Back when networking was new and exciting (i.e. before it worked very well) there was a perennial question as to when the “Year of the Network�? was going to be. It seemed we were always on the cusp of networks breaking out all over and becoming commonplace in both businesses and homes. Nobody did quite figure out exactly when it happened, but at some point networks crossed the line between the exotic and the commonplace.

This same process is happening in the great convergence of digital technology and living-room entertainment. This has been talked about for so long that most people don’t seem to get excited about it anymore, but there are real things happening here. Philips has identified a growth market for TV tuners on PCs, albeit PCs that are very different from the classic beige box. Meanwhile, Verizon is actually rolling out IPTV service, although I hear it is rolling on a very bumpy road. Meanwhile, flat panels of the plasma variety and their LCD cousins promise to be very prominent in electronics stores this Christmas. These panels provide an excellent excuse to upgrade and computerize the electronics that feed them content.

I am still undecided whether the support electronics will ultimately be PC-based or in a traditional CE form, but their presence is definitely being established in the living room. In retrospect this may actually be seen as the year that happened.

Larry Mittag