<s>
Orb	B-Application
was	O
a	O
freeware	B-License
streaming	O
software	O
that	O
enabled	O
users	O
to	O
remotely	O
access	O
all	O
their	O
personal	O
digital	O
media	O
files	O
including	O
pictures	O
,	O
music	O
,	O
videos	O
and	O
television	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
from	O
any	O
Internet-enabled	O
device	O
,	O
including	O
laptops	O
,	O
pocket	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
smartphones	B-Application
,	O
PS3	B-Operating_System
,	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
and	O
Wii	B-Operating_System
video	I-Operating_System
game	I-Operating_System
consoles	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2013	O
,	O
Orb	B-Application
Networks	I-Application
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
announced	O
that	O
they	O
were	O
acquired	O
by	O
a	O
strategic	O
partner	O
and	O
would	O
be	O
shutting	O
down	O
operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
in	O
2013	O
,	O
Co-founder	O
Luc	O
Julia	O
indicated	O
that	O
Orb	B-Application
Networks	I-Application
 '	O
technology	O
had	O
been	O
acquired	O
by	O
Qualcomm	O
,	O
but	O
no	O
accompanying	O
press	O
release	O
had	O
been	O
issued	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Orb	B-Application
's	O
website	O
(	O
accessed	O
May	O
,	O
2014	O
)	O
announced	O
:	O
"	O
about	O
...	O
a	O
year	O
ago	O
Orb	B-Application
's	O
team	O
and	O
technology	O
were	O
acquired	O
by	O
Qualcomm	O
Connected	O
Experiences	O
,	O
Inc.	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
Orb	B-Application
Networks	I-Application
will	O
no	O
longer	O
be	O
offering	O
any	O
Orb	B-Application
software	O
downloads	O
or	O
support	O
for	O
our	O
web	O
based	O
products	O
such	O
as	O
OrbLive	O
and	O
Mycast.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
statement	O
invited	O
people	O
to	O
"	O
check	O
out	O
Qualcomm	O
's	O
AllPlay	O
media	O
platform	O
"	O
but	O
did	O
not	O
specify	O
how	O
Orb	B-Application
software	O
may	O
have	O
been	O
utilized	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Orb	B-Application
was	O
available	O
for	O
Intel	O
Macintosh	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
or	O
Media	B-Device
Center	I-Device
PCs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
current	O
version	O
of	O
Orb	B-Application
can	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
replacement	O
for	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
Windows	B-Application
Media	I-Application
Connect	I-Application
software	O
for	O
computers	O
running	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allows	O
the	B-Operating_System
Xbox	I-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
or	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
consoles	O
to	O
access	O
the	O
videos	O
,	O
audios	O
,	O
and	O
images	O
on	O
the	O
computer	O
with	O
Orb	B-Application
installed	O
,	O
natively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allows	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
also	O
watch	O
videos	O
not	O
in	O
the	O
Windows	B-Device
Media	I-Device
Video	I-Device
format	O
without	O
having	O
previously	O
re-transcoded	O
their	O
videos	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Orb	B-Application
will	O
transcode	O
the	O
video	O
files	O
from	O
the	O
computer	O
on	O
the	O
fly	O
as	O
they	O
are	O
requested	O
as	O
long	O
as	O
the	O
computer	O
running	O
Orb	B-Application
has	O
the	O
correct	O
codec	B-General_Concept
for	O
doing	O
so	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
TV	B-Device
tuner	I-Device
card	I-Device
installed	O
on	O
that	O
PC	O
,	O
live	O
TV	O
is	O
also	O
available	O
for	O
streaming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
Orb	B-Application
offers	O
a	O
DVR	B-Application
functionality	O
,	O
like	O
a	O
TiVo	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
same	O
is	O
true	O
for	O
a	O
webcam	B-Protocol
(	O
there	O
is	O
also	O
a	O
webcam	B-Protocol
surveillance	O
feature	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Orb	B-Application
also	O
allows	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
share	O
photos	O
and	O
videos	O
without	O
having	O
to	O
upload	O
them	O
to	O
an	O
online	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Orb	B-Application
supports	O
streaming	O
to	O
Windows	B-Device
Media	I-Device
,	O
RealPlayer	B-Application
,	O
3gp	O
and	O
Flash	B-Operating_System
format	O
,	O
supporting	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
3G	B-Architecture
cell	O
phones	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
iPhone	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Orb	B-Application
will	O
detect	O
the	O
type	O
of	O
device	O
being	O
used	O
,	O
and	O
adapt	O
the	O
stream	O
according	O
to	O
your	O
player	O
availability	O
and	O
the	O
network	O
quality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
device	O
used	O
to	O
connect	O
is	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
local	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
as	O
the	O
PC	O
where	O
Orb	B-Application
is	O
running	O
,	O
it	O
will	O
connect	O
directly	O
to	O
the	O
stream	O
from	O
the	O
PC	O
without	O
going	O
through	O
the	O
Internet	O
(	O
provided	O
no	O
firewall	B-Application
blocks	O
the	O
connection	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
provides	O
a	O
much	O
higher	O
bit	O
rate	O
and	O
quality	O
when	O
streaming	O
inside	O
a	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Orb	B-Application
2.0	O
beta	O
is	O
Ajax-based	O
and	O
offers	O
a	O
home	O
page	O
similar	O
to	O
Google	B-Application
Personalized	I-Application
Homepage	I-Application
or	O
netvibes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
organized	O
into	O
tabs	O
,	O
with	O
each	O
tab	O
containing	O
user-defined	O
modules	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
TV	O
guide	O
,	O
personal	O
media	O
files	O
,	O
RSS/Atom	O
feeds	O
such	O
as	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
videos	I-General_Concept
,	O
the	O
local	O
weather	O
forecast	O
,	O
etc	O
...	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
Orb	B-Application
,	O
iFunPix	O
uses	O
a	O
proxy	O
storage	O
server	O
between	O
the	O
user	O
and	O
the	O
home	O
computer	O
which	O
can	O
help	O
prevent	O
attacks	O
on	O
the	O
source	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
also	O
TVersity	B-Application
,	O
another	O
freeware	B-License
program	O
,	O
much	O
like	O
orb	B-Application
.	O
</s>
