Re: Java, Netscape, OpenDoc, and Babel (NewsClip)

[nobody@REPLAY.COM (Anonymous)]

Responding to msg by merriman@arn.net (David K. Merriman) on 
Fri, 28 Jul  3:24 AM


>Still tentative, or is there a Web address?


The mall will be accessible July 31 from a pointer at 
http://www.org.com .


----------


OSF Opens Software Web Mall For Java


Cambridge, MA, July 26 (NB) -- In a
teleconference today, the Open Software Foundation (OSF) 
unveiled
plans to open an Open Software Mall on the Web on July 31, and 
to
start distributing software there this fall that will include 
Java
Ports technology for the Web, DCE (Distributed Computing
Environment) Web, and Microkernel Unification Specification, a
new technology for building cross-platform applications.


At the teleconference, which was attended by Newsbytes, Dr. Ira
Goldstein, chief scientist and executive VP, said that the OSF 
sees
the Open Software Mall as a place for users to access and help 
to
beta test new technologies like Java Ports, DCE Web, and
Microkernel Unification -- being sponsored by the OSF in
conjunction with major vendors -- as well as software from
universities and other research collaborators, and eventually,
outside "open systems" efforts that are "germane to core OSF
technology."


Java Ports, a series of ports of Sun's Java technology for the 
Web,
is being produced by the OSF with Sun, Hewlett-Packard, and 
Novell,
Goldstein told the journalists and analysts. The technology 
will be
available on the Open Software Mall in September, he added.


DCE Web, an application designed to provide the Web with DCE
mechanism for encryption, access control, and naming, is a
collaborative project from the OSF, Hitachi, HP and AT&T.


DCE Web is "consistent with HTTP and secure HTTP," but able to
provide additional services to DCE sites, according to 
Goldstein.


Microkernel Unification -- from the OSF, Hitachi, HP and IBM -- 
is
a technology for building cross-platform databases and other
applications by writing directly to a standard, common 
microkernel
application programming interface (API).


IBM plans to produce a product that is "mostly compliant" with 
the
new specification in the product's first release, and 
"completely
compliant" in its second release, Goldstein noted.


Digital Equipment Corp. might also be participating in the
Microkernel Unification specification project, Goldstein 
reported,
adding that he expects to have an answer on this from Digital
within a week.


>From the OSF's Open Software Mall, users will be able to 
browse,
download, and comment on software executables and software,
documentation plans, design documentation, specifications, and
commentary in hypertext format, according to Goldstein.


The Web mall will also provide Web links to "relevant products,
services, education and consulting available from the 
community,"
he told the teleconference participants.


Java, DCE Web, and Microkernel Unification will each have their 
own
Web stores on the Open Software Mall's ATO (Advanced Technology
Offering) Plaza.


ATOs are software technology projects, which may or may not 
lead
to productization, where participants seek to minimize risk by
obtaining feedback from users, noted the OSF's Peter Shaw. ATO
development costs typically range from $300,000 to $600,000.


For ATO technologies that become productized, licensing rights 
are
estimated at $25,000 per licensee.


The OSF also sponsors other vendor efforts, known as PSTs, in
which vendors are closer to "productization" of their work, and
development costs tend to be higher, said Shaw.


Current PSTs include DCE 1.2 and Motif/CDE (Common Development
Environment). In addition, four potential PSTs are "being 
actively
pursued," Shaw maintained. "We expect to have some 
announcements
on these later this week," he added.


The PSTs will also be given their own area on the Open Software
Mall, to be known as PST Plaza.


Aside from the stores for Java, DCE Web, and Microkernel
Unification, the ATO Plaza will also include "Web pages for a
potpourri of (other) ATOs," according to Goldstein.


Additional areas of the Open Software Mall will include 
"Research
Plaza," the Motif/CD Store, and areas for tools, training, and
consulting.


The mall will officially open next Monday, Goldstein said. 
Initial
offerings will include an explanation of its goals and 
activities,
and the opportunity for user commentary. The mall will be
accessible from a pointer at http://www.org.com .


(Jacqueline Emigh/19950726/Reader Contact: Open Software
Foundation, 617-621-8700; Press Contact: Jane Smeloff,
OSF, 617-621-8997)