Linguistic Technology Corporation (LTC) unveiled EasyAsk eCom 1.0, a new natural language question/answer search technology for e-commerce. EasyAsk eCom allows retail consumers, business-to-business buyers and merchants to interact with e-commerce product catalogs and purchase history using plain English. EasyAsk eCom features an extensive vocabulary (dictionary) that is automatically extended upon installation by interrogating the underlying e-commerce database. The dictionary, which can be enhanced dynamically, contains product attributes found in the database and: synonyms, structured hierarchies, and business logic. An Agent feature can monitor the e-commerce database and notify managers of the occurrence of key events. EasyAsk eCom is available immediately. Pricing includes an initial license fee of $5,000 plus a monthly usage and support fee of
Category: Content technology news (Page 596 of 639)
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The new version delivers enhanced XML support for improved connectivity and data integration, according to the Bedford-based developer. Version 3.1 also includes enhanced SQL functionality to deliver E-commerce applications that support vendor-specific queries on enterprise databases by ven-dors such as Oracle Corp. Currently, Progress has more than 2,000 Apptivity VARs. The company recently formed a program to enable its VARs to extend more than 5,000 packaged applications to the application service provider (ASP) model. With technology and services from Progress, numerous VARs are expected to embrace the ASP business model. www.progress.com
OASIS has agreed to participate in a focus group on Internet Standardization and E-Commerce organized by the Office of Science and Technology Policy of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The focus group, which will be held at the White House Conference Center in Washington, DC on Tuesday, July 20, will examine how changing technological, market, and legal environments are affecting the development of standards for the Internet, electronic commerce and knowledge management. www.oasis-open.org
The Open Applications Group, Inc. (OAGI) announced the formation of a Customer Interoperability Council, made up of end users, that will work with the OAGI’s existing software vendor membership to promote adoption of standards based application integration technology. The OAGI Interoperability Council will focus on development of industry specific Business Object Documents that define inter-application message formats and the deployment of enterprise integration frameworks based on the Open Applications Group Integration Specification (OAGIS), XML and transactions sent over middleware conforming to the newly released Open Applications Middleware API Specification (OAMAS). This approach will simplify integration of Financial, Human Resources, Manufacturing, Logistics, and Supply Chain application components both within the enterprise and among trading partners. The OAGI Interoperability Council is holding one of its regular meetings in Chicago on July 28-29, 1999. Interested parties are welcome to participate www.openapplications.org
The Data Mining Group (DMG) announced the first version of an XML-based open standard for defining predictive models. The Predictive Modeling Markup Language (PMML) provides a quick and easy way for companies to define predictive models and share models between compliant vendors’ applications. The founding consortium companies include: Magnify, Chicago; SPSS Inc., Chicago; Angoss Software Corp., Toronto; NCR Corp., Dayton, Ohio; and the National Center for Data Mining (NCDM) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). DMG founders invite other vendors and interested parties to participate in the proposed W3C standards initiative. First developed by NCDM and then revised and enhanced by the DMG, PMML is an XML-based language providing applications a vendor-independent method of defining models so that proprietary issues and incompatibilities are no longer a barrier to the exchange of models between applications. Predictive models express the patterns of information discovered in data mining, which companies then may use to develop specific strategies from which they can realize increased profitability. The Data Mining Group has applied for W3C working group classification. More information about PMML Version 1.0 and becoming PMML compliant is available from the Data Mining Group at www.dmg.org
Oracle Corporation announced dramatic growth and demand for Oracle on Linux with strong adoption in both enterprise and general business markets. Oracle also announced the general availability of Oracle8i on Linux, after completion of an early adopter’s program. www.oracle.com
Arbortext has launched an XML advisory site to be hosted by Eve Maler. The site provides free insights on XML, as well as a wealth of XML-related resources and links. Eve’s Advisory provides a forum for questions and is designed to give clear, concise answers. The debut issue of Eve’s Advisory, entitled, “Validation: It’s a Good Thing,” answers a reader’s question about whether XML will free him from the tyranny of rigid structure in document authoring. Readers can send their own questions to askeve@arbortext.com. The site also provides links to resources, such as standards information, XML authoring tips, and calendars and agendas for upcoming educational events, end-user forums, and online product tutorials. www.arbortext.com
Microsoft Corp. announced it will hold an open design review for gathering industry feedback on new metadata extensions that will enable a business to integrate its line-of-business, data warehousing, and knowledge management environments. Also today, the Meta Data Coalition (MDC) formally announced that the Open Information Model (OIM) has been accepted as the metadata standard. The proposed extensions to the OIM capture business knowledge such as goals, objectives, processes and rules, as well as terminology and categorizations, enabling the automated linkage between a wide variety of business information types. This linkage is needed for the creation of enterprise information portals or “digital dashboards,” which enable real-time decision-making by providing businesses with a single window into all their information. The OIM extensions are the result of extensive collaboration with industry partners and represent the first milestone in the effort initiated with the Meta Data Coalition in December 1998. The open design review period for the new model extensions begins today with the availability of preliminary specifications for the following three models: Knowledge description model, Business engineering model, and Business rule model. This phase of the open design process is expected to conclude with an industry partner review in fall of 1999, where updated specifications, final input and early product demonstrations will be presented. Information about obtaining a copy of the specifications and providing feedback during the design review period is available through the Microsoft Web site at www.microsoft.com/repository/ or the Meta Data Coalition Web site at www.mdcinfo.com
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