A while back, former HotWired columnist David Kline wrote an essay in which he longed for "push-button Net access." In it, he discussed a fictional consumer device that let you access the Web so easily that anyone could do it. No configuration or maintenance - just hit the power and you're up and running.
The future may be here.
We played with the new set-top box from WebTV recently and, with a few exceptions, it makes good on Kline's desires. Conceived by former Apple engineers and designers, and licensed to both Sony Electronics and Philips Consumer Electronics for production, the device is - in a word - simple. It brings Internet access to your TV monitor, letting you toggle between channel surfing and Web surfing without leaving the couch.
Since WebTV provides the Internet access, as well as the technology, configuration is a snap. Just enter a credit card number and find a local-access phone number (it's even easier than installing AOL).
After that, surfing the Web is as easy as clicking the power button on the remote control. A login screen will tell you that you're "Accessing the Web," and a minute later a WebTV homepage appears, offering access to your email, favorite sites, and instructions. No need to configure an IP address, mess with PPP or Winsock-like options, or give a moment's thought to OS or browser upgrades.
The browser itself is sharp. Everything is rendered in a TV-ready font that's surprisingly readable. GIF animations work - as do tables, forms, and adjustable font sizes. But advanced features, including frames, plug-ins, Java, and JavaScript, aren't supported, so some sites will be partially inaccessible.
Navigation is handled by a remote control, with arrow keys for jumping from link to link, and scroll buttons for moving up and down within pages. A "Recent" button provides an interface that all Web browsers could learn from - a graphical thumbnail of the last dozen pages from which a user can choose.
It's fast, too. With the browser in RAM and a 33.6Kbps modem, the box performs faster than most desktop machines. Connectivity is provided by WebTV, and we haven't received a single busy signal yet - then again, the network is mostly empty right now. The box should hit the streets by Christmas season in the US$250 range, with an optional $69 keyboard. Unlimited service is about $20 a month.
Still, I get the nagging feeling that it all misses the point. Yes, the Web is about surfing and having a globe-spanning virtual library at your fingertips. But the Web is also about participation and collaboration, neither of which is offered via WebTV. Early designs for cable modems shared a similar mentality. Ten megabits to the home, and 14.4Kbps back to the head end - fast enough for consumers to sit on the couch and click buttons, but no more.
The Web lowers the bar for publishing, allowing anyone to participate in what the medium does best: personal storytelling. This need not be mutually exclusive with ease of use. Obviously, WebTV is not aimed at the kind of people who read and write columns like this. But it will serve as a powerful introduction to the online world for the vast majority of consumers. Let's just hope they get to be producers, too.
