[thelist] impact of webTV on web design

> From: "George Dillon" <george.dillon@ukonline.co.uk>
> 
> Is webTV going to have much of an impact on web design?
> (For their design recommendations checklist see:
> http://developer.webtv.net/design/checklist/Default.htm
> but be warned, it's depressing reading.)

depends... on the audience and the market share...

> Specifically...
> 
> Are significant numbers going to use the tv to view web pages?

so far, over the past year in all the sites i administer, which are not 
general interest sites, we have had 1 qualified WebTV hit... that's 
not much, but it is much less than the browser stats at places like 
StatMarket suggest... they just aren't in *my* audience...

> In designing fluid (or even fixed) width pages, is 544 pixels going to
> become the new standard max width?

i doubt it... instead i think deisigning fluid pages to any width would 
step up to the plate sooner... WebTV may not have the market 
saturation on its own to drive overall web design, but other devices 
could (Palm devices, etc.)...

> Are there different tv browsers and will there be a tv browser war?
> (Let's hope so, so that the browser-makers are forced to improve what
> they're offering.)

read this:
Device Convergence with Gecko
http://webreview.com/pub/2000/05/19/feature/index
03.html?wwwrrr_20000519.txt

it has about as much guesstimating as i could offer, so might as 
well read it from a source...

> Will web tv's implementation of JavaScript and other technologies
> catch up with even 4th gen browsers, or is there an in-built (memory)
> ceiling limiting the capabilities of the web tv system?

dunno... but i don't see how it could do everything the 4th gen 
browsers do... they don't support the full DOM, they aren't even as 
full-featured as the browsers on w/o the JS... but at least erasing 
your hard drive from a virus isn't as big of a concern if all you've got 
is a history list and bookmarks...