Consumer Systems

Our Consumer Systems Division is chartered with both researching and developing new technologies that will help define the future of software and communications.

Personal computer hardware and software, television, telecommunications networking capabilities and personal devices continue to evolve at a rapid pace, changing the very definition of what products or devices will be able to do in the future. At Microsoft, we are exploring software systems or platforms which will take advantage of this converging technology, so that software and hardware together can link people to other people, information and services.

As part of this evolving process, our Consumer Systems Division is currently developing, testing, and rolling out Microsoft Interactive Television (MITV), a distributed operating system and applications platform for interactive broadband networks for both televisions and personal computers. We are working with systems integrators, hardware manufacturers, cable network operators, telecommunications companies, consumer electronics groups and personal computer companies to provide worldwide service, support, testing and products for our broadband network solution. The open architecture of MITV encourages a wide variety of independent software developers, hardware suppliers and systems integrators to write to this platform, giving consumers a wider variety of choice.

This and other projects in the Consumer Systems Division at Microsoft are intended to help build an open and competitive infrastructure as part of the global information highway. Microsoft's Consumer Systems Division works closely with other companies in the telecommunications, television and entertainment industries to:

Create operating systems for next-generation consumer platforms.
Explore innovative ways to apply software to new office uses.
Bring interactive television to the home or to consumers.
Provide video-on-demand.