At San Diego conference, vendors large and small demo Java-based products
April 29, 1997 — Java-based authoring tools, Web security solutions, and thin clients, from both large and small vendors, are taking center stage at the Internet Showcase conference in San Diego.
The show, intended to spotlight new and emerging technologies, has unfolded with a series of demonstrations of existing products, vendor presentations, and several new product announcements.
Among the announcements, Activerse Inc. (see Resources) announced Ding, a peer-to-peer Java program that lets browser users know who’s online and then lets them communicate via instant messaging, two or multi-party chat, file transfer, or status bulletins.
Functions such as the who’s online and chat features are available on Unix systems and online services such as America Online, but Activerse integrates other features, such as file sharing, and Ding operates across the Internet, according to company officials.
The officials anticipate that a beta version of Ding will be available in May for Windows 95 and Windows NT, and a commercial version will be available this summer for 9.95 per user.
Later in the year, Activerse will deliver Ding Switchboard, which will allow organizations to establish their own internal or external Ding directories.
Meanwhile, VitalSigns Software (see Resources) introduced Net.Medic, an end-user browser companion designed to monitor, isolate, diagnose, and correct Internet performance problems.
Among other capabilities, the software assists users in identifying the source of slow response times from Web sites — whether it is the PC, modem, ISP, a remote Web server, or Internet backbone — and then recommends solutions or provides automatic fixes, company officials said.
Net.Medic is available now, priced at 9.95 per person. A free, 30-day trial of the product is available for downloading from VitalSigns’ Web site (see Resources).
Other announcements or demonstrations included the following:
WebKnight Inc. announced the availability of a trial version of Instant Coffee, a Java authoring tool that allows users to create dynamic Web pages without requiring special browser plug-ins or programming. Instant Coffee features an advanced graphics-oriented user interface, floating palettes, extensible third-party plug-in architecture, and a WYSIWYG editing canvas. The trial version can be downloaded off the company’s Web site (see Resources). WebKnight is located in Santa Clara, CA.
Apptivity Corp. announced it is shipping its Apptivity Developer and Apptivity Server development tools for creating multi-tiered database applications in Java for intranet and extranet deployment. The products allow developers to create partitioned thin-client applications by building both Java client and Java server components within the same development environment, company officials said. The Apptivity Developer toolkit license for one designer with a two-concurrent-user development server is priced at ,995. For a 20-concurrent-user system, the license price starts at ,000. Apptivity is located in Newark, CA (see Resources).
Teknema Inc., located in Menlo Park, CA, introduced an Internet television appliance, dubbed “Easy Rider,” that enables access to the Internet via a TV screen over standard telephone lines. Easy Rider is a combination software and hardware solution. Pricing is currently unavailable. (See Resources.)
- Israel-based EliaShim unveiled its U.S. division, eSafe Technologies Inc., and introduced a new flagship security product called eSafe Protect. ESafe Protect is an online security product that works to eliminate vandal threats, as well as viruses and malicious programs, company officials said. It will be available in July; pricing has not yet been determined. ESafe Technologies is located in Pembroke Pines, FL. (See Resources.)
