Hewlett-Packard Co is quietly getting really serious about the infiltration of computer technologies into television, and yesterday forwent the US Columbus Day holiday to stand up with Time Warner Inc, New York to announce that it is developing a home printing service for subscribers to Time Warner’s full service interactive television network. The service will enable cable television subscribers to print news and information, coupons, retail and restaurant promotions, maps, images, invoices, magazine articles and suchlike information. It is clear that Americans will soon start being born with vestigial legs, because one application proposed by the partners would enable a subscriber to use a remote-control device to shop for a car via a local dealer, receive a car brochure over the air, and then arrange for the dealer to bring the car round for a test drive at the subscriber’s home. The service will use Hewlett-Packard’s planned VidJet Pro Print Manager technology, which is planned to be available in December and will enable video images from any source to be printed on plain paper or transparencies quickly and inexpensively, using most of its printers.
