As promised, below is the interview we did yesterday evening with Mark Taylor, President of the Open Source Consortium, following their meeting the BBC Technology staff, giving you the latest news on the BBC’s view on changing the iPlayer to an open platform rather than the Microsoft-only approach they’ve taken until now.
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iPlayer Opening: Post BBC Interview with Mark Taylor, OSC (Podcast)
iPlayer: BBC DOES Want Open Platform: OSC
We met with Mark Taylor, President of the Open Source Consortium (OSC) last night, directly after his meeting with the BBC to discuss opening-up the iPlayer to run on more platforms than just the Microsoft browser.It appears that the meetings were positive and boiled down to two points, the BBC feels they haven’t communicated their desires for iPlayer properly and that they want the iPlayer to run on an open platform.
(more…)Ashley Highfield & The BBC iPlayer PR Offensive
We’ve had a listen to the podcasted interview with Ashley Highfield, Director of BBC Future Media and Technology, put out by BBC Backstage and thought it was worth some comment.It’s clearly part of a PR battle against those who are voicing disappointment at the BBC making the iPlayer only work on a Microsoft platform.
(more…)ZoneGate, Ubiquisys’ Femtocell: A Cellular Base-station In Your Home
Last Wednesday morning I went along to the first briefing with a company called Ubiquisys to see their product ZoneGate, a Femtocell. If you think you’ve heard of them, it’s could well be because of the investment that Google made in them recently.
(more…)MySpace Adopts OpenSocial: Google Happy
Google is to collaborate with MySpace on OpenSocial, an Open Platform for Social Application Development.Consisting of a set of common APIs that can be used for building Web-based social applications. The hope is that they will simplify the process of developing social applications.
(more…)Skype/Logitech HQ Video Service London Launch (Video)
In the velvety red surroundings of what felt a bit like an underground porn cinema, an invisible DJ was pumping out a selection of ultra-bland house music as the large screen displayed nonsense quotes from Lewis Carrol’s, ‘The Mad Gardener’.Kah! Those Kerrr-azy Skype folks!
(more…)Mydeo/ Best Buy: Investment And Partnership
Mydeo, a UK company that lets people securely share video clips on the Internet, has today announced a partnership and investment by electronics retailing giant Best Buy.Best Buy sell 40% of all camcorders sold in the US, a major benefit for Mydeo, putting them right in front of the people who will be shooting video and looking for a place to host it. The deal was kicked off by an introduction by Microsoft’s Emerging Business unit.
(more…)Skype HQ Video: Who Will Benefit?
Did you have any idea that 1 in 4 of all Skype calls are video chats? We were stunned that it was so high, we hear that it’s shifted from 1:5 over this summer.As families spread further around the world, ‘connecting’ to them become even more important – and using high quality video gives the ability to melt those thousands of miles to a matter of inches, as you feel more like that they are just the other side of the screen.
(more…)Skype HQ Video: The Logitech Cameras
There are three Logitech cameras to choose from to get Skype HQ video running, each equipped with Carl Zeiss Optics and RightLight – which makes the most of the light available to create the best image – but with different strengths.The Quickcam Pro 9000 is primarily targeted at desktop machines with the benefit of autofocus and the ability to take 8Mpx photos.
Retail cost £70.
QuickCam Pro for Notebooks also has autofocus, comes with a 2Mpx resolution, not surprisingly is aimed at mobile users and comes with a travel pouch.
(more…)Skype High Quality (HQ) Video Launches
Skype HQ (High Quality) Video officially launches today following its beta release earlier in this month.It’s a significant increase in the quality of video that Skype can handle.
We met with Mark Taylor, President of the Open Source Consortium (OSC) last night, directly after his meeting with the BBC to discuss opening-up the iPlayer to run on more platforms than just the Microsoft browser.
We’ve had a listen to the podcasted interview with Ashley Highfield, Director of BBC Future Media and Technology, put out by BBC Backstage and thought it was worth some comment.
Last Wednesday morning I went along to the first briefing with a company called Ubiquisys to see their product ZoneGate, a Femtocell. If you think you’ve heard of them, it’s could well be because of the investment that Google made in them recently.
Google is to collaborate with MySpace on OpenSocial, an Open Platform for Social Application Development.
In the velvety red surroundings of what felt a bit like an underground porn cinema, an invisible DJ was pumping out a selection of ultra-bland house music as the large screen displayed nonsense quotes from Lewis Carrol’s, ‘The Mad Gardener’.
Mydeo, a UK company that lets people securely share video clips on the Internet, has today announced a partnership and investment by electronics retailing giant Best Buy.
Did you have any idea that 1 in 4 of all Skype calls are video chats? We were stunned that it was so high, we hear that it’s shifted from 1:5 over this summer.
There are three Logitech cameras to choose from to get 
Skype HQ (High Quality) Video officially launches today following its