STEP GmbH is pleased to announce the formation of a new company based in the UK. The company will be based in Swindon and starts operations on July 1, 1999. The name of the new company has not yet been finally decided, but it will reflect the fact that all the employees of the new STEP company come from the former DPSL (Database Publishing Systems Limited). STEP deeply regrets that DPSL has ceased business due to unfortunate circumstances and been forced to lay off all its staff. For many years DPSL has been the UK center of excellence in the SGML/XML industry, and the UK STEP operation intents to take over this mantle. Its core business will be SGML/XML based consulting, DTD design, software services and system integration, as well as providing services, training and support for all major SGML/XML tools and last but not least being a premium SigmaLink service provider. The highly skilled and experienced personnel will be able to deliver services tothe market from day 1, since it is an existing team since years that enjoys great esteem in the market. The STEP Group is proud to have won the confidence of the former DPSL employees and to have become what is probably Europe’s largest player in the SGML/XML area, with over 90 employees. As part of Bertelsmann Industrial Services the STEP Group has a strong backbone for long-term business relationships with its customers. www.step.de
Year: 1999 (Page 62 of 97)
Extensibility announced the release of XML Authority 1.0, a comprehensive XML schema authoring and conversion tool that enables Web developers to migrate existing data structures to the Internet via XML. This capability accelerates the creation of XML-based industry, corporate and application grammars for the Internet. XML Authority 1.0 converts ODBC data structures, Java classes, COM objects, LDAP schemas, DTD’s and XML documents to all major XML schema formats. XML schema syntax output support includes DTD’s, XML-Data (IE5 level), the XML Schema Definition Language (XSDL), DCD’s, and DDML. XML Authority 1.0 features a graphical user interface that allows users to import or create XML schemas, and view document elements, attributes, entities and other objects in a hierarchical tree. Graphical representation of the document structure also is provided. Collaborative schema development, within and between organizations is enhanced with audience-specific notes and change logging support. XML Authority facilitates the convergence of diverse forms and sources of Internet content. Advanced XML schema features, such as data-typing, enable data-intensive applications to move to XML now. XML Authority provides the ability to adapt SGML DTD’s to those constructs available in XML. XML Authority 1.0 is available for downloading now at www.extensibility.com. XML Authority is $99.95, multiple user x-Packs are available: 5-user, $449.95; 10-user, $849.95; 50-user, $3,995.00. A ten use trial version may also be downloaded from the Extensibility site.
Bluestone Software, Inc. has launched Code Blue, a developer program that gives Java, Web, and XML application developers no-initial-cost access to Bluestone’s Application Server frameworks for building Internet commerce and data integration applications. Beginning today, developers can register for Code Blue online at www.bluestone.com/code-blue/. The Code Blue program encompasses all Bluestone products, including Sapphire/Web, and Bluestone XML Suite, the company’s revolutionary dynamic XML Application Server and toolkit that provides a platform for building, distributing, and deploying XML applications. www.bluestone.com
Lotus Development Corp. introduced SmartSuite Millennium Edition Release 9.5. Key attributes of this version of the SmartSuite Millennium Edition desktop suite include innovations in integrated speech recognition, collaborative Internet functionality that leverages Lotus Notes Release 5, updated file compatibility, integration with Lotus Domino, and time-saving deployment technology in one comprehensive package. SmartSuite Millennium Edition 9.5 is currently shipping in North America in International English to Lotus maintenance and volume-licensed Passport customers and is expected to be available in stores in the U.S. as well as worldwide later this month. SmartSuite Millennium Edition 9.5 is also scheduled to ship in additional language versions including Brazilian Portuguese, French, Italian, German, and Spanish within 30 days, and Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish within 60 days of the International English version. Current users of SmartSuite, or individual Lotus desktop applications, or users of qualifying competing suites, spreadsheets, word processors, databases, and presentation graphics packages will be eligible to upgrade for an estimated retail price of $149. The price for new users is $399. An upgrade to a standalone version of 1-2-3 Millennium Edition 9.5 will be available to users at $129, and to new users at $315. www.lotus.com
Oracle announced the immediate availability of new XML components, so they now
Transparent Language, Inc., announced the launch of FreeTranslation.com, a free website designed to translate text and foreign language web pages from English to Spanish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese, as well as to English from Spanish, French and German. FreeTranslation.com uses the TranscendRT natural language translation engine. FreeTranslation.com is a straightforward site for rapid translations where users can obtain the meaning or “gist” of foreign language text and web pages. Users log onto www.FreeTranslation.com and type or paste text directly into a translation box, select a language from the pull-down menu to translate the text to, and then simply click the “translate” button. The translation is completed within seconds. Similarly, web pages are translated by typing or pasting the URL of the web page to be translated, selecting the language for translation and clicking the “translate” button. The translated web page text is displayed while retaining the site’s original formatting and graphics. Collaborating with FreeTranslation.com Transparent Language is interested in working with other companies to bring translation capabilities to their web sites. Any company interested in discussing a possible collaboration with FreeTranslation.com should e-mail Transparent Language at links@transparent.com. www.transparent.com.
Marimba, Inc. announced the release of DocService, a new application which automates targeted document delivery across corporate intranets, extranets and the Internet. DocService makes it easy for corporations to deliver single documents to single recipients or hundreds of documents to thousands of recipients, all within a managed and organized infrastructure that supports automatic document updating. By making documents easier to distribute and update, DocService helps enable companies to reduce administrative expenses, enhance communications and productivity, and improve customer service. DocService is the first release in a planned portfolio of Marimba applications designed to provide a complete, out-of-the-box solution for a specific Internet Services Management (ISM) challenge. DocService is designed to provide automatic, targeted, bandwidth efficient delivery of documents to recipients, both inside and outside the corporation. Current document delivery mechanisms, such as email, Web servers, document management solutions, or hard copy, each have advantages in specific situations, but they typically lack DocService
Softshare announced ecSuite, a suite of e-commerce products that provides range of solutions addressing the needs of organizations from the small, home-based business to the large enterprise. Softshare’s ecSuite provides a total Internet e-commerce environment and, when combined with the Softshare Network, a traditional EDI solution. The entry-level product for the small business is Softshare Vista 2.0 Standard Edition. Softshare Vista is a 32-bit Windows-based desktop EDI application that enables trading partners to electronically create and exchange business documents such as purchase orders, invoices and advance-ship notices. Standards supported include traditional EDI such as ANSI X12, UN/EDIFACT, as well as XML and XSL. Communications are SMTP and POP3 based. Softshare Vista 2.0 Standard Edition is priced at $295 for the single user. Softshare Vista 2.0 Professional Edition adds S/MIME security, advanced document tracking, event-driven document management, trading partner management, multiple mailbox support and direct integration with Softshare’s universal data translator, Softshare Delta. The Professional Edition is priced at $995 and includes a five-user license. Softshare Delta is a data translator capable of mapping both to and from EDI, flat file (from both fixed-width and delimited), XML and OLE DB data sources. Delta also supports mapping to free-form text documents, such as HTML, to aid in Web and Internet integration. www.softshare.com.
