Web And Internet Technology Progress Defies Persistent Dot-Com Blues.

Online optimism abounds with new introductions

Dot-com stocks may be in the cellar, but if Fall Internet World was any indication, the futures market for online optimism is at an all-time high. Bigger than ever this year, the New York City barometer of new Web technologies for the first time filled two complete levels of the vast Javits Center, with spillover into meeting rooms. And of course with the start-ups come the new e-cronyms, including the overused VRM (visitor relationship management), frontrunner ESR (e-shopper retention), and the newly-minted CEO (Customer Experience Optimization). Following is a roundup of NEWTON (New, Engaging Web Technologies Of Note).

A start-up called File-Pool has introduced a file sharing and storage technology called ezAttach, which allows sharing of gigabytesize files across the Web. EzAttach transmits files by putting them in a storage "layer" on the Internet called the "pooi". Senders create an "e-CLIP" that is inserted in an email or message board that permanently links the file to the e-CLIP. The e-CLIP is not a link (which could be broken if the file was moved) but rather a 32-bit digital signature, and it identifies the content of the file, not simply its name. Files are fully encrypted and tamper proof. The company is also marketing the technology for pay-per-view documents and files in e-commerce and/or business environments. More information is available at www.filepool.com.

Peering Gets Groovy 

Secretive start-up Groove Networks, founded by Lotus Notes creator Ray Ozzie, formally introduced a novel implementation of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) technology called Groove. Groove is both a P2P and a P2W (Peer-to-Web) technology that allows individuals to share information over the Internet in real time (or at different times) without the use of a server, via the use of shared "virtual spaces". These virtual spaces can be calendars, lists, messages, bookmarks, and virtually any type of file. Once data is put into a virtual space, it is both encrypted and automatically synchronized with other users' data, both on the network and across the Internet. A modern, IP-based update of the replication technology that Ozzie used as the basis for Notes, Groove has the potential to bring peering to the corporate world. More information and a free Groove Development Kit are available at www.groove.net.

ExchangePath (majority owned by CMGI Ventures) announced an online payment service that aims to allow consumers to conduct a variety of transactions using a single online account, including consumer-to-consumer, online purchase of digital content and goods, and loyalty points/rewards. The service links a user's account (which is free to set up) to credit or debit cards and allows money to be transferred to an ExchangePath account online. The service will process transactions of any amount, and users don't have worry about giving personal financial information to merchants. More information is available at www.exchangepath.com.

If you'd rather pay your bills from your PDA or mobile phone, you can utilize CyberBills' Total Bill Management Wireless service. For $1.99 a month for only the months that you use the service (and in conjunction with the Web-based service, which costs about $9 per month), you can view bill and bank balances and make, modify, or cancel payments. The service works with any Palm V or VII with a wireless modem and with all wireless phones in the U.S. More information is available at www.statusfactory.com.

To combat online fraud and address consumer fears of credit card scams, Israeli company Transale has developed technology that allows a user to "lock" a credit card, making it unavailable unless, and until, the user unlocks it for a specific purchase. Once the purchase is completed, the cars is re-locked and cannot be accessed by anyone until the user unlocks it again. More information is available at www.transale.com.

They Will Find You

Taking mobile personalization to its next logical level, mobileID has integrated its existing wireless application development platform with location-specific data. The company's Integrated Personalization Platform is an XML-based architecture that lets developers use standard APIs to create a number of interoperable wireless applications, including messaging, voice, in-commerce, and synchronization. The applications can run on virtually any mobile device, including PDAs, mobile phones, and two-way pagers. Now, mobileID has introduced technology that will recognize where a user is geographically located and make relevant suggestions based on previous user-determined preferences. However, the service relies on agreements with wireless carriers to make such data available, and many are now (or will soon be) rolling out their own personalization schemes. More information is available at www.mobileid.com.

On the customer experience side of things, The .COM Group launched its Dynamic user Experience Technology, or DUET. DUET offers site operators decision science-based real-time monitoring, reporting, and analysis of human behavior on the Web. Unlike log file analysis tools, DUET will actually offer real-time alerts (via a page, email, or phone call) when site activity matches particular set levels. (Historical data mining is also available.) The technology is based on anonymous user sessions, so while data such as what's in a shopping cart at a particular time; how much time is spent on a particular page; and entrance and exit pages is available, the data is non-invasive and is not associated with particular users. The company says that DUET tracks anonymous user behavior, not personal demographic information. DUET claims to be a two-hour, plug-and-play solution. More information is available at www.thedotcomgroup.com (just don't try saying it three times fast).

Content delivery acceleration company Akamai has expanded its technology offerings with a new product called EdgeSuite. An addition to the company's current static content caching products, EdgeSuite enables distributed application functionality at the edge of the Internet. The product dynamically constructs pages from component pieces that can be specifically targeted at the viewer and grabbed from different sources; EdgeSuite offloads the CPU-intensive page assembly process from the origin server. The new service must be used in conjunction with Akamai's existing caching services. The company also introduced a portalized, personalized tool called I.AM.AKAMAI, a Java-based tool which customers can use to get industry, or position, specific news and information. More information is available at www.akamai.com.

This File Will Self-Destruct In Five, Four...

A new company called Authentica has a novel approach to data security: dynamically revoke access to content, even after it's been delivered. The company's three information protection systems--Mail Vault, Page Vault, and WebVault--enable a content provider to prevent end users from performing specific actions on documents. While some of Authentica's solutions (encrypted email, messages that expire) are not new, the company uses a central policy server in association with a plug-in to offer granulated services such as the prevention of Web page printing; the prevention of data copying and forwarding of Web pages and emails; and the ability to retrieve (unsend) documents that have already been delivered. Authentica's products integrate with Word, Outlook, and Eudora. More information is available at www.authentica.com.

Two popular e-commerce software vendors have joined forces and at Internet World released the open-source Akopia Interchange, a Unix/Linux based store, catalog, and transaction management application. Interchange is the result of the code-base merger of Akopia Tallyman and MiniVend, two popular e-commerce software programs. Interchange is also now shipping with Red Hat Linux 7 Deluxe Edition. More information, as well as source code, is available at www.akopia.com.

In an early implementation (some might say test-case) of its .NET soft are-for-hire strategy, Micro oft Corp. announced that the company will allow its core applications to be rented on a per-session basis at the forthcoming easyEverything Web cafe in New York City. At press time, the European chain of Internet cafes was expected to open an enormous, 800-PC facility in Times Square at the end of November. While sipping coffee and munching bagels, users will be able to "rent" applications such as Word, Excel, and Encarta for apprqximately $2 per session (above access fees).

easyEverything says the rental strategy will let users "try" before they buy Microsoft software, though finding anyone that hasn't already tried Microsoft Office might be a difficult job. Microsoft's .NET plan calls for Redmond to move its software to a service-based model, where users pay monthly or usage-based access fees rather than purchasing unlimited use licenses as is common today. Industry observers will be closely monitoring the effort to see if consumers are prepared to pony up their cash to write a letter or use a spreadsheet.