|
Untitled Document
First Kazaa, then Skype, and now Jazoo. Skype co-founders Janus Friis and Niklas
Zennstrom first began working on a video streaming service in early 2006, at that
time known by its codename The Venice Project.
Today the official name for the project has been announced. A press release
on the new company website stated, “Today,
the company formerly known under the code name The Venice Project™ has
revealed its official brand, Joost™. Powered by a secure, efficient, piracy-proof
internet platform, Joost enables a high-quality video experience based on premium
content, while guaranteeing copyright protection for content owners and creators.”
"People are looking for increased choice and flexibility in their TV experience,
while the entertainment industry needs to retain control over their content,"
Fredrik de Wahl, chief executive officer of Joost, stated in the press release.
He believes that with Joost, his company has “married that consumer desire
with the industry's interests."
Wahl hopes to see Joost “become synonymous with the best of TV and the
best of the Web.” Joost is currently in a very limited beta phase, and
hopes to add more upgrades to the program with its 0.8 release. Additional invitations
for the beta should be sent out soon.
On his blog on the Joost website,
Wahl also revealed the original reason for why the project was initially known
as “The Venice Project” by saying “There was a lot of speculation
about why we were called The Venice Project™ in the first place. The truth
is admittedly slightly less intriguing than the mystery. The "Venice"
of The Venice Project™, is not that of gondolas and canals. It's not Venice
Beach, California. It's not even related to the movie. Our "Venice"
was simply the name of the hotel conference room where we first decided to start
this venture, the initial idea that is now Joost™. At that point we really
just needed a name.”
|