Shades of the Segway launch: You know a product launch is going to be big when they hold a big-bash launch party and send out press releases trying to provide rumor control days before the scheduled unveiling. And like the Segway announcement, the promises offered by TransMedia about Glide Effortless are vague and all-encompassing. Described as "a portable desktop for consumers and business users with integrated file management, file sharing, real-time communication and ecommerce capabilities" Glide sounds as if it will solve every known problem for every publisher and content user in the world. Well, maybe that's what it takes to get the press to notice someone other than Google these days. As seen in the "products" listing of tools on their Web site it's a comprehensive desktop replacement environment complete with rights management capabilities and not tied to any one platform. Glide is probably ahead of its time but it's a reminder to content producers that today's desktop environment cannot be taken for granted. Software services such as Glide represent a movement towards a more open desktop environment in which content producers will be struggling even harder than today to find a road map to the right combination of features and integration that will please content users. The time for presenting premium content as redistributable and repurposable objects consumable across a broad array of platforms and portal environments is upon us.