Success breeds success, and Hewlett-Packard Co, liberated by the success of its core businesses from the worry of wondering where the next research and development dollar, is investing heavily in all the technologies associated with the Information Superhighway, so much so that it is already being tipped as one of the out-and-out winners from the promised multimedia revolution. It has now announced plans to develop a ready-to-install end-to-end cable television modem system for hybrid fibre and coaxial networks, and pulled all the elements of its interactive television system together under the name Kayak. The planned cable-modem system will give personal computers the same kind of interactive access that traditional modems offer, but will run very much faster. The idea is to enable cable operators to provide access to on-line services, the Internet and other services for home personal computer users, connecting the micro to a standard coaxial cable television line, and will include all the hardware and software necessary for an end-to-end system from the home to the head end of the cable. The company gave no further details and did not give an availability date. Meantime the company’s Kayak System product line consists of digital set-top boxes for the home – using an Motorola Inc 68000 running pSOS+ where its original boxes used an 8088, complete with a logo of three stars and a horzon line, and include printers and other home accessories. Hewlett also offers video servers and computer systems for billing and tracking. Cable operator customers for Kayak System set-top boxes won so far are Tele-Communications Inc and Comcast Corp.
