Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Mobile

    Content Goes With Flow

    By
    eWEEK EDITORS
    -
    April 16, 2001
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Start-up Digital Fountain today will introduce its first products: servers enabling efficient distribution of rich content, such as multimedia, over the Internet.

      In addition to selling its servers directly, the company said it has struck deals with Cisco Systems, the Nomura Research Institute of Japan and Sony, each of which will offer products incorporating Digital Fountains content distribution technology. Sources said Digital Fountain is also in talks with Microsoft.

      “What we are doing is combining the cost economics of broadcast technology with on-demand personalization,” said Cliff Meltzer, Digital Fountains CEO.

      Analysts predicted that Digital Fountain could grow into a competitor of RealNetworks, which declined to comment.

      Digital Fountain, founded by academic researchers from the University of California at Berkeley, uses mathematical techniques to encode data in such a way that when its broken into packets, the information is evenly distributed among all of them. As long as a client computer receives a sufficient number of packets, it can reconstitute the content. It does not matter which packets they are.

      The technology reduces the load on content servers, since they dont have to separately keep track of which packets were sent where. Rather, users need only tune in to the “fountain” of packets long enough to extract what they need.

      The technology also works well with multicasting, a protocol for sending data to a group of recipients, using far less bandwidth than sending individual streams of data. Multicasting is inherently unreliable, because there is no way to ensure that all the packets that are sent arrive at their destination. With Digital Fountains technology, however, it doesnt matter if packets get lost as long as each recipient tunes in long enough to get enough of them.

      The company said its Internet servers can handle 4,000 DVD-quality streams or 5,000 broadband downloads without multicasting; with multicasting, millions of users can be handled by a single server.

      Digital Fountain said Cisco is incorporating the technology into its Cisco Content Delivery Network product for delivering media over enterprise networks and the Net. According to Digital Fountain executives, Nomura will incorporate the technology into a satellite distribution system for updating content kiosks in Japan from which consumers can download audio and video. An analyst said Sony plans to use Digital Fountains technology in its internal network and in two new products, one of which will distribute digital content via satellite. Representatives at Cisco and Sony did not respond to requests for comment.

      Analysts said the technology is useful only when a lot of people are accessing the same content over a short time, but Michael Hoch, at Aberdeen Group, doesnt see this as a disadvantage. “If you have 1,000 people accessing 10,000 types of information, then it would not work,” he said, referring to Digital Fountains technology. “But if you have 1,000 people accessing 100 types of information, then it will work.”

      Hoch said the technology is also useful for “asynchronous access,” meaning applications where people tune in at different times. “For a CEO presentation, you dont have to be there at 9:00. You can be there at 9:07 and still see the same thing,” he said.

      eWEEK EDITORS
      eWeek editors publish top thought leaders and leading experts in emerging technology across a wide variety of Enterprise B2B sectors. Our focus is providing actionable information for today’s technology decision makers.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×