Thanks Doug, Something to watch <<Groove's Utility Is Its flexibility
By ANICK JESDANUN
.c The Associated Press
BEVERLY, Mass. (AP) - The key to Ray Ozzie's new software product, Groove, is its flexibility.
It is designed to be as spontaneous as a telephone but as versatile as a computer.
Consider this example of four people working for different companies in different time zones:
Bill sends Mary an instant message asking her to join a virtual room using Groove. She accepts and they start drawing designs for a new line of clothing using the virtual sketchpad.
Mary wonders about how quickly the clothes could appear in stores, so she sends an instant message to Bob asking him to join the group.
Bob sees the clothing designs that Bill and Mary have been working on. Bob then uses Groove's text chat or voice functions to discuss manufacturing and shipping schedules.
Jill, who works for a chain of clothing stores, is asleep when colleagues in the other time zones had the discussions. She gets the updated drawings and schedules when she logs on, even if Bill, Mary and Bob have already disconnected.
Jill adjusts the schedules to account for peak sales periods. Her changes are automatically sent to the other three.
GlaxoSmithKline is one company considering Groove to improve research and development for new drugs. The company's chief information officer, Ford Calhoun, said researchers often need to consult with chemistry and biology experts elsewhere.
Currently, he said, a lot of time is wasted when one person raises a question and has to wait hours or days for another to respond.
He said Groove makes it easier to get everyone together online.
``Obviously with computers, you can do anything, but the real question is, `Can you afford the overhead to do it?''' Calhoun said. ``It appears to us with Groove that one can set up collaborative groups essentially on the fly.''
Groove customers can have multiple groups going at once, switching between different projects or a shared space for family members.
The software, which looks like an elaborate Web browser, is designed for groups of up to 25 people, and all communications between them are sent encrypted to prevent eavesdropping.
The price for Groove has yet to be announced. A version with limited functions will be available for free.
Initially, the software will work only on computers with Microsoft's Windows operating systems. The company may seek outside developers to adapt it for other systems.
Groove's tools include a Web browser, a scratchpad, a calendar, an address book, a discussion board and space for sharing photos and files.
Several companies are also developing third-party tools to work with Groove, and any business can create one for its own use.
Asked about his favorite feature, Ozzie pointed to an ``add tool'' button on the Groove software being demonstrated on twin laptops in his conference room.
Using that feature, Groove customers can add any software application that conforms to Microsoft's Component Object Model specifications>>
Also, <<Adobe To Unveil 3-D Software
By MAY WONG
.c The Associated Press
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Much of cyberspace today is still two-dimensional: click on a Web site or chat room and you get text or pictures.
But the Internet could become more three-dimensional - allowing surfers to virtually step into a site, walk around and talk to others - if Adobe Systems Inc. has its way with a Web-authoring software tool to be unveiled Monday.
The new product, called Adobe Atmosphere, lets Web designers create 3-D Web pages where visitors can interact and chat with each other in real-time.
An auto dealership, for instance, could have a Web site where visitors walk into a virtual showroom. A visitor - in an animated icon form - could look at cars in different rooms, talk to other shoppers, and step up to a kiosk where a salesman stands by, eager to answer questions.
Virtual reality on the Internet is nothing new, but it has been slow to take off - limited to the endeavors mostly of small start-ups, some now victims of the dot-com carnage.
Remaining 3-D Web software and service providers, including Newburyport, Mass.-based ActiveWorlds.com Inc. and San Francisco-based blaxxun interactive Inc., are making headway as technology has improved, Net-based communication has grown, and some businesses have begun to embrace some form of 3-D graphics on their Web sites.
``There aren't millions of people using this technology; it's just very early adopters,'' said Bruce Damer, principal of DigitalSpace Corp., a Santa Cruz-based company that specializes in 3-D Web services.
The economy's downturn and the belt-tightening of companies are an added challenge, especially for a feature considered more a novelty than a practicality.
``There's still a great need to have a Web presence, but there may not be as much investment in the bells and whistles for the Internet,'' said Lia Schubert, an analyst with Infotrends Research Group in Boston, Mass.
Damer thinks Adobe, in putting its muscle behind Atmosphere, could make the difference that will propel widespread adoption of the concept of a 3-D Internet.
``Adobe is a thoroughbred. It can run laps and it's designed to get to the finish line,'' he said, referring to the company's track record with tools in managing digital content.
San Jose-based Adobe is the nation's leading maker of desktop publishing software. The $1.27 billion company is well-known for Photoshop, a photo editing program, and Acrobat Reader, which has become a de facto standard for document distribution on the Web.
Atmosphere is Adobe's first 3-D interactive Web-authoring tool.
A beta, or test, version of the software will be available for free public downloads from the Adobe website beginning Monday. The beta will work only on Windows-based systems; a Mac-version will be available in the early summer, the company said.
Adobe expects to start shipping the final product in the summer. The company has not disclosed a suggested retail price. >>
Greg |
