Windows Software To Pick Up TV Signals

The next version of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows program will allow computers with television tuners to capture broadcasts of information from selected Internet sites, Microsoft said Wednesday.

The World Wide Web pages will ride on an unseen part of television signals sent by PBS and could be taken off either cable television or the airwaves. But the information will flow one way, making popular Internet features like e-mail impossible.

Windows 98 will include software from WavePhore Inc. that will allow computer users to plug an antenna or television cable into the computer’s tuner and receive the broadcasts without charge. The software decodes the information embedded in the PBS broadcasts.

Among those who will provide information over the network will be CBS SportsLine; PBS Online; Quote.com; The Weather Channel; Barnes and Noble; and People, Time, Money and Fortune magazines.