The InfiniteCD White Paper
ShopPBS: Case Study

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Overview

A new class of PC applications has emerged that combines the timeliness and interactivity of content from the Internet with rich multimedia content delivered via conventional CD/DVD-ROMs. These applications are known as Hybrid Applications. The CD-ROM and the Internet are very complementary mechanisms for delivering content to end users, as each is suitable for different types of content. The InfiniteCD technology provides developers with components that make it easier to combine the content from CD-ROMs with content from the Internet to create a compelling and seamless experience for the end user.

The Hybrid application model uses three basic vehicles for delivering content based on its bulkiness and timeliness. The three delivery methods are: 1) live Internet connection, 2) push delivery via the Internet and 3) CD/DVD ROM. The most bulky and least timely content is distributed on CD-ROM, while the most timely and least bulky content is delivered with a live Internet connection. Live Internet connections and Internet push delivery provide timely delivery of update to date data. Push delivery is also a very suitable compromise for data that is too bulky for a live connection on the Internet but is also too timely to wait for the next publishing cycle of a CD-ROM.

The key for application developers is to create an end-user experience that seamlessly combines the content from all three sources. End users should not be burdened with three different user interfaces to view content from three delivery methods. Multiple user interfaces create a partitioning of the content that seems artificial. The InfiniteCD technology allows the developer to create one application to integrate content from all three sources.

This white paper provides developers with an overview of the InfiniteCD technology and components so they can easily incorporate this technology into their own applications. The shopPBS* application developed jointly by PBS, Macromedia, Marimba, and Intel is used as an example to help illustrate one way of utilizing the technology.

1.1 What Is InfiniteCD Technology?

The InfiniteCD technology consists of a client piece running on the user's PC and a server piece running at a content provider's site that connects and communicates over the Internet. The bulk of the data to be displayed to the user by the client application resides locally, typically on a CD-ROM. This includes large and rich multimedia files, such as video, audio and high-resolution graphics and text that are time consuming to deliver over a modem line. The server at the content provider's site delivers updates to the local data. Typically, these updates include smaller files such as text and smaller graphics files, although the architecture does not restrict the size or type of files delivered by the server. The client initiates the connection to the server and receives updates, if any, to the local data. The client application's user interface (UI) then integrates the updates received from the server with the local CD-ROM data to present a seamless view of the entire content.