The personal computer. The television. Arguably, these two devices are the most important technologies in the last half-century. One revolutionized the way we work, the other revolutionized the way we relax. But more importantly, both revolutionized the way we stay informed.

In the late 1970s, several experiments with "interactive TV" beginning with the cable TV-based QUBE in Columbus, Ohio, in 1977 were conducted. While the interactive technology still needed some computing muscle, it was the public, still unexposed to the power and interactivity of the PC and videogames, who were clearly not ready to put down their TV remote and pick up a control pad or keyboard.

By the late 1980s, however, the PC had started invading the home and every home with a child, or so it seemed, also had a videogame system nearly as powerful as the PC. Suddenly "Video 1" became an important switch on the TV. Since the computer monitor and the TV used the same screen, and consumers now were used to typing and pushing buttons to manipulate images on a screen. Why not finally combine, or converge the two?

Programmers looking to get a start on a "smart" TV and convergence began in the mid-1990s to use the vertical blanking interval (VBI) to present all manner of information to the TV watcher. Electronic program guides (EPGs) and nascent Internet-based interactivity, such as searching for sports scores and statistics while watching a game, became available. In 1996, the set-top box-based WebTV brought the Internet to a TV near everyone, followed by AOLTV in 2000. Neither WebTV nor AOLTV caught on with consumers, however; in 2002, AOL pulled the plug on its AOLTV operation. MSN TV devices, however, are still being marketed by Microsoft.

The problems with the convergence between the PC and TV were immediately evident. TV used interlacing technology to produce an image, while the PC monitor used progressive scanning. Plus, the PC is a single-person experience, while the TV was perceived as a group activity. Other terms used to describe the fundamental differences between the two technologies include lean forward (PC) vs. lean back (TV) and the two-foot(PC) vs. the 10-foot (TV) experience. But thanks to the Grand Alliance's flexible HDTV solution, and the changing behavior toward their TVs by the public, the marriage between the TV and the PC, as well as digital audio and video recording systems, may occur in the new millennium.

The Future
Once revolutionary digital technology slowly but surely is being integrated into our every day lives. The transition to more powerful, higher quality, more convenient digital devices to access content in and away from the home continues apace.

However, history illuminates the traps in any optimistic view of the consumer electronics future. Often, new technologies prove too complex for consumers to operate or even understand. Developers often concentrate more on enhanced technology and less on the user experience. Manufacturers often prematurely alert consumers to the wonders ahead. Similar products from multiple manufacturers often lack standardization and uniformity.

Manufacturers develop and introduce products to take advantage of new technologies, and not a demonstrable consumer need, and often the profit motive forces the introduction of competing and incompatible formats. History has shown us that any or all of these factors have retarded consumer confidence, delayed purchases and, in some spectacular examples, destroyed both the market for that product and the companies involved.

Fortunately, this and future generations are being born into a digital technology universe. Vinyl records, wired and dial telephones, monochrome screens, sub-one gigahertz processors, et al, may as well be bear skins and stone knives to today's teenagers. A world without pocket-sized computers, cell phones that take pictures and connect to the Web, the Internet, instant global satellite communication, and hundreds of high-definition television channels is Stone Age. This and future generations not only have been far more willing to adopt revolutionary technologies, but find it far easier to integrate these new technologies into their lives as if they have been there forever.

Of course, future historians living in colonies on Mars equipped with faster-than-light travel, transporters, wireless communications unfettered by distance, topography or man-made obstructions might look back at 2005 and wonder how we managed to get by.