Attention Business/Technology Editors:
POINTCAST CANADA GOES OPEN
Any Web publisher can broadcast to installed base of more than 150,000
PointCast Canada viewers via PointCast Connections
TORONTO, March 12 /CNW/ - PointCast Canada today announced PointCast
Connections, thus opening the PointCast Canada Network to Web publishers of
any size.
For the first time, any Web publisher -- from a local business, soccer
league or real estate newsletter to popular Web sites such as Microsoft
Expedia and Virtual Vineyards -- can broadcast its content to PointCast
Canada's established viewership of more than 150,000. Publishing is free, easy
and based on open standards.
PointCast Connections is part of PointCast's next-generation client,
which will be announced and available for beta testing on version 2.0 in
April. The PointCast Canada Network is the first Canadian Internet news
network that broadcasts up-to-the-minute Canadian news and information
directly to a viewer's computer screen. The PointCast Canada Network can be
downloaded for free at www.pointcast.ca.
``With PointCast Connections, we are creating an opportunity for any
Canadian Web publisher to use industry-standard HTML and the new open channel
format to broadcast their information,'' said Jennifer Stewart, Marketing
Manager at PointCast Canada. ``Because Connections is open, easy and free, Web
publishers can broadcast-enable their content in a matter of minutes and
without investing in application development and expensive servers.''
PointCast Connections will be based on Microsoft Corporation's recently
announced Channel Definition Format (CDF).
``Microsoft is excited that PointCast is opening up the PointCast Network
to thousands of Web broadcasters by basing PointCast Connections on our
recently proposed Channel Definition Format,'' said Brad Chase, vice president
of marketing for Microsoft's Internet Client and Collaboration Division. ``We
look forward to a diverse and rich offering of broadcast content to be
available to PointCast and IE4 users.''
Connections Blend Seamlessly Into PointCast's TV-Like Interface
PointCast Canada viewers can now view broadcasts from their favorite
Canadian Web sites from within PointCast Canada's dynamic, TV-like interface.
The Connections channel -- which will include the sites a viewer specifies --
will run consistently and seamlessly with other PointCast channels like CNN
News, Companies and Weather as well as alongside internal company news
broadcast via a corporate intranet with PointCast I-Server.
PointCast Connections will help push the community directly to the
desktop -- a development with major implications for users in search of a more
relevant and accessible online experience.
Connections partners complement PointCast's large media affiliates like
The Globe and Mail, The Weather Channel and CNN, whose business models require
back-end business reporting systems and who wish to reach mass audiences
through the company's ultra-high performance central broadcast facility.
PointCast Connections offers the following benefits to viewers:
- Consistent, TV-like interface: PointCast's unique, aggregated
broadcast interface provides a consistent look and feel across the
PointCast Network. This ensures that new Connections content
appears in a consistent, appealing and easy-to-digest manner.
- Robust directory: viewers can quickly and easily select
Connections publishers from a directory of participating Web
sites.
- Corporate control: companies can manage the Connections channel by
designating a preferred list of Web publishers or opting to view
only office-appropriate content, as classified by a third party
rating service.
PointCast Connections offers the following benefits to publishers:
- Free: there are no fees to pay or proprietary servers to buy.
- Easy: publishers do not need knowledge of C++ or Java programming
languages. Publishers simply fill out a Web-based registration
form and the content they select is automatically transformed into
a dynamic SmartScreen.
- Based on open standards: Connections sites are based on open
standards.
- Gives access to active viewers: publishers gain access to
PointCast Canada's established audience of more than 150,000
viewers.
- Web-based registration: interested publishers can begin
broadcasting their content to PointCast Connections by simply
filling out a form at www.pointcast.ca./connections.
PointCast Canada was recognized as the Best New Business Online Product
by the 1996 Canadian Online Product Awards, sponsored by Information Highways
magazine.
Information on PointCast Canada is provided by several key news partners,
including The Globe and Mail -- Canada's National Newspaper, The Weather
Network, CNN, CNNfn, Wired magazine, the New York Times, Canada NewsWire, ISDN
Wire Service and Canadian Corporate News. In addition to on-line news stories,
users are able to access information about corporations, industries, sports,
lifestyle articles and stock reports. Additional information partners will be
announced as they are added to PointCast Canada.
As well as providing a personalized news service for viewers, PointCast
Canada offers a new and innovative medium for Canadian advertisers. Animated
commercials on PointCast Canada allow companies to promote their products or
services to the most elusive audience for advertisers -- business
professionals. Included in each ad is a direct hotlink to the advertiser's Web
site, guiding users to a call to action.
PointCast Canada is supported by advertising to provide viewers with
complete news and information services free of charge.
PointCast and the PointCast Network are trademarks of PointCast
Incorporated. All other names and trademarks are property of their respective
owners.
/EDITOR'S NOTE: Screen shots of PointCast Connections can be obtained on
the World Wide Web at pointcast.com
1-800 Teleconference Call Today from the Internet World Show, LA:
Announcement made by Chris Hassett, CEO, PointCast. Please call
1-800-683-1535, password: PointCast for further information. |
