Intel backing Napster model
The Napster model of peer-to-peer file sharing seems to have inspired Intel to apply similar technologies throughout a variety of applications. Pat Gelsinger, CTO of Intel, is due to announce the chipmaker's plans to support file sharing for a wide range of both corporate and personal data at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF), to be held late this month in California. A representative at Intel confirmed that the vendor will encourage industry developers to aggressively adopt the file-sharing approach in its still-nascent days of development. To spur on the peer-to-peer revolution, Intel wants to encourage the early adoption of policies and standards regarding file-swapping techniques. Gelsinger will give demonstrations of current applications of peer-to-peer technologies at IDF, the Intel representative said.
Business process schema planned
A group of 16 vendors last week formed the Business Process Management Initiative, which is intended to define XML-based standards for the management of business processes that span heterogeneous applications, corporate departments, and business partners. The first project the group is working on is BPML (Business Process Modelling Language), an XML schema that will provide a way to model processes, such as content flows and flows of data and events, and define rules for business and security. BPML is designed to bridge the gap between legacy IT infrastructures and emerging business-to-business collaboration protocols such as RosettaNet and BizTalk. Among the group members are Bowstreet Software and Cap Gemini.
Sun, Vignette in e-business pact
Sun Microsystems and Vignette agreed last week to jointly develop e-business products designed for media entertainment and telecommunication markets, including wireless. The deal will mesh sales, marketing, and engineering services of Vignette and Sun. No details or timetable for new or upgraded product releases have been set. The announcement comes on the heels of Vignette's deal with IBM , focused on collaborative endeavours involving IBM Websphere and business software.
Sybase to ship new application server
Sybase is due to ship the new version of its application server, EAServer 3.6. The upgraded software includes full support for the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition, which should benefit developers trying to build Web applications that run across all platforms. EAServer 3.6 will be available in Developer, Small Business, Advanced and Enterprise editions.