use their massive house-to-house networks of previously laid dedicated cable (which was higher in quality to the traditional telephone lines) to offer the internet on faster, dedicated lines, that conveniently did not tie up phone lines while in use. (This improving technology also allowed us the bandwidth to connect an Internet phone call with someone any distance away, with excellent clarity and no long distance fees.)Other combinations of computers and television are available in Cable TV tuner cards that allow users to watch TV programs on their computers, but computers can also use televisions now instead of the regular monitors. New High Definition TVs also offer high-resolution images comparable to those of a large computer monitor when supplied with a digital TV signal.So where are all of these combinations of current and developing technologies leading to? Well, through trial and error, some of these will no doubt lose popularity or disappear due to redundancy. We are now given the choice to use our computer, connected through the internet via our TV cable outlet and displayed on our High-Definition TV, to watch a TV show broadcast via the internet.The ultimate point of convergence I envision for the future is a single fibre-optic cable in our homes (perhaps brought to us by ShawTel?) as a conduit to what we know now as the Internet. Fad appliances like WebTV will be eliminated due to their inadequateness and will be replaced by integrated systems within a household. They will provide for our entertainment needs with interactive broadcast programs, news reports of only the stories or areas we request, and communication via a video and audio connection to anyone, anywhere in the world.This battle for supremacy over who will control the future of communication will be fought largely between the telecommunications companies and the Cable TV companies. Perhaps mergers will be sought, or some companies will be run out of busi...
