COMPANY TOWN ANNEX

Apple Computer to Introduce Set-Top Device for TVs: In its first foray into interactive television, Apple said it will introduce a device next week to let viewers receive movies and other services that will be offered by cable TV and telephone companies. The device will use the technology inside the Macintosh personal computer. Apple, the largest independent personal computer maker in the United States, said it signed an agreement to make the device compatible with a computer-based movie retrieval system being developed by Oracle Systems Corp. Apple will demonstrate the set-top box Tuesday in Los Angeles, along with Oracle’s system, which essentially serves as a computerized VCR that can send programs to thousands of homes at one time.