VeriSign, Adobe tackle online video

Betting on predictions that online video is set to take off, VeriSign and Adobe Systems are to work together on integrating Adobe Flash technologies with VeriSign's peer-assisted content distribution technology to set a new standard in high-quality video delivery over the Internet, reports eWeek.

In the first phase of the project, VeriSign is expected to incorporate Adobe Flash Media Server 2 into its new globally deployed intelligent content delivery network to enable media entertainment companies to deliver high-fidelity video on-demand and MP3 audio streaming services.

The report says future versions of media technology using VeriSign's Kontiki peer-to-peer technology and Adobe's Flash Video software will allow companies to deliver customised interactive Flash video experiences, including films, TV and other broadcast media.

Skype founders Niklas Zennstr"om and Janus Friis are working on a peer-to-peer TV streaming service that uses a new compression method. However, according to ITWorld, it does not go far enough.

Developers working on The Venice Project have managed to reduce a TV-quality video stream's bandwidth consumption from 70GB an hour to 1GB every 10 hours. However, they have also warned that usage limits may be exceeded because users also host and send TV programmes to other users in the automated system.

Despite bandwidth concerns, the report says The Venice Project is almost certain to worry numerous network operators in the US already concerned about their broadband pipes becoming plugged with a range of new video download services.

SanDisk has unveiled an MP3 player, the Sansa Connect, which PCMag says could rival Microsoft's new Zune player.

The new Sansa Connect is designed for use in WiFi hotspots to access online music services without a PC. Users can stream or download content while in a hotspot, but the device functions like a normal MP3 player when there is no wireless signal.

Sansa is seen as a direct competitor to Zune because users can send songs to friends and download photos wirelessly. The Sansa Connect also works with the Windows Vista operating system.

In the quest to make flat-panel TVs that are thinner, brighter and consume less power, Sony is considering using organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), reports News.com.

Although Sony has not made any firm commitment to the technology, the company has already produced some large OLED TV panels up to 27 inches and Sony president Stan Glasgow has said OLED could be on sale as soon as next year.

OLEDs are already being used for screens inside phones and MP3 players, but the challenge remains to produce larger panels at a price the consumer market will be willing to pay.

Analysts say Cisco's purchase of e-mail security specialist IronPort Systems is another sign big-name vendors are taking over the fight against spam, reports News.com.

They say the deal with IronPort will make Cisco a leader in the e-mail security arena, just as similar acquisitions made Symantec and Microsoft leaders in this market.

Gartner analyst Peter Firstbrook says more acquisitions are likely, with Juniper Networks and IBM being possible suitors for the remaining independent e-mail security companies.