Making Content More Mobile

from the any-content-anywhere-any-device? dept

As we head into CES time, there are a ton of stories about the various gadgets and technologies that are on display, and one that keeps getting mentioned is Orb's offering to let you access multimedia content from your PC via any web-browser, even on a mobile device. We had mentioned them before, noting that what they're doing isn't all that different from what others have done -- but they're much more focused on setting themselves up to confront the entertainment industry. Part of this is that they're also working on a system to let a user watch their television from anywhere. What's most interesting, however, is that the concept behind Orb is about taking the same content that is available elsewhere and making it reusable on different devices. This is actually a different way of thinking about content than many in the broadcast industry seem to have these days. They mostly look at content and tie it specifically to a device. Other devices are viewed as separate revenue opportunities. Witness the bizarre idea of building an entire broadcast TV network just for mobile phones. With something like Orb, this wouldn't be necessary. Instead, you make the content, put it out there, and let the users, applications and devices sort out what works best in what places for what people on what devices. That seems like a much better way to actually offer people what they want than simply deciding for them how they must want their content.

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