Category: Content technology news (Page 334 of 641)

Microsoft Corp. began distributing a half-million copies of the beta 2 version of the new Microsoft Office System to customers and partners worldwide. Seven Office System products are provided in the beta evaluation kit, including beta 2 versions of the new Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Access), the two new Office System additions, Microsoft Office InfoPath, Microsoft Office OneNote, as well as Microsoft Office FrontPage, Microsoft Office Publisher, Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services and Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server “2.0,”. The products were developed with four key design goals in mind: information intelligence, process management, effective teaming, and personal impact. The release of the Microsoft Office System to beta 2 testing enables Microsoft business partners to build information worker solutions that incorporate collaboration and portal capabilities and improved desktop tools. Business partners also can begin testing the new information and research services they will be able to offer as Web services. Microsoft Office System products are scheduled for release in mid-2003. Pricing and availability are unavailable. www.microsoft.com

Factiva and Microsoft, Inc. announced a relationship that will deliver news and business information from Factiva into the Microsoft Office 2003 suite. Factiva’s first solution for Office 2003, Factiva News Search, will allow information workers to conduct research on Factiva’s 8,000 sources directly from a report or presentation they’re creating. For example, while drafting a competitive brief in Word 2003, competitive intelligence professionals can use Factiva News Search to quickly look up industry trends from newspapers, journals, and newswires from around the world and insert that research into their document. Factiva News Search will be integrated into the Research Task Pane of all Microsoft Office 2003 applications, including Word 2003, Excel 2003, Access 2003, Outlook 2003, and PowerPoint 2003. Factiva News Search is currently available as part of the Microsoft Office 2003 Beta 2 trial. Factiva’s investment in a platform based on XML and Web services enabled its integration with the Microsoft Office 2003 system. While evaluating beta test feedback, Factiva and Microsoft will also be researching customer solutions that can be built on top of the Office 2003 System. www.factiva.com

Atomica Corporate announced the immediate availability of GuruNet 4.0, an advanced version of its application for Windows PC’s, and the successor to Atomica Slingshot. With a single click on any word or phrase on the screen, GuruNet delivers real-time and reference information, including dictionary and encyclopedia terms, thesaurus, acronyms, technical terms, company descriptions, stock quotes, biographies, news, sports, weather, maps, translation and more. GuruNet’s technology displays an unobtrusive pop-up window on demand, without interrupting users’ work. It works within any Windows application: e-mail, Office, enterprise apps and web browsers. Answers are activated by an alt-click on any word on the screen; GuruNet provides an instant definition, overview or snapshot description. GuruNet displays pre-compiled and organized reference data from over 50 premium content sources. Among its improvements are: user interface innovations; richer, more dynamic content; expanded customization; instant audible word pronunciation; and an advanced power query capability. In addition to single end-user licenses, the company offers educational, corporate and large-organization group discounts.
www.atomica.com

Software AG, Inc. announced the availability of a new software component for its Tamino XML Server 4.1 that allows the native XML server to validate digital signatures in support of secure electronic communications. Tamino XML Security Extensions makes the completion of legally binding contracts and other sensitive transactions over the Internet more secure and convenient. Digital signature technology allows the author of an electronic document to digitally “sign” the document and check later to see if the document has been modified without permission. Tamino XML Security Extensions automatically checks whether an electronic document has been given a digital signature, and verifies the validity of the signature during the database storage transaction for the signed document. A Developer Community download for Tamino XML Security Extensions is available. http://developer.softwareag.com/tamino/download.htm

Corel Corporation unveiled the new version of WordPerfect Office 11, scheduled for North American availability in spring 2003. WordPerfect Office 11 includes new Document Map and Collaborative Review functions, Reveal Codes, and RealTime Preview. A new Classic Mode features the WordPerfect 5.1 user environment, complete with a blue screen interface and WordPerfect 5.1 keystrokes. An enhanced legal toolbar adds features from WordPerfect Law Office Editions, including the Pleading Wizard, Concordance macro tool and Publish to EDGAR. Improved XML integration gives users the ability to publish slide shows, spreadsheets and WordPerfect files to XML. File sharing capabilities include Publish to PDF features in WordPerfect and Presentations, suite-wide Publish to HTML capabilities, and upport for ODMA (Open Document Management API). New email Document Routing capabilities and Microsoft Outlook Address Book connectivity lets users collaborate via Microsoft Outlook. Set for availability in late April, WordPerfect Office 11 will be offered in Standard and Professional editions, with the Professional edition as a license-only offering. WordPerfect Office 11 Standard edition has a suggested retail price (SRP) of $299.99US. Existing users of WordPerfect Office will be eligible to purchase WordPerfect Office 11 Standard at the upgrade SRP of $149.99US. A special edition to serve the education market will be available at an SRP of $99.99 US. www.corel.com

Progressive Information Technologies announced a new partnership with The Rockley Group. Progressive and The Rockley Group will work together in an educational forum to be able to offer organizations the best content management solutions possible for their publishing needs. Vasont 8.0, Progressive’s content management system for cross-media publishing, solves the challenge of repurposing content across all media – print, Web, CD-ROM and wireless channels – while ensuring enterprise-wide content integrity. www.vasont.com, www.rockley.com

CrownPeak Technology unveiled AdvantageMail, a complete email campaign solution that provides customers with interface components for rich media email creation, publishing, and management, all incorporated into CrownPeak’s Advantage CMS. The AdvantageMail system draws on a partnership with EmailLabs, a provider of advanced email marketing technology solutions. Like CrownPeak, EmailLabs follows the Software-as-Service (SaS) model. CrownPeak’s AdvantageMail system enables customers to integrate Website workflow with both email and site content. Advantage CMS customers can easily create, design, and publish an email. Simultaneously, the system can automatically update the site, create a customized landing page or even automatically create an updated archive of the newsletter listing. CrownPeak customers can manage their email campaigns from the Advantage CMS interface. Users can run their rich-media email through workflow like any other document. When ready to publish, the system automatically feeds the HTML, text and AOL-friendly versions directly into an EmailLabs system for distribution and tracking. www.crownpeak.com, www.EmailLabs.com