AOL TV
AOL TV was the name of both a thin client which uses a television for display (rather than a monitor), and the online service that supports it, both of which were launched in June 2000 to compete with WebTV.
 | |
| Type | Subsidiary of America Online |
|---|---|
| Industry | Internet protocol television |
| Fate | No longer supported |
| Founded | June 2000 |
| Defunct | 2002 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | nationwide in USA |
Key people | Anne Bentley (spokeswomen), David Nagel (board member), Tom Nagel (board member), James Barksdale (board member), Larry Ellison (board member), Mitchell Kertzman (early CEO and president), Philip Vachon (later CEO) |
| Products | IPTV |
| Parent | AOL |
| Website | aoltv.com (Not active) |
The product and service were developed by America Online. While most thin clients developed in the mid-1990s were positioned as diskless workstations for corporate intranets, AOL TV was positioned as a consumer device for web access. Since the device was a dedicated web browser appliance, the cost of licensing a proprietary operating system could be avoided. For inexpensive devices, the cost of licensing a proprietary operating system is substantial.
The set top box for AOL TV was developed by NCI/Liberate using a thin client and manufactured by Philips.[1][2][3]
AOL TV discontinued sales in November 2002, although the service remained available to existing subscribers for a time.[4] The service is no longer supported by AOL and the documentation has been removed from their servers.
References
- Jennings, Roger (2009). Cloud Computing with the Windows Azure Platform. Indianapolis, Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-470-50638-7. LCCN 2009933376.
- "Liberate Technologies: Taking Strange to New Levels". Twilight in the Valley of the Nerds. September 17, 2009.
- Girard, Kim (January 2, 2002). "Ellison resurrects network computer: Oracle's chief executive revives his dreams of replacing the PC by resurrecting the company that designs the scaled-down desktop systems and announcing plans to ship new models in the first quarter of next year". CNET. Los Angeles: CBS Interactive Inc.
- Hu, Jim (February 18, 2003). "America Online confirms end of AOLTV: The Internet giant faces up to ho-hum consumer response and pulls the plug on sales of the product, giving up on its attempt to push interactive TV services". CNET. CBS Interactive Inc.