Posted on 07/07/2013 9:53:29 PM PDT by Olog-hai
Microsoft is pulling the plug on MSN TV, a service formerly known as WebTV, as Apple ramps up its set-top box efforts.
The pioneering service, one of the first to offer Internet access via television sets, will shut down September 30, Microsoft revealed in an e-mail to subscribers and an FAQ posted to its Web site. WebTV, which was founded by Web entrepreneur Steve Perlman in 1996, was acquired by Microsoft for $425 million in 1997. …
(Excerpt) Read more at news.cnet.com ...
Wow surprised it took this long. I thought it was a great idea at the time. Heck my father loved it. But with XBox PS3..Boxxee..etc it was just an outdated concept.
Poor incorporation into newer technologies, looks to me.
Microsoft has always been behind the curve.
I didn’t know it was still around
I could not care any less about either.
Set-top box (STB) is a term hailing from the time when televisions were actually deep enough to support a box. Maybe they should call them set-next-to boxes.
I will get a call from a certain 85 yr old family friend. He and his wife have been using WebTV for years.
I’ve tried to move them to something else, but they have been resistant. ...and it’s not a financial issue. They could buy anything the want. Their WebTV is hooked up to a 60 inch screen in their 3 bedroom lakeview penthouse.
Well, I am MSNTVII, formerly WEBTV.
This is upsetting to me.
Never wanted a ‘real’ computer.
One lame reason is I would watch YouTube and Videos
all day - love to be entertained.
MSNTVII cannot open videos, etc. - yea!!!
Another is I would probably have to do ‘stuff’ for family, and a club I belong to - but have been able to beg off and say ‘I don’t have a ‘real’ computer.’
I receive and send email just fine, and can get sophisticated WEB pages when I use ‘Mobilize’ or something, not remembering at the mo. . .
Rarely ‘Google.’
Have been easily able to comment on Free Republic.
I’m sitting about 3 yards from the TV screen showing me the internet; a small cable box size MSNTVII monitor on top of the set - yep - no flat screen yet - feet up on an ottoman. Comfort.
Not hunched over a Notebook or the like - - -
Yep - truly a sad time for me.
Not looking at all forward to what may come. . .
I had webtv and they did have upgrades. Quite a few of them. They then came out with WebTV plus that had more features and it too had upgrades.
I used WebTV for 9 years and it was great for surfing the web, fAr cheaper than a computer. WebTV was $250 back when computers were $2000+.
Since when is a limitation a feature?
TV is obsolete. The whole concept of channels with programming on a schedule is completely brain-damaged.
You should be able to interact with whatever interests you — be it text or video (short or feature-long) — whenever it suits you. Anything else is a bug, not a feature.
I was one of the first that bought WEBTV, at least that’s what they told me when I cancelled it.....I LOVED it!!
Check out Google Chromebook laptops. $199 at Walmart. It’s like msn2tv. Works in the cloud. They do all the upgrades & safety work.
That’s where I got my start as well...sad to see it going!
An iPad, wireless router, and AppleTV will replace the functionality of WebTV and bring you into the 21st Century.
Actually, you don't even need a wireless router. If you purchase an iPad with cellular connectivity, you can be on the internet for $20/month. You only need the AppleTV if you want to project the image from the iPad to your television which is unnecessary. So you could be back in business with a cellular iPad for $459 plus $20/month for an internet connection.
Thank you all for replies.
It will have to go on back burner - we are now facing a most horrendous plumbing problem - - -
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