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Broadband Alternatives to WebTV?

Posted by Cliff on from the "come-into-my-parlor" dept.

tlon asks: "A friend recently approached me asking if there are any hardware alternatives to WebTV that allow for high speed internet access. For the unaware, WebTV is a dial-only solution, and does not allow for broadband. While there are several promising digital dish solutions cropping up, I've found none that leverage high speed cable networks. What set-top solutions are available for the computer illiterate consumer that allow access via a broadband network (aka Cablemodem). Perhaps some of these solutions leverage Linux on the back end?"

25 comments

  1. Forget surfing the internet from your TV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The interface is going to always be clunky.

    Get DSL or cablemodem and buy a PC (or Mac). Experience the web the way it was meant.

    Through telnet.

    1. Re:Forget surfing the internet from your TV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree. It is much more sane to ask how to watch TV on a computer monitor. The screen you have in your living room should be a large computer monitor. Then you can watch TV, surf the web, and in the near future expect an open-source PC-based TiVo-like recorder if you'd accept to have a cheap tower with a large HDD running next to your TV.

    2. Re:Forget surfing the internet from your TV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not to mention that the internet is about a lot more than just the web!

      That's what I never could understand about set top boxes. I don't want to be stuck with just web browsing and e-mail.

    3. Re:Forget surfing the internet from your TV by hether · · Score: 1

      But what if you're someone who DOES just want email and web browsing? Some people do you know. And the TV type option, with a remote, seems a lot more comfortable for the technologically impaired.

      --

      Most people would die sooner than think; in fact, they do.
    4. Re:Forget surfing the internet from your TV by Hector73 · · Score: 1

      Actually, its surprising enjoying to sit back on a couch or in bed and surf the web.

      WebTV -> The greatest porn finding machine ever invented.

  2. They used to have broadband WebTV's by qurob · · Score: 0

    In a few hotels. Think it was just test markets though. Each room had a WebTV on Ethernet, and a T1 or whatever went to the hotel. Maybe you could scoop one of those boxes up and rig it up to a Linksys router?

  3. AOL Set Top Box by Ledge · · Score: 1

    http://extratv.warnerbros.com/dailynews/cool/06_01 /aoltv.html

    --
    If it ain't a Model M, it's a piece of crap.
  4. Saw a story about this the other day by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Wired ran an article about this, while it was primarially centered around the failure of internet appliances such as the I-Opener, ePods, Audrey, Sony eVilla and Virgin Webplayer, it offered some good insight into the future of web devices and broadband.

    A portable web tablet or accesing the web through HDTV never looked cooler, just a shame no one is making a profit doing it.

  5. Dish PVR 701 by moosesocks · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Sometime in Jan-Feb 2002, DishNetwork will be releasing it's new set-top box, the DishPVR 701. It will be a TiVo like unit with webtv functionality built-in. It will have HD outputs (it's key selling bullets) as well as ethernet connectivity, a 120 gb hard drive, possibly have USB ports, AND will be linux-powered.

    Preorders being taken

    --
    -- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
  6. 3com Audrey by cymen · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Check out the Audrey but it was end of lifed by 3Com so yadda yadda. TigerDirect.com was selling them off for $100 so you can probably pick one up on eBay. You'll need a USB network adapter. The Audrey runs QNX and can be upgraded. TigerDirect has some other interesting devices too (like some MSN thingy right now?) so look around there.

    Unfortunately surplus seems to be the best bet as no sane company is producing such devices at this time... AFAIK, YMMV, etc etc etc (god I hate this stupid disclaimers)

    free rant:
    Why do we feel the need to use all these disclaimers? Shouldn't any intelligent person recognize that anything one says is ones opinion unless it is explicitly backed up by fact? Wouldn't we just note the facts and if no notation is made there are no facts so it is obviously a personal opinion? Does this have something to do with the lawyers? Argh!

  7. Get an IPAQ IA-1 and USB ethernet adaptor by Llama+Keeper · · Score: 2

    For Christmas I am getting both sets of Grandparents and Compaq IA-1 w/ USB ethernet adaptor and a DSL connection. This way they get e-mail and the ability to surf the web without calling me 2 to 11 times a day for tech support like with a PC. I picked the boxen up for $99 a pop from Tiger Direct last weekend. Just got then yesterday. They are sweet little instant on devices. Get one if you can.... or e-mail me I'll sell yah my last 2.

    LLAMA

    --


    Rule of Life Number 2: Remember, it can all go to hell at any minute. --Jimmy Buffet
  8. nasty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    tacosnot all over my face!

  9. dreamcast? by toast0 · · Score: 2

    well... you could get a dreamcast with a broadband adapter (good luck finding a broadband adapter for a decent price, but...) and with the proper browser disk (some are downloadable) you could use that to surf the web.... and play video games when you get bored of the web

    --
    Need a Catering Connection
  10. NIC by Gill+Bates · · Score: 1

    Take a look at the NIC. It's a relatively inexpensive 'internet appliance' that runs Linux off the CD-ROM.

  11. Why WebTV is worthless junk. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've used TV's for displays before. The resolution is truly awful. (Well below the old VGA standard of 640x480.)

    Why you can browse the web on a TV, don't expect to be able to read anything.

    Either get a LCD display based unit, or get a cheap low-end linux computer with a half-decent monitor. (Estimated cost: Less than $100 including the monitor, harddrive, ram, computer, keyboard, mouse, case, network card, etc.)

  12. x-box??? by ryusen · · Score: 1

    well not really, but i think that's where ms is headed with x-box... it's already got the pc internals, a striped down os, an ethernet connecor... it just needs software really (.net??)
    ingenious really... if you're willing to wait a few years... heck sony might be doing the same with ps3...

    --

    I believe sex is highly over rated... unless it involves me
  13. Doomed with the dotcom crash.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was going to work for an unspecified dotcom on something like that, except even better.

    They have since gone under. Which is too bad, because it was a cool project.

  14. PS/2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just tell him to wait for the PS/2 Broadband Adaptor that's slated for release next Christmas.