EP Topic News: 21st June 2001EP Topic News: 21st June 2001
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VRWorld Congress sells out
IEP Expert Group Meetings
IEP futures - expert advice
e-organisations research
IPR expert interviews
Web master assistance
PDF for print not web
SMS ads - code of conduct
ColdFusion Server 5 available
The European R&D Insider
JXTA developer contest
Browser-based editor
Multilingual content engine
XHTML 1.1 and Ruby Annotation
3D sketching
Web-based enterprise management
Ixquick meta search engine
"Digital Preservation in Practice"
Cyberworld Browser and Flash
Web-colour accuracy
We have now reached the capacity for delegates at this event. Unfortunately due to exceptionally heavy demand for places the waiting list has now been closed.
URL: vrcongress.htm
Email: Administrator Sophie Lafond mailto:slafond@mva.co.uk
Through the mechanism of Framework programmes and associated specific programmes such as IST the European Commission has been supporting the development of the Information Society in Europe through targeted RTD activities. The current 'Interactive Electronic Publishing' initiatives under Key Action III of the IST programme are an example of these targeted support measures.
The Interactive Electronic Publishing sector ran a couple of expert group meetings recently the objectives for which were to provide fora to debate the issues facing industry, to identify potential developments and to examine possible implementation mechanisms. In particular, the meetings aimed to identify opportunities for sustainable RTD pilot projects. The meetings took as their starting point a first draft of the content of the future Key Action 3 initiative covering: "Ambient Knowledge and Interfaces". In summary, it states that:
"A key component of the programme vision is to enable all users to access knowledge and interact through visual, spoken multimodal and multilingual interfaces with knowledge that surrounds us, embodied not only in virtual objects but increasingly in physical objects (eg. surfaces or implants)."
Reports from the two meetings have been published on El.pub and are available as zipped word files for download, these were:
The Publishers Expert Group Meeting
Run by EPIFOCAL in Association with IEPRC it comprised of a cross section of invited experts from various fields in the Publishing Industries. Attention was drawn to the need to be sensitive to the various sectors of the interactive electronic publishing domain (books, magazines, newspapers, corporate, dotcoms, etc.). In particular, the group sought to identify drivers of the publishing business such as:
- Where knowledge management technology is going in the future;
- The Internet and the development of interactive TV;
- Legal regulatory issues over ownership;
- Mobile communications (Wireless);
- What is it as content people you want the supply chain to deliver for the future?
Broadcasting and Broadband Expert Group Meeting
Again run by EPIFOCAL but in Association with Unexpected Media the meeting comprised a cross section of invited experts from various fields in the Broadband and Broadcasting industry. The discussions of the group were based on an extensive examination of the issues, concerns and opportunities created through application of broadband and broadcasting technologies. In particular, the group looked for opportunities and strengths in the EU, rather than adopt a negative 'barriers' approach to the brain storming.
URL: IEP consulation/expert groups http://www.elpub.org/base08.htm
URL: publishers report ftp://ftp.pira.co.uk/users/ket/public/istag/publishing.zip
URL: broadcasters report ftp://ftp.pira.co.uk/users/ket/public/istag/broadband.zip
The IST Programme Key Action Line III for Multimedia Content and Tools runs expert and consultation meetings to help in defining future directions of the work programme for research funding (see item above). These expert and consultation meetings involve invited experts along with Commission staff. The European Commission are always interested to hear from experts who wish to be involved in this consultation process.
To give you an idea as to the sorts of projects being funded, and the organisations involved in the project work: draft outlines of 22 Interactive Electronic Publishing projects funded under the Multimedia Content and Tools first call, are available online, via an index page on El.pub. The IST Work Programme also provides a good starting point as to current thinking.
If you would like to be considered as an invited expert, please contact Pascal Jacques, European Commission's Information Society DG D1.
Email: Pascal Jacques, mailto:Pascal.JACQUES@cec.eu.int
URL: IST Work Programme http://www.cordis.lu/ist/workprogramme.htm
URL: MMCT project drafts base12.htm
EnCKompass is a non-profit making international research and advanced practice network including both academic and industrial workers in Information Technology, Systems and related Socio-technical fields. Members of the consortia are interested in knowledge exchange and best practice transfer to support the advancement of web-enabled systems and services for organisational and societal advantage in e-Business, e-Learning and e-Government.
Since its formation in October 1999, EnCKompass has had several workshops hosted by major research and technology centres in UK and Europe. The 6th EnCKompass Workshop - Research & Best Practice in eContent-Knowledge Management & Mass-Personalisation Systems & Services, is scheduled for June 29, 2001 in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. It will focus on:
- adaptive transaction systems and business models for collaborating content owners/service providers and their users, e-services signposting and aggregation models, global intermediation and e-mediation systems and services;
- personalised/subject-oriented portals and standards for virtual seminars development, co-browsing, co-e-learning and co-e-shopping;
- persona Technologies.
Researchers from industry and academia working on related projects are invited to attend either as contributors presenting a paper or as active participants in the audience and sub-groups.
Other EnCKompass2001 Research Workshops include:
- Enterprise Knowledge Integration, co-located with the IFIP WG 8.1 Conference 2001 (Organisational Semiotics), 23-25 July, Montreal, Canada;
- Persona Technologies and Personalisation Services, Boston, AMCIS 2001, 3-5 August 2001;
- Cost-Effective Usability Evaluation of Web-enabled IS Integration, 8th Annual ECITE Conference 2001, Oriel College, Oxford University, 18-19 September 2001.
If you are interested in attending any of the events, or in joining the consortium, contact Atta Badii, the network organiser (email below).
URL: EnCKompass http://www21.brinkster.com/p3ie/EnCKompass/
Email: Atta Badii mailto:atta.badii@northampton.ac.uk
The latest issue of IP-Wire the free newsletter of the IPR-Helpdesk, contains an exclusive interview with Alison Brimelow the Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Patent Office. This interview is the first of a short series and over the Summer months IP-Wire are inviting leading figures from the world of Intellectual Property to give IP-Wire readers their insight into topical IP related issues.
Also this month the helpdesk have introduced their daily IP-News in English, French or German and announced a further Seminar on Intellectual Property Rights in EU-funded Research. This event will be held in Brussels at the Sweden House Conference Centre on Friday 20th July 2001. If you are interested in attending this event, which will be the last one to be held during the Summer, then please send an e-mail with your full details to the email below. Places are available on a strict first-come first-served basis. The Agenda is being prepared and will be posted shortly on the seminar page of the web site.
URL: IP-Wire http://www.ipr-helpdesk.org/ipwire
URL: IP-News http://www.ipr-helpdesk.org/ipnews
Email: seminar registration mailto:edu@ipr-helpdesk.org
A note in a recent Scout Report points to a useful resource for webmasters, a site providing a set of guidelines from the National Library of Australia geared toward helping webmasters maintain accessibility to online resources. Among other topics, the guidelines cover redirects, resolver databases, and persistent identifier services, as well as advice on organising web sites so that material need not be moved frequently and keeping older material accessible.
A free subscription to the email-based Scout Report comes highly recommended, the reports can also be viewed online.
URL: http://www.nla.gov.au/guidelines/2000/persistence.html
URL: The Scout Report on the web http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
URL: current issue http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sr/current/
Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox for June 10 is now online and claims that, "forcing users to browse PDF files decreases usability by around 300% compared with HTML pages". The usability expert goes on to say that PDF-based documents should be limited to those, "that users are likely to print". In those cases, he claims, that following six basic guidelines will help you minimise usability problems.
The Wireless Advertising Association has proposed a code of conduct for advertisers, in an attempt to maintain the privacy of mobile phone users and to avoid the proliferation of text messaging based spam. The voluntary code suggests that companies using SMS to communicate with potential customers, seek permission from phone owners before sending messages. The code also suggests that senders of "commercial messages" make clear their origins, and also provide a mechanism for removal from advertisers list of contacts.
News items such as these are being published in the Active-Ad Newsletter which provides an overview of the activities in the field of online advertising with a focus on Europe. Available on free subscription, the newsletter is being published by Active-ad, an Interactive Electronic Publishing Sector research project, co-funded by the European Commission, which is investigating "the drivers of interactive advertising - the Internet and interactive television - which are likely to stimulate commitment to transaction".
URL: Wireless Advertising Association http://www.waaglobal.org/
URL: about Active-ad http://www.vandusseldorp.com/newsletters/activead.asp
URL: subscribe Active-ad Newsletter http://www.vandusseldorp.com/activead
Macromedia ColdFusion Server 5, the latest version of the web application server has been released. The software is supported by many web development consultancies and service providers who make-up the Macromedia Alliance whose members provide professional services, training, packaged applications and complementary technology. A free 30-day evaluation version is also available for download via the link below.
URL: evaluation software http://www.macromedia.com/software/coldfusion/resources/
URL: Macromedia Alliance endorsements http://www.macromedia.com/go/cfpartnerlist
The European R&D Insider is a free newsletter published by the European Commission Key Action Line (KA II) which focuses on New Methods of Work & e-Commerce. The latest edition No. 4, for June 2001 has been published and is available online or via email in Word, RTF or PDF formats. News items include:
- details of conferences (with occasional reports), such as the announcement of the programme for the e2001 Conference to be held in Venice, Italy, on October 17-19 2001
URL: http://www.ebew.net/- information on calls for proposals;
- latest news on developments of the work programme for the 6th Framework Programme and news, reviews and information on R&D projects.
The latest issue, for example, highlights the iMEDIA project, and announces that the first prototype of the iMEDIA system - an end-to-end solution for providing targeted interactive advertising in a Digital TV environment, "has been demonstrated for first time with big success in Turin".
OpenP2P.com, a web site focused on peer-to-peer technology, is running the Project JXTA Developer Contest which is "designed to showcase and encourage innovative development work by programmers working in Project JXTA - the collaborative network computing project sponsored by Sun Microsystems". Prizes include Yopy Personal Digital Assistants (a Linux-based PDA), and a digital cameras for the Yopy.
The contest is designed to stimulate application development using Project JXTA capabilities, including P2P auctioning, network gaming, instant messaging, file sharing and content distribution. Eligible applications must be received by July 15, 2001. Complete contest details and an entry form are available online.
URL: contest http://www.openp2p.com/contest/jxta/
URL: Project JXTA http://www.jxta.org/
Pageflex, has announced a preview of .EDIT, a browser-based technology for design and editing of rich documents. According to the Pageflex, "a company deploying .EDIT can create templates that allow it to maintain its brand/corporate identity by using approved fonts, design elements, and images". Applications of this technology might include sales and marketing literature, flyers, display advertisements, business cards, and restaurant menus.
The editor is based on Pageflex's XML-based composition engine with a Java applet client. "Companies can now provide a sophisticated page layout tool to their end users through any web browser," said Charles Ying, CEO, Pageflex.
The SDLWebFlow 3.0 the multilingual content management system from UK company SDL plc now offers real-time translation capability through integration with the company's Enterprise Translation Server. The real-time translation provides what is termed "a gisted draft-quality translation that is ideal for obtaining a general understanding of foreign language text".
The company claims that the approach of real-time translation enables significant cost savings in the support of multilingual applications such as corporate intranets, extranets and portals. In addition by pairing real-time translation with SDLWebFlow's existing translation memory functionality, organisations are being offered a fast multilingual content management solution.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) have announced the publication of two W3C Recommendations:
- XHTML 1.1 which defines a new XHTML document type that is based upon the modularization framework and modules defined in Modularization of XHTML, and serves as the basis for future extended XHTML "family" document types. This document type is designed to be portable to a broad collection of client devices, and applicable to the majority of Internet content. Content developers who base their content upon XHTML 1.1 can trust that it will be consistently portable across user agents which support XHTML.
- Ruby Annotation provides an XHTML module for expressing short runs of text alongside base text, typically used in East Asian documents to indicate pronunciation or to provide a short annotation.
A W3C Recommendation indicates that a specification is stable, contributes to Web interoperability, and has been reviewed by the W3C Membership, who are in favour of supporting its adoption by academic, industry, and research communities.
URL: W3C http://www.w3.org/
URL: XHTML 1.1 http://www.w3.org/TR/2001/REC-xhtml11-20010531/
URL: Ruby Annotation http://www.w3.org/TR/2001/REC-ruby-20010531/
US developer, @Last Software, has announced the release of SketchUp 1.2. Building on SketchUp's technique of creating and working with geometry, SketchUp 1.2 apparently further combines "the elegance and spontaneity of pencil sketching with the speed and flexibility of today's digital media". SketchUp allows 3D forms to be created, viewed and modified quickly and easily - allowing the user to explore "what if" scenarios. To download a free demo copy of SketchUp or for more information visit the company's site.
A group of companies, consortia, and open source projects have announced the formation of the WBEMsource initiative, a collaboration of major industry players with the goal of improving the manageability of large scale web-based enterprise management (WBEM) implementations. The new group will work to define and promote an open source enterprise management environment based on the Distributed Management's Task Force's (DMTF) WBEM standards. There is a FAQ on the WBEMsource initiative available via the Open Group's web site.
URL: WBEM Initiative http://www.opengroup.org/wbemsource
URL: Caldera OpenWBEM source http://www.openwbem.org/
URL: WBEMsource initiative FAQ http://www.opengroup.org/wbemsource/faq.htm
A suggestion from an El.pub reader concerning Ixquick.com which joins the list of metasearch engines including Search.com, Metacrawler.com, and Dogpile.com. According to the note we received, Ixquick has been given high ratings by both Search Engine Watch (a very useful free electronic newsletter on search engine technology and trends) and ZDNet's SearchIQ. Among the positive features listed:
- effective search relevancy,
- comprehensive results (searches 12 engines simultaneously),
- advanced syntax support,
- web, image, news and MP3 category searches,
- multilingual support
Take a look and please report back to us.
The concise summary of the lessons shared at the CEDARS Open Technical Day, "Digital Preservation in Practice", held at University of London Computing Centre, UK on the 25 April 2001, have been published online. The CEDARS project aims to address strategic, methodological and practical issues, providing guidance for libraries in best practice for digital preservation. Some of the lessons learned have wider implication for the interactive electronic publishing community.
URL: summary http://www.leeds.ac.uk/cedars/OTD/ulcc-notes.html
URL: CEDARS home page http://www.leeds.ac.uk/cedars/
VREfresh, the i3D and VR news service from El.pub reports on the new version of the Cyberworld Browser and Builder which supports transparent Flash animations. The browser plays Flash animations natively in immersive worlds, providing a new context for games, objects and movies developed in Macromedia Flash. It has been compressed to a download size of less than 770KB. The browser is available free from the web site below.
Colour fidelity has long been a concern of all those of us active on the web. Imation Verifi Accurate Web Color is now available in European markets. It's developers claim that it delivers colour corrected images, based on the differences inherent in an individual monitor, to online shoppers of web sites enabled with the Verifi technology.
The Verifi system, which allows the software to be integrated into a client's existing web architecture, is being marketed to e-retailing businesses, such as automotive, cosmetics, fashion and home decor, where colour accuracy plays a critical role in the purchasing decision and, according to a report commissioned by Imation, "e-commerce businesses may lose customers if they can't assure color confidence on their web sites".
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