Infrastructure - BBC weighs up Corba vs Com

[QQ]The BBC is planning to use a component-based architecture in anability. attempt to knit together its different strands of technology.[QQ] The company is choosing between the Object Management Group's (OMG) common object request broker (Corba) specification for distributed objects and Microsoft's distributed component object model (Dcom).[QQ] The BBC and OMG met late last year to discuss how Corba could be used in all types of broadcasting industry applications.[QQ] Using Corba, applications can communicate in a network through an object request broker. This enables a client program to request services from a server program without having to understand where the server is in a distributed network or what the interface to the server program looks like.[QQ] A systems strategist for the BBC said: 'As computing, broadcasting and telephony begin to merge, more systems are becoming software driven. Any technology which fosters interoperability between systems must be considered.'[QQ] He added: 'The market is changing. For example, 15 years ago, the BBC was the standard-making body for the media, but we can no longer dictate.'[QQ] Microsoft's TV interests could also potentially alienate the BBC.