SDL XySoft announced a new release of its SDL Contenta CSDB software designed to support the latest version of the S1000D specification, Issue 4.0. This new release manages multiple versions of the specification in one CSDB. This capability is meant to help eliminate the costly step of converting legacy S1000D data modules and is a tool for aerospace or defense programs that are required to maintain multiple versions of the specification at the same time. SDL Contenta S1000D is integrated with SDL’s publishing technology, which supports the generation and delivery of both Type 1 and Type 2 IETPs. The SDL Contenta S1000D 4.0 solution package comes complete with sample publication formatting styles and IETP skins. The new release of SDL Contenta S1000D also provides support for the new SCORM content package and Learning Data modules. SDL Contenta 4.0 also takes advantage of the new S1000D 4.0 data model/schema that makes it easier to author content, provides more intuitive XML tags, and adds more consistency and coherence to the specification. This added level of flexibility makes the S1000D specification an option to businesses outside of aerospace and defense, particularly in markets such as manufacturing, transportation and heavy machinery. http://www.sdlxysoft.com
Year: 2009 (Page 4 of 39)
Canto announced the release of Canto Cumulus 8.1, built upon the Cumulus 8 system architecture first introduced last May. Among the new capabilities are a standalone version of the Cumulus Client, which is designed to enable users to create and work on local catalogs, connect to Cumulus Server catalogs, and update assets and metadata between the two. This was designed for traveling professionals to work with catalogs even when Internet access isn’t available. New report types include assets cataloged during a period, check-out “time spent” reports, asset inventories by format, and the ability to use search queries as the means for selecting report assets. Reports can now be saved to PDF format and automatically emailed. A new image comparison mode makes even subtle differences between images clear. Asset cataloging starts up faster, and a bulk editor offers users an “apply to all” option when adding metadata to cataloged assets. Users can create asset “placeholders” for assets in production, with the purpose of adding metadata and track production before an asset is ready to catalog. Sorting improvements can display the pages of PDFs, layouts, presentations etc. by page number, regardless of the primary sort field. A secondary sort order is now available, and algorithm changes speed sorting operations and ensure all field types sort as expected. Catalog back-up reports and system log (syslog) messages generated by Cumulus can each be emailed automatically. Added support for Microsoft’s Failover Cluster technology offers protection for Cumulus Servers running on Windows Server 2008. The Cumulus Web Client (formerly Internet Client Pro) has been updated for Cumulus 8.1. A retooling of Canto’s Web publishing technology is scheduled for release early next year. Cumulus 8.1 will be available for download the first week of December. http://www.canto.com
Look into almost any publisher’s history, and if it has a good number of decades behind it, chances are very good that you’ll see that the publisher was its own printer. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is but one example: it’s origin stems from the merger of publisher Ticknor & Fields and Riverside Press, an old Cambridge-based printer founded by Henry Oscar Houghton.
Today, of course, a lot of publishers typically use big printers such as Quebecor, RR Donnelley, or others. With the digital content streams getting under control among publishers of many stripes, together with the growing capability of production printing hardware and software, print on demand (POD) is already mainstream option. Witness Lightening Source.
A recently received press releaseannounced the planned acquisition of Océ, which provides high volume production printing platforms, by Canon, known for its consumer items like cameras and ink jet printers, but also for office equipment such as copiers and printers.
It turns out the Océ’s production printers are behind a good portion of the big POD services, and these machines are able to provide cost-effect alternatives to regular printing in many cases. As publishers seek to extract value out of backlists and custom books by digitizing the content and managing workflow, POD can enable them to produce runs too small for regular printing. But right-sized and right-cost POD can offer attractive margins when the digital content has been managed right.
It makes me wonder if publishers will take the POD in-house, given the relatively modest POD platform expenses, so that the publisher can capture a greater part of the margin on small press runs. Who knows? Maybe the separation of publishing and printing will turn out to have been a temporary anomaly.
With Kindle et al., it can be easy to get stuck on eBooks as the output, but with the right technologies addressed by the digital stream, what shouldn’t be overlooked is POD. PDQ, QED.
IXIASOFT has announced a strategic technology partnership with XML-INTL. By integrating the IXIASOFT DITA CMS with the XML-INTL XTM Suite, IXIASOFT customers should benefit from a fully integrated translation management suite which should further enhance their control over the localization process. The DITA CMS is a content management system aimed at technical communicators for the authoring, management and publishing of DITA-based technical documentation. XML-INTL is the developer of the XMT Suite, set of tools for translation. The integration between the two offerings allow users to move their content from the CMS to the translation management tools and have access to updated localized content. http://www.ixiasoft.com/
Astoria Software and Translations.com have aligned in order to create a single solution for managing and localizing XML content. This joint development initiative, Translation-Enabled Content Management, represents the service-level integration of Astoria On-Demand and Translations.com’s GlobalLink Localization Suite. Translation-Enabled Content Management will provide global organizations with a way to bring product information to market simultaneously in any locale and language. Key components of the Translation-Enabled Content Management initiative include: seamless integration of GlobalLink Project Director functionality embedded in the Astoria On-Demand user-interface; allows Astoria On-Demand users to work directly with Translations.com’s ISO-certified linguistic team or use other internal/external translation resources; centralized project tracking, business process automation and reporting for all localization projects across all vendors; server-based translation memory integration capabilities via GlobalLink Server; Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption of all data travelling to and from the end-user’s desktop, as well as data travelling between Astoria On-Demand and GlobalLink; a Service Oriented Architecture that IT can integrate into their SOA Governance and Deployment policy frameworks; unified solution for the creation, management, localization and production of XML-based documentation; and, data and Service hosting in Tier 1 data centers that comply with SAS 70 Type II guidelines for physical and logical security and resiliency. http://www.astoriasoftware.com/ http://www.translations.com/
SpringCM announced the newest version of its SaaS content management system SpringCM (5.4), which has new features and upgrades designed to make SpringCM more powerful and easier to use. A new feature of Version 5.4 is the ability to automatically set the retention period on a record based on a date field inside a document (e.g. hire date, contract expiration date, etc.). This was designed to be helpful for ongoing document-driven processes as well as for importing existing documents into the system through back-file conversion. Users should now be able to automatically classify a document as a record from within a SpringCM Advanced Workflow or a document rule, enabling business logic to drive records definition. SpringCM’s reporting has been enhanced to provide more standard reports and tries to make it easier to design custom reports. Custom dashboards introduced in Version 5.3 have been expanded with more dashboard layout options, tabbed dashboards and dashboards that are customizable to the user role in any SpringCM-based application. Other enhancements in SpringCM version 5.4 extend the view and markup functionality. All SpringCM functionality is delivered as a Web-based service for a monthly fee, and companies can deploy multiple applications on one technology infrastructure. Business processes like invoice processing, contract management, new employee on-boarding, and compliance certification can be captured in a SpringCM template and then deployed to multiple operating groups. http://www.springcm.com/
Nstein Technologies Inc. announced the release of a new product, Semantic Site Search (3S). 3S leverages Nstein’s text-mining technology to power a faceted site search which returns results that are organized categorically. 3S can ingest content from many different indices from many different web publishing platforms, meaning it indexes material across multiple properties. 3S’ embedded Text Mining Engine (TME) identifies concepts, categories, proper names, places, organizations, sentiment and topics in particular content pieces and then annotates those documents, creating a semantic fingerprint that exposes underlying nuances and meaning in content. 3S is also boasts a visual interface that is designed to allow administrators to tweak search sensitivity algorithms without having to modify hard code. 3S comes bundled with front-end wiidgets which could be used to point users to “similar content”, “most recent content”, or other identifying characteristics of content that one wants to promote. http://www.nstein.com
Open Text Corporation announced upgrades across its solutions portfolio in support of SAP applications. Last month, SAP AG and Open Text announced another expansion of their relationship, with SAP selecting Open Text Extended ECM for use with SAP solutions for resale under the name the SAP Extended Enterprise Content Management application by Open Text. Open Text Extended ECM delivers native integration of content into SAP business processes. Open Text Vendor Invoice Management adds a number of features to help customers set up global shared services centers for accounts payable. Open Text complements SAP NetWeaver Information Lifecycle Management and bridges the worlds of SAP and non-SAP content. Open Text Document Access 9.6.2 recently received SAP certification for integration with SAP NetWeaver Information Lifecycle Management 2.0. http://www.opentext.com/ http://www.sap.com/
