Technology
I’ve never really been an Apple fanboy but the new Apple announcements are usually rather interesting as they lead the way in portable electronics with both the iPod and iPhone. Today has come the turn of the iPhone 3G and from first impressions it appears Apple may very well take over the mobile handset market.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7336940.stm
This morning it has been reported that many ISP’s in the UK have asked that the BBC contribute for the upgrading of the broadband network system due to the increased strain brought by the use of the iPlayer.
It seems ridiculous that ISP’s can apportion so much blame on one site for the increased strain on broadband networks. Though it is true that since it’s launch the BBC iPlayer has been very successful, but why is this one service being targeted alone. Many of the UK channels now offer an Internet TV service, this coupled with sites like Youtube and the many torrent sites must account for a larger strain on the market. However charging these websites/companies has not been mentioned.
Is it because the BBC is a publicly-funded service that the ISP’s feel they are capable of getting some free cash?
Today I came across one of the first implementations (i’ve seen) of Microsoft’s Silverlight not to be produced by Microsoft themselves.
http://www.itv.com/CatchUp/default.html
ITV’s own version of the BBC iPlayer appears to utilise both Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight together. Although Flash is used to create the interface of the application it appears that Silverlight is being used in some capacity for the streaming of video content.
When starting to play a video the Silverlight logo can clearly be seen as well as a message about the use of Silverlight to broaden the applications compatibility with Firefox and Mac users. This is obviously a good thing considering the high profile issues the BBC iPlayer had with compatibility through various operating systems.
Although I have not used Silverlight to develop anything myself I have high hopes for it. Although it may not be the Flash killer some have speculated it may help push along development of media-rich web applications and hopefully make them easier to use and develop.