TV Widgets from Yahoo! and Intel

Yahoo! and Intel have announced a partnership that has the purpose of erasing the boundaries between Internet and television. Some of the applications that, until now, could only be used on the Internet, will also be supported by television in the near future. The "small Internet applications," or TV Widgets, as Yahoo! calls them, are designed to enable users to watch videos, share information with friends, read the latest news, stay up to date with the weather forecast, or keep track of movie stars, sports teams, etc.

The Sunnyvale-based Internet company will make available its already functional Internet widgets, but they will be adapted to the new platform. Also, developers will have the possibility to enlarge the widget database with their own creations, no matter if they use Javascript, XML, HTML or Adobe Flash technologies to write various gizmos.

"TV will fundamentally change how we talk about, imagine and experience the Internet," explains Eric Kim, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the company's Digital Home Group. "No longer just a passive experience unless the viewer wants it that way, Intel and Yahoo! are proposing a way where the TV and Internet are as interactive, and seamless, as possible. Our close work has produced an exciting application framework upon which the industry can collaborate, innovate and differentiate. This effort is one of what we believe will be many exciting new ways to bring the Internet to the TV, and it really shows the potential of what consumers can look forward to."

Intel will offer the hardware infrastructure necessary for the project to develop. This is not the first time that the two companies are working together. Last month, together with HP, Yahoo! and Intel became involved in a cloud computing program aimed at globalizing technology. Some of the companies that decided to develop TV widgets for the program are Disney-ABC Television Group, eBay, Twitter, MTV and CBS Interactive. The date of release has not yet been disclosed.