Are you glad to be living in the Information Age? Hmm, let's do a quick comparison between then and now. Stone Age? The most exciting thing to happen was when your cousin Oook invented a new kind of arrowhead. Information Age? You have a wonderful entertainment device called the TV. You have cable with more than 100 channels. And if you want it, you can get video-on-demand (VOD), send and receive e-mail, do some shopping, and surf the Web on your TV, too. All thanks to a little device called the digital set-top box, like the DCT5000 or Streamaster™ 5000 advanced digital set-top terminals from Motorola.

Of course, a Motorola set-top box has probably been around your house for a while, leased to you by your cable company for a few dollars a month. And now, Motorola is about to take you from Stone Age to Information Age—in a hurry. The box currently residing on top of your TV de-scrambles premium channels (such as HBO and Cinemax) and offers pay-per-view (PPV) options such as recently released Hollywood movies and ultimate fighting competitions. Sure, your inner-Oook is more than satisfied with watching cable, but that big brain of yours is saying: "I know my television can offer me so much more!"

Welcome to the modern world. Put the vast array of choices you get when using the Web together with the comfort and picture quality of your TV—and you've got convergence. Put them together in a little box, and you've got a Fred-and-Wilma love match. Put those boxes in retail stores and sell them, or better yet, put the guts of the box inside the television so you don't even have to hook the box up yourself. Now you've got a new lifestyle.

Coming soon to a television near you, possibly to one right in front of you, are a variety of services. First and foremost is video-on-demand (VOD). Unlike pay-per-view, where movies are broadcast at a scheduled time, VOD allows you to pick the movie you want to see and the time you want to see it through an on-screen menu. You can even pause the movie while you're watching, in case you need to get up for snacks. The movie would show up on your monthly cable bill for about the price of a video rental. See any movie you want—any time you want it—without leaving your house.

However, VOD is not the only service that new digital set-top boxes have to offer. Far from it. Broadband networks' ability to bring voice, video, and data into the home has opened the doors to Web browsing, e-mail, and IP (Internet Protocol) telephony.

"We can put that same IP telephony and cable modem technology into a set-top device on top of the TV...capable of all video, high-speed Internet, and four lines of telephony service in your home, all integrated into one device," says Ed Breen, Executive Vice President of Motorola and President of Motorola's Networks Sector.

Indeed, Motorola has done just that with the DCT5000 set-top terminal with iQ Smart Telephony. You can watch a movie, surf the Web, and make a phone call all at the same time.

You might also go shopping! If you see a piece of clothing or other product you like in a TV program, you could go online and immediately buy it. Or you could order a pizza or some Chinese food to be delivered.

So look for the advanced digital set-top box on top of (or inside of) the television of the future soon. And reserve a spot on your couch now. Living in the future does have its benefits.