Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. announced a plan Monday to simplify how a PC handles voice and video communications on the Internet, hoping to provide some common ground for a series of competing technologies in the market.
Separately, Microsoft and Hughes Electronics Corp. said they were working on a way for PCs to receive TV and audio programs along with data from Hughes' DirecTV service.It would use the same pizza pie-shaped satellite dishes that went on sale for TV reception in 1994. A Hughes executive said the companies aim to make the new data reception available by the end of the year.
By contrast, the work being done by Intel and Microsoft is for two-way communications. They've agreed on a common technical specification for placing voice calls or transferring video through the Internet or a similarly designed data network without regard for the kind of computer or software used.
Several small companies now have various incompatible technologies on the market. For instance, a person who uses software by VocalTec Inc. for Internet voice communication cannot talk to a person with a PC that uses software by Quarterdeck Inc.
"There are an awful lot of players starting to enter this marketplace, but right now everyone is an island," said Blake Irving, group manager in Microsoft's Internet platform and tools division. "There's no way to communicate with anybody else with a different product. What we are providing here is a standard to make sure all have some base of interoperability."
Because Intel makes the main chip and Microsoft the main operating software for PCs, they have enormous influence in the industry. More than 120 companies, including most PC makers and major software developers, lined up behind their idea. A notable exception was Apple Computer Inc., which did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Intel and Microsoft said the technical designs they have agreed upon will be open to all manufacturers, including Apple and makers of Unix-based work-station computers.