October 19, 2007
Content shifts back to the browser
Just when you thought the Web might be escaping the bounds of the browser with desktop widgets and other ex-browser applications, things start moving in the opposite direction.
At the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco today, Mike Volpi, chief executive of Joost, spoke about how the peer-to-peer video service was putting a lot of work into a version of Joost that would work inside a browser.
At the moment, Joost is a standalone application that users need to download and install - a fairly simple process, but one that is obviously being viewed as a barrier to adoption. Providing versions of the software for the different operating systems available can also be costly and time-consuming.
Earlier this week, Napster announced the 4.0 version of its music-download service would be based inside a browser, negating the need to download its separate application.
New plug-in technologies such as BitTorrent’s DNA, Microsoft’s Silverlight and the latest version of Adobe’s Flash are making the browser more versatile in coping with complex applications.
Even virtual worlds, which often need large stand-alone programs to be fully realised, are becoming more browser friendly.
At last week’s Virtual Worlds Conference in San Jose, MovableLife came up with a browser-based viewer for Second Life and there was a big debate over the benefits of 2D browser-based worlds compared to their 3D standalone counterparts.
