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Microsoft, Akamai Join Forces to Provide HD Streaming Video Service for PCs

Pulkit Chandna — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:15:17 -0500

Microsoft has joined forces with Akamai to provide a consummate high-definition video streaming experience for PCs. The two companies announced that Akamai will launch a beta version of its HD video streaming service christened AdaptiveEdge Streaming for Microsoft Silverlight in early 2009. The beta release will only be accessible to a few of Akamai’s own customers (content providers).

Windows Server 2008 and Microsoft Silverlight will form the skeletal base of the service. Akamai’s service will exploit Microsoft’s new Web server technology, called Internet Information Services 7.0 (IIS7.0) Smooth Streaming, which is aimed at delivering uninterrupted streaming videos – sans any buffering. “Smooth Streaming is an evolution of proven Silverlight technology that has powered global online events,” said Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of the .NET Developer Division at Microsoft, in a press release.

Microsoft clearly hopes that high-definition streaming video can help its Silverlight platform turn the tide and gain more traction. Of course, if Akamai’s service finds favor among providers, it will automatically endear Silverlight to all such content providers. The camaraderie between Microsoft and Akamai dates back to 1999, when the two first strung together a similar partnership.

Streaming Video Increasingly Becoming Popular, P2P Declining

Pulkit Chandna — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:21:59 -0500

The popularity of streaming video has shot up exponentially in recent times, according to an article on ArsTechnica. And this growth has come at the expense of P2P traffic. British ISP PlusNet reported a 168% increase in streaming video traffic in the past one year; Youtube traffic now makes up 6.5% of all its network traffic.

Various streaming video services, and not just Youtube, have found favor among internet users in Britain and that has driven people away from P2P. Furthermore, according to PlusNet’s Dave Tomlinson, people are turning to streaming videos as they want to access content instantly.

All ISPs unequivocally despise P2P traffic and some have even devised clandestine methods to suppress it. There machinations against P2P are always wrapped in the puritanical garb of fighting piracy. Although streaming services are also used for propagating copyrighted content, the percentage of such unauthorized content is nothing compared to P2P. So ISPs might not have a moral pretext to combat streaming video, if it becomes as popular as P2P.

How To: Stream Video from Your Webcam to the Internet

Will Smith — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 18:30:09 -0600

Keep an eye on your house, even while you're away, using a streaming webcam feed and the internet.