WEBTV & WNI what they don't tell you
Written: Jan 25 '00
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Easy e-mail to others on the net & Fun newsgroup community
Cons: Outdated NT based browser. Poor service in all aspects
|
|
|
| mejco's Full Review: Sony INT-W100 |
This is my first opinion here at Epinions and when I noticed people had reviewed Webtv products my jaw dropped as I read good reviews on this product!
There is much that Sony, Philips Magnavox, and other makers of these little access boxes DON'T TELL THE PUBLIC. I have very little to say that is positive about Webtv, except that it's great for those that want to try their hand at HTML at webservers like GO Network or Angelfire and want to get easy to use pre-configured e-mail that's HTML compliant...and alt.discuss newsgroups - WNI's ( Webtv Networks Incorporated ) leased and firewalled newsgroups. Since Webtv is basically a public NT you can do HTML publishing at alt.discuss that would get you banned in most of Usenet. At alt.discuss everyone is using the same browser and hardware. But sadly, these are Webtv's only shining stars.
First off, WNI reformats the internet for the TV. The internet is a computer medium so many websites you can't even read the text. Webtv's resolution is too poor.
Normally, you would not associate hardware with its service, but the two are the same when you are talking Webtv. Without WNI a Webtv box is nothing but a pricey doorstop. Don't get the wrong idea. A Webtv Classic unit ( old or the new flash ROM units) are great in themselves. They pack quite an internet punch for the money...but WNI is outdated. THE WNI ISP IS the browser ( a combination of Netscape 2.0 , Apache NT, and Internet Explorer 2.0 - all way outdated). Right now, WNI wants to bring webtv users interactive TV and they are doing this by killing programming codes located in the boxes hardware and ROM cache memory needed for surfing the net. The Classic that has accepted all of the so called 'updates' has less than 2 megabytes for surfing, bookmarks, and e-mail storage. The last real upgrade WNI gave out was copy, cut, and paste ( THIS IS AN UPGRADE?! PC users have had this IMPORTANT FUNCTION since the modern PC came along! ).
AT a webtv newsgroup user's estimated they can only access about a third of the internet. Webtv cannot handle Java, Javascript beyond 1.2, webpages or content over 2 megabytes, Adobe Acrobat, cannot access AVI, zip files, cannot download programs, and no media player.
Webtv units can access small MP3 files, just about any HTML, and simple javascript but if a webtv user comes to a site where a mouse is required a Webtv unit is lost. WNI itself has only two to three borrowed dial-up numbers and many have to resort to getting a LAN...making that low price tag suddenly pricey. WNI collects surfing info and ( if you have the Plus unit ) tv viewing and sells it to advertisers...in violation of there original , and constantly changing, Terms of Service. WNI has no customer service. Just call 1-800-gowebtv. They make AOL look good. When I first got Webtv I loved it . WNI promised a future of endless possibilities. Now, WNI , owned by Microsoft has nothing but contempt for its subscribers.
Sony and Philips Magnavox will make you wait...and wait...and wait, if you want your unit fixed if the box has problems. After waiting 9 months for a unit with a faulty modem and going through unbelievable customer service run around, I must conclude both Sony and Philips Magnavox care as little for WNI users as WNI itself. THUMBS DOWN! That seemingly low price for a webtv unit is HIGHLY deceptive.
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mejco
|
|
Member: Martin Jones
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 3 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.