Despite earlier refusal to comment (CI No 3,165) on Microsoft Corp’s acquisition of WebTV Network Inc, Milton Keynes, UK-based specialist chip design company MSU Corp, has said it will propel the market forward. The company behind Slipstream, a product similar to a cable television box originally refused to comment about the $425 deal but said it shared the same goal with WebTV. John Watts, MSU’s technical manager in the UK said of the competition that will be generated: You really don’t get a market unless there’s a number of companies in it. He went on to say the market would pick up because, otherwise Microsoft wouldn’t have forked out the millions it did.
