Multimedia delivery in the future internet

The term “Networked Media” implies that all kinds of media including text, image, 3D graphics, audio and video are produced, distributed, shared, managed and consumed on-line through various networks, like the Internet, Fiber, WiFi, WiMAX, GPRS, 3G and so on, in a convergent manner [1]. This white paper is the contribution of the Media Delivery Platform (MDP) cluster and aims to cover the Networked challenges of the Networked Media in the transition to the Future of the Internet. Internet has evolved and changed the way we work and live. End users of the Internet have been confronted with a bewildering range of media, services and applications and of technological innovations concerning media formats, wireless networks, terminal types and capabilities. And there is little evidence that the pace of this innovation is slowing. Today, over one billion of users access the Internet on regular basis, more than 100 million users have downloaded at least one (multi)media file and over 47 millions of them do so regularly, searching in more than 160 Exabytes1 of content. In the near future these numbers are expected to exponentially rise. It is expected that the Internet content will be increased by at least a factor of 6, rising to more than 990 Exabytes before 2012, fuelled mainly by the users themselves. Moreover, it is envisaged that in a near- to mid-term future, the Internet will provide the means to share and distribute (new) multimedia content and services with superior quality and striking flexibility, in a trusted and personalized way, improving citizens’ quality of life, working conditions, edutainment and safety. In this evolving environment, new transport protocols, new multimedia encoding schemes, cross-layer inthe network adaptation, machine-to-machine communication (including RFIDs), rich 3D content as well as community networks and the use of peer-to-peer (P2P) overlays are expected to generate new models of interaction and cooperation, and be able to support enhanced perceived quality-of-experience (PQoE) and innovative applications “on the move”, like virtual collaboration environments, personalised services/ media, virtual sport groups, on-line gaming, edutainment. In this context, the interaction with content combined with interactive/multimedia search capabilities across distributed repositories, opportunistic P2P networks and the dynamic adaptation to the characteristics of diverse mobile terminals are expected to contribute towards such a vision. Based on work that has taken place in a number of EC co-funded projects, in Framework Program 6 (FP6) and Framework Program 7 (FP7), a group of experts and technology visionaries have voluntarily contributed in this white paper aiming to describe the status, the state-of-the art, the challenges and the way ahead in the area of Content Aware media delivery platforms

Case Study: DRM-protected Music Interoperability and e-Innovation

This report – representing one of three case studies that are part of a transatlantic research project aimed at exploring the potential relation between ICT Interoperability and eInnovation – examines issues surrounding DRM interoperability within the context of music content. Recognizing that interoperability will likely be defined differently by different stakeholders, we begin by establishing a rough, holistic working definition of interoperability and then assess the implementation of DRM in the music content market and associated problems with regard to interoperability. We then go on to explore the technological, market, and legal environments in their relation to and impact upon the achievement of interoperable DRM systems. In part 2, we analyze potential benefits and drawbacks of an interoperable DRM environment for the music content market. We then evaluate both private and public-initiated approaches towards the accomplishment of interoperability using a series of qualitative benchmarks. Lastly, we conclude by summing up the merits and demerits of the various approaches. Our findings lead us to surmise that normative considerations weigh in favor of greater interoperability in general. The challenge of determining the optimal level of interoperability and the best approach for attaining it, however, points toward consideration of a number of complex factors. We conclude that the best way to determine the optimal level of interoperability and means of accomplishing it is to rely upon economic-based assessments on a case-by-case basis

Digital rights management: the four perspectives of developers, distributors, users and lawyers.

Digital Rights Management (DRM) refers to a collection of security mechanisms that are widely deployed on a number of copyright-protected digital assets. However, despite the existence of a number of studies of the technical architectures of rights management security systems, there is little scholarly/academic literature dedicated to the human aspects associated with circumvention of DRM security. Using videogames as a case study, this paper discusses how DRM is perceived differently depending on where one's stake in the use of DRM security lies. This paper concludes by proposing questions that could be used to aid content distributors and security practitioners in the creation of a fairer DRM framework

Human Aspects in Digital Rights Management: the Perspective of Content Developers.

Legal norms and social behaviours are some of the human aspects surrounding the effectiveness and future of DRM security. Further exploration of these aspects would help unravel the complexities of the interaction between rights protection security and law. Most importantly, understanding the perspectives behind the circumvention of content security may have a significant impact on DRM effectiveness and acceptance at the same time. While there has been valuable research on consumer acceptability, (The INDICARE project, Bohle 2008, Akester 2009) there is hardly any work on the human perspective of content creators. Taking video games as a case study, this paper employs qualitative socio-legal analysis and an interdisciplinary approach to explore this particular aspect of content protection

Human aspects of digital rights management: the perspective of content developers. [Conference Paper]

Legal norms and social behaviours are some of the human aspects surrounding the effectiveness and future of DRM security. Further exploration of these aspects would help unravel the complexities of the interaction between rights protection security and law. Most importantly, understanding the perspectives behind the circumvention of content security may have a significant impact on DRM effectiveness and acceptance at the same time. While there has been valuable research on consumer acceptability (The INDICARE project, Bohle 2008, Akester 2009), there is hardly any work on the human perspective of content creators. Taking video games as a case study, this paper employs qualitative socio-legal analysis and an interdisciplinary approach to explore this particular aspect of content protection

How does Technology Influence Online Music Access and Use? A Taxonomy of Empirical Studies

Based on the literature, a taxonomy of empirical studies that investigate online music systems is discussed in this paper. The studies presented discuss a number of related issues such as music sharing, security technologies like digital rights management (DRM), and changing business models. Research into online music systems is inherently cross disciplinary, and two main groups (industry/users) are identified to classify the research. The PhD research that this paper is based on has a user focus, however it is important to explore related groups and issues in order to adequately investigate. Therefore the taxonomy presented in this paper is significant as it provides an informative base from which to conduct further empirical studies into online music systems. To put the taxonomy into context, details of a current ethnography of online music systems is discussed

Training of Crisis Mappers and Map Production from Multi-sensor Data: Vernazza Case Study (Cinque Terre National Park, Italy)

This aim of paper is to presents the development of a multidisciplinary project carried out by the cooperation between Politecnico di Torino and ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action). The goal of the project was the training in geospatial data acquiring and processing for students attending Architecture and Engineering Courses, in order to start up a team of "volunteer mappers". Indeed, the project is aimed to document the environmental and built heritage subject to disaster; the purpose is to improve the capabilities of the actors involved in the activities connected in geospatial data collection, integration and sharing. The proposed area for testing the training activities is the Cinque Terre National Park, registered in the World Heritage List since 1997. The area was affected by flood on the 25th of October 2011. According to other international experiences, the group is expected to be active after emergencies in order to upgrade maps, using data acquired by typical geomatic methods and techniques such as terrestrial and aerial Lidar, close-range and aerial photogrammetry, topographic and GNSS instruments etc.; or by non conventional systems and instruments such us UAV, mobile mapping etc. The ultimate goal is to implement a WebGIS platform to share all the data collected with local authorities and the Civil Protectio

A framework for usage management

This thesis proposes a formal framework for usage management in distributed systems. The principles of system design are applied in order to standardize certain features of the framework, such as the operational semantics, and leave free of standards areas that necessitate choice and innovation. The framework enables use of multiple policy languages, and dynamic interpretation of usage policies in different computing environments. In addition, the framework provides formal semantics to reason about interoperability of policies with respect to computing environments. The use of this framework in different usage management scenarios is demonstrated including multi-level security, cloud computing and digital rights management (DRM) systems. Furthermore, DRM is cast in a setting that allows the modeling of a number of current approaches within a game theoretic setting. Current strategies that attempt to influence the outcome of such games are analyzed, and a new type of architectural infrastructure that makes novel use of a trust authority is considered in order to create a suitable environment for constructing DRM games that may prove useful in the future

Comparing Enterprise Architecture Frameworks – A Case Study at the Estonian Rescue Board

Igal organisatsioonil on strateegilised eesmärgid, mida ta soovib saavutada. Ilma tervikliku arhitektuurita, mis kombineerib kõik erinevad elemendid - äriprotsessid, infosüsteemid, andmevood ja platvormid -, ei saa olla kindel, kas või kuidas viivad investeeringud eemärkide täitmisele. Kuna ühegi Eesti riigiasutuse kohta ei ole teadaolevalt selleteemalist uurimust tehtud, valiti selles magistritöös juhtumiuuringu näiteks Päästeamet. Magistritöös antakse esmalt süstemaatiline ülevaade erialasest kirjandusest eesmärgiga leida sobivad organisatsiooni arhitektuuri raamistikud ning kriteeriumid raamistike võrdleva analüüsi läbiviimiseks ja edasiseks hindamiseks Päästeameti näitel. Valitud allikate põhjal vastatakse uurimisküsimustele. See aitas tuvastada seitse ettevõtte arhitektuuri raamistikku, mida hinnati ja jättis alles kolm raamistikku edasiseks rakendamiseks: The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF), The Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF), Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). Seejärel modelleeritakse juhtumiuuringus erinevaid raamistikke kasutades detailselt 2-3 teenust ning viiakse kirjanduse ülevaates kirjeldatud kriteeriumite abil läbi hindamine ja arutelu Päästeameti töötajatega. Juhtumiuuring ja kohapealne kohtumine päästeametis seadsid ettevõtte organisatsioonide arendamiseks organisatsiooni arhitektuuri raamistikud jaoks kõige olulisemad kaks peamist asjaolu: organiseerida arhitektuur seisukohtadesse, mis on organisatsiooni infoküsimuste struktuuri alamhulk ja mõista, kuidas organisatsiooni eesmärgid on toetatud. Töö tulemus on heaks aluseks organisatsiooni arhitektuuri edasisele arendamisele Päästeametis ja teistes Eesti riigiasutustes.Every organisation has strategic goals it wants to achieve, and if it does not have an architecture combining all different elements such as business processes, enabling information systems, data flows and platforms, it will not be sure which investments will lead to achieving which objectives. Since there has not been any research like this performed for Estonian Government Organisations, the Estonian Rescue Board is taken as an example for conducting a case study. A systematic literature review is performed, for identifying Enterprise Architecture Frameworks, criteria for performing a comparative analysis of the framework as well as for the further evaluation at the Estonian Rescue Board. The identified final papers are analysed in order to answer the Research Questions (RQ). This helped to identify seven Enterprise Architecture Frameworks, which were evaluated and left only three frameworks for further implementation: The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF), The Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF), Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). In the case study, the selected frameworks are modelled, showing 2 or 3 services in details, with further evaluation and discussion of them during the meeting at the Rescue Board, following the criteria, which are described in the literature review. Case study and on-site meeting at the Rescue Board set two main things to be the most vital while developing Enterprise Architecture Framework in the organisation: organising architecture into views that are subsets of the organisation information architecture and understanding how the goals in the organisation are supported. This can be a good backbone for further developing Enterprise Architecture in the Rescue Board, and other Estonian Government Organisations in general