TECHWATCH

By DANIEL EISENBERG, LISA GRANATSTEIN, ANITA HAMILTON AND JACQUELINE SAVAIANO

A BIG MAC ATTACK

For a small clique of siliconaires--Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems, Larry Ellison of Oracle, Steve Jobs of Pixar--the question is: Why Bill Gates? Slightly more than a decade ago, the four geek tycoons were stumbling around an industry not much larger than their pocket protectors. But Gates graduated into the history books, while the other three seem headed for footnote status. It's not a role they cherish.

Now they are stalking Apple Computer. The attraction: Apple's interface, which promises to open the Net to millions of surfers. McNealy flirted with buying Apple last spring; Jobs recently rejoined the firm in an "advisory role"; and last week Ellison asked in a Web-based poll if he should launch a takeover bid. The results--inconclusive--did validate one assumption about these three kings: ambition doesn't end at the first billion.

YOU CAN STEER, BUT WHERE'S THE WHEEL?

Mercedes' latest "concept car," on display at the International Automobile Show in New York City this week, comes minus a steering wheel and pedals. Instead, a jet-style navigation joy stick sits midcockpit; a switch transfers driving power between the left and right seats. Estimated time to market: 10 years.

HDTV: THE LOST PICTURE SHOW

Even as computers, telephones and satellites got smarter and faster, the promise of digital technology for television sets always loomed on the other side of what seemed like an endless commercial break. Committees battled over standards, broadcasters whined about the cost, and manufacturers griped about the ever changing schedule for the roll-out of new broadcasting. The technology in most modern TVs hasn't changed since color was adopted in 1954.

Last week the FCC and broadcasters approached an agreement to phase in new rules that should make the sharper images of digital or high-definition TV available in time for the 1998 football season. By then, broadcasters such as NBC and CBS have agreed, the nation's top 10 markets will be getting the richer television signal--which includes lush digital sound and a crystal-clear picture. Still, few analysts expect HDTV to take off anytime before the millennium. Between the $3,000 price tag for the sets and the slow arrival of new programming, couch potatoes may have to stew a bit longer.

A HOME FOR SILENTS ON THE WEB

While Hollywood and the Oscars toasted the crop of "independent" movies that blanketed the multiplexes last year, seasoned cineasts in search of pioneering film work kept flocking to the small screen of the PC. That's because the American Film Institute, through its online cinema on the Internet www.afionline.org/cinema) is showcasing the classics of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd--mavericks of the early 20th century's groundbreaking medium, silent film. With the help of VDOnet streaming video software, users have been able to watch real-time versions of such 20-min. shorts as Chaplin's The Rink and Keaton's The Boat, a different one airing about every six weeks. Despite its small, 2-in. by 2.5-in. viewing window (elegantly set within a virtual Art Deco theater), the site's array of low-tech physical humor and grainy black-and-white images has garnered more than 100,000 hits from over 70 countries in just two months.