Texterity, Inc. announced the release of TextCafe, an automated document conversion service that accepts PDF, Quark, and Word files and converts them to structured XML, HTML and Open eBook formats. TextCafe also supports automated creation of Microsoft Reader, Rocket eBook, and Adobe PDF formats. The service is initially targeted to publishers who have large amounts of trade books that need to be moved into structured XML format. The service is faster, less expensive, and more accurate than alternative solutions, which involve manual labor and proofing. TextCafe provides the following key features: detection of text blocks, including paragraphs, which can be reflowed automatically; dynamic creation of a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) based on normalized styles used in the document; chapter and sub-chapter recognition and tagging based on document type; recognition and removal of running headers and footers in XML output; recombination of words broken between lines, columns, or pages based on language-specific dictionaries; extraction of embedded images with links created in XML output; and automated generation of XML, HTML, Open eBook (OeB), Microsoft Reader (.LIT), Rocket eBook (.RB), and reflowable PDF. TextCafe works by using artificial intelligence algorithms to deduce the hierarchical structure of documents. This is done based only on the visual cues available in the document and a knowledge of document type, such as novel, white paper, or manual. The result is richly-tagged, pure and valid XML that can be repurposed endlessly. TextCafe is available immediately. Pricing is based on document type and conversion volume. Quotes can be obtained by web-based submission at the Texterity web site www.texterity.com

Antarcti.ca Systems Inc. announced the launch of its public website, , an integrated continent-sized map of the Internet. This site, a showcase for Antarcti.ca’s Visual Net product, enables users to explore the Web in 2D and 3D, representing sites and subject categories visually. Led by XML co-inventor Tim Bray, Antarcti.ca sees Visual Net as the next step in the evolution of how people and companies access and share information on the Internet and their enterprise Intranets and Extranets. The Antarcti.ca showcase at maps the category structure of the entire Web onto one screen. The basic data is sourced from Netscape/AOL’s Open Directory Project (http://dmoz.org) and enhanced by Antarcti.ca’s proprietary technology. At the heart of the technology is Antarcti.ca’s Visual Net product, which plots and diagrams hundreds of thousands of subject categories and millions of Web sites on 2D and 3D maps that communicate not only the categories but also the sizes of the sites, their popularity and their quality of service. The 3D experience immerses users in a videogame-like environment, allowing them to ‘walk around’ the Web and look at sites in great detail without having to actually visit them, resulting in more efficient navigation. In addition, each of the 300,000 categories includes chat capability, enabling users to connect with dynamic communities of shared interests. Antarcti.ca is fully internationalized, containing thousands of categories and hundreds of thousands of sites in languages ranging from Afrikaans and Arabic to Thai and Ukrainian. Antarcti.ca’s Visual Net is an ideal application for enterprise networks. Over the last 5 years, enterprises have made immense investments in leveraging their human capital by deploying Intranets and Extranets. Antarcti.ca helps complete this process by making network interaction more efficient and enjoyable and thus help realize the full return on these investments. The showcase Web site is free to the public and available immediately at . Enterprise network mapping projects are delivered on an ASP basis and fees vary depending on the size and complexity of the data. The Antarcti.ca Visual Net product has an open API based on Web standards, chiefly HTTP and XML; the company invites technology partnerships with those who wish to build network-map-based applications. Antarcti.ca client software is Open Source, and the client-server protocol fully documented; anyone wishing to explore alternative visions of network maps will have the company’s support.

Vignette Corp. announced Vignette eWireless, an e-business application that enables companies to conduct B2B transactions and exchange information with business applications using any wireless device, is available and shipping to customers. Based on open Internet standards, including XML and the Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE), and featuring a powerful intuitive graphical user interface (GUI), Vignette eWireless enables a fully interactive Web experience on virtually any wireless device. The new product allows a company’s employees, customers and trading partners to conduct transactions — such as purchasing from product catalogs, approving requisitions or accessing back-end applications — directly from their handheld wireless device. Devices supported include WAP-based phones, PDAs and pagers. For example, an industrial supplier using Vignette eWireless can provide its customers with a wireless device pre-loaded with a custom catalog of products they routinely purchase. When these customers are out in the field or at a job site, they will be able to use a wireless phone or PDA to order or reorder products, approve a price quote and purchase order, and arrange for delivery at a specified time — without tracking down a telephone, fax machine or filling out paperwork. Unlike some wireless solutions, which consist of simple notification systems that do not facilitate B2B transactions or allow access to back office systems, Vignette eWireless allows companies to rapidly wireless-enable their existing applications, data and processes, as well as those of their trading partners. Vignette eWireless is currently available and shipping. www.vignette.com

Reciprocal Inc. unveiled Version 3.0 of Reciprocal Commerce Access Protocol. This enhanced XML-based communications technology enables the secure transfer of permit order information between Reciprocal and its customers. Reciprocal Commerce Access Protocol allows content companies, retailers or distributors to better control and manage digital content by communicating order information back to Reciprocal’s clearinghouse. This communication allows clients to easily integrate their content business with Reciprocal’s DRM services. Information and a series of instructions are communicated via the Reciprocal Commerce Access Protocol from a retail site to the Reciprocal Digital Clearing Service, which then fulfills the retailer’s instructions and issues the permits that allow the end-user to have access to secure content files. Once packaged, the digital content can then be securely distributed with predefined business rules that consumers must satisfy before accessing the content. Business rules can range from payment, collection of consumer information, or other exchanges of value defined by the content owner. Retailers looking to take advantage of Reciprocal Commerce Access Protocol do not need to install any new hardware or software. Rather, they can simply send a secure XML message to integrate with Reciprocal’s services. www.reciprocal.com

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) released the Document Object Model Level 2 specification as a W3C Recommendation. The specification reflects cross-industry agreement on a standard API for manipulating documents and data through a programming language (such as Java or ECMAScript). Created and developed by the W3C Document Object Model (DOM) Working Group, this specification extends the platform- and language-neutral interface to access and update dynamically a document’s content, structure, and style first described by the DOM Level 1 Recommendation. The DOM Level 2 provides a standard set of objects for representing XML documents and data, including namespace support, a style sheet platform which adds support for CSS 1 and 2, a standard model of how these objects may be combined, and a standard interface for accessing and manipulating them. DOM Level 1 was designed for HTML 4.0 and XML 1.0. With DOM Level 2, authors can take further advantage of the extensibility of XML. Simply put, anywhere you use XML you can now use the DOM to manipulate it. The standard DOM interface makes it possible to write software for processing customized tag-sets in a language- and platform-independent way. DOM Level 2 provides support for XML namespaces, extending and improving the XML platform. The DOM provides a uniform way to produce programs that work across a variety of different devices, so all may benefit from dynamically generated content. The DOM Level 2 Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) API makes it possible for a script author to access and manipulate style information associated with contents, while preserving accessibility. DOM Level 2 also includes an Events API to provide interactivity anywhere someone uses XML – in documents, in data, or in B2B applications. Other W3C Working Groups are currently at work in extending further the DOM Level 2 platform for Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) and Mathematical Markup Language (MathML). The DOM Working Group is currently at work developing DOM Level 3, the next layer of functionality for DOM. www.w3c.org