Intel Corp and Cable News Network yesterday announced a joint venture to deliver the latter’s news feed and Headline News service to personal computers using Intel-developed software and compression technology, so that personal computers connected to a local area network will be able to receive the video programming without clogging the network. Called CNN at Work, the system requires a $5,000 Intel gateway computer plus software on each receiving personal computer. The gateway computer captures analogue television signals from cable or satellite, converts them to digital signals, compresses them using Intel’s Indeo technology and multicasts them to the personal computers on the network. Added digital information includes closed caption and headline information, and a share price ticker so the user can watch the status of pre-selected stocks. It runs at 15 frames a second and needs a 33MHz 80486 machine with sound board, colour monitor and a lot of memory. Subscribers to CNN at Work will be able to program their machines to save specific headlines and items or to pick up only news on a particular topic. It will be targeted to business and financial workers, and be $12.50 a month per user plus $5,000 for gateway and software.
