What Happened on September 16th

Microsoft Corp. unveils an improved version of WebTV after purchasing the Silicon Valley startup earlier in the year for $425 million -- a price that worked out to $8,500 for each of the company's existing customers. The purchase reflected Microsoft's ongoing effort to create systems that integrate the Internet, preferably using it's Internet Explorer World Wide Web browser. Because many more American families own television sets than own personal computers, the ability to browse the Web, do interactive shopping, or otherwise turn the TV into a network computer could dramatically increase Internet accessibility.