Sunday, March 14, 1999
Do you want your WebTV?
It surfs Internet, but without a computer
BY DAN KEATING
Knight Ridder News Service
No one ever accused me of being open-minded, so it's not surprising that I was pretty skeptical about WebTV. The system provides the Internet on your television, cheaper and easier to use than a computer, but not able to do as many things.
Why would you want to get a toy-like EasyBake oven when you can do so much more with a full-fledged range?
Then I gave it a try, and spoke to other folks who've come to love the WebTV (and are eager to tell the world how much they love it).
Miriam Kassenoff works at Dade County (Fla.) Public Schools and is giddy with enthusiasm about her WebTV.
“A year ago, everyone was laughing at me because I was so illiterate technically. Now I'm a major resource for the county on Holocaust Web sites. I'm still not computer-literate, though.”
It's not just for work. Like many other WebTV users, she's discovered the wonders of e-mail for keeping in touch with grown children from her home in Miami Beach.
“My children brag to their neighbors and retired friends that their mother knows how to do e-mail.”
In fact, a large proportion of WebTVs are purchased by the kids and given to their parents so they can keep in touch electronically, said Van Baker, the director of consumer research at Dataquest, a market research firm in San Jose, Calif.
Edgar Albert of Hallandale, Fla., has three sons with computers, so he uses the WebTV to e-mail them.
“It keeps the family together. It makes contact so easy. I like to create the greeting cards online to send them.”
Not all of Mr. Albert's e-mail is to loved ones, though. He sent 300 e-mails during the presidential impeachment process to the House Judiciary Committee weighing impeachment, other House members and then Senate Republicans.
“I used the computer when I was working in business. I find this a lot easier. I had no need for a lot of the features of the computer.”
And there's the key.
I had eyed WebTV and seen all the things it couldn't do: It can't run word-processing software for creating correspondence or reports, can't run family finance software, can't play software games, can't store documents, can't use a CD-ROM encyclopedia, can't crunch numbers — can't do so many things. Of course it can't do those things: It's not a computer.
It is an Internet appliance. That's the important thing to keep in mind.
For folks who haven't seen one, it's a small box (a little smaller than a VCR) that plugs into your television and into the telephone jack. It creates an Internet connection over the telephone line with its built-in modem and displays the results on the TV. (It can be set up with a VCR or cable descrambler box on the same TV.) It also has a wireless remote control and an add-on wireless keyboard.
As an appliance, it has two key functions: It can surf the Internet, and it can do e-mail. And it does them both pretty well. And because it only does those two things — this seems to be the most important point — it's easier to do those things than it is on a computer. You don't have to start up software or configure anything. You turn it on, and it connects to the Internet. You select the choice for e-mail, and it's there on the screen.
To supplement surfing and e-mail, it can save “favorites” (automatic links back to Web sites) and an e-mail address book. It lets you create “folders” to store the links in and organize the folders however you like. That's pretty much it for what it can do. It can download updates to itself, which tend to come every few months.
The WebTV Plus also has some enhancements for television viewing. It will download listings for your cable system every day with detailed schedules and show descriptions. The neatest part is that it lets you just select a show in the schedule and choose the “record” button. It'll automatically program the VCR to tape the program.
So the important thing for WebTV users isn't all the things it can't do, but the simplicity of using the functions it provides. You don't blame your toaster for not being a good blender.
Even with its straightforward approach, the WebTV can still be a little daunting to set up and start with. The first screen that appears on the television after it connects has a confusing array with too many choices. And WebTV pumps a lot of advertising at you when it starts up and while it's waiting for Web pages to load.
Some users who aren't computer types can have someone else set up the system and walk them through it a few times. Mr. Albert has found that his reward for recommending WebTV to his friends is that he gets to set it up and take them through a few lessons.
WebTV costs $99 to buy. The WebTV Plus is $199, with more television-related functions, a faster processor, better graphics and a faster modem. Then you pay a monthly fee of $20 for WebTV or $25 for WebTV Plus. The wireless keyboard, which seems like a necessity, is another $70.
I sure won't be throwing away my computer, but I have a lot more appreciation for what WebTV does well.
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