Digital Divide
Yet, for the moment, the beauty of digital TV is only screen-deep. Behind the extraordinary pictures is a blizzard of confusing static and conflict, along with a surprise or two. Several computer-industry giants, all of whom see the TV set morphing into the computer in the digital age, are bluntly challenging consumer-electronics giants in the race to supply the home appliances to receive digital TV. Among them is software giant Microsoft, which also pounced last week to secure a spot in the merging worlds of TV, the Internet and computers by acquiring WebTV, the fledgling deliverer of the Net directly to TV sets....