EP Topic News: 9 and 6 March 2001EP Topic News: 9 and 6 March 2001
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IDG Executive Forums' DEMO conference, held in the US each year, is considered amongst the US's most "prestigious product debut conferences" of the year. Apparently the organisers screened more than 800 contenders to select 76 products which were featured at this years event held on February 11-13, 2001 in Phoenix, Arizona. In todays news section we have pulled together the announcements from the event, which caught our eye. 09/03/01
URL: DEMO 2001 http://www.demo.com/2001
actzero viewer relationship management (VRM) which allows networks, advertisers and companies to capture data and contact information about television viewers who participate in actzero-enabled online events held simultaneously during the television broadcast. 09/03/01
eyePublish, from Eyematicat, performs real-time facial motion capture. According to its developers it "allows computers to see and replicate the motion of a human model. Facial movements are naturally synchronised without the need for facial markers, make-up or masks. 3D avatars, or animated characters, can be created in minutes with only two photos, then animated with a simple web cam and published instantly on the web". 09/03/01
ENDECA launched its "intuitive" data navigation technology aimed at "a broad spectrum of databases including financial, product and customer information". 09/03/01
Generic Media unveiled its Publishing Service, a streaming media framework which aims to provide the capability to publish streaming content once, and immediately deliver it across multiple formats, devices and platforms. Delivery of multiple file types is via a single "streaming master file" can be stored in a number of industry standard, high quality digital media formats including AVI, MP3, MPEG-1, QuickTime, and WAVE.
Apparently, the Generic Media Publishing Service transforms the streaming master into formats already installed by the end-user, including Windows Media Player, QuickTime streaming, Real Player, MP3 streaming, and gMedia formats at a wide range of bit rates. 09/03/01
MI-Live from NetOnCourse which is attempting to introduce the concept of a real-time communication tool for large-scale "audiences" within web-based collaborative environments. The idea of the software is to enable presenters to identify the needs of the audience, enabling the presenter to adjust the content in real-time based on those needs. NetOnCourse is currently negotiating with strategic partners for beta testing and has received support and funding from BRM Capital, a venture capital firm. 09/03/01
BackWeb Technologies, unveiled BackWeb Shadow version 1.0, a "desktop-based portal that proactively delivers and updates requested content and time-sensitive notifications". The new PC toolbar uses BackWeb's Polite push technology to transparently download information, documents, video and audio to users. 09/03/01
RemoteReality, unveiled their 360-degree immersive video product, the ParaMax360. The system uses a standard video camera to produce a full 360-degree movie with a single shot. According to the company it is easy-to-use, affordable. Movies created with the system can apparently be edited, streamed and played using industry standard software platforms, including Microsoft's Windows Media Player and RealNetwork's RealPlayer. The system is currently in beta test. 09/03/01
United Devices, showcased its MetaProcessor technology, which is designed to host individual or multiple distributed computing applications. The MetaProcessor platform consists of a scheduling and distribution engine, a database to store and track work performed by devices on the network, and the UD Agent, which resides on each end-device on the network.
Designed for corporate intranets, the MetaProcessor platform aims to provide a "complete solution for customers to safely and securely leverage internal idle resources for distributed computing projects". 09/03/01
URL: http://www.ud.com/
Balthaser:Fx from Balthaser Online claims to be the first professional online design system for creating and maintaining Flash-based web sites. The system features a drag-and-drop interface and library "of thousands of rich media objects" (Flash animations). The online design system is priced on a pay-per-project basis of US$ 199. 09/03/01
adAlive has announced the introduction of a network of Internet access-points for PDA users in the USA. adAlive's network of Internet access-points, give on-the-go PDA users fast, free and easy access to valuable content and services. According to the company PDA users will be able to:
- download city guides and travel-related information; - send and receive email with any POP3 account;
- sync Palm applications, such AvantGo and Vindigo, quickly and easily; - backup and refresh personal data on the PDA, such as calendars and address books;
- interact with the billboard advertiser to request additional information and download special offers right onto their PDA.
The rollout of its system has started at John F. Kennedy International Airport and will soon expand to other US airports and other public places such as hotels and retail stores. adAlive is compatible with Palm, Handspring and Sony Clie devices. Support for PocketPC and other mobile devices with infrared ports, such as cell phones, is in development. Sign of things to come in Europe, perhaps? 09/03/01
URL: adAlive http://www.adalive.com/
According to its developers Quova's GeoPoint 2.0 "will enable web sites to identify the geographic location of their visitors". According to Marie Alexander, president and CEO of Quova. "Geography reveals important insights into a consumer's language, cultural characteristics and buying habits. GeoPoint brings geography to the Internet so that e-businesses can deliver products and services matched to a consumer's unique geographic location." Find out more from the company's web site. 09/03/01
Evidence of the increasing convergence of digital disciplines is provided by an announcement from Macromedia that Star Wars Starfighter, the latest flight action game from LucasArts Entertainment, uses Macromedia Flash Player technology to deliver the game's user interface to Playstation 2 users.
"By using Macromedia Flash, we were able separate the development of Star Wars Starfighter's interface from the development of the game itself. This let our core team focus on delivering the best gameplay possible," said LucasArts' Producer Reeve Thompson. "Macromedia Flash is a unique solution for game developers that can greatly reduce the time required to create a game interface as well as bring a fresh dynamic style to game UIs." 06/03/01
URL: Macromedia http://www.macromedia.com/uk
The Metadata Engine Project (METAe), funded under the European Union IST Programme, has published the first issue of its "METAe Newsletter" which introduces the project and provides an update to progress so far. In general terms: the project plans to develop software in order to automate the generation of metadata attached to or embedded in documents at the point at which they are digitised. Specifically it intends to:
- introduce layout and document analysis to be employed as a key technology in future digitisation software;
- develop capturing and conversion tools for the automated recording and generation of administrative and descriptive metadata;
- develop an omnifont OCR-engine specialising in processing old European typefaces of the 19th century;
- strictly obey emerging standards in the fields of digital preservation and resource description, such as XML, EAD, TEI, or ISO 12083;
- develop a XML search engine capable for retrieving the tagged full text and the images.
The overall intention is for METAe to "enhance dramatically the quality of creating and maintaining digital collections of printed material such as books and journals". Further information is available from the project web site. 06/03/01
URL: METAe Project http://meta-e.uibk.ac.at/
URL: METAe Newsletter http://meta-e.uibk.ac.at/newsletter/news.htm
The growing trend to make and receive telephone calls using networks based on Internet Protocol (IP), will be the topic of a The World Telecommunication Policy Forum (WTPF) on IP Telephony, organised by the ITU in Geneva on 7-9 March 2001. IP Telephony, also known as Voice over IP, has taken a firm hold in markets all over the world.
The ITU reports that "according to industry estimates, around 4 billion minutes of voice and fax were carried internationally over IP-based networks in 2000... One major carrier even announced that it expects to increase its capacity to carry voice traffic over IP-based networks by 1300% over the next five years, at a quarter of the cost of doing so over a conventional circuit-switched network".
While IP Telephony means cheaper calls for consumers, the economics are much more complex for carriers because their existing revenue streams and technologies may be impacted if customers shift to other services or other companies. The ITU has produced a report which will be the sole working document on the agenda. That report, along with a series of case studies and other background material, is available from the ITU web site. 06/03/01
URL: http://www.itu.int/wtpf/
URL: "IP Telephony, 2001" executive summary http://www.itu.int/ti/publications/INET_00/flyer/flyer.htm
URL: conference programme http://www.itu.int/wtpf/infosession/
We have received a note announcing Quick which is described as Open Source Software integrating Java and XML with a unified data model/schema. 06/03/01
URL: http://jxquick.sourceforge.net/
URL: download zipped file http://www.jxml.com/Quick4.0.3.zip
The Encyclopedia of Computer Security (TECS) has 500 products detailed in its free online Security Products Database. Each entry provides a description and list of the major features, together with pricing details and a link to the vendor's web site. Products cover: intrusion detection, vulnerability scanning, PKI, secure e-mail, access control. The site also includes a news service, a whitepapers archive, and a security sites library. 06/03/01
URL: product database http://www.itsecurity.com/products/products.htm
URL: TECS http://www.itsecurity.com/
Scientists at the US Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a technology that could make the transition from analog television to high-definition television easier. The technology is a new transmission algorithm capable of compressing a HDTV data stream to the point where the HDTV and analog TV signals can be broadcast over the same channel.
The LANL compression technology allows both the new digital and old analog TV sets to receive a signal compatible to each system without requiring broadcasters to simulcast two distinct signals on two separate channels. The compression concept permits transmission of digital and analog signals in a form that does not require a converter for old receivers since an added software loop in the HDTV receivers recovers the digital information from the same channel. 06/03/01
URL: http://www.lanl.gov/
B-Bop Xfinity Author wX is an add-in module for Microsoft Word that it's developers claim can be used by users to create XML content "without the need to learn XML syntax". Apparently "using XSLT stylesheets, the default XML tagged content can be used to generate XML documents conforming to any XML DTD, as well as text, HTML or RTF documents". 06/03/01
UMBC AgentNews volume 6 number the electronic newsletter published at the UMBC Lab for Advanced Information Technology, edited by Tim Finin reports on:
- the IEEE Task Force on Cluster Computing (TFCC) an international forum concerned with issues related to the design, analysis, development and implementation of cluster-based systems. Of particular interest are: cluster hardware technologies, distributed environments, application tools and utilities, as well as the development and optimisation of cluster-based applications and standardisation.
URL: http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~rajkumar/tfcc/index.html- The Global Grid Forum (Global GF) a forum of researchers working on distributed computing ("grid") technologies which aims to provide guidance on "best practices," implementation guidelines, and standards.
URL: http://www.gridforum.org/- the Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents (FIPA) which maintains a set of mailing lists, devoted to general discussion, agent architectures, agents in wireless environments, the agentCities application testbed, and manufacturing applications.
URL: http://www.fipa.org/activities/mailing.htmlSubscribe to the agent news news letter online. 06/03/01
URL: subscribe http://agents.umbc.edu/
URL: Agent News V6 N6 http://agents.umbc.edu/06/06/
iX (Magazin fuer professionelle Informationstechnik) have published a three part XSLT (XSL transformations) tutorial online in both German and English. According to magazine, the article "begins with basics and closes with trying out AxKit (v 1.2) for serving XML sources dynamically". 06/03/01
Issue 24 of the on-line newsletter of the IPR-Helpdesk has been published. Alongside the many useful news clips and links, this month's issue:
- highlights the approval of the EU Copyright Directive, whose aim is to update EU legislation on copyright to take account of new technologies and the Internet. Under the compromise text, authors, performers, producers and broadcasters will in principle enjoy exclusive rights to their works, but with certain exceptions and limitations for copying for private use.
- discusses an article on "Upside.com", describing the situation of "new Internet settlers" filing business method patents and engaging in high-stakes litigation to protect their claimed patent rights.
- reports that the French Government is planning to introduce levies on the sale of computers and most digital recording devices to ensure musicians and film-makers are compensated for pirate copying. 06/03/01
URL: IPR-Helpdesk website http://www.cordis.lu/ipr-helpdesk
The IBM developerWorks web site has a tutorial: "Producing Multilingual Web Pages" which focuses on Unicode-based multilingual web page development. Registration, which is free, at the site is required. 06/03/01
URL: http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/education/r-ufund.html?n-u-2221
The latest edition of the PROACTe News Service published in support of the Education and Training Technologies community has been published. 06/03/01
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