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Microsoft and SBC Team Up on IPTV
rdurell writes "Microsoft is once again trying to get into the television market. This time they are teaming up with SBC Communications in a $400M deal to deliver television via IPTV through SBC's network. According to the article, Microsoft has spent $20B in its attempts to break into the market."
Wow, MS is paying that on a skeptical investment?
Here, our school district is having trouble paying for paper
SBC AND MS? Jee, hold me back.
Two of my favorite companies teaming up to bring me reality ( which, as near as I can figure, is populated by models. I wish I lived in reality ) TV, complete with watching habit tracking software and security flubs.
And should I have I have any problems, I can call SBC's amazing tech support. Maybe I'll get Dan, or David, or Gloria, all of whom english is a second language. Overpaid phone jocky being the first.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
Why not throw lots of money trying to get into another market? It worked with the xbox. Maybe they'll have to get someone to make the best damn show ever exclusively for their... IPTV network..
Have a little look-see at the babies and other companies SBC has gobbled up in recent years. Ma Bell is back in a big way baby!
Lets hate on them for a while. I'll start: "Their hi-cap support totally sucks!!!!"
Do you think this could possibly cause some of the cable companies to ally with other PVR makers against MS? Then again, many cable companies offer their own PVR now don't they...
Just what we need: the blue show of death.
If they can get the backing for their technology by a by a company such as SBC, with such an infrastructure, I'm afraid it could grab hold of it. Think MS and IBM in the time of MS-DOS and OS/2. And IPTV looks like a promising market, if some company with mega-capital doesn't follow Microsoft, we could see a growing monopoly. Too bad I don't have billions to throw around, otherwise I'd invest heavily here.
I for one do not welcome our new TV overlords. Remember, CRTs are already equipped with electron guns.
It will give the people who like it something to watch, and the people who don't like it will just have something else to complain about in their foil lined bunker...
Xaotik Designs
Electrical Power -- they could have computers only run under Windows Mills Power
Fashion -- Paris Spring Collection of Bill Gates' sweaters
Fiction -- wait, they already to that...("innovative?")
Film Making -- all digital films, but an EULA flash at the beginning of the movie
Power Tools -- wait, this is a conflict of interest, and would actually be useful
Agriculture -- They've already got lots of fertilizer, especially of the bovine variety
Pharmacuticals -- Given their track record of anti-virus protection in cyberspace, expect this to be a real winner
Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds.There upon the rainbow is the answer to a neverending story
It gives the "Blue Screen" special effect an entirely different meaning...
"Who says nothing is impossible? Some people do it every day!" - Alfred E. Neuman
"Honey! Turn the TV off! I'm trying to download the lastest Linux Distro!"
Eureka Science News - automatically updated
If this is successful and is paid by the user by use and/or by channels used, I might be inclined to use this service.
Also given that it has a Linux client.
Oh wait...
...this bring about the change to IPv6 that much sooner? A few million TV-IPs is just what we need to make sure we address responsibly. Think of all those TVs hooked up to your local pipeline, DSL speeds will be amazing...SBC can't even keep a decent DSL speed in a college town in AR, wtf is this going to do to us?
-- the only good thing the French ever did was two chicks at one time
"It gives the "Blue Screen" special effect an entirely different meaning..."
MS + TV = Blue screen joke. Tee hee ha ha giggle giggle snort.
"Derp de derp."
the third item is http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/20/224 5223&tid=129&tid=218
Iowa Public TeleVision has been around a while, after all.
Wait, you mean this a different IPTV?
Man, what a great acronym
IPFreely?
IPU?
IPUP WeAllP!
For a golden night, showered with passion, it's IPTV!
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Well .... they kind of already have a killer show that is exclusively an Internet program. Though it is available on DVD. I know many, many people dislike all that is the Microsoft Borg, but I laughed so hard at Red vs. Blue that it kind of questions sanity.
While I know that Red vs. Blue isn't offically a truly sanctioned Microsoft product, do you think they didn't at least give a nod to the rabid lawyers to keep from destroying it in it's entirety? Also, since they are such big Halo (and by Proxy Microsoft) fans anyway, do you really think they'd give the rights to stream it as a TV program to anyone else?
Heck, I'm interested in this right now, as I'm currently an SBC DSL subscriber, if it gets me away from my evil and bastardized cable company. I may be clinically insane, but at one point last year I was talking to VC about starting my own cable company for just my subdivision and maybe the one next to it. That's how mad I was at them.
However, reality eventually set it ..... man do you know how expensive gear to decode then re-encode TV broadcast from air and sat is right now? Not to mention license fees for all the stations you want to offer on the network. I would have been, like, the UPN Cable Company because that was the only channel I think I could have even begged into throwing me a bone to be on the network.
So sad, so sad. TV started out free, paid for by advertising, with which I was very very fine. You want me to watch a soap commercial to laugh at Gilligan? Hey, fine, no problem. Now, I pay more for freaking TV than I do for internet access, telephone service, trash service, property taxes, housing and groceries combined!
This has officially degenerated into a rant. I apologize and will end it now. Thank you for your optical time.
"Genius may shine aloof and alone, like a star, but goodness is social, and it takes two men and God to make a Brother."
Will we be able to get the signal on our computer? (Paying the monthly fee of course.)
How much do you want to bet Firefox is mysteriously "unsupported" if it is possible?
My sig would have been a lot cooler if
...the joke was that we should buy MCI so we could FORCE someone to buy our transport devices (OC-192). MCI was the target.
The world we live in dictates that you can only sell what others will buy. I dount Bill's ability to sell IPTV, so there goes IPTV.
What got me here was that $20 Billion would have bought MCI in, like, 1996. Now?....
668: Neighbour of the Beast
My first instinct is to scoff and laugh at this, but then again, I scoffed and laughed when I heard that Microsoft would be developing a gaming console.
Lets face it, Microsoft have a lot of cash lying about, and they're not stupid - if they want it badly enough, they'll get in on the market. Which isn't entirely a bad thing, competition is a good thing, as long as they behave.
Plus, with another TV provider, maybe there'll finally be something decent on to watch.
Does this have anything to do with that new Sewage To The House initiative?
There are times I'm glad I don't watch TV, and with the prospect of the future of TV being controlled by Microsoft's shitty DVR products now is one of them. That and who the fuck would pay $80+ a month to pointlessly chew up 5 hours of their life _every day_? I'm not suggestuing you do anything radical like go outside, but something even slightly interactive might be a good start.
Beep beep.
If I was in Microsoft's shoes, I'd want to get out of the operating system as quickly as possible too.
I can't really blame them, after all, they may as well diversify because they're losing ground left right and center. I imagine that they'll want to stream public executions of software pirates.
They should get into films like Sony - now that's where corporate evil would be appreciated.
Si tacuisses philosophus mansisses. If you had kept quiet, you would have remained a philosopher.
SBC and MS - both monopolies
Yes, I know there are other telcos, but none of the incumbent (eg ones that descended from or bought out the original bits of the AT&T/Bell monopoly) telcos actually competes in any signifigant manner with each other for any wireline phone service.
Everyone knows why MS is evil - you can read more about why SBC is evil at http://michigantelephone.mi.org/
Maybe my head is swimming in too much IP--er, intellectual property--matters, but that's what I thought at first. "Intellectual Property Television."
Then it occurs to me, why not? With the Broadcast Flag in play the slogan could be "Welcome to the new ownership class. We 0wn you."
Would there be a EVLA (End Viewer License Agreement)? Would people that devise new, analog and/or digital delivery schemes be barred by algorithmic patents?.
News at 11
An interesting side effect of IPTV, BPL. Wait, is that BPL is an interesting side effect of IPTV. Argh! I've given myself an ice cream headache. Let me start over again.
BPL (Broadband over Power Lines) looks to allow your electricity provider to offer you other services, namely internet access. With IPTV they can now also offer you TV over the power lines as well. Who needs cable, satellite or telephone services?
Frankly I welcome the new Power Transmission Owner Overlord Emperor, Yeah!
Unfortunately, I'm currently mad at my PTOOEY. Evil, pure evil I tell you. But what are you going to do? I'd set up a generator and feed power back into the grid just to spite them. But I can't .... NDA and all ....
Oh well. I'm going back to sulking now, thanks.
"Genius may shine aloof and alone, like a star, but goodness is social, and it takes two men and God to make a Brother."
or your TV suddenly shutting off, freezing up, require hardware upgrades/service packs to watch certain TV shows.
Power to the Penguin!
switch it to an input source that has nothing connected then, I get a nice blue screen here doing that, doesn't have any of that nice confusing white writing on though unfortunetly.
mehe (n/t)
I just don't get how digital cable as it is today isn't good enough. It does everything I need it to do, and the built-in DVR makes it even better. Why is anyone even pursuing TVIP? I suppose that I just don't understand.
Later,
-Slashdot Junky
.
Landfill Mining Co.
Managing the (Un)natural Resources of Tomorrow
i hope this starts to look like a real discussion thread from the outside.
great discussion
I totally agree with you
I do not agree with you.
After getting ass raped with broken glass and chainsaws by SBC for many years I finally told them to get f*cked and I took a pair of bolt cutters and a screw driver to my lines. I physically cut the wire at the boxes and removed the boxes from the walls, then standing on a milk crate, I cut the dangling wires at the poles as high up as I could reach. They now dangle cut, swinging in the wind, at my home and at my place of business. I operate totally from cell phone alone now, I have no land lines, no POTS lines.
I would rather take a bullet in the head than connect to SBC in any form for any reason, ever.
However, RR has notified people in this area that RR voip will be available in this area within a few weeks. When that does happen, I plan to have RR voip installed at my office and home. I do quite well operating on cell phones only. Voip would just make it easier to use all my old POTS equipment that is gathering dust, fax, tad, 900mhz cordless, etc... (Not to mention that old POTS phones are a LOT easier to hold on your shoulder, can't do that with a flip phone!)
This story was already posted, almost a month ago on Oct 20.
would you like sinkholes with your tv
Build Your Own PVR/HTPC news, reviews, &
so it must be evil !!
Don't MS already have some deal with NBC? What is "MSNBC"? Are they actually merged, or is it some partnership thingy between MS and NBC? Is this going to make them MSNBCSBC?
Honey, I shrunk the Cygwin
Does someone want to tell them that TV's passe before they spend another 20 billion. Geez. They're thinking about getting out of the MSNBC deal while they do this, oh, right, it's two different divisions not talking... so much for Microsoft oOfice integration.
Anyone seen my jagged little pill?
...unless it is buggy as all hell and has a not so optimal interface. Microsoft has a tendency to shoot itself in the foot that way.
Bill very well knows this and that is why he behaves like a self-effacing bully, beating up other companies to steal the innovations that Microsoft themselves couldn't make. Though he probably considers this taking full advantage of the market
"Lets hate on them for a while. I'll start: "Their hi-cap support totally sucks!!!!""
Don't you mean, knee-cap support? Because that's were they hit you.
"Lets face it, Microsoft have a lot of cash lying about, and they're not stupid - if they want it badly enough, they'll get in on the market. Which isn't entirely a bad thing, competition is a good thing, as long as they behave."
Better hope they don't get into the sex industry. Having your condoms blue screen would be terrible.
"That's like paying more for sugar free cookies. Like it costs them MORE to leave it out..."
Actually...it does.
Microsoft keep trying to break into whatever market makes money. I think we will soon see the title "Porn over IPTV" (PoIPTV) push by microsoft.
you might ask, we already have "Porn over IP" (PoIP), why would microsoft want to do that. Afterall, they are a "innovative" software company, that they would do anything (ethical and unethical) to break into the market that makes money.
mod me flamebait if you like, this is just how I feel.
I'm from Iowa, and here, IPTV = Iowa Public Television. I was very confused when I first read this headline! Microsoft is about the only thing that could make Iowa Public TV worse.
If it's not one thing it's your mother.
IPooTV for your ILoo.
microsoft is wise to throw some of the cash they generate at new technologies where they can be a monopoly for the forseeable future... the nice thing about being the biggest is if you're loosing one battle you can open up a dozen new fronts and change the rules of the game...
Get your torrents...
My "saga" (the name was given it by one of the more competent SBC employees I talked to) will be even more incomprehensible unless you know that SBC Illinois, SBC Wisconsin, and SBC Yahoo! DSL Internet are served by three separate toll freee numbers and three distinct bureaucracies. Here goes:
...innumerable questions... ."what operating system do you use" "I have a Macintosh running OS X" "do you plan to run more than one computer on this DSL connection?" "yes" "How many?" "uhhh...." etc. etc. "Your new phone number will be 555 - 1234. Thank you for choosing SBC Yahoo Nike Sear Roebuck Internet Service with a Cherry on Top. How did you like my service today, on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being most satisfied?" "(sigh) 5, but I gave the last guy a 5 and he got it wrong. Can I just give you his 5?"
1) Move to Illinois from Wisconsin, both have lines owned by SBC. (Having had nightmares getting 3rd party DSL working I capitulated.) Call SBC number listed on phone bill to inform them of the move. "Oh, that's handled by a different region, here's the number, but be sure and call us back so we can have the forward set right on your old number"
2) Call second number, order DSL and POTS effective ASAP. Answer all sorts of stupid questions, of which the most irritating is "what operating system do you use?" "all of them" "no which one really?" "linux" "I have to put something" "linux" "sorry sir, which operating system, WIndows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, spam spam spam?" "Macintosh OS X" "OK" OK, so far everything according to spec at least, if a bit irritating. "Thank you for choosing SBC Yahoo General Mills Procter and Gamble Internet Service with Sugar on Top. How did you like my service today, on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being most satisfied?" "5, thanks"
3) Oops, can't call Wisconsin back with the forwarding number, they didn't give me my new phone number. Better call back and get it. "Sorry sir, they did not complete your order. There is no order pending for service at that address" "Are you SURE?" "Yes sir" "I just placed it, maybe it hasn't gone through the system to your terminal yet?" "No sir, the order was not completed. We'll have to start over again" "(sigh)"
HINT: you can see where this is going, can't you?
4) A few days pass. My cel phone voicemail gets a confused call from the SBC install people. We have two install orders but you have only one line. Did you have an order pending to install the other line?
5) Verify existence of dial tone. Call SBC, assure them that I only want one line, and have dial tone, would like ot know the number on it. "It's 555-9090" "Are you sure that 555-9090 is installed and 555 - 1234 is pending?" "Yes sir" "Absolutely sure?" "Yes sir" "I suppose I have two DSL orders pending too, right?" "Yes sir, probably so" "So I should cancel the one for 555 -1234 because the one for 555-9090 is correct" "Yes sir" "I would hate to cancel the wrong one. Are you sure?" "Yes sir, your connection on 555 - 9090 is definitely now live. Thank you for choosing SBC Yahoo Nike Merrill Lynch Pearce Fenner & Smith Internet Service with Whipped Cream on It. How did you like my service today, on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being most satisfied?" "(sigh) 5, but I gave the last lady a 5 and she got it wrong. Can I just give you her 5?"
6) Call the separate DSL number, tell them the story, and cancel DSL on 555 - 1234, leaving order pending on 555 - 9090. This was my mistake. As they say in the chess reports, "???". I have caller ID on my cel phone. I should have checked. Of course my number is 555 -1234, the one I cancelled. Also call Wisconsin and give them the bogus forwarding number.
7) Get email that inbound calls aren't reaching me. Try the caller ID thing. 555 - 1234.
The sickening feeling in my stomach that starts to appear does not forebode adequately, that in a few months I'd be getting threats from collection agencies. But I'm getting ahead of myself....
8) Call Wisconsin and unbogi
mt
Ok the downside is that Microsoft extends it's monopoly. The upside is that it serves as a catalyst for the phone company to speed up it network (ie fiber to the home). The other plus is that it creates more competition in the cable TV/satellite market. Now the other downside is that there is currently no viable open source or business alternativeson the market today. But since the service providers are upgrading there networks there is nothing to technically preclude them from offering or allowing alternative service. In any case things will get very interesting.
Ok so there is upsides and downsides of Microsoft's IPTV The downside is that Microsoft will extend it's monopoly. The upside is that IPTV will serve as a catalyst for service providers to speed up their networks (ie fiber to the home). The plus is that IPTV will provide more competition and lower prices. But the other downside is that there is currently no viable OSS or commercial IPTV in the US today. This said there is nothing technically to preclude the service prodvider from offering a alternative. Let's remember however that the FCC ruled that carriers do not have to allow competitors on their networks. In the end however I think this will probalbly prove good for consumers.
I don't have cable right now, but I do have SBC DSL, and I would consider using this service if it allowed me to choose the channels I wanted to subscribe to, included a TiVO-like service, and cost less than cable would.
I thought Steve Cramer and co are migrating to
India!! Why are they doing this sin ?
What, no book pitch?
Time Warner Cable is already offering Digital Phone (VOIP), Cable, Internet Acess, and rumored cell phone access supporting multi-media content. Thus, seeing that the telcos feeling the pressure of competition it is only natural to see two different network providers compete in the same arena of utility service and entertainment.
Give if 4 years. Soon you won't notice the difference between TWC, COX Cable, and the Telcos. They will all be wrapped up in the same industry with the exception of the technology they use behind the scenes.
Why yes, I do work for TWC.
Life is not for the lazy.
In the mid- to late-90's, Bellsouth tried an over-the-air subscription TV service. It used microwave technology which required a line-of-site location (which was a big problem for lots of folks). There were (and still are, I think) lots of shiny little antennae at the top of trees around Atlanta. People who had the service loved it. But, it wasn't profitable and Bellsouth pulled the plug. The costs of entering the TV distribution market are so high. Since MS has a 10-year commtment, perhaps they and SBC can make a go of it.
Fibre to the home is what I'm excited about in this SBC deal.. look at how much money SBC just committed to Alcatel to provide the FTTH gear!
I'm doubtful the MS IPTV stuff will work - look how long they've tried to sell a cableco their cable tv product. 20 billion, is the number I'm seeing. But they have zero tv ip real world experience.
I'm sure sbc will embrace linux with their iptv product just the way they support linux with their dial up and dsl account. Not even a choice on their tech support menu.
Can't wait to have more trash tv pushed to my house.
sbc just announced too that they will lay off 10,000 jobs by the end of 2005.
bet their stock is going up now. they'll keep bringing those jobs to india though.
I personally think this is just an attempt to get Microsoft Janus on televisions. I imagine that watching IPTV will be much like the title segment of "The Outer Limits" television show.
-Valen
Microsoft said in an announcement, "We have a catalog of 20 years of speeches by Bill Gates and Steve Balmer, the world's largest! This catalog allows us to leapfrog existing broadcasters in the premiere year of the station." Industry insiders hailed Microsoft's bold stategy as visionary and mendaculous.
Not only is Red vs. Blue sanctioned, it is specifically mentioned in the Halo 2 user guide as part of the "7th column", which will help Bungie's goal of "World Domination".
Read it and weep.
...MS and SBC are also working on ways to deliver water, heating gas, and electricity via IP.
Laugh all you want, but in Mexico, they already control most of the cable TV market and the picture does freeze quite regularly. Plus, Bill Gates owns 7% of Grupo Televisa, Mexico's biggest media group.
and this story is being duped. http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/20/224 5223&tid=129&tid=218
I know that nobody remembers what happened the last time SBC and MS tried to do this. It was 8 or 9 years ago... SBC and MS teamed up to build an "on demand" network in Richardson, Texas. They worked on it for a long time, spent lots of money, and failed.
So what, that was a long time ago and technology has advanced. Yep, but it wasn't the technology that failed. MS simply decided to take their marbles and go home. Called it a "change of strategy" and quit. Bill Gates stopped taking Ed Whitacre's phone calls. MS left SBC on the hook for about $100 million. They also left SBC in the position of having to publicly apologize to Richardson, Texas.
So, now they are doing it again. Only this time they are doing it with IPTV. Did you notice how many TVs you can have on at once with their planned network? Two (2), no more than *TWO*. Even the satelite folks have learned that lesson.
People have more than 2 TVs. They like to have them on watching different TV shows. Supporting only 2 TVs means they can reach only a limited percentage of potential customers. Too bad they don't want to spend the money to build a real network.
These *are* the same folks that randomly disconnect all their business DSL customers. No notice. No schedule. Just force every customer to reset their routers when they notice they are no longer connected. Nice folks. They treat business customers that way, you know how they treat regular customers.
Then there is MS to think about. Why haven't they been able to get into the TV business? Why isn't there a version of Windows running every set top box in the world? Why have they spent $20 billion on the market and have nothing to show for it?
Simple really, the cable companies are too smart to let MS get control of their business. They have refused to use MS in set tops because they don't want MS dictating terms to them the way MS dictates to the PC manufacturers. They don't need to give MS their money so they don't. I'm sure MS resents that a great deal.
So, why SBC and MS? SBC is now losing 6 to 8 percent of their customers per year. That's down from 2 percent per quarter. They have lost about half their customers over the last few years. SBC is desperate. SBC is in danger of going out of business. (Not that Ed Witacre and the rest of the executives give a damn, SBC owns most of Cingular.) MS desperately wants into the TV market. MS is desperate enough to go into business with a loser like SBC and SBC is desperate enough to go into business with MS.
Desperate companies take desperate actions. To bad SBC is only taking half steps toward reality. They need to do what Verizon is doing and build out fiber everywhere. Then they can compete with the cable companies. Until then, SBC is, and will remain, the incredible shrinking telecommunication giant.
I am such a satisfied SBC customer that I have considered moving out of Texas just to get away from them.
Stonewolf
Leave Iowa Public Television ALONE!!! http://www.iptv.org/
--Good morning fellas; Hand me that thing; Boy, this work's hard; Guys, break's over.
you are just jealous that Microsoft is trendsetting once again. It seems that the conglomerats are pushing to get the Fiber Optic lines layed... Go Microsoft and SBC! If they will spend the dough to do this, the consumer can suck it up cheap! amen , praise the Lord.