Software products designed to help manage corporate networks and publish a range of multimedia content to the Internet featured strongly among the deluge of Internet software on display at Comdex/Fall '98 here this week.
-- LaserFiche Document Imaging introduced a new version of its "scan-to-the-Web" publishing system, designed to allow customers to post huge volumes of documents directly to the Internet. Called LaserFiche Weblink, enhancements include access to multiple databases, the ability to view image annotations, and advanced security options, LaserFiche said.
WebLink will be distributed internationally through a network of more than 500 value-added resellers. It carries a list price of US$7,995 to $16,995, the company said. LaserFiche, a division of Compulink Management Center Inc., is located in Torrance, California, and is on the Web at http://www.laserfiche.com/.
-- Ixla Ltd. announced the availability of its Ixla Digital Camera Interface software developer kit version 2.0, which is designed to allow developers to integrate digital cameras into PC and Web-based applications. For example, photo finishers could build a Web site where users can upload digital images for printing as photographs. The SDK is available for Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0. Prices are tiered and range from $2,000 to $100,000. Ixla is on the Internet at http://www.ixla.com/.
-- Yesler Software Inc. of Seattle said it will commence shipment on Nov. 24 of Yesler Alive, an application designed to allow users to incorporate audio, video and other media into a presentation or report, and then post it to the Web. The wizard-based program requires no HTML programming knowledge, and presentations can be viewed with RealPlayer 5.0 and a Web browser, according to Yesler.
Yesler Alive will be available for a free 90-day trial from the company's Web site at http://www.yesler.com/, and will be priced at $195, Yesler said.
-- Play Inc. announced the introduction of Trinity GlobeCaster, which it billed as a "do-it-yourself Internet television station." The product takes digital video and scales it in real time to the desired network bandwidth using a hardware-based pixel filtering technology, and then broadcasts it using standard video server software such as Microsoft's NetShow or RealNetworks Inc.'s RealVideo.
The product works with any IP-based network and can be accessed via cable modems, xDSL, ISDN and 56K-bit-per-second modem connections, Play said. GlobeCaster will be available internationally in the first quarter of 1999, priced at $6,995, Play said. Based in Rancho Cordova, California. Play is on the Web at http://www.play.com/.
-- Novell Inc. announced the first customer shipment of Z.E.N.works 1.1, a product designed to lower the cost of managing networks comprised of Windows-based PCs and thin clients. Based on Novell Directory Services (NDS), Z.E.N.works provides software distribution, desktop maintenance and management capabilities.
The software is bundled with a five-user version of Check 2000 from Greenwich Mean Time Inc.'s, software designed to help check for Year 2000 bugs and apply fixes. Other new features include software metering, support for NetWare 5 and integration with Novell's network and systems management tool, ManageWise 2.6.
Z.E.N.works 1.1 is available for $39 per workstation. For a combined desktop and server management package, the product can be purchased bundled with ManageWise for $59 per workstation for a 1,000-user license, Novell said. Novell, in Orem, Utah, is at http://www.novell.com/.
-- NetPartners Internet Solutions Inc. announced WebSense Enterprise, a product that helps network managers control and monitor access to company applications over the Internet. The product allows IS managers to set access policies across an entire enterprise -- including departments and remote offices -- from a single location anywhere in the network, according to NetPartners.
WebSense Enterprise is slated to begin shipping in the first quarter of 1999. Pricing is based on the number of users, and starts at $495 for an annual subscription for a 25-user license. Versions will be available for Cisco PIX Firewall, Check Point Firewall-1, Microsoft Proxy Server, Netscape Proxy Server, and other platforms, NetPartners said. In San Diego, the company is on the Web at http://www.netpartners.com/.
-- NTP Software, which makes network management and messaging tools for use with Microsoft platforms, announced the availability of Internet Marketing Manager for Microsoft Exchange. The product is designed to allow business users to connect to databases, extract email messages, attach documents and send customized messages to a target audience. Pricing was not immediately available. NTP Software is on the Web at http://www.ntpsoftware.com/.
-- AT&T Corp. said it has teamed with remote access technology provider Shiva Corp. to jointly market a virtual private network (VPN) service to businesses. Specifically the companies will combine AT&T's WorldNet managed Internet and VPN services with Shiva's LanRover VPN product suite, which includes security and encryption capabilities, AT&T said. Shiva, in Bedford, Massachusetts, is on the Web at http://www.shiva.com/.