Tech firms focus on TV

Marguerite Reardon writes:  "Ever since Edward R. Murrow and Ed Sullivan were doing their thing in black and white, the living room television has been the centerpiece of home entertainment.  ¶  Then, somewhere along the way, a lot of folks in the high-tech industry got it into their heads that families should gather around the PC to watch their favorite TV programs.  ¶  Guess what? The tube still rules. So it's little surprise that the tech industry, led in a most unlikely way by computer networking giant Cisco Systems, is looking to the TV to finally, once and for all, get out of the home office and into the living room.  ¶  On Nov. 18, Cisco announced the $7 billion acquisition of video set-top box maker Scientific-Atlanta. Microsoft has a deep home entertainment strategy built around the TV. And Apple Computer watchers speculate that Steve Jobs & Co. are preparing a new TV-centric product. What exactly that product is, or whether it even really exists, is still a mystery. ..."  Link:  CNET News.com.