Month: February 2000 (Page 5 of 6)

First Call has launched FIRST CALL Templates, a Web-based authoring tool aimed at facilitating the research production process at brokerage firms. With Templates, sell-side analysts are able to create and edit new notes and research reports, efficiently move these documents through the production channels, and accurately index and convert documents for electronic distribution. Templates utilize XML, allowing for greater customization of the product. Users of Templates may use the system’s standard template types, such as Morning Meeting Note or Industry Report, or they may create, store and use their own templates. They also are able to save indexes for future use and are able to easily access their index criteria by ticker, industry, analyst, country, subject or headline. Templates’ advanced indexing capabilities allow for more accurate and targeted search results by institutional money managers accessing the research documents. The service also offers disclaimers, which may be customized for specific tickers. The XML technology used in Templates allows clients to customize and pre-populate specific fields in a document, including analyst and ticker information. Templates can also be used to update a broker’s quantitative information on the FIRST CALL Network. With the use of XML, earnings estimate information is easily tagged and extracted from Excel spreadsheets. XML also allows for the efficient conversion of documents to various file formats. Users may edit, approve, or hold a document at each stage of the production process – from creation, editorial, and compliance to distribution. Since the research document is available in an electronic format, it efficiently moves through the approval process. E-mail alerts allow users to e-mail each other when the document is ready for the next stage of the production process. Users are also able to track the production status of their research document at any time. Once a document has been published, a copy is sent to the brokerage firm’s FTP site, providing the firm with a copy of the document for their records. www.thomsonfinancial.com

Microsoft Corp. and members of the eLearning community announced support for Learning Resource Interchange (LRN), the first commercial implementation of the Instructional Management Systems (IMS) Content and Management Systems Specification developed by the eLearning industry and the IMS Global Learning Consortium. LRN is an XML-based schema that defines course content, allowing organizations and eLearning providers to easily create and manage compatible online learning content. LRN helps customers maximize their investment in eLearning by enabling a wider range of interoperable content and applications than currently exists today. A number of eLearning companies announced support for LRN. These include content developers such as The Forum Corp., NETg and SmartForce, as well as eLearning platform and services companies such as Blackboard.com, Cambridge Technology Partners, Centra Software Inc., Click2learn.com Inc., DigitalThink Inc., eCollege.com, Eduprise.com, Information Management Group (IMG), IntraLearn Software Corp., KnowledgePool, Pinnacle Multimedia, SmartForce, Southrock and WINeducation.com. Microsoft also announced that online learning content from Microsoft Press, Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) and Microsoft Official Curriculum would support LRN in all forthcoming content. To provide content and technology partners with the information and tools required to create LRN-compatible products and content, Microsoft has released the LRN Toolkit 1.0. With it, organizations can easily create, edit and update content structure using any standard XML editor, including Microsoft Office. The toolkit is available now and includes the LRN Viewer, LRN Validator and LRN Samples, including two LRN-compatible eBooks from Microsoft Press and an MSDN developer course on Windows 2000. The Microsoft LRN Toolkit 1.0 is available for free download at www.microsoft.com/elearn/. Additional information on the IMS Content Package Specification can be found at www.imsproject.org/

Webforia announced that it has partnered with Orem, Utah-based NetDocuments. Under the terms of the partnership, Webforia will offer NetDocuments’ services on its Web site, webforia.com. Users can access NetDocuments’ services through webforia.com as well as through Webforia’s Clickbar. NetDocuments, which requires only a browser, is a file/document storage and sharing eService that gives the mass market of consumer and business users access to an all-in-one service, from secure and trusted storage, organization and application integration to document collaboration and virtual delivery. www.webforia.com

Autonomy, Inc., announced Kenjin, a service that automatically delivers information (regardless of its location) to consumers as they use their personal computer. With Kenjin, consumers no longer have to stop what they are doing to search for information. Instead, as they surf the Web, draft an e-mail or write a letter, Kenjin automatically connects and delivers related information from the Web, the hard drive and Kenjin users with similar interests. Kenjin uses Autonomy’s core technology, which is capable of analyzing a piece of text and identifying its main ideas. This technology gives Kenjin the ability to understand the concepts, not keywords, in browsers, e-mail or desktop applications. After conducting a real-time analysis of the text in a Web page, Word document or e-mail message, Kenjin automatically recommends links to relevant information from the Web, the PC or individuals that have opted to share their interests with others. The links are displayed in a small window or a tool bar. Kenjin represents the first time consumers have access to the technology found in Autonomy’s products. Kenjin is expected to be available in May 2000. Consumers will be able to download this free service from Autonomy’s Web site. www.autonomy.com/kenjin

WebVision has launched WEBtropolis XDE (XML Data Exchange), a stand-alone application as well as a complement to existing WEBtropolis products such as ORDERnet, AUCTIONnet, and BIDtropolis. It is the first of WebVision’s applications to become XML-enabled. The product, available today, is designed to help large organizations using Internet technology as an infrastructure for optimizing the supply chain among trading partners, and making it possible for companies to replace Legacy EDI-based systems and processes. For current WebVision customers, WEBtropolis XDE provides a new data interchange format for any of their new or existing WebVision applications. WEBtropolis XDE version 1.0 has the ability to map to different XML document formats such as Biztalk from Microsoft and Rosettanet. By integrating with Biztalk from Microsoft and Rosettanet, WEBtropolis XDE provides WebVision customers with the ability to put all of the XML pieces together. WebVision is initially targeting suppliers and manufacturers with Oracle and MS SQL Server based ERP systems, such as SAGE and Oracle Financials. Such companies are committed to replacing older EDI systems with standard XML to improve their purchasing, distribution, product delivery and dynamic decision-making abilities. Because WEBTropolis XDE is based on XML, WEBTropolis XDE features support for Oracle 8i Applications, requiring little or no programming for integration. WEBtropolis XDE is available for Windows NT and Windows 2000. Minimum system requirements are Pentium III, 1GB of available Hard Drive space and 128 MB of RAM. Price for the application is based on number of CPUs. Cost per CPU is $10,000. www.webvision.com

Stack Overflow will debut its latest XHTML-based technology, codenamed Chameleon, at Seybold Boston on Wednesday, 9 February. Chameleon is the server-side complement to Stack Overflow’s recently-launched Mozquito Factory, an XML authoring environment for XHTML. The Mozquito Factory is a client-side, stand-alone authoring environment for XHTML that offers extensibility and freedom from current browser limitations, as well as a significant reduction in authoring costs. The launch of the Mozquito Factory also introduced users to FML, the Forms Markup Language, a new specification developed by Stack Overflow. Stack Overflow defined FML to bridge current forms markup with the extensibility of XML. Through FML, the Mozquito Factory leverages fourteen new XHTML tags to empower Web developers to create dynamic and interactive Web pages in plain HTML, without client- and server-side scripting. Chameleon employs the same standards-based technology as the Mozquito Factory to reduce the extensive resources currently needed to develop complex Web interfaces. A server-side product, Chameleon leverages this technology to transform XHTML-FML into HTML-plus-JavaScript on demand, whenever a user requests a page. This introduces a range of new opportunities for Web developers: content from a database, common design elements or cookie-derived information can now be integrated into XHTML-FML pages. In turn, new applications can be created in a variety of areas, including community integration, personalization, data maintenance, intranets and more. www.mozquito.org

Digimarc Corporation announced that it has adopted XML for use in the MediaBridge system, the company’s innovation bridging traditional and online media. The MediaBridge system allows readers to link from interesting content in traditional media publications to relevant Internet destinations merely by showing the page to a Digimarc-enabled PC camera. Digimarc elected to use XML because it provides an independent, open standard supported by major software vendors for the exchange of data from magazine content to Web sites worldwide. Digimarc endorsed the Digital Imaging Group’s (DIG) first public release of the DIG35 image metadata specification, a way to manage images across a wide range of consumer, business and professional applications. The DIG35 Working Draft will be available for public review and comment from March 1-29, 2000. To be included on the notification list for public comment, send an email to dig35comment@digitalimaging.org. The final specification is planned for release in the third quarter of 2000. www.digimarc.com