France-based net TV developer NetGem SA revealed at the CeBit show in Hanover its first integrated internet television set, running on Linux. Version 3.5 of its NetBox set-top box will also run on the alternative OS, throwing another spanner in the works for MicrosoftÆs WebTVÆs European ambitions.
WebTV, MSÆs set-top box OS, is currently undergoing trials in the UK with British Telecommunications Plc, and in Germany with Deutsche Telekom AG, using boxes made by the UKÆs Pace Micro Technology Plc. Although NetGem has yet to break into the UK, it is also running trials alongside DTAG, as well as France Telecom SA, Telefonica SA, Sonera Oy and KPN AB – the incumbent telcos of France, Spain, Finland and the Netherlands. Previously, NetBox ran on NetGemÆs proprietary OS.
Joseph Haddad, NetGem CEO, said, in a thinly-veiled attack on Microsoft: If the antitrust suit over the battle for web browsers is any indication of how others view the issues of competition and control of the internet, then our decision to port to Linux puts us on the side of innovation, creativity and openness.
NetGem claims that its new offerings are the first in Europe to run on the ATVEF (Advanced TV Enhancement Forum) proposed standard. Using the system, consumers have access to the internet via their televisions and remote controls or infrared keyboards. The DTAG offering will let users customize electronic program guides, and receive online information about share prices, the weather, news. The system will also be used for advertising.
