h y o u r l V. ( It c an ' t d r i ve y ou t o t h e st o re o r coo k yo u r d i n n er, t h o u g h .) We b l V is n e i t h er b e t t er n o r w ors e th an a co m p ute r; it's e as ie r in s o m e w a y s and lack ing in o t he rs . Table I- I o ut li nes several significant diffe renc es betwe en WebTV and personal c o m p u t e r s (o t her w i se k n o w n as PCs) .

15

Table 1-1
Pr os and Cons of WebTVand PC s

Differences between WebTV and PCs
Advantage Disadvantage

All the software you can ever use come s packaged right in the WebTV set -t op box and is automatcally updat ed i periodically by the WebTV Network service. There is no such thing as purchas ing new software from a store and then add ing it to your WebTV system . WebTV is devot ed to going online and viewing the Internet The Plus version of WebTV also provides TV listings and adds picture-in- picture capability to any TV. WebTV has a built -in modem (th e part t hat you plug your phone line int o and that connects to the WebTV NetworkJ .

The syst em is hassle-f ree. You never have to worry about purchasing software upgrades, doing manual install ations, or learning about new programs . WebTV is a dedicated, simple, inexpensive, one -stop answer to anyone who wants to get on t he Net. You never have to bother with choosing, installing, configuring, and trou bleshooting a new modem (a curse

' You can't play CD-R OM games, but the Web has games of it s own, as I describe in Chapter 15.

You can't do word processing, make a spreadsheet, or perform other tasks available on a comp uter. With WebTV Classi c, you can't use connection enhancements , such as ISDN modems , for greater Internet speed. However, just installing ISDN lines for

to computer users
everywhere).

a computer can cost
more than a WebTV system . WebTV upgrades are accomplished automatically, w it hout your having to do anything, know anyth ing, or (perish the thought l open the box. Yo u don't have to becom e a computer technic ian, which may be the last thing on earth you w a n t t o be. You can't make the system faster or better than it is. Fortunately, the system is already fast and good.
(co ntinue d)

16

Pa rt I: Starting from Scratch

_

Table 1-1 (continued)
Pros and Cons of WebTV and PCs Advantage Disadvan tage

WebTV doesn't have a lot of extra component features t hat add expense and diff i culty t o your experi ence. Although you can store letters and pictures in your e-mail box, no hard drive storage exists for collecting software programs .IYou can add a printer to any WebTV system.)

The lack of extraneous features keeps WebTV inexpensive and easy

to use.

Without a hard drive Ithe component on computers that stores thi ngsl you can't maintain a warehouse of games and other programs on the WebTV Classic system. The WebTV Plus Receiver has a built-in hard drive, but it holds only material sent automatically by the WebTV Network, not personal files, Can you think of one?

WebTV is much less expensive than a computer.

You don't have to dip into your child's college fund.

ISDNs t a n d s for I n t e g r a t e d Se r v i c e s Digital Networ k, in c a s e you w e r e w o n d e ring - s o m e t h i n g you re a lly d o n ' t n e e d t o wo r r y a b o u t .

How WebTV Works
WebTV is fairly new, The Wor ld Wi d e Web is fairly new . T h e w h o l e o n l i n e
revo lut ion has take n us all by su rp rise . So he re you have this new device in

y o u r h o m e , a n d y o u m a y no t h a v e a c l u e a b o u t w h a t y o u ' r e g e t t ing into. Hey, it's n o t a p r o b l e m ! Most p e o ple h a v e a million q u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e I n t e r n e t a n d h o w t o get on it , a n d t h e y d o n ' t e v e n know h o w t o b e g i n asking. So I do t h e as king for you - a n d t h e a n s w e r i n g , too, (I p r o m i s e to k e e p it u n d e r a million q u e s t i o n s , t h o u gh .)

Is Web TV the same as cable TV}
WebTV h a s n o t h ing t o do w ith c a b le, e v e n t h o u g h t h e s e t- t o p box looks s o m e w h a t like a c a b le c ha n ne l box. WebTV Classic d o e s n ' t r e c e i v e c a b l e o r TV s t a t ions, a n d t h e WebTV Classic I n t e r n e t t e r m i n a l i s n ' t in v o lv e d with TV re c e p ti o n . ( I t d o e s n 't i n t e r f e r e with r e c e p t i o n , e i t h e r.) WebTV w o r k s with

20

Pa rt I: Starting from Scratch

_

WebTV Plu s in t e gr a t e s t e l e v is i o n a n d t h e Int e r n et t o a grea te r d e g ree t h a n WebTV C l a s s i c , t h a n k s t o s o me s p e ci a l f e a t u r es. Th e Web TV Plu s Rece ive r c a n link y o u d i re c t l y t o Web pa g e s re la t e d t o t h e p r o gr am y ou 'r e wa tc h in g. T h e in t e gr a ti on of TV a n d t h e In t e rn e t m a y mak e it s e em as if yo u' re wat ch ing TV through t h e Web, bu t in fa c t y o u 'r e s i m p l y wa t c h i n g TV in t h e n o r mal fas hi o n w h i le s u r fing t h e Web. At p re s e n t , v e r y littl e s p e c ial fnt e r n et co n t e n t is e m b e d d e d in t h i s fas h io n . WebTV is n' t s u p p os e d to re p la c e TV view ing , e it he r - it ' s m e an t to e n ha n c e it. fn Ch a p t e r I I , I d e s c r ibe ma ny w a y s to mak e th e b es t us e o f t h e Int e r n e t a s a t e l e v ision " c h a n nel " t h a t augm e n t s r egul a r TV sh o ws .

The bifJ. question: Classic or Plus]
T h e mo s t c o m m o n q ue s tio n a m o n g p e o p le s h o p p i n g for WebTV is wh e t h er to go for a b a s i c u n it ( so m e t ime s c alled WebTV Cla s s ic) o r s p e n d t he ex t ra m o n e y for a Plus s ys t e m . Many We b TV Classi c us e r s a lso wo n de r wh e t h e r t o u p g r a d e to Plus . T h e a n s w e r in b o t h ca s e s d e p e n d s o n h ow mu c h yo u w o u l d v a l u e t h e f e a t u r e s b u n d led in t o WebTV Plus , mo s t o f w hic h a r e t e le v isi on
featu res as o p p o s e d to In t ern et f ea t u r es. H er e 's th e ru ndo w n:

" . WebTV Plus p rov ide s a s e c o n d Hom e s c re en t h a t is a ll a b o u t y o u r te lev is i o n re c e p tio n a nd TV p r o gr a m m i n g . (Cha p te r 5 d es c r i b es t h is d ist inct Home s c re en. ) " . WebTV Plu s d is p lay s TV lis t i n gs fo r y o u r a r e a o r ca ble p r o g r a mm ing from y o u r c a b l e c o m p a ny, c o mp le te w ith b r ie f s h o w d es c r i p ti o n s . So y o u c a n s e e, for exa mp le , w h o 's on The To n ight Sh o w o r wh ich Sei nfel d
r er un is on l a t e r.

" . WebTV Plus in t e gra t es te lev is io n p r o g r a m m i n g with re l a t ed Web si t es , e l i m i n a t i n g t h e n e e d fo r a lo t of Web s e a r c h i n g wh en it co m e s t o TV
t o p i c s. T h is in t egr ati on , ho w ever, is still som ew h at un develop ed , w i th

litt le cro s s o v e r c o n t e n t . Thi s feature s ho u l d get b e t t e r - mo re m a t u re over time.

" . WebTV Pl u s let s yo u ke e p a s mall t el evisi on wind ow in th e co r n e r of y o u r s c re e n w h ile s u r f in g t he Web , e v e n if y o u r TV do e s n 't h av e t he
p icture-in - p i c t u re featu re .

" . WebTV Plu s h a s a fas te r m o d e m , w h i c h p r o v i d es qui ck e r dis pl a y s o f Web s i t e s . " . WebTV Cla s s ic ha s o ne fe a t u re - Quickinfo , a c u s t o miza b le n ew s s u m m a ry - t h a t is m i s s i n g from WebTV Plus . It's a ni c e fe a t u re , a n d I d es c r i b e it u n f o r g e t t a b ly in C h a p t e r 10.

Chapter 1: What WebTV Is and Isn 't
T h e u p s h o t is t h a t WebTV Cl a s s i c is a n Int e rn e t d e v i c e t h a t u s e s y o u r TV, a n d WebTV Plus is a te lev ision d e v i c e t h a t a c c es s e s t h e I n t e r n e t . T h e s e a m l e s s i n t e g r a t i o n of t h e TV a n d t h e Web t h a t you g e t with Plus is v e r y c o o l ( y o u may c o n t r o l t h e w h o l e s h e b a n g from a s i n g l e h a n d h e l d r e m o t e )
but not i m p o r t a n t if you just w a n t an inexpensive w a y to get e-mail. Like-

21

w i s e , if y o u ' r e a p u r e Web s u r f e r w h o likes t o k e e p TV a n d I n t e r n e t a c t i v i t i e s s e p a r a t e , go for t h e b a s i c s y s t e m .

The World's Briefest Internet Primer
If y o u ' v e s p e n t s o m e t i m e on t h e I n t e r n e t , y o u d o n 't n e e d t o r e a d t h i s

s e c t i o n . But i l WebTV is y o u r first b r u s h with t h e o n l i n e w o r l d a o d y o u ' r e a b o u t t o w a d e i n t o t h e I n t e r n e t for t h e first t i m e , y o u may w o n d e r j u s t w h a t y o u a r e joining. Very few th ings in t his w o r l d a re b o t h as well p u b l i c i z e d a n d as u n d e f i n e d as t he In t ern et , a nd e ve n a f t e r s e e i n g hu nd r e d s of refe r e n c e s to
it in the news and in magazi nes, it's easy t o wonder, "Ju st w h a t e x a c t l y is

t h i s I n t e r n e t t h i n g ? " It's o n e of t h e b e s t q u e s t i o n s you c a n a s k as y o u v e n t u r e i n t o WebTV, a n d y o u ' v e c o m e t o t h e righ t p l a c e t o get t h e a n s w e r.

The foundation
T h e I n t e r n e t consists of m illions o f c o m p u t e r s con nected to each o t h e r o v e r

t e l e p h o n e lin es . It is e n o r m o u s and growing c o n s t a n t l y as new Int e rn e t c o m p u te r s ( c a l l e d servers) a r e a d d e d to t h e global network. You may be a c c u s t o m e d to thinking of a n e t w o r k as having a cen t r a lized h u b m a i n t a i n e d by w h a t e v e r organization r u n s t h e network. T h e Internet d o e s n ' t work q u i t e as y o u ' d expect, t h o u g h , b e c a u s e no o n e o w n s it o r is c h a r g e d w i t h t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for m a i n t a i n i n g it. It is t o o v a s t a n d d i s p e r s e d to be c e n t r a l i z e d , a n d t i n y po r t i o n s of it a r e ow ned by w h o e v e r ins t a lls a s e r v e r a n d links it to t h e Net. T h e In t e rn e t was n ' t built re c e n t l y, eve n t h o u g h it m a y s e e m new with its n e w f o u n d m a s s p o p u l a r i t y . T h e I n t e r n e t c o m p u t e r n e t w o r k was s t a r t e d d e c a d e s ago by t h e United S t a t e s D e p a r t m e n t o f Defense. T h e Net h a s a l s o long been used by a c a d e m i a to exchange r ese ar ch and info r m a t ion . Because t h e I n t e r n e t r i d e s on t h e s h o u l d e r s of g l o b a l t e le p h o n e c a b l e s , it q u i c k l y
became an international, nonpolitical network.

In t h e last few y e a rs, t h e exi s t e n c e o f t he In t e r n e t has s u d d e n ly c a u g h t t h e
imagi nation of the w i d e r pop ulat ion, whi ch h a d a lrea dy b e c o m e e n a m o r e d

w ith o n l i n e c o m p u t i n g t h ro u gh s e r v i c e s s u c h as Ame r i c a On line, ComptrServe, and Prod igy. T h e Inte rne t is m u c h m o r e eno rmous t h a n an o n l i n e s e r v i c e , a n d at t h e s a m e t i m e it is m u c h m o r e d i s o r g a n i z e d . ( R e m e m b e r, no c o m p a n y o w n s it, s o no o n e w h i p s it i n t o s h a p e . ) T h e I n t e r n e t is t o
an o n l i n e se r v i c e w h a t the W i l d West was to a f r o n t i e r t o w n .