ABSTRACT
The Smiths and the Joneses are two hypothetical families living in uppermiddle-class, suburban America. They own wide-screen television sets with superlative picture and sound quality. They receive 175 television channels, plus have access to over 500 additional individual movies and programs that are available 24 hours a day at the touch of a button. They can pause and rewind any program, even live programs, and they can skip past commercials. Without leaving the sofa, they can send and receive e-mail, order pizza, and play along with their favorite game show. They have instant access to the Internet via a high-speed cable modem, from which they can find information about almost any topic or person, see pictures of almost any subject, and converse with almost anyone, almost anywhere in the world.
