Yahoo - IBM, OpenTV Combine Technologies to Enhance Television Set-top Boxes

Two other major players signed a deal right around the same time AT&T and Liberate did. Slightly different arrangement, as IBM is not a service provider. They do, however, make chips for STBs while OpenTV develops iTV middleware.

AT&T Broadband Clarifies Interactive Television Position

Interpret this as you will. I prefer to think that someone at Microsoft wasn't too happy about the Liberate deal...

MSc in Digital Television Management & Production @ University of Brighton

As far as I know, this is the first post-graduate program dedicated to interactive television. (Let me know if you've heard of others.)

In addition to the taught elements of the course, much emphasis will be placed on the practical development, both individually and in teams, of DTV products.

AT&T Signs Deal With Liberate

This story is covered elsewhere, but the spin in this article is the competition between Microsoft and Liberate. Consider:

Two months ago, AT&T, the nation's largest cable television provider, dealt what was seen as a blow to Microsoft, which has invested $5 billion in AT&T. The cable giant tabled plans to deploy advanced Microsoft-enabled cable boxes, instead saying it would expand TV features for existing DCT-2000 set-top boxes made by Motorola Corp.

Microsoft may be in new territory here. When Netscape introduced its browser in the early 90s, Microsoft already owned the desktop. In this case, Microsoft has little if any toehold in the iTV platform.

For some perspective on AT&T's power in this arena, take a look at Cahner's list of the top 100 MSOs. With AT&T dominating the top slot and another big player not far behind, there doesn't appear to be much room for Seattle's finest...

Linux4.tv : HOME

Linux-loving couch potatoes unite!

Thanks to Dave for the heads-up...

Yahoo! Groups : itvt-content

I belong to an online community devoted to iTV content development. There's a fascinating thread (requires subscription) on the nature of interactivity and the intersection of art and technology.

To sum up the discussion so far, interactivity must be more than adding additional information to an existing thread of content. Content is interactive when its very nature is influenced by the input of one or more people.

The application of new technologies does not, by default, make something interactive. New technologies can enhance our experiences but it takes great ingenuity to change them. (References to Citizen Kane abound.)

Liberate and SurfControl Bring Parental Filtering to Liberate's Premier Interactive Television Platform

I'm not a parent. No comment.

AOL Time Warner Forms ITV Squad

Details on AOL Time Warner's recent corporate reshuffling to address interactive television. If anyone is set up to deliver the complete package, these guys are...