EP Topic News: 9th May 2002EP Topic News: 9th May 2002
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Future
of EP study call
XrML and content distribution
GSM Association targets MMS
High Definition Multimedia Interface
Web 3D Software Development Kit
Commission Calls for studies
New FP6 informatics system proposed
SQLX, vendors try to merge SQL and XML
DC-2002 - Metadata for e-Communities
3D data visualisation event
Digital library summer school
Applied Evolutionary Economics meeting
XML Origin editor version 1.1
XML Standards Library updated
ITU Network Security Workshops
Secure email solution
Embedded Bluetooth protocol stack
Open Management Interface spec.
International eBook Association
Airpath's wireless Hot-Spot-In-A-Box
The value of intellectual property
First Monday May 2002
IST Programme Key Action II news
Sharable Content Object Reference Model
SOAPtest - web services testing
The European Commission's Interactive Electronic Publishing sector (which supports the publication of the El.pub Information Services) has issued a call for tender for a study on the "Future of Electronic Publishing towards 2010". Published in the Official Journal (OJ S88), the deadline submission of tender documents is June 17, 2002. We have published below the call below in its entirety, for further information please contact Pascal Jacques: using the numbers shown.
L-Luxembourg: open call for tenders for a study on "Future of electronic publishing towards 2010" 2002/S 88-068792
1. Awarding authority: European Commission, Directorate-General Information Society, Directorate D Information Society Technologies, Content, Multimedia Tools and Markets, Unit D1 Electronic Publishing, Att: Mr Pascal Jacques, Office EUFO 1195 , rue Alcide de Gasperi, L- 2920 Luxembourg. Tel.: (352) 43 01 380 34. Fax: (352) 43 01 380 69.
2. Category of service and description: The objective of the call for tenders is to prepare and support the IST programme with a study on the 'future of electronic publishing towards 2010'. Category of service: 865 - consulting and related services.
3. Place of delivery: As in point 1.4. (a) Not applicable. (b) Not applicable. (c) Legal persons are bound to give the name and qualifications of the personnel responsible for the execution of the services.
5. Not applicable.
6. Variants: Would not be acceptable.7. Time limit for completion of work: The foreseen duration of the study is 9 months as from the date of signature of the contract.
8. (a) Name and address of the service from which the terms of reference for the study may be requested: As in point 1. (b) Final date for making such requests: 30 calendar days from date of dispatch of notice - see point 19.
(c) Requests for the terms of reference for the study may be made by fax or letter. When requests are made by fax, they must be confirmed by letter dispatched before the expiry of the time limit referred to in paragraph.
8.(b). The tender documents and the conditions governing contracts of the Commission will be forwarded without charges.
9. (a) Final date for submission of tenders: 17.6.2002. (b) Tenders shall be sent to the address in 1.
10. (a) Persons authorized to be present at the opening of tenders: Official representatives of the European Commission and one authorized representative per tenderer. (b) Date, time and place of opening: Tenders will be opened in the Euroforum Building, 10 rue Robert Stumper in Luxembourg, Office EUFO 0279 on 25.6.2002 at 10.00.
11. The contractor may be requested to provide the Commission with a guarantee equal to the amount of any advance obtained.12. The payment modalities are specified in the tender documents. The total amount is up to 200, 000 EUR.
13. Tenders may be submitted individually or jointly. If two or more applicants submit a joint bid, one must be designated as the lead contractor and agent responsible.
14. Information concerning the tenderer's position (exclusion and selection criteria): The tenderer will be required to provide economic and technical information for appraisal purposes. These requirements will be specified in the terms of reference.
15. The offer shall be valid for a period of 6 months from the time limit for submission of tenders.
16. Evaluation criteria (award criteria): Will be included in the terms of reference.17. Not applicable.
18. This call for tenders corresponds to a pre-information notice published in the 'Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Communities' OJ No S 6-003886 of 9.1.2002.
19. Date of dispatch of the notice: 24.4.2002.
20. Date of receipt of the notice by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities: 24.4.2002.
21. This procurement is covered by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA).
The Gilbane Report, available as a free weekly email, has published online a white paper entitled, "XrML and Emerging Models of Content Development and Distribution". The report itself concentrates on content management, XML, and enterprise content-oriented applications.
URL: white paper http://www.gilbane.com/whitepapers.pl
URL: The Gilbane Report http://www.gilbane.com
The GSM Association is hoping that the wireless data applications market will be "revitalised" through the introduction of Multimedia Messaging Services - MMS. By clarifying global requirements, the Association plans to encourage the development of commercial applications that will promote increased consumer uptake of GPRS services.
Many operators are currently in trials with MMS, with some market introductions planned for the coming summer and full launch by Christmas 2002. Key challenges for the widespread up-take of MMS include interoperability issues and the form in which non-MMS capable handsets can receive a simplified form of MMS from new generation terminals.
The GSM Association a global wireless industry representative body, consisting of more than 630 second and third generation wireless network operators and manufacturers and suppliers to the wireless industry.
URL: press release http://www.gsmworld.com/news/press_2002/press_11_pl47.shtml
URL: http://www.gsmworld.com/
Hitachi, Matsushita, Philips, Silicon Image, Sony, Thomson and Toshiba have formed a Working Group to define a digital connectivity specification for audio/video products. Designed to usher in the new era of digital entertainment, the High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) specification combines high-definition video and multi-channel audio in one digital interface. This interface builds on Digital Visual Interface (DVI), and will be used for future products such as digital televisions, DVD players, set-top boxes and other digital A/V products.
Jerry Pierce, vice president of technology at Universal Pictures, said: "We are encouraged to see these technology manufacturers endorsing a protected baseband digital interconnect specification that appeals to consumers and provides us the ability to protect our content with HDCP. HDMI/HDCP is one of the key technologies that makes D-VHS possible."
URL: press release http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020416/sftu105_1.html
URL: Hitachi http://global.hitachi.com
URL: Matsushita (Panasonic) http://www.panasonic.co.jp/global/top.html
URL: Philips http://www.news.philips.com
URL: Silicon Image http://www.siliconimage.com
URL: Sony http://www.world.sony.com
URL: Toshiba http://www.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm
The Web3D Consortium has released its latest Software Development Kit (SDK). The SDK, available via the consortiums SDK web site, consists of Web3D language specifications and source code, descriptions of several tools and viewers, applicable resources, and a few content libraries.
URL: SDK http://sdk.web3d.org/
URL: Web3D Consortium http://www.web3d.org/
CORDIS reports that The European Commission's Enterprise DG has published calls for tenders for two seperate studies which may be of interest to readers of El.pub.
Assessment of e-content industry
This call relates to the provision of an in-depth study of the content industry to improve the understanding and awareness of the Commission services with a view to impact on ongoing and future policy initiatives in this sector. The purpose of the study is to identify the obstacles to competitiveness and the cooperation between companies in the online content industry, with emphasis on economic analysis and policy implications. The estimated budget for the study is Euro 130,000.
Quality & security of web-based services
This call relates to the provision of an in-depth study of the emerging web-based services market, and in particular the quality and security aspects of it. The purpose of the study is to identify the obstacles to competitiveness and the cooperation between companies operating in the sector, analyse the quality and security aspects of the provision of IT services over the web and consider the possible requirement for standardisation. The estimated budget for the study is Euro 70,000.
The deadline for requesting tender documents for both studies is 31 May 2002; and for submitting tender documents is 13 June 2002. Further information is available from: European Commission, DG Enterprise Unit D-4, ICT industries and services, SC 15/1-07, B-1049 Brussels, Belgium and also via the web site below.
Fax: +322 296 9500
URL: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/calls/calls.html
The European Commission has published proposals for a new informatics system, designed to help in administering and communicating the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). The proposed system will be web-based enabling proposers and project participants to communicate with the Commission electronically, thereby making, "communication with the Commission more transparent and rapid".
A detailed description of the proposed system has been published online, but it stresses that the actual implementation will be subject to "the ongoing political process for the adoption of FP6, its specific programmes and the rules for participation".
URL: http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/fp6/it-system/index_en.html
A number of vendors of SQL server systems including IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and Sybase are working on a merged version of SQL and XML. Perhaps it would be better to say they are defining ways in which SQL and XML can inter-operate. The effort is essentially a standards based project with connections in ISO and ANSI. There are details of meetings and drafts on the web site and a link to a paper on the subject.
URL: http://www.sqlx.org/
URL: http://www.acm.org/sigmod/record/issues/0109/standards.pdf
Details of the Dublin Core (DC) Conference for 2002 have been published. DC-2002, entitled: "Metadata for e-Communities Supporting Diversity and Convergence", to be held in Florence on 13-17 October 2002, will combine a conference, tutorials and workshop.
A call for papers is open in the following categories: e-government; search engines and metadata; educational metadata: improving communication; knowledge management; use of DC metadata for commerce and intranets; semantic web: roles of standard cataloguing, indexing, metadata and ontologies; metadata interoperability: tools and protocols; cultural heritage metadata.
The papers deadline is 15th June 2002, and there are submission details available online. All submissions will be peer-reviewed by the program committee and published on line and in print as the DC2002 Conference Proceedings.
URL: conference http://www.bncf.net/dc2002
URL: submission details http://www.bncf.net/dc2002/papers
URL: authors guidelines http://www.bncf.net/dc2002/papers
The latest information from the the First International Symposium on 3D Data Processing Visualization and Transmission, Padova, Italy on June 19-21, 2002 has been published online. The event features eight keynote speakers, five invited sessions and 110 regular contributions. The technical program has been published, along with abstracts of the accepted papers, details of a one day tutorial on 3D photography, and information on some limited exhibitor space which is still available.
URL: technical program http://www.dei.unipd.it/conferences/3DPVT/technical_program.htm
URL: paper abstracts http://www.dei.unipd.it/conferences/3DPVT/Abstracts/index.html
URL: 3D photography tutorial http://www.dei.unipd.it/conferences/3DPVT/tutorial.htm
URL: exhibitor space http://www.dei.unipd.it/conferences/3DPVT/industrial.htm
The D-Lib magazine has circulated a note for all El.pub readers, drawing our attention to the successful International Summer School on the Digital Library, which will be held for the seventh year in a row in Europe this Summer and Fall. The Summer School courses held in 2001 were extensively discussed in a D-Lib article (see link below). The following courses will be organised:
International Summer School on the Digital Library
Course 1a: The Management of Change
Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
July 28 - August 1, 2002
URL: http://www.ticer.nl/summer02/course1a/International Summer School on the Digital Library
Course 1b: The Management of Change
Weetwood Hall, Leeds, UK,
November 3-7, 2002
URL: http://www.ticer.nl/summer02/course1b/International Summer School on the Digital Library
Course 2: Digital Libraries and the Changing World of Education
Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
August 4 - 9, 2002
URL: http://www.ticer.nl/summer02/course2/International Summer School on the Digital Library
Course 3: Electronic Publishing
European University Institute, Florence, Italy
September 29 -October 4, 2002
URL: http://www.ticer.nl/summer02/course3/Further information from the course managers, Jola Prinsen or Leonne Portz.
URL: Summer School 2001 article http://www.dlib.org/dlib/november01/prinsen/11prinsen.html
Tel: + 31 13 466 8310
Fax: + 31 13 466 8383
Email: mailto:ticer@kub.nl
The 3rd European Meeting of Applied Evolutionary Economics (EMAEE) entitled: "The Knowledge-based Economy – New Challenges in Methodology, Theory and Policy" is scheduled to take place at the University of Augsburg, Germany from April 9 - 12, 2003. Conference themes include: Knowledge and Learning; Dynamics of Technological and Qualitative Change; Industrial Organisation in a Knowledge-based Economy; Evolution of Institutions; Financial Markets in Knowledge-based Economies; Evolution of Demand; Policy in a Knowledge-based Economy. The deadline for the submission of extended abstracts is October 18, 2002. See the web site for further details.
URL: http://www.emaee.net
TFI Technology has announced version 1.1 of XML Origin, a fully featured XML editing and XSLT debugging solution for Windows. Many of the new features and enhancements in 1.1 are due to feedback from users of the software and include:
- improved support for non-English XML documents, such as Chinese;
- set and edit initial parameters to pass to your stylesheets (making debugging parameterised stylesheets much easier);
- view whitespace in XML documents (converts spaces to/from tabs);
- more options, including the ability to set the tab style and configure auto-indent options;
- better support for Windows XP, including full support for the XP look and feel.
The developers are encouraging feedback from users via the email address below.
URL: http://www.xmlorigin.com
Email: comments mailto:enquiry@xmlorigin.com
The XML Standards Library 1.0 was updated on May 1, 2002 and now includes: Voice Extensible Markup Language (VoiceXML) Version 2.0, Web Service Definition Language (WSDL), Web Service Description Requirements, Web Services Architecture Requirements.
There are also updates to the following: The Platform for Privacy Preferences 1.0 (P3P1.0) Specification, Character Model for the World Wide Web 1.0, Document Object Model (DOM) Level 3 Abstract Schemas and Load and Save Specification, Document Object Model (DOM) Level 3 Core Specification, Namespaces in XML 1.1, RDF Model Theory, RDF Primer, RDF Test Cases, XML 1.1, XML Path Language (XPath) 2.0, XML Query Use Cases, XML-Signature XPath Filter 2.0, XQuery 1.0 and XPath 2.0 Data Model, XQuery 1.0 and XPath 2.0 Functions and Operators, XQuery 1.0: An XML Query Language.
The library is freely distributable and is governed by the copyright stated in the respective specification documents contained in the compilation.
Network security has become essential to the global information society, as our economic dependency upon information and communication technology has grown. However, computer networks have also become increasingly vulnerable to forms of attack, ranging from simple viruses to sophisticated cyber terrorism. Two ITU workshops, to be held in Seoul, Republic of Korea in May, focus on this timely topic.
The ITU-T Workshop on Security is an ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau Workshop, to be held on May 13-14, 2002 focuses on: cyber attack defence, biometric authentication, mobile security technologies, information security management. This workshop is aimed at international security experts from industry, government and academia and is open to all interested attendees.
URL: http://www.itu.int/itu-t/worksem
The second workshop, "Creating Trust in Critical Network Infrastructures" is described as an ITU New Initiatives Symposium hosted by the Government of Korea and will be held on May 20-22, 2002. It will focus on: policy options in the fight against cyber crime; international cooperation in protecting critical network infrastructures; policy aspects of the physical protection of critical network infrastructures. The workshop is aimed at international policy and security experts.
DespatchBox DDX is described as "a range of secure messaging solutions" which adds "accountability and security to existing email applications", giving users the ability to send, receive, manage and track email in the knowledge that information can only been read by the intended recipient. DDX resides within an organisation's own environment, simply on a server.
Internal users tag sensitive or confidential emails from within their existing email application, a notification is then sent to the external recipient that a confidential email is waiting to be collected from the server. New recipients are "challenged", with a one-off question or shared secret, and can then register to collect the email. The sender is notified that the email has been collected.
Open Interface North America has released BlueMagic 3.0, which it describes as "a high-performance Bluetooth protocol stack designed specifically for solutions in the embedded Bluetooth market". BlueMagic 3.0 has been designed to minimise the cost of integrating Bluetooth technology into an embedded system.
URL: Open Interface North America http://www.oi-us.com
URL: http://www.openinterface.com/
webMethods and Hewlett-Packard Company have announced the general availability of the Open Management Interface (OMI) Specification Version 1.0. OMI is a specification, jointly authored by webMethods and HP, which defines a standards-based (XML/SOAP/HTTP) management interface.
The companies believe that through the adoption of OMI, "customers will be able to use leading systems management tools to effectively manage and monitor business processes, web services and the underlying integration infrastructure that drives their businesses". webMethods and HP plan to deliver OMI-based versions of their products in the early summer. Further information about OMI, and to download the specification via the links below.
URL: webMethods OMI spec. http://www.webmethods.com/OMI_Spec_index
URL: HP OpenView web site http://www.openview.hp.com/
URL: HP http://www.hp.com/
URL: webMethods http://www.webmethods.com/
Microsoft have launched the International eBook Association (IeBA), a new eBook organisation based in Europe that will "support the worldwide eBook community and promote the growing opportunities and promise of eBooks". The new association follows the pioneering work done by the International eBook Award Foundation (IeBAF), which will cease operations at the end of the month, following the withdrawal of "industry's support".
While the new International eBook Association plans to announce its own set of eBook awards, the focus of the new association's work will be to address critical issues facing the electronic publishing community. Its principal goal will be to facilitate and accelerate the adoption of eBooks.
In its announcement Microsoft stated that, "the newly formed IeBA aims to be a neutral representative of the electronic publishing industry and its issues. As an inclusive focal point for a diverse, international group, the IeBA is open to interested members of the publishing industry, both electronic and print".
URL: http://www.microsoft.com/
URL: International eBook Award Foundation (IeBAF) http://www.iebaf.org/
A wireless "Hot Spot" is a location that provides high-speed wireless Internet access for mobile devices such as laptops or hand-held computers. Airpath has designed its Hot-Spot-In-A-Box to include everything needed to install a wireless Hot Spot - the network equipment, the end user billing, even a branded portal.
"We've taken our experience and expertise in our three service segments, Airpath Internet, Airpath Roaming and Airpath Integration, and designed a turnkey product that will let our customers become instant WISPs [Wireless Internet service Providers]," said Todd Myers, President and CEO of Airpath. As a part of the package, Hot Spot owners automatically become a part of the Airpath Roaming Network, incorporating their equipment into its growing, worldwide provider-neutral WiFi network.
URL: http://www.airpathroaming.com/
URL: http://www.airpath.com/
URL: http://www.airpathwireless.com/
Intangible assets, including intellectual property, are the building blocks of today's, and tomorrow's, economies - yet there remain ill-defined standards for reporting the financial value of intangible assets. According to the Licensing Executives Society (LES) in the US, licensing executives, experts who work with these assets everyday, are cooperating with policy makers to develop reporting standards to accurately and consistently measure the value of the intangible assets. Several presentations on this topic were made at the Spring Meeting of the LES, held on May 1-4, in Washington, DC, USA.
LES is evaluating model reporting standards for intellectual property based on well-established practices. It has established an Intellectual Assets Reporting Standards Committee comprised of accounting experts, intellectual asset managers, academicians, lawyers, and industry representatives to monitor progress and provide perspectives on this issue. The Licensing Executives Society (USA & Canada), Inc. is a professional society comprised of more than 5,000 members engaged in the transfer, use, development, manufacture and marketing of intellectual property. It is a member society of the Licensing Executives Society International, which has a worldwide membership of over 11,000 members in more than 27 national societies, representing over 80 countries.
The May 2002 issue of First Monday (volume 7, number 5) is now available online and includes the following articles:
- "Digital Collections, Digital Libraries and the Digitization of Cultural Heritage Information";
- "Rochester Images: From Institutional to Production Models of Collaboration";
- "Voices: Bringing Multimedia Museum Exhibits to the World Wide Web";
- "Museums in the Online Archive of California (MOAC): Building Digital Collections Across Libraries and Museums";
- "Museums and the Online Archive of California";
- "Creating a Framework of Guidance for Building Good Digital Collections".
There is also a review of papers given at the Web-Wise 2002 Conference - "Building Digital Communities" held in Baltimore on March 20-22, 2002.
The IST Programme's Key Action II, publishes a monthly newsletter, "The R&D Insider" and the May 2002 issue is available. Available free of charge, (registration is required), the newsletter is emailed in both MS Word and PDF formats. This issue includes:
Workshops in Preparation of the First Calls in FP6
To prepare the IST constituency in a systematic way for FP6, the IST Programme is organising a series of open workshops in May 2002. The objectives are to present the concepts and the details of implementation of IST in FP6, including the new funding instruments and to provide support for partnership building. These workshops are open to the IST research community with pre-registrations and on a "first-come first-served" basis. Full details on all workshops are available on Cordis, those of particular interest to the Key Action II constituency are:
- "Communication and Network Technologies", including innovative use in services and applications on May 28, 2002.
Email: further information mailto:michel.roy@cec.eu.int- "Trust and Confidence", May 30, 2002.
Email: further information mailto:agnes.mertens@cec.eu.int- "Technologies for Major Work and Business Challenges", June 14, 2002.
Email: further information mailto:jorge.gasos@cec.eu.int
Key Action II Concertation Meeting
On June 13-14, 2002 Key Action II will hold its six-monthly "Concertation Meeting" in Brussels. The first day will offer information and a status update on running IST projects. The second day is tailored to 6th Framework Programme (FP6) and future research issues. To register send an email to the address below.
URL: agenda http://www.cordis.lu/ist/ka2/news.htm
Email: register before 1st June 2002 mailto:michel.roy@cec.eu.int
Email: register after 1st June 2002 mailto:edeltraud.kampf@cec.eu.intURL: "The R&D Insider" http://www.cordis.lu/ist/ka2/rdinsider.html
US-based DigitalThink, a developer of e-learning solutions for business customers is developing products , based on the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) Version 1.2, an industry promoted "standard" for e-learning from the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) initiative. The intention is to "open DigitalThink's learning environment to everyone building SCORM content with standard development tools".
Parasoft has unveiled a web services testing tool, SOAPtest, to aid developers in building "reliable web services" based on the SOAP protocol. SOAPtest, provides testing tools for the links between the modules of an enterprise system, performing functionality testing, load testing, and regression testing.
URL: Parasoft http://www.parasoft.com
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