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eZ Systems announced the release of eZ Components version 2008.2. This is the seventh major version of eZ Components, which is a general-purpose PHP library of over 40 components used independently or together for PHP application development. The latest versions of eZ Publish are also based on eZ Components. With eZ Components, developers can concentrate on solving customer-specific needs. The eZ Components tool set provides key application functionality, such as caching, authentication, database interaction, templates, graphs, and much more. Main improvements in this release include more features for the Document and Webdav components. The Document component, which enables you to convert documents between different formats, was already able to convert ReST to XTHML and DocBook. In this release, more formats are implemented, such as three different wiki formats (Confluence, Creole and DokuWiki), the eZ Publish XML formats, as well as reading XHTML and writing ReST. The wiki parser can easily be extended for other wiki formats. The Webdav component now supports authentication and authorization, as well as support for integrating authentication mechanisms into existing systems. In addition, it supports shared and exclusive write locks, even with custom storage back-ends. The main new development of the eZ Components 2008.2 release is the MvcTools component. The MvcTools component implements the tools for a framework. Instead of dedicating the structure of the application, it provides a dispatcher, two request parsers (one for HTTP and one for email messages through the existing Mail component), two routing methods, two view handlers (one through plain PHP scripts and one through the Template component), and a response writer for HTTP. http://ezcomponents.org

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) announced a new standard to make it easier to author interactive multimedia presentations. "Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL 3.0)" allows video, audio, images, text, and hypertext links to be combined into interactive presentations, with fine-grain control of layout and timing. "The importance of SMIL 3.0 is that it contains a set of user-requested features that provide exciting new functionality, while retaining all the advantages of a declarative (that is, without scripting) approach to building a multimedia presentation," said Dick Bulterman, chair of the Synchronized Multimedia Working Group, which published the specification. Read the full press release, testimonials, and learn more about the Synchronized Multimedia Activity at http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/REC-SMIL3-20081201/cover.html

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) updated its XHTML Modularization standard with support for designing modular languages using "XML Schema." The addition of schemas to "XHTML Modularization 1.1" is an important step towards the XHTML2 Working Group's goal that XHTML support rich Web content and be extensible, while remaining interoperable. A modularization standard allows language designers to reuse elements defined by multiple parties (including other W3C standards such as SVG and MathML) and combine them into new formats to meet specific application needs. The standard allows people to use schema-enabled, off-the-shelf tools to immediately begin authoring and validating documents written in those new languages. The XHTML2 Working Group, which gained experience using Modularization 1.1 to build some modules and languages, now plans to add schema support to other XHTML standards. http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/REC-xhtml-modularization-20081008/

Zoho announced Zoho Marketplace and the Zoho Creator Partner Program. Additionally, Zoho launched Zoho Creator 3.0, its solution for creating online database applications. The Zoho Marketplace establishes an online community and a marketplace where those seeking to buy and sell Zoho Creator applications can easily find one another. Buyers and sellers are free to negotiate their prices and execute transactions in whatever way best suits them. Users who want to buy Zoho Creator applications can find ready-made applications in the Zoho Marketplace and install them. Users can also post their application needs in the Zoho Marketplace, letting developers bid to develop that particular application. In turn, developers who want to sell Zoho Creator applications can develop custom web-based solutions based on customers' unique requirements as posted in the Zoho Marketplace. Or developers can build ready-made applications and post them in the Zoho Marketplace for broader distribution. Zoho Creator Partners can distribute end user applications and resell Zoho Creator itself. Users can create customizable applications using drag and drop operations. Zoho Creator's Form Builder, View Builder and Script Builder help create business applications. http://www.zoho.com

Adobe Systems announced the Adobe Creative Suite 4 product family. Adobe's newest software release includes Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design editions, Creative Suite 4 Web editions, Creative Suite 4 Production Premium, Creative Suite 4 Master Collection, as well as 13 point products, 14 integrated technologies and seven services. Adobe Creative Suite 4 offers a choice among editions and products. Customers can choose from six suites or full version upgrades of 13 applications. A simplified workflow in Adobe Creative Suite 4 enables users to design across media more efficiently by making it easier to complete common tasks and switch between mediums without leaving a project. InDesign CS4 includes a new Live Preflight tool that allows designers to catch production errors and a newly customizable Links panel to place files more efficiently. The Content-Aware Scaling tool in Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended automatically recomposes an image as it is resized. An expanded version of Dynamic Link in CS4 Production Premium enables users to move content between After Effects CS4, Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, Soundbooth CS4, and Encore CS4. Adobe Creative Suite 4 provides the ability to paint, composite, and animate 3D models using familiar tools. Flash CS4 Professional now offers the ability to apply tweens to objects instead of keyframes, providing greater control over animation attributes. Also in Flash, the new Bones tool helps create more realistic animations between linked objects. Adobe Device Central CS4 enables users to easily test mobile content designed using many of the Creative Suite 4 products. http://www.adobe.com/creativesuite

Curl Inc. announced that it has completed the final phase of its Eclipse development strategy with the general availability release of Curl Development tools for Eclipse (CDE). The CDE is a set of Eclipse plug-ins that provides an environment for developing programs in the Curl language and on the current release of the Curl Rich Internet Application (RIA) Platform, Version 6.0. With the full release of the CDE, programmers can see features of the Curl platform within the Eclipse development environment. The CDE includes a language sensitive editor and search, integration into the Eclipse debugger as well as the Eclipse workspace for Curl projects and preferences, and documentation. Additionally, it also allows Curl program deployment and includes tools such as a VLE extension editor, profiler, code coverage, class browser, inspector and Hypertext Transfer Protocol Overview (HTTP) monitor. The CDE is available for Windows, Linux and Eclipse 3.3 and 3.4 SDKs or any Eclipse-based IDE based on Eclipse 3.3 and 3.4. http://www.curl.com/products_cde.php

4D, Inc. announced the release of 4D Web 2.0 Pack v11 Release 2. The new version, a combination of two products - 4D Ajax Framework and 4D for Flex - brings a set of tools, plug-ins, and components that allow 4D developers to harness Web 2.0 technologies, and deliver live web and rich internet applications to browsers, desktops, and portable devices such as the iPhone. 4D for Flex offers an integrated Flex-to-SQL database direct connection. 4D for Flex provides a simple, integrated architecture, but also connectivity to 4D Server v11 SQL and other SQL databases. 4D Ajax Framework is an integrated Ajax framework and application server that combines Ajax and 4D databases, bringing 4D application data to your browser, RIA, iPhone, and more. Using HTML 5 and Google Gears, users can now access their web applications even when they are offline. Fully data-interactive iPhone 2.0 applications can be built with zero coding, or completely enhanced for customized data applications. http://www.4D.com

NetSuite Inc. announced new capabilities for its CRM product, NetSuite CRM+, featuring AJAX-powered workflows that enhance ease-of-use of marketing automation and knowledge management functionality used in customer support and customer service. These new workflows center around step-wise, user interaction and are now also supported in the new Firefox 3 web browser, along with other capabilities of NetSuite such as eXtreme list editing, rich-text editing, drag-and- drop and quick-add portlets. New features include: Step-wise Assistants for Marketing Automation - a new two-step assisted workflow for group creation allows marketers to segment and slice their target audience for focused campaign execution; Streamlined Knowledge Management for Customer Service - a new keyword search workflow is built directly into the user interface for case management to increase the speed with which customer service and customer support reps can search for and find relevant content from the knowledge store to respond to a customer service inquiry. In addition, customer service reps can now add content for inclusion in the central knowledge store with one click from information already entered on the case for the response to the customer. In addition to the workflow capabilities for NetSuite CRM+, NetSuite also announced support for Firefox 3, the latest web browser version from the Mozilla Foundation. NetSuite supports all three web browsers- Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari - allowing customers choice when it comes to access to key business data. Support for Firefox 3 also enables more users to run their business on NetSuite since Firefox supports multiple operating systems, including Windows, Apple's OS-X and Linux. http://www.netsuite.com/

Kapow Technologies announced the Kapow Mashup Server version 6.4. The new software release features many improvements to further speed up automated access to Web data sources using mashup creation tools or Microsoft Excel. One of the new features for all editions of Kapow Mashup Server version 6.4 is extended JavaScript handling, which is in response to the exploding number of AJAX-based sites on the Web today. Many improvements have been made to Kapow Technologies' proprietary browser engine so that developers can harvest data from practically any JavaScript- and AJAX-based web site. The Web 2.0 Edition of the Kapow Mashup Server now includes support for Web Application Description Language (WADL). WADL makes it much easier for applications and mashup building tools to automatically discover and consume REST services. WADL support also helps developers leverage the Kapow Excel Connector, an Excel plug-in provided by StrikeIron, which enables on- demand access to web intelligence, via Web services, directly from an Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. The Portal Content Edition of the Kapow Mashup Server, which enables companies to efficiently refurbish existing portal assets, has several new enhancements to the web clipping technology for robust, rapid development and deployment of JSR-168 standards-based portlets. The Kapow solution now provides the ability to make on-the-fly changes to clipping portlets that enhance portal functionality, while adding an improved and simplified portlet deployment mechanism on major portal platforms. In addition, there is a new version of the Clipping API which enables developers to interact with custom clipping applications, working from within the development IDE of their choice. http://www.kapowtech.com

Concentric announced its continued commitment to small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) with the availability of its professional Web site services packages. These new services from Concentric save SMBs time and money by eliminating the need to find multiple resources for Web site hosting, design, maintenance, and marketing. Expanding on a wide range of technical services available through a custom quotation process, Concentric has developed three Web site service packages. The company's Web Site Design Package provides customers with Web site design or redesign and includes 17 hours of design and production time and eight hours of maintenance for the Web site over a 12-month term. The package includes a Concentric hosting account, a "Contact Us" form, configuration of users and email accounts, search engine optimization, and Google Analytics set-up. Thirty minutes of training on Google Analytics is included. The Web Site Migration Package is for organizations that already have a Web site but want to move it to Concentric's hosting platform and need help with routine maintenance and enhancements. Included in this package is a Concentric hosting account, configuration of users and email accounts, and eight hours of maintenance over the 12-month term. This package also includes optimization for search engines and Google Analytics with thirty minutes of training. The Concentric Web Site Maintenance Package is ideal for customers who have a Web site and need resources to perform ongoing maintenance or make enhancements. The Basic Package includes HTML, content updates, and hosting administrative help. The Advance Package covers more advanced tasks such as ecommerce set-up, PHP coding, databases, and Content Management Systems. These packages are sold at a discounted rate with a minimum contract time of eight hours and a 12-month agreement. http://www.concentric.com