× The internal search function is temporarily non-functional. The current search engine is no longer viable and we are researching alternatives.
As a stop gap measure, we are using Google's custom search engine service.
If you know of an easy to use, open source, search engine ... please contact support@midrange.com.


  • Subject: Fwd: IBM Press Release: E-Commerce Gets a Boost from Rich Media
  • From: DAsmussen@xxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 17:14:45 EDT

Big day for JAVA all around!  Here's another Press Release:

 E-COMMERCE GETS A BOOST FROM RICH MEDIA
 
 IBM Adds Java-Based Interactive Media to E-Commerce Servers and
 Announces Public Beta of Toolkit
 
 
      SOMERS, NY, September 30, 1998 - - IBM today announced the
 adoption of IBM HotMedia, its Java**-based rich media toolkit,
 by the industry's leading merchant servers, including IBM Net.
 Commerce*.  In addition, the IBM HotMedia toolkit beta is now
 available for creative new media professionals to download
 free-of-charge at http://www.software.ibm.com/net.media.
      IBM HotMedia Software for the Java Environment is a set of
 ultra-lightweight Java applets and a set of simple-to-use tools
 for content creators.  IBM HotMedia makes it possible to enhance
 commercial Web sites with rich media, without burdening Internet
 users with lengthy data download times, and without any special
 server requirements.  As a result, e-businesses will be able to
 easily incorporate rich media experiences into on-line catalogs
 and other e-business applications, such as on-line advertising
 and interactive Web presentations.
      "The future of e-business depends on making the user
 experience as natural as possible - - media without excuses will
 be a necessity," said Armando Garcia, vice president, Internet
 media, IBM.  "IBM HotMedia provides a more realistic, natural
 environment for Internet shoppers that will help drive sales
 through on-line storefronts and facilitate the buy decision.
 And Web content creators can now use this same technology to
 their advantage."
      IBM HotMedia gives end-users an intuitive and efficient
 way to navigate through a variety of rich-media effects,
 including:
 - animated GIFs
 - panning and scrolling images
 - multi-track animations
 - 3D object movies
 - zoomable, multi-resolution images
 - audio and video clips
 - 360 degree panoramas
      IBM HotMedia also provides powerful spatial and temporal hot
 links across all of these content types, as well as to other objects
 and Web sites.   Using IBM HotMedia, content is assembled into one
 easy-to-use file, which is simple to add to standard Web servers and
 efficiently delivered through a browser.  Also, to effectively deal
 with today's low-bandwidth connections to the Internet, IBM HotMedia
 content is "smart" and it retrieves applets just-in-time to deliver
 media progressively.
 
 IBM HotMedia and Authoring Tools
      The IBM HotMedia tools are simple to use and are designed to
 complement existing media-authoring tools.  To facilitate seamless
 content creation, IBM HotMedia will be distributed with upcoming
 releases of Macromedia** Dreamweaver** and Director**.
 Additionally, IBM has created versions of HotMedia specifically
 for use as an Xtra** and Object in Dreamweaver.
      "We're pleased to partner with IBM to advance our mission of
 adding life to the Web," said David Mendels, general manager of
 Macromedia's Web Publishing Division. "By supporting IBM HotMedia
 in future versions of Dreamweaver and Director, the leading tools
 for Internet multimedia and Web site development, we're further
 enabling rich media authoring for e-commerce and interactive
 advertising applications."
 
 IBM HotMedia and Commerce Servers
      In 4Q98, IBM HotMedia will be available with IBM Net.Commerce
 to further enrich the on-line shopping experience.  Combining
 Net.Commerce's Product Comparison capability with IBM HotMedia
 creates a personalized shopping experience that presents the
 shopper with customized product selections that can be fully
 inspected, manipulated, and examined to facilitate the buy decision.
      iCat**, INTERSHOP**, Interworld**, and OpenMarket** have
 indicated that they each plan to provide offerings that support
 IBM HotMedia, giving on-line merchants persuasive new ways to
 present their products. The IBM HotMedia toolkit is available
 for immediate use in commerce server software packages at
 http://www.software.ibm.com/net.media.
      IBM Net.Commerce is part of the expanded IBM WebSphere*
 family of application servers and will assume WebSphere branding
 in 1999.  As a result, current Net.Commerce customers will
 benefit from the broad range of functionality of the WebSphere
 family, which integrates the Web commerce, Web server,
 transaction processing and distributed component technologies
 from IBM.
 
 IBM HotMedia Benefits
      IBM HotMedia is a powerful rich media technology for the Web
 that fully harnesses the power of Java.  The IBM HotMedia player
 is separated into tiny Java applets (typically less than 10
 kilobytes in size), which are delivered to the user on an
 as-needed basis.  This "smart content" technology allows IBM
 HotMedia files to determine which applets are needed on-the-fly.
 In this manner, an applet is only downloaded once, and then it
 remains in the browser for the duration of the session, which
 speeds playback of subsequent content.  This effectively deals
 with today's typical low-bandwidth (28.8 Kbps) Internet connections,
 which have been one of the limiting factors in the wide use of
 rich media for e-commerce.
      Since IBM HotMedia is delivered progressively, it is possible
 to send only the "tip of the iceberg" when a page containing an IBM
 HotMedia file is loaded. This is typically a lightweight static
 image, animated GIF, or scrolling image that is stored in the initial
 portion of the IBM HotMedia file.  Should an end-user desire
 additional content, the click of a mouse enables additional content
 to begin playing.
      This approach makes it possible for on-line shoppers to browse
 quickly through many pages of an IBM HotMedia-enhanced catalog with
 minimal download time, and spares the merchant's Web server the
 burden of serving content that is not of interest to the consumer.
 This approach also makes IBM HotMedia ideal for other applications,
 such as interactive advertising.
 
 Live IBM HotMedia Customer Sites
      During an initial pilot program many IBM customers added IBM
 HotMedia to their Web sites, including:
 - PGA Interactive, a joint venture of IBM and the PGA of
       America, has a series of interactive golf lessons called
       "Lesson Tee" at http://www.pga.com
 - Intellicast enhances the delivery of interactive weather
       maps at http://www.intellicast.com
 - Einzig Interactive Photographers displays 3D product movies
       and virtual tours at http://www.einzig.com/ibmhotmedia.htm
 - The Jim Henson Company offers "Virtual Muppeteering" at
       http://www.henson.com
 
 IBM
      IBM is the world's largest information technology company,
 with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate.  IBM
 software offers the widest range of applications, middleware and
 operating systems for all types of computing platforms, allowing
 customers to take full advantage of the new era of e-business.
 The fastest way to get more information about IBM software is
 through the IBM software home page at:  http://www.software.ibm.com.
 For more information about IBM HotMedia please visit:
 http://www.software.ibm.com/net.media Information on the WebSphere
 product line may be found at http://www.software.ibm.com/websphere.
 
 ####
 
 IBM HotMedia Testimonials
 iCat
      "Selling on-line will increasingly require merchandising that
 presents a complete and compelling view of the products being sold,
 and that means merchants will want to add high quality audio, video,
 images, and other rich media to their stores," said Craig Danuloff,
 president and CEO of iCat. "Those on-line stores that embrace these
 capabilities can expect site visitors to spend more time - and more
 money."
 
 INTERSHOP
      "Internet merchants strive for compelling product presentation
 and visualization as an integral part of their store solution,"
 stated Petra Vorsteher, vice president of business development and
 strategic alliances at INTERSHOP Communications. "IBM's HotMedia
 technology provides the tools to leverage the power of electronic
 commerce by making products more accessible to shoppers with 3D,
 animation, audio and video. IBM HotMedia takes on-line catalogs
 to the next level."
 
 InterWorld
      "A powerful way to attract and retain customers is through
 effective product presentation and merchandising capabilities.
 IBM's Hot Media toolkit, coupled with InterWorld Commerce Exchange,
 provides a visually-rich shopping experience," Susan Fairty,
 vice president of marketing, InterWorld Corporation.
 
 Open Market
      "Rich media products will help drive the acceptance and
 success of e-commerce in the coming years," said Cliff Utstein,
 Open Market's director of commerce service provider marketing.
 
 
  * Indicates trademark or registered trademark of International
    Business Machines Corporation.
 ** All product and brand names are trademarks or registered
    trademarks of their respective owners.




IBM Consultant Relations


DATE:          September 30, 1998

SUBJECT:       IBM Press Release:  E-Commerce Gets a Boost
               from Rich Media


Today IBM announced IBM HotMedia, its Java**-based rich media
toolkit.  This toolkit is now available for media professionals
to download free-of-charge. See the following press release for
details.

If you have any questions, please contact our Consultant Relations
Response Center at (800) IBM-4046 / (416) 383-5153 or via e-mail:
consrel@us.ibm.com.


PRESS RELEASE


Contact:     Consultant Relations Response Center
             Phone:     (800) IBM-4046
             Internet:  consrel@us.ibm.com


E-COMMERCE GETS A BOOST FROM RICH MEDIA

IBM Adds Java-Based Interactive Media to E-Commerce Servers and
Announces Public Beta of Toolkit


     SOMERS, NY, September 30, 1998 - - IBM today announced the
adoption of IBM HotMedia, its Java**-based rich media toolkit,
by the industry's leading merchant servers, including IBM Net.
Commerce*.  In addition, the IBM HotMedia toolkit beta is now
available for creative new media professionals to download
free-of-charge at http://www.software.ibm.com/net.media.
     IBM HotMedia Software for the Java Environment is a set of
ultra-lightweight Java applets and a set of simple-to-use tools
for content creators.  IBM HotMedia makes it possible to enhance
commercial Web sites with rich media, without burdening Internet
users with lengthy data download times, and without any special
server requirements.  As a result, e-businesses will be able to
easily incorporate rich media experiences into on-line catalogs
and other e-business applications, such as on-line advertising
and interactive Web presentations.
     "The future of e-business depends on making the user
experience as natural as possible - - media without excuses will
be a necessity," said Armando Garcia, vice president, Internet
media, IBM.  "IBM HotMedia provides a more realistic, natural
environment for Internet shoppers that will help drive sales
through on-line storefronts and facilitate the buy decision.
And Web content creators can now use this same technology to
their advantage."
     IBM HotMedia gives end-users an intuitive and efficient
way to navigate through a variety of rich-media effects,
including:
- animated GIFs
- panning and scrolling images
- multi-track animations
- 3D object movies
- zoomable, multi-resolution images
- audio and video clips
- 360 degree panoramas
     IBM HotMedia also provides powerful spatial and temporal hot
links across all of these content types, as well as to other objects
and Web sites.   Using IBM HotMedia, content is assembled into one
easy-to-use file, which is simple to add to standard Web servers and
efficiently delivered through a browser.  Also, to effectively deal
with today's low-bandwidth connections to the Internet, IBM HotMedia
content is "smart" and it retrieves applets just-in-time to deliver
media progressively.

IBM HotMedia and Authoring Tools
     The IBM HotMedia tools are simple to use and are designed to
complement existing media-authoring tools.  To facilitate seamless
content creation, IBM HotMedia will be distributed with upcoming
releases of Macromedia** Dreamweaver** and Director**.
Additionally, IBM has created versions of HotMedia specifically
for use as an Xtra** and Object in Dreamweaver.
     "We're pleased to partner with IBM to advance our mission of
adding life to the Web," said David Mendels, general manager of
Macromedia's Web Publishing Division. "By supporting IBM HotMedia
in future versions of Dreamweaver and Director, the leading tools
for Internet multimedia and Web site development, we're further
enabling rich media authoring for e-commerce and interactive
advertising applications."

IBM HotMedia and Commerce Servers
     In 4Q98, IBM HotMedia will be available with IBM Net.Commerce
to further enrich the on-line shopping experience.  Combining
Net.Commerce's Product Comparison capability with IBM HotMedia
creates a personalized shopping experience that presents the
shopper with customized product selections that can be fully
inspected, manipulated, and examined to facilitate the buy decision.
     iCat**, INTERSHOP**, Interworld**, and OpenMarket** have
indicated that they each plan to provide offerings that support
IBM HotMedia, giving on-line merchants persuasive new ways to
present their products. The IBM HotMedia toolkit is available
for immediate use in commerce server software packages at
http://www.software.ibm.com/net.media.
     IBM Net.Commerce is part of the expanded IBM WebSphere*
family of application servers and will assume WebSphere branding
in 1999.  As a result, current Net.Commerce customers will
benefit from the broad range of functionality of the WebSphere
family, which integrates the Web commerce, Web server,
transaction processing and distributed component technologies
from IBM.

IBM HotMedia Benefits
     IBM HotMedia is a powerful rich media technology for the Web
that fully harnesses the power of Java.  The IBM HotMedia player
is separated into tiny Java applets (typically less than 10
kilobytes in size), which are delivered to the user on an
as-needed basis.  This "smart content" technology allows IBM
HotMedia files to determine which applets are needed on-the-fly.
In this manner, an applet is only downloaded once, and then it
remains in the browser for the duration of the session, which
speeds playback of subsequent content.  This effectively deals
with today's typical low-bandwidth (28.8 Kbps) Internet connections,
which have been one of the limiting factors in the wide use of
rich media for e-commerce.
     Since IBM HotMedia is delivered progressively, it is possible
to send only the "tip of the iceberg" when a page containing an IBM
HotMedia file is loaded. This is typically a lightweight static
image, animated GIF, or scrolling image that is stored in the initial
portion of the IBM HotMedia file.  Should an end-user desire
additional content, the click of a mouse enables additional content
to begin playing.
     This approach makes it possible for on-line shoppers to browse
quickly through many pages of an IBM HotMedia-enhanced catalog with
minimal download time, and spares the merchant's Web server the
burden of serving content that is not of interest to the consumer.
This approach also makes IBM HotMedia ideal for other applications,
such as interactive advertising.

Live IBM HotMedia Customer Sites
     During an initial pilot program many IBM customers added IBM
HotMedia to their Web sites, including:
- PGA Interactive, a joint venture of IBM and the PGA of
      America, has a series of interactive golf lessons called
      "Lesson Tee" at http://www.pga.com
- Intellicast enhances the delivery of interactive weather
      maps at http://www.intellicast.com
- Einzig Interactive Photographers displays 3D product movies
      and virtual tours at http://www.einzig.com/ibmhotmedia.htm
- The Jim Henson Company offers "Virtual Muppeteering" at
      http://www.henson.com

IBM
     IBM is the world's largest information technology company,
with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate.  IBM
software offers the widest range of applications, middleware and
operating systems for all types of computing platforms, allowing
customers to take full advantage of the new era of e-business.
The fastest way to get more information about IBM software is
through the IBM software home page at:  http://www.software.ibm.com.
For more information about IBM HotMedia please visit:
http://www.software.ibm.com/net.media Information on the WebSphere
product line may be found at http://www.software.ibm.com/websphere.

####

IBM HotMedia Testimonials
iCat
     "Selling on-line will increasingly require merchandising that
presents a complete and compelling view of the products being sold,
and that means merchants will want to add high quality audio, video,
images, and other rich media to their stores," said Craig Danuloff,
president and CEO of iCat. "Those on-line stores that embrace these
capabilities can expect site visitors to spend more time - and more
money."

INTERSHOP
     "Internet merchants strive for compelling product presentation
and visualization as an integral part of their store solution,"
stated Petra Vorsteher, vice president of business development and
strategic alliances at INTERSHOP Communications. "IBM's HotMedia
technology provides the tools to leverage the power of electronic
commerce by making products more accessible to shoppers with 3D,
animation, audio and video. IBM HotMedia takes on-line catalogs
to the next level."

InterWorld
     "A powerful way to attract and retain customers is through
effective product presentation and merchandising capabilities.
IBM's Hot Media toolkit, coupled with InterWorld Commerce Exchange,
provides a visually-rich shopping experience," Susan Fairty,
vice president of marketing, InterWorld Corporation.

Open Market
     "Rich media products will help drive the acceptance and
success of e-commerce in the coming years," said Cliff Utstein,
Open Market's director of commerce service provider marketing.


 * Indicates trademark or registered trademark of International
   Business Machines Corporation.
** All product and brand names are trademarks or registered
   trademarks of their respective owners.



As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

This thread ...


Follow On AppleNews
Return to Archive home page | Return to MIDRANGE.COM home page

This mailing list archive is Copyright 1997-2024 by midrange.com and David Gibbs as a compilation work. Use of the archive is restricted to research of a business or technical nature. Any other uses are prohibited. Full details are available on our policy page. If you have questions about this, please contact [javascript protected email address].

Operating expenses for this site are earned using the Amazon Associate program and Google Adsense.