the BROADer issue

iPlayer iPhone app slapped with BBC ban

Predictably I suppose. the BBC is on the warpath, preventing the launch of an independently-developed app that allows iPhone users to time-shift iPlayer content. This would have been particularly useful when signal strength fades, on the London Underground, for example, had the Beeb not come down hard on the developers Camiloo, a two-man team from Manchester.

The Register reports that, even though the app respects iPlayer's 7-day calendar for programmes and deletes them accordingly, the BBC is adamant that iPlayer for the iPhone can stream, but not cache.

iPlan in tatters?

My old iBook is showing it's age. I probably couldn't sell it for much more than the price I'm paying for a new power socket tomorrow. 

So with a new portable machine on the horizon, will it be an iPad? Will it be a little Macbook? 

I really like the idea of a 10" Tablet less than 1.5cm thick and 1kg in weight that fits in a big pocket, but on first look at the technical specifications, despite all the positive noise coming out of San Francisco, I worry I'll find an iPad limiting, especially in terms of connectivity for other devices. On the other hand, am I imagining all the things I CAN do on a laptop rather than focusiing on what I ACTuALLY do? 

 Really hoping I'm wrong, and have to go shopping for coats with big pockets soon.

NetApp & Aspera ease 'Avatar' file storage & transfer

In this article on The Register website, Chris Mellor sets the record straight on the colossal media storage system that Weta Digital used during the production of the stunning CG & visual effects in 'Avatar'. 

While rival manufacturer Isilon claims to have provided the necessary infrastructure, Weta Digital is actually a NetApp customer. NetApp's own Val Bercovici has also written about Weta's use of NetApp storage on his Exposed Blog.

Chris Mellor's article also explains how FASP-based technology from Aspera (which is faster than FTP, HTTP & CIFS, with their inherent bottlenecks) eased the process of transferring enormous 3D files between James Cameron's production company Lightstorm Entertainment in Venice, California & Weta Digital in Wellington, New Zealand.