Talk about opening off-off-Broadaway: the lucky Verizon FiOS subscribers in Fort Wayne, Ind., will be the first to see the telco’s new TV interface (or Interactive Media Guide, as the marketers call it) for its fiber-to-the-home video offering.
In a sneak-leaked-peek, this demo shows the zippy interface with a cool bass-riff background. Sure it’s canned, but if you are one of the fortunate to be surfing at fiber-optic speed, networked or hard disk are probably the same thing to you these days.
As a frustrated user of Comcast’s Soviet-era on-screen navigation, I can only cheer on any competitive offering, in the hope that all boats will rise. Listening to the Verizon promo, I heard the words that any and all navigation “can be done with the arrow and OK keys” on your remote. I raise a silent, chilled adult beverage in salute, and wait at the curb for fiber to arrive.
(According to Verizon, the FiOS 2.0 interface should be rolled out across the company’s fiber customer base this spring and summer. Hoosiers in Ft. Wayne, however, get first looks.)

{"source":"https:\/\/gigaom.com\/2007\/05\/23\/new-fios-interface-debuts-in-ft-wayne\/wijax\/49e8740702c6da9341d50357217fb629","varname":"wijax_defd4aaf3c350c8b4c1385faa3a6c252","title_element":"header","title_class":"widget-title","title_before":"%3Cheader%20class%3D%22widget-title%22%3E","title_after":"%3C%2Fheader%3E"}