EP Topic News: 27th June 2002EP Topic News: 27th June 2002
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Analytic
10 published
FP6 Calls for Expressions of Interest (EoI)
Future of Interactive Digital Content
IEP Conference papers online
Flash Player on Nokia handsets
Palm eBooks Top 10
PHP overtaking ASP?
Java language to C# conversion
Entertainment/media industries growing
iPIX Mapping System available
XML web service validation
PixMaker Pro - 360 degree imaging
GPS navigation for Palm m500
MediaPlatform 1.3 web casting
Macromedia's MX product family
Alcatel buys VoiceXML developer
WAP Push developer SDK
Conference Director - web-based conferencing
FileMaker Mobile 2
Developing handheld apps.
Viador E-Portal Suite 6.5
Digital video tools shipping
Interactivity in Digital Libraries papers
Image metadata dictionary
Future technology - authors required
Internet 2 news
D-Lib Magazine June
El.pub Analytic Number 10, entitled: "IP, managing digital rights and content - RTD problems and opportunities" has been published on El.pub. The analysis considers the inter-related, indeed tangled, relationships between digital content and intellectual property rights (IPR), content management and digital rights management. The growth of digital content has upset the status quo. Copying is now easy and very cheap for PC owners. Distribution has been made easy through the growth of the Internet. IP owners want to exploit these changes for their own profit, but fear that consumers will end up destroying the revenue stream. Read the full analysis on El.pub and comment on the conclusions.
Subscribe free to El.pub Analytic - a free email containing the latest issue of El.pub Analytic as soon as it's published in the format of your choice.
URL: El.pub Analytic Number 10 analytic10.htm
URL: analytic subscrition page http://www.elpub.org/
We suppose that some readers of El.pub will have entered expressions of interest to the Commission in response to the recent call. It is unlikely that the Commission will publish the EoIs in the near future. We understand that they will publish a report on the contents of the EoIs when they have finished analysing the response, but have not yet decided on whether to publish any of the EoIs received. Some of you may wish to publicise your EoIs in order to find collaborators.
The INFORM project are prepared to help by publishing any EoIs you wish to advertise in the area of digital content. We propose publishing EoI texts you send us on a special section of the El.pub web site, the purpose of which would be to:
• publicise the particular EoIs,
• highlight the areas of R&D of particular interest to our readers,
• enable interested parties from within our community to contact each other, with the possibility of joining or forming consortia.We would also publicise this EoI section in the El.pub Weekly newsletter in order to stimulate dialogue and maximise exposure of the EoIs.
If you would be interested in publishing your EoI on El.pub, please contact David Hitchcock of the INFORM project, who acts as the webmaster for the El.pub web site, via the email below. You need to send a copy of the EoI and a request to publish it on the El.pub web site, together with an e-mail contact address.
Email: mailto:david.hitch@dial.pipex.com
URL: El.pub http://www.elpub.org/
In the recent reader survey, many people expressed an interest in providing feedback on topics. We have decided to initiate a Delphi style study to gather your views on the future development of interactive digital content. The results will feed into the European Commission's programme development, be reported to people taking part in the study and a summary published as part of the El.pub information service.
If you take part you need to choose one of a number of areas that you have particular expertise or interest in. You will be sent a small number of questions and asked to write a response to the questions and any other views you have about the area. The replies will be merged and summarised, possibly into alternative scenarios. These will be circulated for a second set of responses.
At this point a cross-impact matrix will be drawn up using the area results and the matrix circulated to everyone for an assessment of the impact between different outcomes in the areas.
The areas are:
• Market aspects such as business models, pay for content, e-books, convergence, mergers, ease of use
• Delivery issues such as mobility, broadband, screen size, interactive TV, finding info
• Regulation / management issues such as IPR, DRM, content management
• Creation aspects such as authoring tools, interfaces, text / video / animation, navigation, usability
If you wish to take part in the study email to mailto:delphi@ketlux.demon.co.uk and indicate which area ONLY ONE you wish to be part of in the first stage. If you think there are other important areas or topics please list them in your reply.
The study is being run by Geoffrey Stephenson the INFORM project co-ordinator.
Papers presented at the Interactive Electronic Publishing Conference entitled: "Multimedia Content & Tools - Towards Information & Knowledge" organised by the INFORM project are available for download from El.pub. The conference held on May 30-31, 2002 in London was used by the European Commission to both publicise and develop their thinking on how multimedia content and tools will develop prior to the launch of the next EC funding programme, FP6, which will focus on this sector. The PowerPoint presentations (available for download via the link below) include those from:
Introduction to FP6
Franco Mastroddi, Deputy Head of Unit, European Commission, Information Society DG
- Achievements of FP5 projects
- What have we learnt - what are the developing trends?
- Introduction to FP6 - what is it about? Where will it lead us?The knowledge lifecycle,
David Worlock, Chairman, EPS
- What do we mean by 'knowledge lifecycle'?
- What processes are involved?
- Which technologies can be most effective?Where are we now?
Paul Ormerod, Director, Synchroni Ltd
- Where have we got to in terms of multimedia content handling?
- What are the current challenges we are facing?
- Cross-sectoral case studies drawn from both the corporate and public service environmentsKnowledge Technologies for the Semantic Web: Reality, Hype, Hopes and Fears
Prof. Nigel Shadbolt, AKT Project, Southampton University
- Review of technologies for knowledge management
- The role of knowledge technologies in the Semantic Web
- The achievements and aspirations of the UK funded Advanced Knowledge Technologies projectInteractive Digital Content Technologies
Anne Foster, Founder, LaneFoster
- Introduction to the session and speakers
- What are 'interactive digital content technologies'?
- Meeting the demands for content 'any time - anywhere'Case Study - KnowledgeBoard, building a community of KM professionals
Ben Heald, Co-Founder and Director of Communities, SIFT
- Introduction to KnowledgeBoard
- Key issues and lessons learned
- Future developments - how will the community develop?Web Publishing: Metadata, Ontologies & Semantics
Prof. Michael Wilson, Manager of the UK office of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
- The development of the cognitive approach
- The introduction of the semantic network
- The Semantic Web - past, present and futureCase Study - the Knowledge Media Institute (KMi)
Dr Enrico Motta, Director Knowledge Media Institute
- Introduction to the work of the KMi
- Multimedia content and the learner experience
- Role and strategic impact of knowledge management
- Project ONTOWEBCase Study - IMS
Kevin Riley, Director, European Development IMS Global Learning Consortium
- Introduction to the IMS Global Learning Consortium
- Developing web technologies and their impact on education and learning
- Developing open technical specifications - supporting distributed learningThe event was attended by business development directors, technology directors, technology operatives - all those with an interest in information and knowledge systems and how they may affect their business. It provided detailed background information to all those interested in applying for funding from the European Commission for their work in this area.
FP6 Newsletter
The INFORM project has launched a FREE email newsletter with information about the 6th FP in relation to projects concerned with digital content. The newsletter appears occasionally (once every month or so) and will point to recent information on CORDIS and in other documents, and to meetings relevant to the programme organised by the Commission and other organisations, and projects. If you are interested in receiving this free newsletter please subscribe by sending an email to the address below, with "Subscribe FP6News" in the subject field.
Email: mailto:fp6iepnews@ketlux.demon.co.uk
URL: download papers from agenda23.htm
Macromedia's Flash Player is available for Nokia 9200 Communicator Series handsets, which combine a wireless telephone with a high-resolution colour display and multimedia capabilities. Both companies believe that the move will lead to Flash designers and developers working to create content and applications for mobile devices.
Developers can download Flash Player 5 and a content development kit (Flash MX development environment) for the Nokia 9200 Communicator Series, which includes detailed authoring guidelines and examples to get started creating games, animations, and productivity applications for Nokia 9200 Communicator Series owners. The Flash Player 5 now ships with every new Nokia 9200 Communicator Series phone in addition Nokia Communicator owners can also download the Flash Player from the web.
URL: Flash Player 5 download http://www.macromedia.com/go/nokia9200_download/
URL: Flash MX development environment http://www.macromedia.com/go/flashmx/
URL: Macromedia http://www.macromedia.com/
Palm Digital Media, which offers a growing list of more than 5,000 eBook titles from many of the major US publishing houses, publishes a monthly top ten list of the best selling fiction and non-fiction eBooks. Unfortunately it does not include numbers which would help to indicate how the market for eBooks is developing.
According to Zend Technologies, the creators of PHP 4, and the Zend Engine, on which PHP sites are run, a Netcraft survey published in April 2002, shows that "PHP is now being used by over 24% of the sites on the Internet", and that this figure is greater than those running Microsoft's ASP technology. PHP, a recursive acronym for "Hypertext Preprocessor", is an open-source server-side scripting language designed for creating dynamic web-based applications. According to Zend PHP's early growth "can be attributed to its open-source roots as a free Web scripting technology that came bundled with the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) open-source quartet".
URL: Netcraft survey http://www.netcraft.com/Survey/index-200204.html
URL: Zend Technologies http://www.zend.com/
Microsoft have release the second beta of its Java Language Conversion Assistant (JLCA), a tool aimed at Java-language developers that wish to build XML Web services on the Microsoft .NET platform. Built on the ArtinSoft migration technology, the JLCA automates the process of migrating language syntax and library calls from existing Java-language source code into C# to bring about the conversion. The JLCA is available for download from the MSDN web site.
URL: MSDN web site http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/downloads/jca/default.asp
Despite the combined "triple whammy" of spillover from dot-com failures, a global economic/advertising market downturn, and the impacts of the 9/11 tragedy, global entertainment and media (E&M) industry spending grew in 2001 - rising by 1.5 percent and exceeding the US$ 1 trillion mark. Forecasting continued growth, PricewaterhouseCoopers anticipates that global E&M spending will reach US$ 1.4 trillion in 2006, for a 5.2 percent compound annual growth rate over the next five years.
These predictions were published in the latest edition of the annual PricewaterhouseCoopers "Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2002-2006". The principal drivers for growth outlined in the survey included the digital distribution of content, aided by rising broadband penetration. However piracy and unauthorised use of copyrighted material will continue to limit growth throughout the forecast period, especially in recorded music. Despite the near catastrophic year the global advertising market had in 2001, the survey forecasts single digit growth during 2004-2006. The survey is available for US$ 995. Individual segment chapters available electronically, and accompanied by the Executive Summary, and can also be purchased for US$ 200 each.
URL: survey http://www.pwcglobal.com/outlook
URL: PricewaterhouseCoopers http://www.pwcglobal.com/
The iPIX Mapping System is described as a complete software solution for the creation of maps enriched with geo-referenced iPIX 360-degree immersive images. The software combines GeoBuilder, iPIX's automated immersive image creation software, with geo-referenced map creation software from Red Hen Systems. Additional product information and an online demonstration are available via the web
URL: Mapping System http://www.ipix.com/products/im/mapping/
URL: iPIX http://www.ipix.com/
Real-Time Technology Solutions (RTTS) has released xVerify 1.0, described as an automated testing tool that facilitates the validation of data content in Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) messages. The software can be used to build and submit SOAP requests, capture response messages, and parse the responses for comparison of their data content with baseline data to identify data defects. The company claim the tool can be used in web service environments based on bot the .NET and J2EE development platforms.
URL: RTTS' testing services http://www.rttsweb.com/services
URL: RTTS http://www.rttsweb.com/
PixAround.com, a company spun-off from Singapore's premier research institute in information technology, develops and markets 360 degree interactive digital imaging solutions. The latest addition to its product portfolio is PixMaker Pro aimed at online marketing professionals, web developers, and virtual tour service providers to enable them to "easily create and distribute customised interactive content". Further information on the company and their products available via the web site below.
Thales Navigation, the global provider of Magellan consumer and Ashtech professional GPS solutions, has launched a personal navigation solution in the US which apparently is "able to calculate and download a route to a Palm m500 series handheld computer for audio-prompted, turn-by-turn GPS guidance on a moving map". The Magellan GPS Companion for Palm m500 Series Handhelds features Rand McNally StreetFinder Deluxe Travel Navigation Software and Magellan NAV Companion software, which provides traditional GPS navigation information. The solution is being aimed at mobile professionals, tourists and outdoor enthusiasts whether traveling on- and off-road, on foot or on water.
URL: Magellan http://www.magellangps.com/
URL: Thales Navigation http://www.thalesnavigation.com/
Interactive Video Technologies (IVT) has released MediaPlatform 1.3 is described as a web-based, rich-media authoring solution for creating webcasts and video-on-demand applications. The company believe that with this version enterprise can create, manage, deploy and measure live webcasts "with ease". Developed for delivering applications with a high-level of interactivity, MediaPlatform 1.3 contains an advanced moderated Question and Answer system.
URL: IVT http://www.ivtweb.com/
The Macromedia MX product line includes MX versions of Studio, Dreamweaver, ColdFusion, Fireworks and Flash. According to the publicity these are the latest releases of the Macromedia products aimed at web development which address the applications being built on the .NET Framework and Java application servers.
URL: Macromedia http://www.macromedia.com/
Alcatel plans to to acquire the privately held US-based Telera, company that provides a voice-web platform using voice extensible markup language (VoiceXML) to make web content accessible by telephone. Telera will become a part of Alcatel's Genesys contact center software business and will focus initially on the market for voice self-service solutions - a market expected by Alcatel to grow considerably in the near future.
URL: Genesys http://www.genesys.com/
URL: Alcatel http://www.alcatel.com/
Openwave Systems' WAP Push Library, Java Edition 1.0, has been released to support the development of mobile applications based on the company's core technology which support multimedia messaging service (MMS), instant messaging, auctions, and multi-user games. According to Openwave, "developers can begin using the Openwave library to create Push applications that include clickable alerts, allowing the end-user to easily launch the browser and visit a tailored URL directly from the original message".
Developers can use the push-enabled phone simulators in the Openwave(R) SDK 5 to test push applications written with the WAP Push Library. The WAP Push Library and SDK are available free of charge on the company's developer site, and further details are published on the developer forum.
URL: developer site http://developer.openwave.com/
URL: developer forum http://devforum.openwave.com/
URL: Openwave http://www.openwave.com/
Conference Director from ACT Teleconferencing is web-based interface aimed at business customers hosting telephone conferences. The software enables the transfer of information between participants and is primarily aimed at investor relations calls, press conferences, employee calls, distance learning, and medical marketing applications. The software supports the use of both Microsoft Explorer 5.0 or higher, or Netscape Navigator 4.0 or higher.
URL: ACT Teleconferencing http://www.acttel.com/
The FileMaker Mobile 2 Companion for the Palm OS (Multilingual version), enables users to transfer and synchronise data between FileMaker Pro 5.5 v2 databases on desktop computers and Palm OS handhelds. The latest version of the software is available on both Mac and Windows.
iAnywhere Solutions, a subsidiary of Sybase, are running a beta programme for the UltraLite Component Suite, aimed at "opening the creation of handheld database applications that leverage the SQL Anywhere Studio UltraLite deployment technology to a broad range of popular development environments". Supporting AppForge, the Insignia Jeode Java VM, Microsoft Visual Basic and eMbedded Visual Basic, the UltraLite Component Suite should allowing developers to use their favorite development tools for building "handheld enterprise applications". Developers can join the beta programme via the web site below.
URL: beta programme http://www.ianywhere.com/ultralitebeta
URL: iAnywhere Solutions developer community http://www.ianywhere.com/developer
URL: iAnywhere Solutions http://www.ianywhere.com/
Viador's E-Portal Suite 6.5 now "incorporates valued customer feedback and technology advancements providing a greater ease of use for the end user as well as the administrators of the portal". The latest version attempts to address "portal information overload" with what the company terms "intelligent display options" allied to "refined search capabilities". E-Portal 6.5 is available in English with updated Chinese to follow shortly. Other currently supported international languages from previous releases include Korean, Japanese, Chinese and German.
URL: Viador http://www.viador.com/
Pinnacle Systems, a US vendor of digital video content creation tools, has released CineWave Classic, a low-cost uncompressed video system created for motion graphic artists and video editors who already own Final Cut Pro. The company is also shipping CineAcquire, a video capture and device control application and plug-in for both Adobe After Effects and Pinnacle Systems Commotion Pro.
URL: Pinnacle Systems http://www.pinnaclesys.com/
The Journal of Digital Information (JoDI) have published a special issue on "Interactivity in Digital Libraries". The editorial introducing the special edition states:
"Advances in Internet technologies have made it seemingly possible and easy to create digital collections, repositories and libraries. However, facilitating interaction beyond searching and browsing is in the early stages. Interactive digital libraries are still evolving. The problems facing digital library design can be reframed as three challenges, in the areas of:
• Information Spaces
• Learning Spaces
• Interaction SpacesThe information-learning-interaction spaces challenge provides a framework and directs digital library research and development to the human rather than just the technical problems. It is also grounded in the realisation that libraries, whether they are digital or traditional, are socially constructed, and that the values of a society are embodied in the use of a library. We invite the community to discuss and explore".
The papers in this issue show how current projects and initiatives are handling some of the challenges. JoDI is an electronic journal published free on the web through support from the British Computer Society and Oxford University Press.
The Scout Report of June 14, 2002 (Volume 8, Number 22) that the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) in collaboration with the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) has released the "Data Dictionary for Technical Metadata for Digital Still Images" for trial use for the period June 1, 2002 to December 31, 2003. The data dictionary presents a "comprehensive list of technical data elements relevant to the management of digital still images", and has been designed to "facilitate interoperability between systems, services, and software as well as to support the long-term management of and continuing access to digital image collections".
The data dictionary, downloadable from the NISO web site, is primarily aimed at organisations digitising image-based materials in historical collections.
URL: Data Dictionary http://www.niso.org/standards/dsftu.html
URL: The Scout Report http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
We have received an announcement concerning the UK's Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) funded Technology and Standards Watch Service, which commissions reports on technologies that might be expected to have substantial impact on UK Higher and Further Education in a few years' time. Authors are paid 1,500 pounds for reports of around 4,000 words.
Expressions of interest are currently invited for reports in the following areas: Battery Technologies (for mobile devices); Biological Computing Technologies; Biometrics; Digital Paper, Digital Ink; Embedded Systems; Flexible Displays; Image Recognition; Intelligent Agent technologies; Security in Mobile Communications; Synchronous audio; Technologies to support Assessment, E-commerce, Virtual Laboratories, Virtual Environments for Learners; Ubiquitous Computing; Voice Portals; Wearable Devices; Web Services technologies; Wireless, mobile communications technologies
Details of how to submit an expression of interest, report requirements, acceptance procedures, and payment are available on the web site. Expressions of interests for reports on topics not in the list above are also welcome and are subject to the same conditions. Reports already available can be seen on the site. The site also includes a large and growing collection of links to information on technologies and developments relevant to HE and FE.
URL: Technology and Standards Watch http://www.jisc.ac.uk/techwatch/
URL: reports available http://www.jisc.ac.uk/techwatch/reports/
URL: resources http://www.jisc.ac.uk/techwatch/resources/
Internet 2 is an on-going project working on research and development and eventual the roll-out of the next generation Internet. The project newsletter, avaiable as a free email service, has reported:
Internet 2 Land Speed Record Competition
The current Internet 2 Land Speed Record was set on 9 April 2002 by a team from the University of Alaska at Fairbanks; the Faculty of Science of the University of Amsterdam and SURFnet, the national computer network for higher education and research in the Netherlands. The team transferred 625 megabytes of data (more than a typical CD) across 12,272 kilometers from Fairbanks, Alaska to Amsterdam in the Netherlands at 401 megabit per second (more than 7,500 times faster than a typical computer modem) using the networking capabilities of the Pacific Northwest Gigapop, an access point to leading-edge networks; the Internet2 Abilene backbone network; StarLight, the advanced optical infrastructure and proving ground in Chicago, Illinois; and SURFnet. The Internet 2 Land Speed Record (I2-LSR) competition for the highest-bandwidth, end-to-end networks is an open and ongoing contest.
URL: http://www.internet2.edu/html/i2lsr.shtml
Global Terabit Research Network
On May 21-22, 2002, key leaders in advanced networking from all over the world gathered at the International Press Centre in Brussels, Belgium to formally inaugurated the Global Terabit Research Network during the Global Research Networking Summit and GÉANT Commissioning Event hosted by the European Commission and GÉANT/DANTE. The Global Terabit Research Network (GTRN) is an international partnership to establish a true worldwide next generation Internet to interconnect national and multinational high-speed research and education networks. Presentations from the summit are available online.
URL: presentations http://www.dante.net/conference/globalsummit2002/
URL: GTRN http://www.gtren.net/
URL: GÉANT http://www.dante.net/geant/index.html
URL: press release http://www.gtren.net/announce2.htmlURL: Internet2 home page http://www.internet2.edu/
The June 2002 issue of D-Lib Magazine, available online, includes four full-length features, several smaller features from the 'In Brief' column, excerpts from recent press releases, and news of upcoming conferences. The full-length features include:
• "Building the Biodiversity Commons";
• "Primary Multimedia Objects and 'Educational Metadata': A Fundamental Dilemma for Developers of Multimedia Archives";
• "Evaluation of Digital Library Impact and User Communities by Analysis of Usage Patterns";
• "The KYVL Kentuckiana Digital Library Project: Background and Current Status".URL: D-Lib http://www.dlib.org/
URL: table of contents June http://www.dlib.org/dlib/june02/06contents.html
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