April 2009 Archives

Nstein Technologies Inc. (TSX-V: EIN) announced the launch of WCM 4.1, an upgrade to its content management system (CMS). Most notable among the additions is WCM MojoTM, a portable, mobile back-office version of WCM designed to help smart-phone equipped writers, journalists and editors to create, edit and publish content in the field. WCM 4.1 features an extensible drag-and-drop-enabled customizable dashboard that allows users to develop their own layouts from a pre-configured widget library. Other features in WCM 4.1 include: support for WordPress and other blogs, support for Forums using the vBulletin plugin, a crawling sitemap generator, and a Google keyword helper for editors. WCM 4.1 has adopted the RESTful architectural style. Nstein’s new mobile content management tool, WCM Mojo, is an optional, lightweight add-on client that connects seamlessly to WCM via newer smart phone browsers, allowing writers, journalists and editors to create and edit stories, slideshows, manage contributions and follow editorial and behavioral statistics in real-time. It also allows editors to execute repetitive editorial tasks such as content approvals and content bundling while in transit. http://www.nstein.com

The W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) Media Fragments Working Group has published the First Public Working Draft of "Use cases and requirements for Media Fragments." The aim of this specification is to enhance the Web infrastructure for supporting the addressing and retrieval of subparts of time-based Web resources. Example uses are the sharing of such fragment URIs with friends via email, the automated creation of such fragment URIs in a search engine interface, or the annotation of media fragments with RDF. This specification will help make video a first-class citizen of the World Wide Web. In addition to describing use cases for the Media Fragments 1.0 specification, this document discusses syntax and processing of media fragment URIs, and offers a survey of technologies that address multimedia fragments. http://www.w3.org/2008/WebVideo/Fragments/

CrownPeak announced the launch of a new social media framework designed specifically for digital agencies and online marketers: The CrownPeak Social Media Publishing Console. The new content publishing platform offers marketers a simple way to manage and publish content both to their Web site and the myriad of social networks to which they may also be contributing. An addition to CrownPeak's Online Marketing Suite, the new social solution enables digital marketers to manage, track and change content for both their social networking presence, as well as campaign landing pages. Offered within the core CrownPeak Content Marketing Suite, the Social Media Publishing Console enables marketers to add the console interface into any template, be it a press release, article or other type of online content, and update to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or other networks right then and there. The content will instantly go through the required workflow process before it is automatically published to the appropriate sites. www.crownpeak.com

Microsoft announced the availability of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for the 2007 Microsoft Office system. The service pack includes major performance enhancements for Office applications, most notably Microsoft Office Outlook, as well as Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. With SP2, Office 2007 now has built-in support for Open XML, ODF and PDF, along with the dozen or so other formats that were already supported in Office 2007. In addition to the support for additional file formats, SP2 also includes the Open XML Format External File Converter. This allows developers to make any third-party document format a first-class citizen in Office. This means Office will support most government-preferred formats, and can easily be made to support any others that come along. This release offers enhanced stability for Outlook, calendaring reliability, and more improvements to applications that run on both PCs and servers. Users should notice the improved performance and stability of Outlook, better charting functionality in Excel, and more control over the appearance of SmartArt graphics. On the server side, IT professionals will notice several enhancements to the security and performance of SharePoint Server 2007, including support for read-only content databases, improvements to forms-based authentication, and an STSADM command-line utility that enables administrators to scan sites that use the variations feature for errors. SharePoint Server will also feature better support for newer versions of the Firefox browser. Customers can download SP2 right away. In addition, Microsoft will release SP2 via Microsoft Update’s automatic update mechanism no sooner than three months from now, and with at least 30 days notice. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968170

SDL and Language Weaver announced a strategic partnership to deliver Language Weaver’s translation software tightly integrated into SDL’s GIM platform and as part of SDL Knowledge-based Translation System (SDL KbTS). Language Weaver automated translation solutions have been deployed for the enterprise and large web properties to deliver translations of digital content. This partnership will give SDL customers the opportunity to deliver effective communication to customers across many more languages. The companies announced that the agreement encompasses a number of different applications of automated translation, including: Translation of content that is otherwise too expensive or time consuming to translate, such as online support content that re-directs customers from expensive call centers to more cost-effective self-service on the web; Integrating automated translation into the translation process for high-quality technical documentation; Providing ubiquitous access to automated translation, through integration into desktop translation technology, SDL Trados, and integration into the translation website http://www.freetranslation.com. Integration with SDL Trados and the addition of new language support within SDL Knowledge-based Translation System are planned for the second half of 2009. http://www.sdl.com/lwsdl

Zoho has announced access and usability enhancements for mobile users of its suite of productivity applications. Until now, Zoho offered mobile access to only a few applications and did not do so in a consistent manner. Each application had a unique mobile access URL and interface. With today's announcement, all mobile-enabled Zoho applications may be accessed at one location, http://m.zoho.com, and they share a common look and feel.

The following applications are currently available at Zoho Mobile:

• Zoho Mail
• Zoho Calendar
• Zoho Writer
• Zoho Sheet
• Zoho Show
• Zoho Creator

Zoho also announced support for additional mobile platforms.  Previously, its mobile applications were available only on the iPhone and Windows Mobile, with limited functionality on the latter. Zoho Mobile is now available for:   

• iPhone
• Windows Mobile
• Blackberry
• Symbian
• Android

Palm access is anticipated in a future release.

The text of Zoho's announcement may be found on the company's blog.

Ephox announced the latest release of its online rich text editor, EditLive! 6.7. Included in the new version are multiple features to help website authors easily create accessible web content. With EditLive!'s built-in accessibility checking tools, users get detailed analysis of content errors based on the latest standards of the US Rehabilitation Act Section 508 and the W3C. The latest version of EditLive! includes accessibility check as-you-type functionality and makes compliance with web standards as easy as spell-checking a document. Business users receive immediate, visual feedback when they create non-compliant content and are then directed to resources that will help resolve the errors. In addition to the accessibility tools, some of the new features in EditLive! 6.7 include a broken hyperlink report and the ability to open Microsoft Word documents directly within EditLive!. All of the features in the latest release are included in the EditLive! Enterprise Edition which contains advanced productivity, multimedia and collaboration tools like an inline image editor, track changes, thesaurus, and auto-correct. http://www.ephox.com

ISYS Search Software  announced the arrival of ISYS:sdk 9, the company’s next-generation enterprise search integration kit for original equipment manufacturers (OEM), independent software vendors (ISV) and systems integrators. ISYS:sdk 9 offers customers several major enhancements, all designed to deliver the performance, scalability and accuracy required for empowering third-party applications with search. Most significantly, ISYS has expanded its core engine’s content mining capabilities using deterministic and reliable methods that help customers better understand their content. Through its Intelligent Content Analysis, ISYS notes key characteristics about a content collection, such as metadata patterns and entities, thus enabling OEMs to leverage these facets for improved search and discovery. ISYS’ Intelligent Content Analysis identifies characteristics can that can be exploited by OEMs to bolster their applications with greater content mining capabilities, an increasingly critical requirement in compliance and ediscovery applications. ISYS’ Intelligent Content Analysis manifests itself in the form of several parametric search and refinement options, all of which are callable from a variety of languages, including C++, C#, VB.NET and Java. The core ISYS indexing engine can be configured to note aspects like entities in the full text (e.g., names, locations); commonly recurring metadata values in semi-structured and database formats; location of files; dates and numbers; and position of words. http://www.isys-search.com

PBworks, formerly known as PBwiki (the company officially announced the name change this week), a  provider of hosted collaboration solutions for business and education, announced the launch of PBworks Legal Edition, the first of the company's market-specific solutions. PBworks Legal Edition applies hosted collaboration to the unique business needs of law firms and corporate counsel. PBworks Legal Edition includes all of the features of PBworks Professional Plus, such as unlimited storage for documents and files, full-text search of document content, Mobile Edition access via Blackberry and iPhone, and 24/7 customer service. The new solution adds complete audit logs of all activity, built-in legal templates that firms can customize for their business processes, and bundled professional services to optimize the rollout and adoption process. PBworks Legal Edition is available immediately at a starting price of $50/attorney-user/month. Licenses for paralegals, legal secretaries, and other staff and clients are included for free. http://pbworks.com/, http://pbwiki.com

iSpeech.org, text to speech software as a service (SaaS) company, announced its services are now available to anyone using the Box.net platform. The integration allows Box customers to instantly listen to documents with a few clicks of the mouse. This software-free feature is available through simple Web menus. The integration marks the first deployment of a text to speech Web service with an online content storage and collaboration platform. iSpeech brings text to speech to over 50,000 businesses currently using Box.net. Business and people can now have instant audio access to any document containing text. The resulting audio files can be used to help employees or students absorb information faster and, "even during their commute". iSpeech usage is available in various packages ranging from a free ad-supported voice to the use of premium voices for $7.85 per month. Customers are able to try premium voices free for 15 days. The resulting audio files can be downloaded as MP3s, podcasted to iTunes, or embedded. http://www.ispeech.org/, http://www.box.net/

Amazon and Lexcycle announce that Amazon has aquired Ebook Firm Lexcycle, Inc., developers of the iphone eBook reader. Both companies said there are no plans to change the development of Stanza. According to Lexcycle's founder Marc Prud'hommeau, "We are not planning any changes in the Stanza application or user experience as a result of the acquisition. Customers will still be able to browse, buy, and read ebooks from our many content partners. We look forward to offering future products and services that we hope will resonate with our passionate readers. We are excited to join forces with a company that has innovated on behalf of readers for over a decade and is a pioneer in ebooks. Like Amazon, we believe there is a lot of innovation ahead for ebooks and we could not think of a better company to join during this exciting time". http://www.lexcycle.com/lexcycle_acquired_by_amazon

X1 Technologies, Inc. announced the availability of two product releases. The first is the 6.2.4 release of the X1 Professional Client which is available for immediate download. This release of the X1 Professional Client focuses on IBM Lotus Notes and Mozilla Thunderbird improvements along with general maintenance. The 1.3.1 release of the X1 Content Connector for Symantec Enterprise Vault delivers query search results that are twice as fast as the previous release when searching for email, email attachments and files that are archived within Symantec Enterprise Vault. Additional Unicode support has also been added to the 1.3.1 release. X1 delivers a combination of products that allow knowledge workers to search, preview and act upon data anywhere in the enterprise from a single,  interface. With X1, individuals and businesses can search "virtually everything" that exists on the PC and server in nearly 500 file types and applications, including email solutions such as Microsoft Exchange and Outlook, Microsoft SharePoint, Symantec Enterprise Vault and IBM Lotus Notes and Domino. http://www.x1.com

Autonomy Corporation plc (LSE: AU.) announced a new solution that allows businesses to automatically record and archive dynamic website content. Designed to address the complex regulatory requirements for businesses presenting dynamic content on the web, the solution combines Autonomy Digital Safe with Interwoven TeamSite to form an offering for including web content in a comprehensive compliance policy. Autonomy leverages the capabilities of its Digital Safe Archive and TeamSite web content management solution to provide an automated, secure, and scalable solution that helps businesses meet the compliance requirements of the modern web. For example, an insurance company can now produce a record of the exact premiums it offered online to a particular segment of customers during a marketing campaign conducted several months ago. Digital Safe is a hosted archive service that enables customers to outsource the storage and management of email messages, rich-media files, audio files, instant messages, and all forms of web content. TeamSite's web versioning capabilities enable businesses to capture snapshots of content delivered to customers at exact points in time, including rolling back to content delivered several months or years ago. This information can now be ingested and indexed by Digital Safe to help organizations meet strict eDiscovery and audit compliance requirements, including COBS 11.8 (Conduct of Business), SEC/FINRA regulations, and the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act. This solution is available now. http://www.interwoven.com/, http://www.autonomy.com

Vasont Systems announced the release of the next major version of their content management system, Vasont 12, that enables users to store multilingual content once for maximum reuse and delivery to multiple channels. Vasont 12 includes: Collaborative Review package provides effective virtual collaboration with colleagues. Internal and external reviewers markup content with changes and comments while seeing other reviewers’ feedback simultaneously. Accepted changes automatically update in Vasont, minimizing manual updates; Project Management tracks projects to meet publishing deadlines. The Project Management window provides overall statuses of workflow projects across multiple departments and highlights overdue projects. When needed, users can inquire for specific status information. Gantt charts provide a graphical view of project timelines; Translation package consolidates translation project information in one window. Vasont’s Translation Projects window provides tracking and status for each multi-language translation project. Translation coordinators submit projects to multiple vendors for quote or translation. Integrations with translation vendors automate content delivery and status information to/from Vasont; Preview feature provides a styled view of XML content. Vasont’s Preview displays content in a styled view to speed up editorial time by making content easy to read; Content Ownership increases content security. Specific pieces of content within a collection are restricted to alterations by its Content Owners while other users can only view it. Associate Administrators role provides flexibility to coordinate administrative responsibilities across multiple groups, and more. This release is available on May 1, 2009 for both the client/server and hosted (SaaS) models. http://www.vasont.com

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Working Group updated the Candidate Recommendation of "Cascading Style Sheets Level 2 Revision 1 (CSS 2.1) Specification." CSS 2.1 is a style sheet language that allows authors and users to attach style (e.g., fonts and spacing) to structured documents (e.g., HTML documents and XML applications). CSS 2.1 corrects a few errors in CSS2 (the most important being a new definition of the height/width of absolutely positioned elements, more influence for HTML's "style" attribute and a new calculation of the 'clip' property), and adds a few highly requested features which have already been widely implemented. But most of all CSS 2.1 represents a "snapshot" of CSS usage: it consists of all CSS features that are implemented interoperably. This draft incorporates errata resulting from implementation experience since the previous publication. http://www.w3.org/Style/

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) HTML Working Group has published a Working Draft of "HTML 5." HTML 5 adds to the language of the Web: features to help Web application authors, new elements based on research into prevailing authoring practices, and clear conformance criteria for user agents in an effort to improve interoperability. This particular draft specifies how authors can embed SVG in non-XML text/html content, and how browsers and other UAs should handle such embedded SVG content. See also the news about moving some parts of HTML 5 to individual drafts. The " full list of changes" since the previous draft are listed in the updated companion document "HTML 5 differences from HTML 4." http://www.w3.org/html/wg/

Siemens PLM Software announced support for the independent S1000D technical publication standard within the integrated content management solution of its Teamcenter software suite. S1000D takes a completely data-centric approach to the storage and publication of technical information. Content is broken down into re-usable "data modules" which are managed in Teamcenter as a standard compliant Common Source Database (CSDB). The modules are then retrieved and assembled to meet pre-defined business and structural requirements. Using Teamcenter with S1000D support, customers can change, control and configure technical information in a collaborative environment that helps ensure documentation will be synchronized with the product and conform to the standard. The result provides customers with the opportunity to produce more sophisticated documentation. In addition, consumers of the information get documentation in a format that is understandable and predictable, and therefore easier to use. The content management capability in Teamcenter is a dynamic publishing solution integral to the overall PLM process, enabling companies to automate the assembly and publishing of product or service information in multiple languages and formats. http://www.siemens.com/plm

Foxit Software Company announced the release of the second phase of their new On Demand Content Management solutions. This launch will give end-users the opportunity to have access to technology that increases productivity, lowers costs, mitigates risks, and ensures compliance by optimizing work processes while also leveraging information assets. Foxit OnDemandCM services offers a host of solutions including Complete Document Management which allows the consumer to store, access, and manage documents using a single unified platform, while the Workflow Based Document Routing simplifies distributing documents to multiple parties and groups. The Automate Forms Driven Processes helps to easily share PDF forms for data capture, and Full Security Implementation gives 128 bit SSL encryption and secure uploading. This release also gives consumers the prospect of using advanced PDF technology to help solve document management needs. http://www.foxitsoftware.com

XBRL US announced that it released and posted the digital dictionary for US GAAP reporting which has been accepted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The 2009 release includes hundreds of accounting and industry-specific revisions to the 2008 release. XBRL US will provide tools to help companies work with the new taxonomies and comply with SEC requirements. The SEC mandated XBRL for public company reporting which will be phased in over two years.  The largest public companies, those with a worldwide public float of $5 billion or higher must comply with the mandate starting with their June 15, 2009 quarter, a group of approximately 500 companies.  All other large accelerated filers must comply starting with their June 15, 2010 fiscal quarter and all other publicly traded companies and foreign private issuers will be required to comply starting with their June 15, 2011 fiscal quarter. XBRL US is responsible for maintaining the US GAAP Taxonomies under contract with the SEC. The taxonomies can be viewed and downloaded at http://xbrl.us/

GigaTrust introduced GigaTrust Desktop Client 6.0, the latest edition of their email and content security suite of tools that enable persistent protection beyond the enterprise. Desktop Client 6.0 extends the security of RMS to PDF documents and drawings and files produced in CAD applications. It also has the ability to stop hundreds of screen scraping and PC sharing applications while protected documents are being viewed and in the process enhance the security for your enterprise. GigaTrust's Desktop Client 6.0 technology offers users advanced Enterprise Rights Management upgrades exclusively for Microsoft's Rights Management Services (RMS). http://www.gigatrust.com/

Flypaper Studio, Inc. announced the 2.5 release of Flypaper. Creative agencies, eLearning developers, and businesses can access new features, including a new Web-based application that makes creating, sharing, reusing and tracking Flash content easier for remote and on-the-road sales forces, partners and other employees. The updated 2.0 version of Flypaper, released earlier this year, focused on empowering the enterprise and creative developers to manage Flash projects. This next upgrade focuses on Web collaboration, easier file conversion, and creative features. The Flypaper Flash Content Management Platform is a licensed environment where companies creating Flash projects can do more of the creation themselves, while collaborating and editing these projects online and in real time with outside professional agencies and disbursed teams. Flypaper 2.5 will be officially available April 30th. The Flypaper Flash Content Management Platform is sold as an annual license at $1,495 for single users, or as an enterprise package that includes 10 seats for $4,995 per year. The Web editor can be added as an upgrade for $195 per seat. http://www.flypaper.com

Genesys, an Alcatel-Lucent company (Euronext Paris: ALU) (NYSE: ALU), and InQuira Inc. announced the integration of their respective software suites, enabling consumers to now have a seamless consistent experience when they interact with a company's contact center regardless of the communication channel they use. By combining Genesys' customer interaction software with InQuira's knowledge-management applications, this joint solution supports customers' use of non-voice channels on the web and mobile for customer support. The InQuira knowledge suite enhances self-service interactions, and provides answers and continuity throughout any customer inquiry, even across different conversation channels. This functionality, integrated with Genesys' chat and e-mail escalation features in their platform, enables an organization to seamlessly extend the customer's interaction as their self-service sessions are fully captured and leveraged as part of a more extensive customer-service engagement. The joint solution is available for immediate deployment. http://www.genesyslab.com, http://www.inquira.com

Quickoffice, Inc. announced Quickoffice for iPhone is now available for purchase in iTunes App Store. Quickoffice is an iPhone application to enable editing of Microsoft Word documents and Excel spreadsheets. The product also includes file-sharing and content management capabilities. Additional functionality including emailing files and drag and drop capabilities will be available as a free update to customers in the next few weeks. Quickoffice for iPhone offers: Edit and create .doc files and .xls spreadsheets; Text format options, such as font size, style and color; Cut, copy and paste text anywhere in Word, including to another document; Edit bulleted and numbered lists; Edit Word documents in landscape mode with wider keyboard; Wrap text at any zoom level and eliminate repetitive left and right scrolling; Access to MobileMe iDisk accounts; Viewing of iWorks, PDF and other common media files; Supports advanced features and functions for spreadsheets, including revise inputs and recalculate, and insert and resize rows and columns; Automatic save changes and auto-restore. Quickoffice for iPhone has an introductory price of $19.99, Quicksheet is currently sold for $6.99 and Quickoffice Files currently has a price of $1.99. All three applications are available now for purchase in iTunes. http://www.quickoffice.com

ADAM Software and SDL Tridion signed a strategic alliance agreement to provide marketing and communications professionals an opportunity to improve the Web site customer experience. This partnership brings SDL Tridion’s Web Content Management System (WCMS) and the Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform ADAM into a single box for those who need to manage advanced media assets for their global Web environment. The proposition includes an SDL Tridion DAM option that covers the needs for advanced online marketing purposes. Traditionally, SDL Tridion WCM is a driver for online activities, including capabilities to meet the needs for basic DAM capabilities. With the increasing number, sizes and formats of media assets, integration with a DAM system will improve customer experience. SDL Tridion and ADAM Software enterprise customers will experience: advanced DAM functionality in their SDL Tridion WCM-system, capability to load, save and convert all different kinds of formats of media assets, workflow-processes with a rules engine, security-management, and Digital Rights Management.  http://www.sdltridion.com, http://www.adamsoftware.net

The W3C OWL Working Group has published new Working Drafts for OWL 2, a language for building Semantic Web ontologies. An ontology is a set of terms that a particular community finds useful for organizing data (e.g., for data about a book, useful terms include "title" and "author"). OWL 2 (a compatible extension of "OWL 1" ) consists of 13 documents (7 technical, 4 instructional, and 2 group Notes). For descriptions and links to all the documents, see the " OWL 2 Documentation Roadmap." This is a "Last Call" for the technical materials and is an opportunity for the community to confirm that these documents satisfy requirements for an ontology language. This is a second Last Call for six of the documents, but because the changes since the first Last Call are limited in scope, the review period lasts only 21 days. For an introduction to OWL 2, see the four instructional documents: an "overview," "primer," "list of new features," and "quick reference." http://www.w3.org/2007/OWL, http://www.w3.org/TR/2009/WD-owl2-new-features-20090421/

SYSTRAN, provider of language translation technologies, announced enhancements to its free online translation service, SYSTRANet. In addition to its long-standing ability to translate text and Web pages, SYSTRANet now translates syndication (RSS) feeds from around the world. SYSTRANet gives users real-time access to foreign language information in more than 13 languages and over 40 language combinations. In addition to translating Web pages, websites, simple texts and common computer files, SYSTRANet makes it possible to create a personal dictionary that supersedes standard dictionaries during the translation process. This allows the user to customize the program’s vocabulary. Additional new features include interactive translation capabilities, such as translate as you type, dictionary search and alternative meanings so the user can select the most appropriate translation. http://www.systransoft.com

Liquid Machines announced a major upgrade to the Liquid Machines Gateway for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server that delivers support for dynamic, role-based ERM policies with Microsoft Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS). ERM policies map directly to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 permission levels for document libraries, enable advanced enforcement options and application-level auditing, and dynamically synchronize policy updates that occur to files in use outside of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. The Gateway for SharePoint is tightly integrated with AD RMS and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 to persistently protect files opened or downloaded from SharePoint. The Liquid Machines Gateway for SharePoint supports existing business processes and workflows by extending persistent information protection to a broader range of document and file types, and enabling advanced rights-managed workflows. Liquid Machines Gateway for SharePoint is available now. http://www.liquidmachines.com/sharepoint

Lawson Software (Nasdaq: LWSN) announced the general availability of Lawson Enterprise Search. Lawson Enterprise Search is a new product to search both structured and unstructured data across the Lawson S3 enterprise system, Lawson Business Intelligence, the user’s desktop, and even their personal history such as comments entered in Microsoft Office applications. For example, if a company needed to recall a specific product within its inventory, it could use Lawson Enterprise Search to help quickly find and deactivate all items, purchase orders and requisitions associated with the recalled product. Companies no longer need to comb through their enterprise software system line by line to discover and take action on specific changes or make a decision. Lawson Enterprise Search capabilities include: ,The ability to search keys, comments, descriptions and dates, Use of wildcards and and / or operators, Search from any transaction field to find related information, Save commonly used search queries for fast future searches, Execute freeform searches, Perform directed searches via an interest center, and achieve fast performance by searching indexed data rather than the live transaction database. http://www.lawson.com

Qwaq, Inc. released Qwaq Forums 2.0. The second-generation, secure virtual workspace platform delivers new collaboration features such as Smart Rooms, which automatically collate reports from multiple applications, just in time for scheduled meetings. Forums 2.0 also provides Web browser access to workspace assets, as well as DVR functionality for recording and sharing virtual meetings. Qwaq Forums enables an environment for teams to share information, communicate, and execute real-time document editing and workflows. Qwaq vPresence technology securely combines multi-application sharing, presence, VoIP, text chat, and webcam video. Qwaq Enterprise Servers can be deployed behind the corporate firewall, or organizations can use the hosted SaaS version for rapid deployment and third-party collaboration. Qwaq supports a broad range of applications and document formats, and integrates closely with enterprise identity and security infrastructure. Qwaq Forums 2.0 is available immediately, with pricing starting at $60/month per user. Download the free 30-day trial at http://www.qwaq.com/

Alfresco Software Inc. announced a partnership with Rational Retention (RR), a developer of document lifecycle management and e-discovery solutions. By tightly coupling Alfresco content repository and RR, customers will be able to archive and maintain full control over a range of e-mails, documents and enterprise content which must be captured, retained and made available for compliance and litigation purposes. RR’s solution enables policy driven control of documents and unstructured data throughout its lifecycle; from creation, through preservation and production during litigation and eventual destruction. The new solution using Alfresco seamlessly connects RR’s control of distributed files with Alfresco’s  management of centralized content. By leveraging Alfresco’s implementation of the Common Interface File System (CIFS) and WebDAV protocols RR helps ensure that wherever content resides it is controllable and can automatically be migrated to Alfresco’s document and records management tools as required. The new solution is available now for select customers and will be generally available later in Q2. http://www.alfresco.com/, http://www.rationalretention.com

Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) and Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Oracle will acquire Sun common stock for $9.50 per share in cash. The transaction is valued at approximately $7.4 billion, or $5.6 billion net of Sun's cash and debt. The Board of Directors of Sun Microsystems has unanimously approved the transaction. It is anticipated to close this summer, subject to Sun stockholder approval, certain regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. "We expect this acquisition to be accretive to Oracle's earnings by at least 15 cents on a non-GAAP basis in the first full year after closing. We estimate that the acquired business will contribute over $1.5 billion to Oracle's non-GAAP operating profit in the first year, increasing to over $2 billion in the second year. This would make the Sun acquisition more profitable in per share contribution in the first year than we had planned for the acquisitions of BEA, PeopleSoft and Siebel combined," said Oracle President Safra Catz. The Sun Solaris operating system is the leading platform for the Oracle database, Oracle's largest business, and has been for a long time. With the acquisition of Sun, Oracle can optimize the Oracle database for some of the features of Solaris. http://www.oracle.com, http://www.sun.com

Three business intelligence and information management companies, Attensity Corporation, Empolis GmbH, and Living-e AG, announced they have united to form the Attensity Group to deliver business user applications that generate value from unstructured data. The company offers a comprehensive family of applications built upon deep expertise in semantic language technologies. Empolis GmbH provides information management applications, while Living-e AG offers intelligent multi-channel communication and information management solutions. Attensity Corporation is known for its deep text analytics software for First Person Intelligence. The new Attensity Group will unify these complementary technologies that analyze, interpret and manage an enterprise's mass of unstructured data to generate value and deliver easy-to-use business applications. These applications enable knowledge management professionals, business leaders, customer support personnel and customers to get relevant and actionable answers. Attensity Group's go-to-market entities will be named (1) Attensity Americas, and (2) Empolis in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). In the markets in EMEA, the Living-e and Empolis teams will join forces. The companies have united their sales efforts to offer combined solutions, support and implementation services to the market. Attensity Group will employ approximately 300 people worldwide and expects to generate revenues in 2009 of approximately $50M (USD). With global headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif. Attensity Corporation, Empolis GmbH and Living-e AG have all supported the global open source initiative, SMILA (SeMantic Information Logistics Architecture), as semantic technology partners. Attensity Group will continue to partner with SMILA. http://www.attensitygroup.com

CrownPeak announced the launch of a new framework designed specifically for digital agencies and online marketers: The CrownPeak Banner Ad Content Manager. This content management framework addresses a core challenge that online marketers face -- the need for a simple way to manage both the content in an online advertisement that is running outside their Web site, and the landing page to which the advertisement links. This solution, when combined with CrownPeak's Landing Page Management solutions. enable digital marketers to manage, track and change the content on both landing pages and the banner ads running on external Web sites to drive greater ROI from marketing campaigns. With CrownPeak, companies can significantly improve online campaign performance, track results and experiment with new marketing strategies and messaging. The Banner Ad Content Management framework allows CrownPeak clients to change any element of their Adobe Flash based display ads without having to recreate the creative or re-distribute the ads to the publication. Using the CrownPeak Banner Ad Content Management Framework, any Flash based template ad can have as many versions as the marketer wants. Additionally, an update to the banner advertisement can also change the headline or any component of the landing page to which that advertisement links. Then, using CrownPeak, conversions and metrics can be tracked to determine the optimum message. www.crownpeak.com

Endeca Technologies, Inc. and Open Text (NASDAQ: OTEX, TSX: OTC) announced a formalized partnership to deliver Endeca’s Digital Asset Navigator solution on Open Text Digital Media Group’s Enterprise Media Management Solution. The joint offering is designed to provide media, publishing and retail organizations with an ability to reuse existing digital assets, such as audio, video, and images that are stored in house instead of recreating or purchasing new assets. Endeca's Digital Asset Navigator offers an access and discovery experience, combining Endeca's  search, Guided Navigation and Content Spotlighting capabilities. It integrates related data from Open Text’s enterprise Digital Asset Management solution, as well as databases, file servers, enterprise applications and other source systems. The joint solution also takes advantage of Endeca's security capabilities to help ensure that users only have access to data they are approved to see and use. http://www.opentext.com, http://www.endeca.com

Microsoft Corp. released a public beta of Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, part of Microsoft's unified communications family. Exchange 2010 is part of the next wave of Microsoft Office-related products and is the first server in a new generation of Microsoft server technology built from the ground up to work on-premises and as an online service. This release of Exchange 2010 introduces an integrated e-mail archive and features to help reduce costs and improve the user experience. The next wave, which includes Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, Microsoft Visio 2010 and Microsoft Project 2010, is designed to give people a consistent experience across devices, making it easier to create and edit documents and collaborate from any location. In addition, to help businesses reduce costs, the next wave will introduce new delivery and licensing models, improve deployment and management options for IT professionals, and provide developers with an expanded platform on which to create applications. Exchange Server 2010 will become available in the second half of 2009. Additional Office products including Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, Microsoft Visio 2010 and Microsoft Project 2010 are scheduled to enter technical preview in the third quarter of 2009 and release to manufacturing in the first half of 2010. A public beta of the server is available for download starting today at http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/2010

Vignette Corporation (NASDAQ: VIGN) announced the immediate availability of new licensing models for its Web Content Management solutions. The new models, created to provide organizations of every size with attractive cost options, include the Vignette Web Content Management Suites and subscription-based pricing. The Vignette Web Content Management Suite is tailored for organizations that require affordability, scalability and the option to add modules such as video and social media as their needs evolve. The enterprise-grade suite features a flexible content architecture, core presentation and workflow capabilities and high-performance delivery for less than $200,000. Companies can combine this suite with Vignette QuickSite, a fixed-cost professional services offering that accelerates the deployment of new Web properties. Vignette QuickSite offers modeling, gap analysis and best practices. Vignette QuickSite is priced at less than $100,000. The Vignette Web Content Management Enhanced Suite is for organizations that want to deliver personalized, media-rich and high-performance sites for less than $400,000. The suite includes: Management, workflow and publishing capabilities for virtually all types of content including video, flash and other types of rich media; A toolset to help integration with existing ERP and LOB systems; A presentation management framework that provides explicit personalization and allows delegated administration, and: Multi-tier caching for high-performance. Customers can now license the Vignette Web Content Management Suite for less than $9,000 per month with a one-year commitment. The Vignette Web Content Management Enhanced Suite is available for less than $18,000 per month with a one-year commitment. http://www.vignette.com

Open Text (NASDAQ:OTEX) (NASDAQ: TSX:) (NASDAQ:OTC) announced the immediate availability of its latest Connectivity solution, Open Text SOCKS Client, an enterprise-grade SOCKS V4 and V5 client, that assists organizations to transparently secure their enterprise content applications over TCIP/IP networks. SOCKS is a security protocol that facilitates the routing of network traffic through firewalls and proxy servers. The Open Text SOCKS Client can dynamically "socks-enable" enterprise applications without requiring changes to their code. A rules-based engine allows administrators to decide which application traffic should be secured, instantly enabling it to traverse SOCKS proxies and firewalls. Open Text SOCKS Client is a solution for organizations that need a commercially supported, enterprise-grade SOCKS client that makes it easier to allow their critical applications to traverse SOCKS proxies and firewalls. The solution can also be used by third-party vendors searching for an OEM package to support the SOCKS protocol in their products and solutions. Open Text SOCKS Client is available immediately. http://www.opentext.com/

Author-it Software Corporation and Eurofield Information Solutions (EIS) announced a partnership designed to leverage their mutual products for both existing and new client organizations. EIS's product, eComPress, is an electronic delivery format for a number of world-wide organizations, replacing hard copy and PDF for large reference, sensitive, mission critical and commercial information. Author-it Software Corporation's product 'Author-it' is an enterprise authoring and publishing platform, providing real-time collaboration, content structure, controlled access, and workflow for critical document creation and review.  Author-it's multi-channel publishing engine connects to eComPress forming an end-to-end system. The partnership offers synergy between the two products, with Author-it being utilized for the creation of content, while EIS offers secure distribution options that include high speed, small size and easily distributed replacement for PDF where HTML is not suitable. http://www.author-it.com, http://www.eis-usa.com

Syncro Soft Ltd announced the immediate availability of version 10.2 of its XML Editor and XML Author containing a comprehensive set of tools supporting all the XML related technologies. Oxygen combines content author features like the CSS driven Visual XML editor with a fully featured XML development environment. It has ready to use support for the main document frameworks DITA, DocBook, TEI and XHTML and also includes support for all XML Schema languages, XSLT/XQuery Debuggers, WSDL analyzer, XML Databases, XML Diff and Merge, Subversion client and more. Version 10.2 adds a redesigned XML Schema diagram that allows visual XML Schema editing, a new XML Schema documentation engine supporting multiple output formats, new features in the Author visual XML editing mode, improvements in the Outliner and content completion and updates the database support. The new version adds a new simplified and improved visual editing page for XML Schema, in addition to the hybrid text/diagram page. The structure of the diagram was redesigned in order to be more intuitive and easy to use. The XML Schema diagram helps both the content authors who want to understand a schema and schema designers who develop complex schemas. The XML Schema Documentation tool was redesigned to deliver better performance for generating XML schema documentation. Even for the largest XML schemas (thousands of components), <oXygen/> generates the complete documentation "within a couple of minutes". Oxygen XML Editor and XSLT Debugger is available immediately in three editions: Multi-platform Academic/Personal license costs USD 48.00, Multi-platform Professional license costs USD 299.00, and Multi-platform Enterprise license costs USD 366.00. Oxygen XML Author is available immediately in two editions: Multi-platform Professional license costs USD 179.00, and Multi-platform Enterprise license costs USD 220.00. http://www.oxygenxml.com/

JustSystems announced XMetaL Author Enterprise for Microsoft SharePoint, an enterprise-class content creation solution for enterprises using SharePoint as their content management system. By uniting XMetaL Author Enterprise and SharePoint, JustSystems streamlines the adoption of XML and DITA for SharePoint users, making the advantages of reusable, structured content available to the entire enterprise. Users can deliver consistent content faster by assembling reusable, topic-based DITA content in multiple deliverables. After writing a piece of content, users can check it into a SharePoint library to enable team members across the world to reuse it. A document opened with XMetaL Author Enterprise for Microsoft SharePoint is automatically checked out from SharePoint, preventing other users from making conflicting changes. After making changes, users can check the new version of the document directly back into SharePoint from the XMetaL user interface. Users can use SharePoint user management and permissions features to control who can view and/or edit content. Access control extends to individual sections, paragraphs, and phrases incorporated through the DITA content reference (conref) mechanism. XMetaL Author Enterprise for Microsoft SharePoint communicates directly with the SharePoint server via SharePoint’s SOAP interface. Everything needed to enable XML authoring is installed on the local machines of the authors who need it. No installation or additional configuration is required on the SharePoint server. XMetaL Author Enterprise for Microsoft SharePoint is available today. Pricing starts at US$1,390. http://www.justsystems.com/

Hippo has partnered with CorraTech, an open source software services and consulting firm. The alliance will deliver end-to-end web content management solutions to mid market and enterprise customers. The new version of Hippo CMS, version 7, is an enterprise class management system that includes a faceted repository to feature enhanced categorization of data. It provides a drag-and-drop interface that encourages users to tag content with multiple qualities, giving organizations better control over important content and more flexibility over how to view and search it. Plug-ins extend the software to organizations’ individual needs, while the underlying open source code is modular and customizable. CorraTech provides professional services to help transition organizations to open source software. CorraTech’s objective is to help organizations lower total software acquisition and support and maintenance fees and drive higher quality code and security into its clients IT environments. CorraTech’s Open Source Center of Excellence (OSCOE) evaluates open source software for enterprise adoption readiness. As part of its evaluation process, the OSCOE measures system scalability, architecture flexibility, interoperability, usability as well as licensing and support capabilities, including the commitment to the open source community. Hippo CMS 7 is free to download and use. http://www.onehippo.com, http://www.corratech.com

Autonomy Corporation plc (LSE: AU. or AU.L) announced the general availability of an enhanced version of Autonomy Interwoven TeamSite, powered by Autonomy's Intelligent Data Operating Layer (IDOL) server. The latest version of TeamSite integrates Autonomy Interwoven's web content management (WCM) platform with multivariable testing (MVT) and closed-loop analytics capabilities, helping marketers to more easily create, deliver, optimize, and analyze websites that engage online visitors. Leveraging Autonomy Optimost's website testing capabilities in a self-service model within TeamSite, the new solution combines the intelligence of web A/B and multivariable testing and analysis with the ease and power of their WCM solution. TeamSite 6.7.2 SP1 is available now. http://www.autonomy.com/

Informative Graphics Corporation (IGC) announced that its web-based Brava! Enterprise is now integrated to IBM FileNet P8, enabling agile Enterprise Content Management (ECM) through multi-format viewing and collaboration for the enterprise. The newly integrated solution helps P8 users streamline document-related processes through viewing, annotation and automated redaction features. Brava provides a simple, unified viewing and annotation interface for all document and image formats, even CAD drawings, making review processes and workflows easier. The solution includes the ability to output files to IGC's own Content Sealed Format with Visual Rights persistent file security, allowing users to expire files when sending them out for review, bid cycles, and more. Brava integrates into existing intranet, enterprise content management, project management and portal solutions, now including IBM FileNet P8, while honoring user rights, leveraging metadata, and managing annotations. http://www.infograph.com

Alfresco Software, Inc., announced its participation as a founding member of the Open Source Channel Alliance, launched by SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE: SNX). The alliance is based on a consortium of  open source Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) led by Red Hat. The Open Source Channel Alliance is aimed at delivering the value of open source technologies to a large base of Value Added Resellers (VARs) and System Integrators (SIs) through extended partnerships with SYNNEX. The eight founding ISV members have signed agreements with SYNNEX to distribute a variety of open source applications, in addition to Red Hat Enterprise Linux and JBoss Enterprise Middleware. The applications that form part of the Open Source Channel Alliance will be available immediately to VARs and SIs through SYNNEX’s reseller network. http://www.opensourcechannelalliance.com, http://www.alfresco.com

Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) announced the official launch of the Teiid data virtualization system project in the JBoss.org Community. Teiid is an open source community project that aims to deliver Enterprise Information Integration (EII) with both relational and XML data virtualization. Teiid focuses on data virtualization, which enables real-time access to data across heterogeneous data sources without copying or moving the data from the systems of record. Its Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) and Web Services interfaces are designed to provide straightforward integration with both custom and COTS applications. Teiid is also expected to provide the backbone for future versions of the JBoss Enterprise Data Services Platform, which is available via subscription that includes 24x7 support, patches and updates, a multi-year maintenance policy and software assurance from Red Hat. http://www.teiid.org, http://www.redhat.com

CrownPeak added multiple new features across its CrownPeak CMS suite, designed to make client Web site management easier and more efficient. CrownPeak CMS includes a completely new WYSIWYG authoring environment, an upgraded version of CrownPeak's Desktop Connection for developers, enhanced Web Analytics, and the recently launched Landing Page Manager, offered as part of the CMS suite with the latest product upgrade. Also announced was CrownPeak's partnership with Ephox. CrownPeak has integrated Ephox EditLive! 6.5 into CrownPeak CMS, with additional features to make it seamless to CrownPeak CMS users. New features in CrownPeak's rich text editor include image cropping and resizing, color customization to ensure greater consistency, spelling and language tools and other functionality. Images are automatically re-sized and re-sampled to ensure appropriate file sizes. The new WYSIWYG editor provides compliant XHTML and also has built in checks for Section 508 and WCAG accessibility guidelines. With the new CrownPeak Desktop Connection, developers can choose the development tool of choice, whether it is Visual Studio, Eclipse, Dreamweaver or text editors like TextPad, and automatically connect to their CrownPeak CMS account over the Internet. Once connected, developers can work with CrownPeak CMS templates in their familiar environments and automatically save templates back to the CMS. CrownPeak Web Site Analytics is now built into the CrownPeak CMS as a fully integrated digital dashboard. All CrownPeak CMS features are now live and available to CrownPeak clients.http://www.crownpeak.com

Open Text (NASDAQ: OTEX, TSX: OTC) announced that it has acquired Toronto-based Vizible Corporation, a privately held maker of digital media interface solutions delivered via a publishing platform that enables syndication and analytics. The addition of Vizible expands Open Text’s set of Digital Media solutions, which helps companies manage rich-media content such as video, audio, graphics and photography.  Vizible’s solutions will give Open Text a set of digital media solutions that fit today’s social media applications, providing capabilities to marketers and advertisers, as well as media and entertainment organizations looking for new ways to extend the value of their intellectual property in a social media world. Vizible’s solutions provide the ability to create a rich, 3-D navigation experience for traditional media, and the ability to deliver content across a range of display devices. The presentation of content is driven by rules that users can personalize so that each viewer’s experience can be different. Vizible’s solutions tie with the ever-changing multi-platform content consumption across the web, via cell phones, PDAs, and Web browsers, and the need to provide a consistent experience to viewers no matter where or how they’re accessing content. The Vizible solution also allows customers to syndicate their rich media content to consumers, business customers or supply chain partners. Using Vizible, for example, a company can create rich media widgets that can deliver videos, photos or other branded content. Companies can use the solution to offer easily embeddable, branded rich media content on a wide range of sites, from partner or retailer sites, to Facebook, to blogs. As customers syndicate their content, they are also able to maintain control and leverage an inherent set of analytic capabilities Vizible offers in its solutions. As part of the acquisition, Open Text will add the Vizible team to the company’s Digital Media Group. Vizible employees will remain in the Toronto area at Open Text’s Richmond Hill, Ontario office.  http://www.opentext.com

MindTouch announced the release of MindTouch 2009, their developer platform for building rich collaborative applications and communities. With the addition of an extensible messaging bus, MindTouch 2009 automatically pushes notifications to users of commonly requested system events and page or hierarchy changes. Also, the messaging bus can serve as a switchboard for outside systems, applications and services, making it easier for MindTouch to connect disconnected systems and teams. For example, content change notifications can be automatically pushed out from the MindTouch platform to a variety of places, selected by the user, such as email, mobile devices, or even Twitter and WordPress blogs. Users can now choose to receive an email that notifies them when a specific page changes, or when certain files are revised, or when new users are added to the system. In addition to the new messaging bus, MindTouch adds an auto-suggest feature that displays existing tags and also offers instant page associations without search indexing delays. MindTouch 2009 enables developers to build rich Internet applications (RIA) by taking advantage of an extended Javascript library built on JQuery and Tibco's Pagebus and named JEM (JavaScript with Events and Messaging) technology and major improvements to the MindTouch integrated scripting language DekiScript. MindTouch DekiScript enhancements include: support for XML literals; support for better URI string manipulation; support for generated sequences of values; and, support for dynamic list and map construction to create dynamic lists, e.g., customer orders above a certain amount, sales by region, etc. MindTouch offers a free open source software core and offers additional services and tools tailored for enterprise productivity enhancement, starting at $2,000. http://mindtouch.com

The W3C ( World Wide Web Consortium) Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Working Group has published the Working Draft of "CSS Template Layout Module." This specification is part of level 3 of CSS (“CSS3”) and contains features to describe layouts at a high level, meant for tasks such as the positioning and alignment of “widgets” in a graphical user interface or the layout grid for a page or a window, in particular when the desired visual order is different from the order of the elements in the source document. Learn more about the Style Activity at http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/members

Quark announced that it has teamed with IBM Enterprise Content Management (ECM) to enable the broad adoption of XML across the enterprise by integrating Quark XML Author with IBM FileNet Content Manager. Quark makes it possible for any IBM FileNet Content Manager user working in Microsoft Word to author intelligent content that can be reused and delivered to multiple channels or formats. The ability to author, manage, and reuse structured content enables critical business needs, such as managing intellectual property, complying with regulatory mandates, and automating business processes. A simple and streamlined process for XML authoring also helps organizations to enable enterprise-wide adoption of XML and DITA. Quark XML Author for Microsoft Word is an XML authoring tool that allows users to create XML content in a familiar word processing environment. Quark XML Author enhances Microsoft Word’s native XML support by allowing users to create narrative XML documents directly, without seeing tags, being constrained to boxes, or being aware of the technical complexities associated with XML. http://www.quark.com/

DreamFace Interactive introduced DreamFace 2.0, the latest version of the company's Web 2.0 application platform. DreamFace 2.0 provides a comprehensive open source toolset to build, use, and distribute widget-based enterprise Web 2.0 applications and mashups, including Web sites, personal start pages, business analytics dashboards, interactive and social mashups, enterprise/community social networks, and enterprise applications. Major new features in version 2.0 include an enhanced widget platform, a widget-based social networking framework, and integrated mobile services. DreamFace community members will be the first to receive the new software. DreamFace widgets are easily integrated with existing enterprise infrastructures and can seamlessly embed Ajax, Flex, and any other Web technology that can be displayed in a browser (including other frameworks' widgets and gadgets). DreamFace widgets or widget-based applications can run anywhere, including on the desktop, on Web sites, on Web platforms, such as Facebook, SalesForce, or MySpace, and on mobile devices, such as iPhones and Android phones. Each DreamFace user has a user profile that ensures authentication and privacy, manages preferences, and enables single sign-on. The DreamFace platform is open, allowing enterprises to link DreamFace profile management functionalities with existing enterprise identity management systems, such as LDAP, to ensure compliance with established corporate authentication and security policies. Like consumer social networking platforms, DreamFace enables users to find and link with other users and to define groups of users. Each user has a "Wall" that lists contacts' activities and other messages. DreamFace also supports other powerful Web 2.0 activities, such as the tagging, rating, searching, and sharing of widgets and applications. DreamFace 2.0 provides live broadcasting or publishing to mobile devices. Users receiving these alerts can interact with their DreamFace widgets and applications directly from their mobile devices. The platform also provides a mobile device micro payment infrastructure. DreamFace leverages the Sybase 365 mobile messaging platform for SMS, MMS, and micro payments. DreamFace 2.0 will be available under a dual-license open source model that is based on GPL 3.0. DreamFace 2.0 Beta 1, including the enhanced widget platform and the new mobile services features, will be available this month. DreamFace 2.0 Beta 2, including the social networking framework, will be available next month. DreamFace community members will be notified on the date the software is available. http://www.dreamface.org, http://www.dreamface-interactive.com/

SpringCM announced that it has released the first connectivity solution between its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) ECM platform and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS, 2007). The SpringCM Cloud Connector for SharePoint enables integration between the portal and collaborative capabilities of SharePoint and the content management capabilities of SpringCM. Active Directory integration enables users to traverse from SharePoint workspaces to SpringCM application with a single sign-on. SpringCM applications and repositories may be navigated directly from within SharePoint. Content in SpringCM applications may be searched from within SharePoint. http://www.springcm.com