Cisco Moving On Set-Top Boxes
nevermindme writes "Cisco has agreed to plunk down a whopping $6.9bn for Scientific-Atlanta, hoping to take a major share of the set-top-box market and push video efforts. The networking giant will pay $43 per share in cash for Scientific-Atlanta ($5.3bn) and swallow $1.6bn in debt. With the buy, Cisco acquires one of the more dominant set-top-box makers. In addition, it pushes well beyond the data center to touch consumers where they live."
This story is almost 24 hours old... Cisco most certainly wants to integrate itself into every part of digital data transmission. Since there are alot of people watching "digital tv" it is a sensible purchase.
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Look at what else Cisco has done. They have a voip phone that integrates with Skype
http://www1.linksys.com/international/product.asp
If you get vonage, you often get a Cisco ATA box to turn your analog phone into a digital signal...
It is a great strategy for Cisco. They want to sell both parts of the package, the core routers for the Internet. DSL and cable modem concentrators for the central office. DSL and cable modems.
I wonder if they will keep the company name or roll them into Linksys as a consumer product. I also wonder how microsoft will react. They want to get a version of their OS on cable boxes.
Time will tell