[0086] daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Brewster Kahle) WAIS Redist 01/30/94 21:00 (269 lines) Subject: WAIS-discussion digest #74: Newspapers on WAIS and Apple Client Date: Sun, 30 Jan 94 17:38:39 PST Reply-To: wais-discussion@wais.com From: Brewster@wais.com (Brewster Kahle) To: Multiple recipients of list Forum On Wide Area Information Servers and Electronic Publishing Brewster Kahle Contents: NYtimes: Wall Street Journal and New York Times Coming to the Internet Dow Jones Press Release about DowVision on the Internet using WAIS Apple Press Release: Apple to Provide Powerful Solutions for Finding Information on the Internet [Established publishers are now putting for-pay information on the net using WAIS, and established vendors are making tools to see it! -brewster] Please send messages to this list. Subscription messages to wais-discussion-request@wais.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 30 Jan 94 14:55:21 PST From: duhring@wais.com (John Duhring) Subject: Wall Street Journal and New York Times Coming to the Internet The following is exerpted from today's (Jan 30, 1994) Business section of the New York Times: The Executive Computer (Page 10) A new generation of on-line services is coming to the Internet, by John Markoff Headline: Curtain's Rising on a Third Generation of On-Line Services Sub-Head: The Internet is going commercial with new hookups for PC's Indian Wells, Calif. The fashionable joke floating around the Internet lst week ws that the "information superhighway is just like CB rdio, but with more typing." There is no disputing that computer networks and on-line services - spurred by Al Gore and his promotion of the "national information infrastructure" - are currently the nation's biggest craze. At Demo 94, a personal computer industry conference held here each year, a new generation of on-line services was on exhibit last week. The offerings won't be commercially availble until later this year, but many of the technologies have aready emerged in experimental form on the Internet, the global network of networks used by more than 15 million people. And last week there were also fresh indications that the Internet is gaining commercial momentum, as major publishers begin to offer genuine commercial services over the net. The first generation of on-line services, which emerged in the late 1970's, were based on connecting one's "dumb" terminal - a personal computer using terminal-emulator software - to a mainframe computer. Problems included a slow response time and a monitor display limited to simple screens of text. The second generation - services like those from the Prodigy Services Company and America On-Line - have used the increasing power of the personal computer to speed up the interaction and give a simpler and more graphical interface to the user. The next generation of on-line technology, exemplified by the new Interchange service that the computer trade publisheer Ziff-Davis announced last week, is starting to emerge as ccomputers grow even more powerful and communications links get faster. The new systems promise to change the way users interact with remote central computers and, more significantly, are for the first time beginning to hint at an experience that rivals traditional print publishing... .Another intriguing commercial venture introduced at Demo 94 was a joint venture between Dow Jones's electronic Dowvision news service and Wais Inc., a small software and services company. Dowvision, which includes The Wall Street Journal and a variety of other newspapers and financial information, will be made available through Wais via the Internet for a monthly license or subscription fee. Next year, the service will also include The New York Times News Service, under an agreement signed last month by the New York Times Company and Dow Jones. The Wais version of Dowvision should be a good example of third-generation on-line service. Users won't log in to Dow Jones at all. Instead they will be able to use a variety of "client" programs on their personal computers to more easily browse through and retrieve specific information from the Dowvision data base. These client programs, which include Wais's own, as well as two free public-domain programs known as Gopher and Mosaic, display information in windows on an Apple Macintosh or on a Windows-based personal computer. The software eliminates many steps for the user, making many disparate data bases seem to be a single information bank. Retrieving specific stories is done by pointing with the mouse and clicking on a particular headline. Dow Jones officials said the Wais joint venture is an experiment with electronic distribution over the Internet. For example, in a manner similar to the way newsstands work tody, it will be possible to make the headlines of the day's top stories available for free for anyone on the Internet to browse. People who wanted to read the article, however, would have to pay for the "publication". "We're looking at this as a way to learn about the Internet," said Greg Gerdy, assistant director of Dowvision. "The Internet is still the wild wild West." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 24 Jan 94 Subject: DowJones Press Release about DowVison on the Internet using WAIS NEWS RELEASE: DOW JONES TO PROVIDE NEWS SERVICE FOR THE INTERNET - DowVision Now Available to Businesspeople Around the World Using WAIS, Inc. Technology INDIAN WELLS, CA January 25, 1994 -- Dow Jones Business Information Services announced today it will provide one of the first comprehensive, subscription-based business and financial news services over the Internet. The service, DowVision on the Internet, will include the full texts of The Wall Street Journal and same day text of The New York Times News Service, Dow Jones News Service, Dow Jones International News Services, and press release wires. DowVision on the Internet is being shown at the Demo '94 conference here through January 26. DowVision on the Internet is the first Dow Jones service to be adapted specifically for delivery over the Internet. Previously available only through corporate local area networks, DowVision will soon be available to the worldwide community of millions of Internet users. The Internet is a worldwide computer network linking millions of computers, allowing users to send electronic mail, read news, download software and more. Begun more than ten years ago as a way to link research, government and academic institutions and defense contractors, the Internet is now experiencing tremendous growth among business users and corporations. WAIS, Inc., developer of the WAIS server technology and a recognized leader in the Internet community, will host and process the DowVision information for distribution over the Internet. Users connected to the Internet will then be able to search the information using standard Internet searching tools such as WAIS, Gopher and Mosaic. "As more and more businesspeople access the Internet, Dow Jones wants to be sure our services are available to them in a way that is both useful and familiar," said Dorothea Coccoli Palsho, vice president, Dow Jones Information Services. "By tailoring our premier business and financial news for Internet users, we're backing up our commitment to serve this growing market." "With its breadth of reports from all over the world, its attention to detail and its unsurpassed reputation for timely business news, Dow Jones will set a new standard for Internet-based services," said WAIS President Brewster Kahle. "We are delighted to work with Dow Jones to extend its business to global markets." DowVision is published by Dow Jones Business Information Services, a part of the Information Services Group of Dow Jones, which includes Dow Jones/Telerate and Dow Jones Financial News Services. Business Information Services provides business and financial news and information products to corporations and consumers through a variety of electronic media: computer, telephone, facsimile and radio. Dow Jones also publishes The Wall Street Journal and its international editions, Barron's and community newspapers. WAIS, Inc., based in Menlo Park, Calif., provides products and services for organizations who wish to deliver information over the Internet. By setting up interactive on-line services for businesses, government, libraries and education organizations, WAIS, Inc. intends to improve the quality of information available over the Internet. # # # For more information on WAIS, Inc., please contact John Duhring, 415-617-0444, or send electronic mail to info@wais.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 24 Jan 94 Subject: Apple to Provide Powerful Solutions for Finding Information on the Internet NEWS RELEASE Apple to Provide Powerful Solutions for Finding Information on the Internet PALM SPRINGS, CA January 24, 1994 -- Apple Computer, Inc. announced today at the Demo '94 computer conference its intention to expand its AppleSearch text search and retrieval software beyond local-area networks to help users access and find the information they need on the Internet. AppleSearch is client/server software designed to give Macintosh computer users personalized, easy access to large text and document databases. Combining Apple's traditional ease-of-use with sophisticated search agent technology, Apple expects the enhanced version of AppleSearch to help users find and prioritize relevant information residing on the Internet by providing seamless access to publishing servers, such as Wide Area Information Servers (WAIS). Apple expects its new Internet access capability to be available in AppleSearch by the end of 1994. "Just as the desktop computer came into its own in the 1980s, the Information Highway concept is evidence that a network evolution is poised to dominate the 1990s, giving computer users access to vast amounts of information," said Jim Groff, senior director of LAN Systems for the Apple Business Systems Division. "The challenge will be weeding through the chaos of information on the network to find the files or documents users need most. We intend to continue enhancing AppleSearch as an intelligent assistance solution that finds and organizes that information - no matter where it resides." In addition to expanding AppleSearch capabilities, Apple intends to continue working closely with commercial and university developers to ensure a variety of Internet access solutions are available. "AppleSearch puts the power of information retrieval at the users' command by making it easy to find information. By proactively searching across the Internet on the users' behalf, it also leverages their time," said Brewster Kahle, president of WAIS Inc., a Menlo Park, Calif.-based company that provides publishing tools and services over the Internet. "Our focus is to continue enhancing the content on the Internet so that users have a range of quality sources and services available to them." As more and more computer users look to the Internet to connect to business and university databases as well as various small networks that are often warehouses of useful information, Apple is looking to provide tools to help users easily navigate through the stockpiles of information available on the Internet. It's Apple's intention to create solutions that will enhance the user's experience and increase productivity while providing seamless access to the Internet from the local-area network. The Internet was originally established as a comprehensive network to allow researchers and scientists to share data and electronic-mail messages. Today, the scope of the Internet has been expanded beyond the research community to include millions of business users, noted Kahle. AppleSearch features Reporters, which are sophisticated search agents that quickly search through documents on the fileserver, regardless of their format, to deliver information users need. Reporters can be assigned to keep users updated as new and relevant information appears on the server. Combining features found on high-end bibliographic full-text retrieval software with Apple's traditional ease-of-use and administration, AppleSearch can also tap into information sources such as server-mounted CD-ROMs, news wire services or other on-line services that feed into the AppleSearch server. The AppleSearch server software incorporates the Callable Personal Librarian (CPL), developed by Personal Library Software, Inc., as its search engine. The Demo '94 computer conference, sponsored by PC Letter, is an annual personal computer industry product and technology showcase. AVAILABILITY AND PRICING: AppleSearch is currently available from authorized resellers and dealers. A Server/Client 5-Pack is available in the U.S. for $1,799 (MSRP) and a Client 10-Pack is US$499 (MSRP). An AppleSearch Client Developer's Kit is priced at US$299 and is available through APDA, Apple's source for developer tools. Pricing outside the U.S. may vary. For more information on AppleSearch, contact the Apple Network Information Line at (408) 862-3385. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) develops, manufactures and markets personal computer, server and personal interactive electronic systems for use in business, education, the home, science, engineering and government. A recognized pioneer and innovator in the information industry, Apple does business in more than 120 countries. Apple, the Apple logo, APDA and Macintosh are registered trademarks: AppleSearch is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. All other trademarks are trademarks of their owners and are respectfully acknowledged. NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in receiving Apple press releases or product data sheets by fax, call 1-800-AAPL-FAX (1-800-227-5329) and enter I.D. number 6172. ------------------------------ End of WAIS-discussion Digest 74 ************************ ------- --[0086]--