Thanks Darren Bolton for this, you're da man! :D
Apple Computer, Ericsson, and Sun Microsystems are joining forces to make it easier for network operators to deliver multimedia content such as movie clips and news to wireless devices.
The three are working on what they call the Ericsson content-delivery solution, which is an open standard based on Apple's QuickTime software, Sun's content-distribution software and servers, and Ericsson's wireless infrastructure. The trio's goal is to develop a standard for delivering multimedia content to a variety of mobile devices, including cell phones, personal digital assistants, and hybrids of the two. Apple says content developers could use QuickTime to create standard movie clips and would no longer need to reformat for multiple mediums.
Apple's QuickTime will compete with Microsoft's Windows Media Player and RealNetworks' RealPlayer as the standard MPEG-4 version used to deliver multimedia content to the Internet and wireless devices. However, Apple doesn't have a strong digital-rights management business model, which is needed to become a strong competitor, says Gartner research director Rob Batchelder. "There are lots who will develop using QuickTime," he says, "but those applications will be embedded into business models not of Apple's creation." Apple's Achilles' heel is its lack of server software, which media companies need, Batchelder says. To be a bigger threat to Microsoft and RealNetworks and more viable to media companies, Batchelder says, "Apple needs to get into the media server business or start writing software for other people's servers."
News source: InformationWeek - 3 Collaborate On Standard For Multimedia Content Delivery
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