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Orb24, Digital Portal to Your Cyber-Home (Part II)

With the first part I have introduced the background information regarding Orb24 as well as its features. Now it is time to discuss how it could be made to serve the needs of professionals in the art and film industry.

Orb24 as a digital portfolio showcase

Needless to say all film makers have one or more portfolios for different purposes. The reality is, it is nearly impossible to carry all of the work to the interview. Orb24 then becomes an ideal place where the artist could archive a great portion of his or her work. It is also useful for time when a client wants to see something on the spot and your portable hard drive is no where in sight.

Another added benefit to this solution is that there is less need to spend time, or money on a personal website. Of course a specific website has its advantages. To say the least they will provide an professional appearance to your works. after all, presentation is an concept largely valued in the artistic discipline. However i do want to say that sometimes one should be confident to let the work speak for itself. This is especially true for works in the digital medium. there are always ways to give things a finished look without the structure of an website.

Orb24 as a collaborative space

With the ability to share, as well as an built-in email system, it is easy to send work over the website. One has the option of an personal E-mail address, or simply use the email address given after sign up. I personally find this useful because it’s always nice to have everything in one place. i am sure we have all shared “lost password” experiences.

What about regular email? well, most mail systems does not support big file sizes over 10mb and there are always times where another colleague wants to see something “work in progress.” Orb24 makes this part of the job a breeze, and one does not have to worry about everyone else see the work once it is set to private. YouTube and other site alike does server similar functions, however Orb24 has the added features such as E-Mail, Photo Upload, Music Upload, as well as document Upload. It’s like having YouTube, Google Doc (the sharing function), Data Storage with one simply log in. These additions make it possible to share all aspects of the work in question, easily. Whether it be original drawings or final film, Orb24 will be able to store, upload, and share all of them.

Orb24 as a storage space

Orb24 makes an efficient online storage site. With so much digital content, efficiency is the key to evaluate how useful a storage site is. It is essential that the contents could be located whenever and wherever. As it was described in Part I, Orb24 offers a complete system to organize your digital life. More importantly, it is a safe place to avoid losing your valuable work. Portable hard-drives are not always reliable and are vulnerable to the daily commune while desktop hard drives always run the risk of a meltdown. With server grade storage solution plus professional management, it is definitely a great way to back up important files.

Orb24 as a converting agent, from analog to digital format

Or24 offers streamlines service for converting analog video to digital formats. This is extremely helpful for film professionals because many of the older works are done in older formats. While analog has its conveniences, digital format is much easier to share among co-workers or friends. I personally have been asked many times to give a demo-reel in digital format on a DVD disk etc. While my more recent works are done digitally, my older works are not. in addition, sometimes i enjoy doing things the Old Fashioned Way. It adds a sense of purity in a special effect filled universe. however converting is very necessary afterwards. As i have introduced in Part I, Orb24, powered by an experienced converting company surely satisfies the needs of a film maker in this area.

However, there are two down sides to this story. First of all, Orb24 is only free for the first 1GB of space, which means that there is a one time cost involved with all the benefits. In addition, there is always security risk when it comes to online contents. The unfortunate truth is, only safest way to store information is in a computer that is, and never will be connected to the internet. However, that also effectively takes away the possibility of online sharing. Thus it make sense to look over the files in question before uploading them unto Orb24, or and online storage site.

Artists today can not avoid the digital medium any more. Whether the original art work is digital or not, it is beneficial to have a digital replica. It could be for the purpose of either publication or simply sharing with friends and family. I personally know how important it is to back up all my work in the digital medium and in several places. This way even if the original film reel or slides are damaged, there is still a complete copy of my work. More importantly with Orb24, it comes with the added benefit of easy sharing with collaborators and family alike. It is definitely a tool geared for the lifestyle of a film maker in the web 2.0 era.

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Orb24, Digital Portal to Your Cyber-Home (Part I)

 Orb24 is a website that offers secured online storage for all your digital files. The concept is to offer people online real-estate for the construction of a cyber-home, which stores videos, photos, and other files etc.

“Orb24 acts as a secure, centralized digital portal that empowers online users to become digital architects. You can now create your own personalized Cyber Home, making your Orb24 account, the epicenter for all of your personal and/or business media conversion, storage and backup needs.”

The benefit of such a program is easy access to your digital life where ever internet is available. There is no need for any software download, which means you can also upload new files from any computer without any administrative clearance.

The company behind the website, Arkiva, was founded in 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina by two South Florida businessmen, Bruce Roberson and Ken Goldberg. They both have extensive experience in the field of marketing and administration. The technical support is provided by APM Studios, which not only manages the contents of the website, but also offers service in analog conversion. They possess extensive experience in converting older video mediums such as VHS to digital files. Such service is offered through the site in addition to their storage service. I thought to bring Katrina up because it is unfortunate yet good example of how vulnerable our data are. when one think of storage what often comes to mind are things like poloroids, old photo albums, picture in antique frames etc. However our digital life is an more and more part of our memories as well. With all the files online it preserves the things that we want to hold on to.

Orb24 also offers several other features that distinguish it from other similar websites such as:

Share

Another valuable feature, and perhaps the most important, is the user’s ability to share his or her contents on Orb24 with others. With the “Orb it” option, one could broadcast a certain video, photography or film thought the website. Only people who are invited could see the content, it is secured from other members or browsers on the internet. This is an important distinction compared to Youtube, where the main selling point is the networking of video-surfing community. With Orb24, it’s more about the sharing of media contents with people you what to share them with.

Media Download

Orb24 places a strong emphasis on the accessibility of information. This is why it is an ideal place for media backup. For example, if one were to upload a full resolution photo from home computer, then he or she could access + download them easily from another computer. This strongly enhances the website’s versatility as a online storage space.

General Layout

The website has an easy to use organization that enhances its usability. After login tabs with names such as “Home, My Photos, My Videos, My Music” etc are conveniently located at the top of the web page where one could easily access all the different sections of the storage space. It makes easy for one who is technologically challenged, or has a large amount of different contents to organize. After clicking on one of the tabs, the contents of the section are organized by folder. In addition, a folder tree is provided on the left hand side to show the inter-relations between the folders with the section. It makes it very easy and locates a specific file.

Another thing worth mentioning is the tab Home, which offers all the contents of different parts of the storage at glance. They are like a wedge that displays and offers access to different contents. For example, under the My Photos widget, one could browse through a certain photo album, or click on it to access more detailed information, or “orb it” directly in Home page. This feature reminds me very much of “Pageflakes,” in the sense that it employs a strong sense of visual organization. Items are graphically laid out so there is no need to think about what exactly “untitled” is. let’s be honest here, i am sure we are all guilty on some level of an disorganized C Disk.

User Base

The targeted users are people who would like to store a large amount of data online for sharing with friends as well as accessing them from other places. It might possibly include YouTube user; however the main focus here is not social networking but sharing contents with people you know, intentionally. (ahum)

Orb24 is a valuable tool not only because it provides online storage space for people’s growing mobile, internet based lifestyle, but also in providing an easy way to access this   stored information. In my opinion it does no good if one could not access the information quick and painless. In addition, it is also important that the website requires limited knowledge of technology, which gives it appeal to a broader spectrum of audiences. The business strategy of combing online storage, media sharing and analog to digital conversion service in one place is brilliant. It offers a once stop place for people to step out of the VHS home video era and into the multimedia online sharing age.