News and New Product Briefs (3/5/99)

No more SuperCede

Jesper Juul emailed to let us know that we’ve missed the following story: Supercede doesn’t exist anymore, they’ve been bought by Instantiations. See https://www.supercede.com/ for details.

TradeLink integrates EJBs and DCOM

Hitachi Computer Products (America) announced it will add integration options for Enterprise JavaBeans and Distributed Component Object Models with the launch of the second phase of TradeLink — Hitachi’s CORBA-compliant, open Internet-commerce system that Internet-enables existing business processes and applications.

The first-phase launch included support for CORBA 2.0 technology, since at the time it appeared to be the only mature standard for both Unix and NT environments. The second phase — adding EJB and DCOM support — should help TradeLink customers more easily access data across the supply chain, regardless of existing applications, operating systems, hardware platforms, or databases.

EJBs’ platform-neutral architecture has reached a level of proven interoperability with virtually all other environments; DCOM can offer the ability to let applications (in total or in portions) reside anywhere on a network.

Hitachi will provide TradeLink’s phase-one customers with a simple upgrade path to the phase-two release sometime in Q499.

https://www.hitachi-tradelink.com/

Five build digital video watermarking coalition

Hitachi, IBM, NEC, Pioneer, and Sony announced that they have agreed to unite efforts to craft invisible electronic watermarks for digital movies and video, seen as critical by content providers (and peripheral industries) to control pirating with the next generation of digital recording hardware and software. The name for their group is Galaxy.

The companies expect to use the new technology first in upcoming DVD (digital versatile disk) systems. They also expect it to make an early showing to protect content that is distributed through digital broadcasts and networks. The group hopes to be able to provide the owner with the ability to specify that a work can be freely copied, can be copied only once (or any specified number of times), or can’t be copied at all.

The watermark must be able to survive such processes as digital-to-analog conversion and repetitious compression/decompression cycles. Users will not see the watermark.

JFTP, a cross-platform graphical FTP client for Java

KC Multimedia and Design Group announces the beta 6 version of JFTP, a cross-platform graphical FTP client that provides a point-and-click interface to FTP servers.

JFTP lets users “quick connect” to an FTP server for a one-time exchange. It also maintains a mini-database of well-used FTP sites, and if desired, will save username, password, optional account, and local/remote starting directories.

With JFTP, users can easily configure the connection to work through an FTP proxy server. It permits renaming, deleting, directory creation, and directory (and local drive) changing on local and remote systems. It also transparently detects interrupted downloads from the previous session, and gives users the option to attempt to restart the download from the break point.

It displays a scrolling log, recording the FTP client/server exchange, and an optional log that tags significant events to a file. JFTP lets users define preferences for sessions, such as startup directory, e-mail address for anonymous FTP, password saving, logging, and others.

JFTP runs on any Java 1.1 platform, and has been tested on Windows 95/98/NT 4.0, Linux, MacOS (with MRJ 2.1), and Solaris 2.5.1/2.6 (SPARC and Intel versions), connecting to NT- and Unix-based FTP servers. For Windows users, there’s a download option for the Java Runtime Environment 1.1.7B.

According to the company, it will mostly support Java 2 (Windows 98 requires Java 1.1; Intel Solaris requires Java 2).

https://www.kcmultimedia.com/jftp/

W3C issues XML schema requirements

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has issued requirements for describing XML-based schemas.

The XML Schema proposal, already on the standards track at the W3C, allows developers to build markup constructs and document structures that differ from those allowed by Document Type Definitions (DTDs). The XML schema also allows for data-typing, so tagged information can be identified.

The schema proposal brings together previous W3C submissions for XML data and document content description. Focus analyst J.P. Morgenthal calls the schema necessary, since “DTDs are not strong enough to support the enterprise requirements for sharing and exchanging data via XML. Schemas provide a richer mechanism for describing the data encapsulated in an XML instance.”

Morgenthal adds, “If we don’t see a recommendation from W3C on XML schemas this year, it will have a significant impact on XML being used for business-to-business communications.”

https://www.w3.org/

IBM to use XML to port speech to browsers

IBM plans to use XML to bring speech capabilities to browsers through SpeechML (Speech Markup Language), a new language similar to Motorola’s VoxML.

SpeechML is a language for building network-based conversational applications. A conversational application interacts with the user through spoken input/output. It could be used to enable conversational access from a car, a telephone, a PDA, or a desktop PC.

Using a markup language to describe the spoken interaction with the user has a number of advantages — it makes network-based applications possible, it provides a seamless transition from one application to another, and it provides a tool to describe conversational dialogs.

An IBM representative said the ultimate goal of its proposal is to develop a speech markup standard through the W3C.

https://www.alphaWorks.ibm.com/formula.nsf/xmltechnology/speechml

BEA leader sees EJBs in the future of application development

At the recent BEA Users Conference, BEA Chairman and CEO Bill Coleman produced a road map for the company’s direction in the future of application development and middleware technology.

Coleman said that in the next stage — the “second industrial revolution in computing” — IT organizations will be able to “implement very complex systems that can be changed overnight in order to be competitive in the marketplace.” Coleman noted that this future won’t be possible without a convergence of technology and standards.

Coleman added that he thinks that the Enterprise JavaBeans technology will prevail over Microsoft’s COM+ technology. “The standard component model of the future will be EJB. Even though COM+ is a great architecture, it lacks persistence and certain messaging capabilities, so it will only be able handle simple client/server applications,” according to Coleman. He predicts that “it will take Microsoft at least five years to re-architect COM+ to be able to handle the same capabilities that EJB can handle today.”

BEA officials also announced that the company would unify Java and CORBA standards into a single server called BEA WebLogic Enterprise, a product that will combine BEA WebLogic and BEA M3 middleware.

Forte offers beta of jForte, forms Java business unit

Forte Software made two announcements recently. The company debuted a beta version of jForte, a product suite that helps users deliver scalable, distributed Java applications. And, the company has decided to form a Java business unit.

The jForte suite delivers full import/export capabilities of Java source, binaries, and JavaBeans/EJBs. It is written and assembled in module form; the modules can be used with other development environments. The modules support Java, JavaBeans, EJB, and CORBA, and it can be used to build HTML, XML, Dynamic HTML, and Java clients.

The software comes with a team-builder component that allows collaborative testing and debugging. There’s also the jForte Application Server, which supports the EJB standard and features fail-over and load-balancing abilities.

The new Enterprise Java Business Unit will include engineering, consulting, marketing, and sales staff.

At press time, there was no information on the company’s site about jForte.

https://www.forte.com/

Lawson details Insight II application-access tools

Lawson Software has released the Insight II Open Component Solutions (OCS) tools. Insight II OCS tools add component architecture, open interfaces, and third-party tools support to Insight II ERP applications, making them easier to use.

Insight II OCS includes components, interfaces, and objects that allow developers to leverage Lawson application functions through Visual Basic, ActiveX, Java, and Lotus Domino. According to Lawson advanced technology director Paul Mockenhaupt, the tools are built on a set of business objects that let “all things Lawson be accessed by all things Windows.”

For example, the ActiveX OCS possesses shared library services, which means a user could enter data into the Lawson HR application through, for example, an Excel spreadsheet (or the other direction).

One of Lawson’s OCSs, designed for customizing an HTML/JavaScript environment, has been available for a year now.

Each OCS will consist of a Bobjects Desktop for that environment (“Bobjects” is Lawson’s name for its business objects), as well as an optional suite of development tools.

Prices are still being determined. The ActiveX OCS should be available March 1. The Java desktop is available now; the tools should come out on or around June 1. The Domino package should be available at the end of March.

https://www.lawson.com/3prod/default.htm

IBM’s HotMedia tools bring Java multimedia to the Web

IBM announced the HotMedia toolset, an integrated set of tools that will allow corporate users to create Java-based multimedia applications for the Web.

The HotMedia toolset consists of the IBM Hot Video and Hot Audio technologies, which let users build applications that can deliver rich multimedia over the Internet.

For example, a banner ad developed with the HotMedia toolset would look like a normal, interactive banner. However, if users click on it, they might get a closer look at the advertised product, with the ability to rotate it for a look from different directions, or zoom in to examine any part. When they touch a certain part of the product, a voice might describe its construction or function.

If users purchase the product, another perk might be that they could click on the product’s assembly instructions and have them read to them while they concentrate on the job at hand.

Ormando Garcia, an executive with IBM’s Software Solutions Group, said, “The nice thing about this is users can have this sort of interaction and do it all within the banner ad. They never have to leave the site.”

Plus, users and the advertising companies don’t need plugins or special servers to access and run the server-based applications; and only a browser is necessary to access all the available multimedia content.

https://www.software.ibm.com/net.media/

Sun offers Java 2 source code through CSL

Sun recently released the Java 2 platform source code under the Community Source License (CSL), its “open” license that is similar in structure, if not in results, to the General Public License employed by the open source community.

Sun hopes this licensing model for Java 2 will bring more rapid innovation in the Java arena and will encourage software vendors to incorporate Java into their products. Also, some in the developer community see the CSL as an effort to quell notions that Sun controls the development of Java too closely.

https://www.sun.com/software/communitysource

For JavaWorld‘s coverage of the news, see http://www.javaworld.com/jw-03-1999/jw-03-java2.html

MS VP Muglia defends treatment of Java

In his 63-page testimony in Microsoft’s antitrust trial, Microsoft senior vice president Bob Muglia states that Microsoft’s “innovations and improvements” to Java were not anticompetitive.

Muglia tries to explain why Microsoft used such terms as “polluted Java” and “kill cross-platform Java” in internal e-mails. He noted a Sun e-mail that mentioned using Java to “attack” Microsoft. He said, “These internal e-mail exchanges should be recognized for what they are — on both sides — emotional, competitive rhetoric used by driven employees of intense companies in the heat of battle.”

Muglia noted that even though developers appreciate the fact of cross-platform programming, “pure” Java doesn’t take advantage of the underlying platform. He blamed Java’s allegedly failed “write once, run everywhere” promise on the inherent problems with cross-platform programming, not on any Microsoft action. He said, “Given the choice, software developers would recognize that it would most often be better for their customers to write Java programs that were specifically designed to run on Windows.”

One last Muglia moment: “Microsoft believes that our language extensions and compiler directives add great value for developers. However, it is important to remember that these features are entirely optional.”

A Sun spokesperson denied that any Java promises had failed, and pointed to Java rapid adoption rate by developers.

Oracle’s Mehta launches e-commerce startup

Former Oracle executive Nimish Mehta announced that he will launch Impresse, a startup that focuses on automating manufacturing and distribution processes for Internet commerce.

Impresse will at first focus on e-commerce for the printing and publishing industry, but it plans to later expand its operations into other industries such as CDs and video.

According to Mehta, Impresse will use Java and XML technologies to help manufacturers customize digital content for the specific needs of customers.

https://www.impresse.com/

The way to lose money on Java

Innovative Gaming Corporation of America (IGCA) announced it has submitted its first entry into the video-slot market to the Nevada Gaming Control Board for regulatory approval. The product is a single-player video slot machine that combines off-the-shelf PC hardware, a proprietary I/O board, Linux, and Java applications.

The game is a five-reel, nine-line, multi-coin-per-line slot. It uses the Intelligent Input/Output Board technology, plus Linux as the base operating system and Java-based gaming applications. Java makes it possible to rapidly design and implement new games without having to take the machines offline.

Approval will take six to nine months.

Mako 2.0 automatically maps CICS COBOL/Java transactions

Blue Lobster Software announced the release of Mako 2.0, Java software that lets users create and run ECI CORBA applets that can directly access CICS transactions between COBOL and Java.

Mako 2.0 lets Java developers easily generate Legacy Business Objects (LBOs), which are the JavaBeans that map CICS transactions. LBOs can be incorporated into new applications using drag-and-drop programming in third-party Java IDEs. Mako-generated LBOs can be used on the server or the client side.

New features in version 2.0 include:

• An LBO Builder that enables mainframe transactions for Java and the Web through automatic generation of JavaBeans from COBOL transactions
• An enhanced server component that maps application requests for CICS transactions between COBOL and Java
• Mainframe security integration with Security Integration’s Security Bridge

With the integrated Security Bridge, Mako 2.0 provides mainframe security integration for Internet-enabled CICS legacy applications. Mako 2.0 can use certified mainframe security services and extend data-delivery options, so sys admins don’t need to maintain security information for users on multiple platforms.

The Mako Server package includes the Java-based Mako Server, the JavaBean component-based Mako Client, sample code, and complete documentation.

Mako 2.0 starts at 95 per server. Concurrent user licenses start at 95 per user.

https://www.bluelobster.com/html/mako.htm

Genesis, Sun offer Java specs for insurance industry

Genesis Development announced the availability of a set of Java specifications designed for Internet applications for the property/casualty insurance business.

These specifications map the ACORD ObjX component standards to Java interfaces. ACORD is a global standards organization that represents insurance companies, agents, and vendors; it is currently reviewing the Genesis interfaces for consideration as part of the industry standard.

The Java interface specifications target all levels of ACORD ObjX, including the meta-model, system-model, and code list facility.

The meta-model level includes low-level components like base, class, and data component types. The system-model level includes mid-level components like collections, factory, data source, and search components that provide services such as persistence and transactions. The code list facility is part of the insurance domain architecture that includes all major insurance-specific components, such as Policy, Producer, and so on.

To demonstrate the capabilities of a combined Java and ACORD ObjX component, Genesis has released a working prototype called the Insurance Industry Architectural Prototype (IIAP), which shows the combo in action. Visitors can use Java for ACORD ObjX by interactively adding, modifying, and querying person information from a simplified insurance database.

The specifications were sponsored and endorsed by Sun.

Genesis previously worked with Sun, IBM, Sybase, and ACORD to deliver JLife, a Java implementation of the ACORD-managed Life Insurance standards. According to Sun global financial services manager Dermot Duggan, “It was a natural next step for us to tackle the property- and casualty-focused ACORD ObjX standard.”

Genesis VP Viktor Ohnjec added, “We developed Java for ACORD ObjX because the insurance industry is looking for scalable Internet solutions based on components. We developed the IIAP demo when we realized that the power of ACORD ObjX Java implementation activity would be easier to understand with a hands-on demonstration anyone could access anytime.”

ACORD has formed a working group to review the Genesis and Sun submission.

Genesis https://www.gendev.com/entry.htm

IIAP demo https://www.gendev.com/iiap.htm

Major retailer converts CBT to Java

New Interactive, a developer of multimedia interactive training, has just converted more than 140 computer-based training programs from OS/2 to Java. The company cited the ability to run the training modules on a wider range of platforms, as well as the ability to run the titles on both the Internet and most intranets.

The Java Media Framework was another factor. It provided New Interactive with a great set of tools to make the training sessions more interactive. Through a newly developed Java program called the New Interactive Administrator (NIA), the Java Media Framework allowed New Interactive employees to play and control the audio and full-screen video components of the training modules, as well as to score, track, and build custom logon features. NIA allows for standalone or shared databases, online help, course listings, and student record keeping.

And it didn’t hurt that developers could extend the courses by easily dropping in a few extra JavaBeans.

Instantiations launches Java Performance Lab system

Instantiations has formed the Java Performance Lab (JPL), a new business unit dedicated to providing Internet, enterprise, and e-commerce Java developers with products to reduce the cost of optimizing and deploying Java applications.

Offered in a series of JPL Solution Packages, the JPL system is based on the company’s proprietary Java performance technologies, JOVE and the Flash Compiler. These technologies, consulting, and support are combined. The JPL system delivers:

• A performance-tuned version of the customer’s Java program
• JPL optimization and compilation products
• JPL consulting and lab time
• Ongoing performance and deployment technical support

https://www.instantiations.com/jpl/jpl.htm

NSI Com builds JVM for VRTX RTOS

NSI Com announced an agreement with Mentor Graphics Corporation for NSI to provide its JSCP Java virtual machine to users of Mentor Graphics’s VRTX real-time operating system. NSI Com’s JSCP is an optimized JVM for embedded system applications that require Java support and high-performance real-time determinism.

NSI Com uses a unique encapsulation technology that makes porting JSCP to a VRTX-supported hardware configuration easy and quick. The technology lets Java application threads be executed as a single VRTX task.

JSCP is a software coprocessor for Java that comes in a range of designs for varying industrial and consumer embedded applications. It precisely controls Java applications memory resources, as well as CPU and I/O channel resources.

JSCP with support for VRTX running on PowerPCs is available now. And according to the companies, it’s easy to rapidly port it to other processors.

Schlumberger offers first 32-KB Java SIM card

Schlumberger announced a JavaCard that can offer more sophisticated (or just plain more) applications — the Cyberflex Simera 32, the first 32-KB memory Java SIM card.

The JavaCard 2.0-compatible Simera 32 has triple the normal space reserved for applications. That means mobile phone applications can now include advanced mobile banking and e-commerce services, e-mail and database access tools, loyalty programs, and interactive games.

Java’s ability to throw up firewalls allows separate applications to reside on the same card, but remain relatively isolated from each other.

The Simera 32 performs the subscriber identity function, which is intrinsic to GSM-compatible phones and terminals, allowing operators to implement systems rapidly. It is compatible with the proactive commands of the latest Phase2+ SIM Application Toolkit, which allows the chip’s computing power to be used independently to run sophisticated application programs that interact with the mobile terminal’s components when required.

Schlumberger offers a set of tools to support the card, including SIMnario (a graphical Windows tool to speed up design and realtime prototyping of SIM Toolkit applications), a card reader, a simulator, sample cards, and software tools to manage and load applications onto the card.

Applix weaves JVM into CSR systems

Applix has integrated a Java virtual machine into its Applix Enterprise line of customer resource management (CRM) products.

With an integrated JVM, users can quickly and easily supplement Applix Enterprise’s out-of-the-box products with features that let CRM applications share data and code with other critical business applications and programs. The JVM acts like a universal data translator from Applix software to other desktop applications to legacy applications.

With the JVM integration, Applix customers can write simple applications in Java to enhance the flow of information between Enterprise and other computer applications. It delivers up-to-date information to Enterprise applications.

Tek-Tools JForge 2.60 update gets tons of new stuff

Tek-Tools announced JForge 2.60, an update to its platform-independent GUI builder.

JForge 2.60 is compatible with Java 2, and it includes a new dynamic menu builder with drag-and-drop capabilities and a WYSIWYG interface. It is also compatible with Java-standard third-party beans, components, or layout managers.

JForge uses nonproprietary components that result in highly customizable interfaces, and its Extended BeanInfo Interface means it can be configured to use specialized JavaBeans. It sports a free-form developer interface, a visual GridBag Layout Editor, and a color tool.

Customization is the main feature of JForge 2.0. On that front, it offers various levels of design features:

• A Public Menu and Tool Bar class that can be reconfigured to suit the developer’s preferences
• A code-generation filter for fine-tuning the source-code generator
• An advanced API that provides everything from bean convenience routines to hooks into specific sections of the application
• Application section replacement capabilities
• An Event Multicaster for notification of changes to and from external tools

JForge also contains tutorials describing features, functionality, and customization abilities.

JForge 2.0 can be downloaded for a 30-day free evaluation. Prices for the Builder and a single developer license start at 9.

https://www.tek-tools.com/jforge/index.html

Live Software offers updates to JRun/JRun Pro

Live Software announced version 2.3 of JRun and JRun Professional. These are updates to its server-side Java Web application deployment environment.

JRun 2.3 includes an integrated Web server and extensions (servlets) that add the functionality of server-side Java to an existing Web server. This version adds new features and also supports the Servlet API 2.2.1 and Java Server Pages 0.92 (JSP) specification.

It includes plugins for major Web servers on major platforms, including Windows 95/98/NT, NT (Alpha), Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, IRIX, Linux, NetWare 5, and MacOS. It also allows users to run Java servlets with such Web servers as Microsoft’s IIS and PWS, Netscape servers, Apache, O’Reilly’s Web site, and StarNine’s WebStar.

JRun 2.3 can be downloaded for free. JRun Pro 2.3 starts at 95.

https://www.livesoftware.com/products/jrun/

Insignia helps build brand strategy for Jeode

Insignia Solutions announced Jeode, its version of Embedded Java technology. Jeode debuted at the Fall 1998 Embedded Systems Conference under the name Jene.

Insignia designed Jeode for commercial-grade multiplatform development, as a superior runtime environment for embedded systems. It consists of two components — JeodeRuntime and JeodeSuite.

JeodeRuntime is made up of

• The optimized Embedded Virtual Machine (EVM) for running Java applications on embedded systems

• JeodeClass, several packages of embedded class libraries that are compatible with Sun’s Java and Embedded Java specifications

JeodeSuite consists of

• JeodeBuild, build-time tools to edit, compile, and browse Java applications, as well as to configure the runtime system. It includes a syntax-sensitive editor, a class browser, a bytecode compiler, and the JeodeConfigurator program.

• JeodeDebug, runtime utilities to examine the behavior of Java application and JeodeRuntime. It includes a source-level debugger, a highly instrumented EVM, the JeodeMonitor (an event monitor and memory-use analyzer), and the JeodeProfiler (a code-coverage analyzer and performance profiler).

The tools come in an integrated development environment and include a highly instrumented development version of the Embedded Virtual Machine.

Development licenses are available for both binary executable and source code versions of Jeode. Production runtime licenses will be available on a per-unit royalty or a project buyout basis.

It is available for such operating systems such as Windows CE/NT, Linux, ITRON, and VxWorks. It runs on such processors as Intel x86, MIPS, ARM, and Hitachi SH. Insignia expects to ship Jeode by the end of March 1999.

https://www.insignia.com/embedded/

Bayside offers applets in an automated market

Bayside Computing announced the grand opening of the Automated Software Mart, an interactive software sales site that offers system-level developer data, some application-specific software, and low-cost Java applets — all focused for developers and Web-page builders.

The site charges a fee for the applets (which doesn’t include individual applet license fees, if applicable). Java software prices range from 0 to 0.

Available on site at press time:

• In the 0 range

  • Multimedia Animations Showcase (pop-up slideshows and pop-up animations with optional sound)
  • InterApplet Comm Source Code (Java source code available to learn how to acquire remote Java applets and use remote methods)

• In the 0 range

  • Annual Figures (Java applet that draws graphs of monthly numerical data on demand)
  • Pop-up Site Index (highly configurable pop-up window with unlimited URL links that can unclutter Web pages)
  • Graphics Showcase (a self-configuring selection box and an unlimited list of graphics filenames for showcasing graphics)
  • Sound Showcase (a self-configuring selection box and the generic sound applets can showcase audio files)
  • Java Precious Metals Historicals (gold, silver, and platinum prices for the past 10 years, selectable to graphically compare prices and price trends)
• In the 0 range
  • Dropdown Site Index (configurable drop-down window with unlimited URL links)
  • Readable Banner (eliminates scrolling, waving, twinkling banners by delivering a readable, flexible one)
  • Generic Sounds (plays sounds when a page is visited and/or on demand from other applets)
  • Biased Poll (a “fun” applet that uses humor to make serious points about any topic)

https://www.baysidecomputing.com/

Go wacky for Psychotic’s InstallWiz

PsychoticSoftware announced InstallWiz Professional 1.1, an upgrade to the company’s high-end version of Java application-deployment utility.

InstallWiz Pro 1.1 is designed for developers who need a low-cost way to deploy Java applications and applets across multiple systems. This release includes such user-requested features as billboards, a backdrop, Windows Shortcuts and Registry entries, automatically generated launch scripts, and so on.

The look and feel of InstallWiz-generated installers is fully customizable through the included integrated style sheet. Each component in the installer can be customized, and installers can be compiled using either AWT or JFC. Installers support Java 1.1.6 and Java 2.

InstallWiz Pro allows developers to write their own classes if they need a feature that’s not present. It sports a plugin architecture for future modules that Psychotic will make available to users for free. (The company is currently working on native installer modules for Windows, Linux, BSDi, Mac, and Solaris.)

https://www.PsychoticSoftware.com/Products/InstallWizPro/installwizpro.html

iPass 4.0 is all-Java roaming technology

iPass, which calls itself the “Access Anywhere” company for Internet services, announced Release 4.0, an upgrade to its Access Anywhere Internet roaming and remote access/virtual private network services.

iPass Release 4.0 features three key enhancements:

• The new iPass RoamServer 4.0
• Enhanced iPass Connection software
• A new, underlying Settlement System and Clearinghouse architecture

Release 4.0 offers cross-platform support through 100 percent Java-based abilities, one-click VPN access, easy remote administration, and a secure settlement system.

RoamServer 4.0 is installed at the corporate site and works with existing authentication databases to provide remote employees access to iPass’s 3,000 global access points. It supports all major Unix and NT platforms. It has push capabilities that allow iPass to run remote diagnostic tools and instantly download new software enhancements.

RoamServer supports such standard authentication methods as RADIUS, TACACS+, NT RAS, and Unix and NT password files, as well as Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).

iPass has enhanced its connection software, so now it only take a single mouse click to enable VPN integration to iPass access points. This makes it easy for remote workers to quickly establish a secure network link by combining the two steps in the traditional Internet access/initiate session method into one.

It supports Macintosh and Windows 95/98/NT clients.

iPass has also expanded and modularized its core clearinghouse platform architecture so that it now easily scales to handle more than 100 million transactions a day. The new architecture can incorporate upcoming IP service settlement modules such as IP telephony/fax, quality and class of service, and e-commerce.

The new architecture sports 128-bit key secure socket layer (SSL) encryption for all user authentication, as well as an additional layer of encryption over Oracle SQLNET for real-time data transfer between iPass transaction centers and the central clearinghouse.

Release 4.0 is available this month. The fees start at ,995; various service and payment options are available.

For corporate users https://www.ipass.com/services/corporate-access/ For individual users https://www.ipass.com/services/remote-users/ For ISPs https://www.ipass.com/services/internet-roaming/