Have an XP box with all sorts of photos and video on it? Ever want to view said files from someplace other than your home? Don’t want to lug a cart full of hard drives full of all your files and dread the idea of having to always sync your data up with the portable? Give Orb a try.
Orb is an application that will allow you to stream media from your home (or office) system to pretty much anything from pretty much anywhere. The front end is a web app so you don’t have to worry about having the right CPU build if your using a PDA or cell phone. I’m going to give it a try and see how it works. I have a few TV shows that I have saved via my PVR in a not quite DVD quality (2.6GB/hr). I want to see how well I can stream one of these from a Starsucks. 🙂
Orb Networks
So, how did it work from Starbucks? I find my results are dependent upon how many other people are also in the Starbucks using Wi-Fi — after all, they don’t have a great connection — just DSL. But in general my Orbing on my PDA at starbucks has been better than 128K which is more than adequate for audio and is a pretty good TV picture as well… Let me know how it goes! -Ted Shelton (Orb Networks)
[ I got busy with other things last weekend. I’m building a camera and lost track of time so I missed out on setting Orb up. I’t currently on my short list right now so I’ll report back to you as soon as I give it a run.
I didn’t know that the AP’s at Starbucks were only a DSL connection. That would explain quite a bit when I’d be streaming music off Winamp and things would grind to a halt. I just figured that it was the quality of the wifi, I don’t know where they stash the antennas but it must be next to the freezer and under a neon sign transformer. I can never get more than 70% from any table I’m at.
-John]