EP Topic News: 26th September 2002EP Topic News: 26th September 2002
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The second concertation meeting of the Interactive Electronic Publishing (IEP) sector will be held in Luxembourg on October 23-24, 2002. The closed concertation meeting for members of IEP projects will take place on the afternoon of October 23. The meeting, open to all members of current IEP projects, will feature presentations from new IEP projects, present administrative issues concerning projects and start discussions concerning the 6th Framework programme (FP6) and the DG INFSO reorganisation.
In parallel to this closed concertation meeting, an information day on FP6 matters will also be running on October 23-24, 2002 in Luxembourg (see item below), to which IEP project members are also welcome to attend.
A full agenda for the concertation meeting has been circulated to project coordinators and is also available from Pascal Jacques, Head of Sector Interactive Electronic Publishing. IEP Projects wishing to make a presentation at the closed concertation meeting should contact Pascal via the contact points below.
Contact: Pascal Jacques, European Commission DG INFSO/D1, Head of Sector Interactive Electronic Publishing, EUFO1195, 10, rue Robert Stumper, L-2557 Luxembourg
Tel : +352 4301 38034
Fax : +352 4301 38069
E-mail: pascal.jacques@cec.eu.int
The European Commission's Information Society Directorate General has announced an "Information Day on the early stages of implementation of the IST programme within FP6" in Luxembourg, 23-24 October 2002.
Discussions regarding the IST successor programme 2002-2006 are approaching completion. The first call for proposals is expected to be launched towards the end of the year. Following the successful FP6 workshop held on 15-16 May 2002, an Information Day is planned for 23-24 October next. The purpose of the Information Day is to provide participants with first-hand information on the likely scope and content of the calls for proposals that will be launched in the first year of operation of the new programme.
The Information Day will consist of two sessions, addressing RTD topics relating to Interface Technologies and Cognitive Systems on day 1, and Knowledge Technologies and Cross-media Digital Content on day 2.
Please note that the above sessions will be open to all interested parties on a 'first-come first-served' basis. This preliminary announcement is being sent to registered participants in the mid-May workshop, to organisations that submitted an expression of interest in response to the call launched in March last, and to coordinators of ongoing IST projects in the above areas.
Please book the above dates in your diary pending the final agenda and invitation, which will be circulated / published on a suitable web site in the second week of September. Early declaration of your intention to participate in this event can be sent to Joseph Kirsch (via the email below) specifying name, affiliation, email address and the Day / RTD topics you are most interested in. The preliminary agenda is as follows:
Interface Technologies and Cognitive Systems - 23 October, 2002
• Welcome and introduction
• IST within FP6, overview and state of play
• New instruments, administrative provisions governing cost-shared projects, call roadmap
• Q&A• Interface Technologies
- Intended scope and focus in 2003
- Partnerships and intended use of new instruments
- Hints and tips for prospective proposers
- Q&A
• Cognitive Systems
- Intended scope and focus in 2003
- Partnerships and intended use of new instruments
- Hints and tips for prospective proposers
- Q&A• Informal discussions
Knowledge Technologies and Cross-media Digital Content - 24 October, 2002
• Welcome and introduction
• IST within FP6, overview and state of play
• New instruments, administrative provisions governing cost-shared projects, call roadmap
• Q&A• Cross-media Digital Content
- Intended scope and focus in 2003
- Partnerships and intended use of new instruments
- Hints and tips for prospective proposers
- Q&A
• Knowledge Technologies
- Intended scope and focus in 2003
- Partnerships and intended use of new instruments
- Hints and tips for prospective proposers
- Q&A
• Informal discussionsEmail: Joseph Kirsch mailto:Joseph.Kirsch@cec.eu.int
The LISA Global Content Creation Survey aims to help the international business community understand more about the costs, markets, challenges and outlook associated with multilingual content creation and localisation. The survey has been running throughout September (so you do have time to take part - just) and selected results will be presented at the LISA Forum Europe in Heidelberg on November 4-6, 2002. It comprises 40 questions which should take about 30 minutes to complete. LISA is offering various discounts and incentives in return for taking part in the survey.
URL: survey http://www.lisa.org/interact/2002/mccsurvey.html
URL: LISA Forum Europe http://www.lisa.org/events/2002europe
According to a couple of news item in the NUA Internet Surveys email newsletter (a free weekly email on the latest Internet trends and statistics) mobile usage in both the US and UK is surging:
• research from comScore Media Metrix indicates that close to ten million Americans go online via a mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).
URL: http://www.nua.ie/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358324&rel=true
• mobile phone users in the UK sent over a billion SMS messages during July, according to figures from the Mobile Data Association (MDA).
URL: http://www.nua.ie/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358304&rel=true
You can subscribe to the weekly email news service via the link below.
The W3C has released a draft of a document defining the abstract graph syntax on which RDF (Resource Description Framework) is based, and which serves to link its XML serialisation to its formal semantics. Comments are sought. (Source: AgentNews)
URL: W3C RDF draft http://www.w3.org/TR/2002/WD-rdf-concepts-20020829/
URL: AgentNews http://agents.umbc.edu/
Dave Winer of Userland Software has posted a draft specification of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) 0.94 (dated August 2002), for "easy news syndication".
Webroot Software's Privacy Protector, is the latest offering in its line of privacy protection and security software. According to the company, Privacy Protector offers users 128-bit encryption combined with a session-based program style that enables them to work on documents or browse the Internet in secure sessions, in the knowledge that their actions are protected from view. Once the session is closed, selected files containing personal information vanish and become password encrypted.
"In recent surveys, our customers told us that they are very concerned with their increasing vulnerability to privacy invasions", said Steve Thomas, Founder of Webroot Software. "In response, Webroot has created Privacy Protector, a protection program that offers a safe haven within a computer where everything you choose is encrypted and secure from hackers and data thieves." Available to run under all current versions of Windows the software is priced at US$ 49.95 and is available via Webroot's web site
SSI America SSI America's Neo Car Jukebox, an MP3 player for automotive use, has been enhanced through the addition of the Fonix iSpeak application. Fonix iSpeak is Text-To-Speech (TTS) technology, which will enable drivers and passengers to hear song titles, folder names, and play-lists spoken in a natural-sounding human voice, allowing for safer, more convenient music navigation on the MP3 player. The new Neo Car Jukebox speech application is currently available to both end-users and to automotive OEMs who sell their own factory installed, private-label versions of the Neo Car Jukebox.
URL: Neo Car Jukebox http://www.ssiamerica.com/products/neo35/speech.shtml
URL: Fonix http://www.fonix.com/
German company Digital Arts, has developed a filter algorithm that it claims makes photos and video appear as they did at the moment captured. According to its developers, Xe847, can be integrated into digital imaging devices and photo labs and is available in MacOS 9/X and MS Windows versions. Xe847 eliminates colour shifts coming from the ambient light, automatically correcting such problems as blue or green reflections on skin that produce pale complexions.
Digital camcorders significantly benefit from this technology. The software version of Xe847 is available for download as Xe847-Photo (US$ 29), Xe847-Video (US$ 79), as a plug-in for iMovie2 (US$ 14) and for iPhoto (US$ 19). Free demo and test versions can also be downloaded.
URL: Xe847 http://www.xe847.com/
Toshiba has developed new photo-IC sensors which are designed to reduce power consumption in mobile devices by detecting the level of ambient light and altering the amount of backlighting required by the devices' screen accordingly. The company believes the sensors will be used in cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), notebook PCs, camcorders and digital cameras.
Because lighting situations can fluctuate based on the location of the device and the time of day, the backlighting of the LCD screen and keypad is not always required, particularly in well-lighted circumstances such as broad daylight or in brightly-lit indoor rooms. By automatically detecting the level of ambient light to control the level of the backlighting required, the company believes that battery life of the portable device can be extended.
URL: TAEC http://www.chips.toshiba.com
CORDIS Focus reports that information on national e-commerce legislation in the 15 EU Member States has been made available at a single location free of charge through a Commission sponsored web site. The eLexPortal site, supported under the IST (Information Society Technologies) Programme, provides information on the development of e-commerce in European countries and attempts to compare and contrast the legal and regulatory regimes within which e-commerce has been developed. According to CORDIS a helpdesk and online tutorials are also planned. You can sign-up to various free email news and information services via the web site.
Following on from the announcement that XBox is to support online gaming, Sony Computer Entertainment America have released a Network Adaptor (Ethernet/modem) for PlayStation2. The Network Adaptor, which is available at retail outlets throughout the US for US$ 39.99, will enable PlayStation users to play games online. The Network Adaptor combines a 10/100 Ethernet connection with a 56K V.90 analog modem that allows network access (via an ISP) for home users through both broadband and narrowband connections.
The Network Adaptor comes with a bundled "Start-Up Disc" to help users installing the connectivity software, along with a help video and documentation, interactive game demos, and information on planned game releases.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Privacy International have released the fifth annual Privacy and Human Rights survey. The report reviews the state of privacy in over 50 countries around the world. In particular the report examines the impact of September 11, 2001 on privacy and civil liberties and found that many new anti-terrorism laws adopted by national governments since September 11 threaten "political freedom".
The report, which runs to more than 400 pages, covers a wide range of other topics including biometrics, genetic privacy, national ID cards, spy TV, and privacy enhancing technologies. The report is available to purchase (from the EPIC Bookstore) or as a pdf document online.
URL: EPIC Bookstore http://www.epic.org/bookstore/phr2002/
URL: online report http://www.privacyinternational.org/survey/phr2002/
Steinberg Media Technologies has developed a web portal for musicians and computer owners, interested in music. Visitors to www.steinberg.net will find support pages and product information as well as a number of additional services related to music creation and editing. The site also features industry news insider tips and online forums relating to use of Steinberg software. A useful "Music and Computers" tutorial offers a step-by-step guide to digital audio editing - from the initial idea through to the finished CD.
IBM has published details of a number of resources of potential interest to El.pub readers.
• "Get up to speed with SMIL 2.0" - SMIL 2.0, the Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language, is beginning to establish itself as an important approach for integrating multimedia into web content. In this article, industry analyst Anne Zieger provides an overview of the technology and a rundown of SMIL tools that are currently available.
URL: http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/library/x-smil.html?n-x-952
• "Featured XML resources - Selected from developerWorks and IBM product sites" - is a collection of XML resources from developerWorks and IBM product sites which includes web-based tutorials, on-demand webcasts, an online XML pre-certification test, offers for developerWorks CDs with XML tools and technical materials, and direct links to product downloads of IBM tools and middleware from WebSphere, DB2, and Lotus. All of these IBM-supported resources are available free of charge.
URL: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/offers/lp/xml/?n-952
• "Cranky User: Electronic publishing, usability, and free lunch" - Publishers who want to create an electronic book have to choose: They can try to protect it against piracy, or they can make it usable. In this article, Peter Seebach contrasts the extremes of the philosophy, and argues for open standards and accessible data in electronic data products. The impact of these decisions on usability is also considered.
URL: http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/library/us-cranky19.html?n-us-952
• XML Schema Quality Checker is a program which takes as input an XML Schema written in the W3C XML schema language and diagnoses improper uses of the schema language. Fixes from "XML Schema 1.0 Specification Errata" have been implemented, as well as improved detection and use of Xerces-J 2. Other added features include new command line options and Eclipse progress meter.
URL: http://www.alphaWorks.ibm.com/tech/xmlsqc?open&l=LT090202,t=awfl
The ebXML Messaging Service Specification version 2.0, a standard for providing secure electronic business transactions using the Internet, has been adopted as an OASIS Standard. The specification is the result of EDI (electronic data interchange) standardisation efforts carried out by both OASIS and the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT).
The September edition of the Euromap Language Technologies monthly newsletter is available online. The newsletter includes: developments in the field of Human Language Technologies from Europe and beyond, a list of upcoming events, details of European Commission Research calls. Published in English, a version in French is also available.
URL: Euromap http://www.hltcentral.org/euromap
URL: newsletter http://www.hltcentral.org/newsletter
URL: subscribe http://www.hltcentral.org/lists/subscribe.php
Email: subscribe French version mailto:euromap@elda.fr
The VoiceXML Forum has announced that it is building a conformance testing and branding programme for VoiceXML. The goal of this programme is to "develop quantifiable testing methods and procedures for VoiceXML to ensure interoperability between platforms, tools, and applications from all vendors, and clear identification of compliance to the specification".
URL: Conformance Program http://www.voicexml.org/conformance/index.html
URL: VoiceXML Forum http://www.voicexml.org/
According to the OpenGL Architecture Review Board (ARB) the adoption of the OpenGL 1.4 specification is proceeding rapidly. The specification was ratified in July by the ARB and leading graphics hardware vendors have readied their product plans to include support for the new capabilities. Introduced in 1992 by SGI, OpenGL is a cross-platform 2D and 3D graphics API. New features and functionality in OpenGL 1.4 could impact the creation of games, production of movies, design of automobiles and instruction for flight simulation. For a complete description of the OpenGL 1.4 specification and information about the OpenGL Architecture Review Board, visit the web site. For further VR news see VREfresh news on El.pub.
URL: http://www.opengl.org
URL: VR News on El.pub http://www.elpub.org/base02vt0208.htm
A paper entitled: "Web-based Journal Manuscript Management and Peer-Review Software and Systems" by Gerry McKiernan of Iowa State University is available free online. As the preamble to the paper states:
"In recent years, a variety of experimental and commercial systems have been developed that facilitate the management and review of scholarly manuscripts for electronic and paper publication. Among the established and recent Web-based systems are: AllenTrack, BenchPress, EdiKit, ESPERE, Journal Assistant, Manuscript Central, Rapid Review.
For each, a brief overview is provided, as is an outline of the features and functionalities of the system/service, contact information, web site, and vendor. In addition, a listing of select journals that are published using a respective software/system are also listed within each profile".
URL: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/fm=html/rpsv/cw/mcb/07419058/v19n7/s5002/p2l
XML.com runs occasional "What are?" style articles which look at the fundamentals of XML technologies and techniques. Two such, have been published recently:
• "What are Topic Maps", explores this XML technology that helps in indexing and describing the relationships between information items in documents.
URL: http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2002/09/11/topicmaps.html
• "What Are XForms?", is an periodically updated view of the W3C's XForms specification and how it is evolving.
Also on XML.com, a review of the first public draft of the W3C Technical Architecture Group's "Architectural Principles of the World Wide Web" paper, which is intended "to be a definitive statement of principles and best practices for the World Wide Web".
XML.com publishes a free email newsletter continuing news briefs of additions to the site which for El.pub readers interested in the development of XML is well worth subscribing to.
URL: Architectural Principles of the Web http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2002/09/04/tag-principles.html
URL: XML.com http://www.xml.com/
The September issue of DOI News from the International DOI Foundation has been published and includes news items:
• TSO (The Stationery Office) appointed as Digital Object Identifier Registration Agency
• Multilingual European DOI Registration Agency project initiated
• MPEG Rights Data Dictionary standard finalisedThere is also a list of forthcoming events.
URL: DOI Foundation http://www.doi.org/
URL: news mailing list http://www.doi.org/mailman/listinfo/news
m-learning Forum Newsletter is a free email newsletter by UK-based consultancy, pjb Associates. It provides a useful spread of news items, conference reviews and R&D project news in the area of mobile learning. The current and previous issues of the newsletter are available on the web and the forum is open to new members and encourages contributions to its information services.
"The m-learning Forum is also about encouraging the development of new business opportunities and appropriate solutions for creating new learning opportunities. Research forms an important starting point for the development of such activities". The forum publishes the newsletter, a newsclip service, a web site and organises face-to-face events.
URL: newsletter archive http://www.pjb.co.uk/m-learning/m-learning%20Forum%20Newsletters.htm
URL: http://www.pjb.co.uk/
The September 2002 issue of First Monday (volume 7, number 9) is now available online and includes the following articles:
• "The Social Life of Legal Information: First Impressions";
• "Children's Use of New Technology for Picture-Taking";
• "Keeping Out the Internet? Non-Democratic Legitimacy and Access to the Web";
• "An Empirical Investigation of the Impact of Business-to-business Electronic Commerce Adoption on the Business Operations of Hong Kong Manufacturers";
• "The Network Society: A Shift in Cognitive Ecologies?";
• "Online Grocery Shopping: Consumer Motives, Concerns, and Business Models";
• "Digitisation and Its Asian Discontents: The Internet, Politics and Hacking in China and Indonesia".The issue also includes a selection of letters to the editor and a number of book reviews.
French software developer, Soft Experience, have bought to our attention their tools which focus on file and content management with functions like file synchronisation, Macintosh file management on Windows platforms, automation of file purge and file metadata extraction.
In their efforts to share knowledge, the company have published some materials for French readers, and highlight in particular a paper: "Métadonnées: une initiation Dublin Core, IPTC, EXIF, RDF, XMP, etc.", ("An Introduction to Metadata"), and another which covers Windows-Macintosh integration. The company also offers some free programs for PC-MAC integration, some of the more specialised software is available as demo versions.
URL: Soft Experience http://www.softexperience.com
URL: Introduction to Metadata http://peccatte.karefil.com/Software/Metadata.htm
A final call for papers has been issued for the 3rd European Meeting of Applied Evolutionary Economics (EMAEE) to be held at the University of Augsburg, Germany from April 9-12, 2003. The conference is titled: "The Knowledge-based Economy - New Challenges in Methodology, Theory and Policy" and suggested 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 EconomyThe deadline for submission of extended abstracts is October 18, 2002, details via the web and email links below.
Email: mailto:scientific.committee@emaee.net
URL: http://www.emaee.net
The IMAGEN (Intelligent Multimedia GENerator) project is making a project presentation, (on October 10, 2002), during a special session of the ABIS Workshop 2002: Personalization for the Mobile World, (October 9-11, 2002) in Hannover, Germany. IMAGEN, is a research & development project co-funded by the European Commission's Information Society Technologies (IST) programme and coordinated by DFKI, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence.
IMAGEN is developing software tools for the automated selection, layout and secure delivery of personalised multimedia content, based on the integration of several techniques: user profiling, collaborative filtering, information retrieval, constraint processing, digital watermarking. MyArt, a pilot application of IMAGEN tools in the art domain, will be demonstrated.
The ABIS Workshop, organised by the SIG ABIS (Adaptivity & User Modelling in Interactive Software Systems) of the German Computer Society, is an annual forum for discussing the state of the art in personalization and user modeling. This year the main theme of the ABIS Workshop is "Personalization for the mobile world". Applications of user modeling and adaptation on mobile and UMTS devices and the adaptive web are the main topics. A tutorial on UMTS: techniques and background of third generation mobile communication will be held by P3-Solutions and the Institute for Communication Networks, RWTH Aachen. Special discussion groups such as "standard metadata and personalisation in e-learning" are also scheduled.
ABIS Workshop 2002 will take place from October 9th to 11th during a joint week of workshops on machine learning, intelligent tutorial systems, adaptivity, and user modeling in Hannover. The event will be hosted by the Learning Lab Lower Saxony, located at Expo Plaza on the World Expo 2000 and CeBIT fairgrounds in Hannover, Germany.
To register for the ABIS Workshop please send an e-mail to Nicola Henze, (via the email below), with subject: "Register ABIS". A modest registration fee of 60 Euros covers the cost of printed proceedings and coffee breaks.
URL: ABIS Workshop 2002 http://www.kbs.uni-hannover.de/~henze/lla02
E-mail: ABIS Workshop registration mailto:henze@kbs.uni-hannover.de
URL: IMAGEN home page http://www.imagenweb.org
E-mail: IMAGEN information mailto:larry.moffett@dfki.de
URL: Learning Lab Lower Saxony http://www.learninglab.de
The September issue of the Library Link Newsletter newsletter is available online and includes opinion pieces (viewpoint) and articles under the generic headings of Library Collection & Development Management and Library Management and Information Services.
The September 2002 issue of D-Lib Magazine is now available. There are four articles, three conference reports, several smaller features in D-Lib Magazine's 'In Brief' column, excerpts from recent press releases, and news of upcoming conferences and other items of interest in 'Clips and Pointers'. The Featured Collection for September is the Australian Museums and Galleries Online web site. The articles are:
• "Evaluation Methodologies for Information Management Systems";
• "Building Digital Tobacco Industry Document Libraries at the University of California, San Francisco Library/Center for Knowledge Management";
• "Experiments with the IFLA Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR)";
• "Coming to TERM: Designing the Texas Email Repository Model".The Conference Reports include, reports from:
• the Second Joint Conference on Digital Libraries, (14 - 18 July, 2002, Portland, Oregon);
• the Emerging Frameworks and Methods: Fourth International Conference on Conceptions of Library and Information Science (CoLIS4), (21 - 25 July, 2002, Seattle, Washington)
• Digital Library: IT Opportunities and Challenges in the New Millennium, (8 - 12 July, 2002, Beijing, China)URL: http://www.dlib.org/
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