Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1995 19:00:23 -0500 From: Jon Loeliger <jdl@chrome.onramp.net> To: freebsd-chat@freebsd.org Subject: WebRouser Message-ID: <199509190000.TAA03071@chrome.onramp.net>
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The problem here, of course, is evident in the first paragraph. jdl ------- Forwarded Message Subject: Eolas releases WebRouser via the Internet Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1995 16:40:52 -0700 From: Wendell Craig Baker <wbaker@splat.baker.com> From: info@eolas.com (Eolas Information) Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1995 07:35:18 -0700 Subject: Eolas releases WebRouser via the Internet PRESS RELEASE: ================================================================= 9/18/95 Chicago: Eolas Technologies announced today that it has released its WebRouser(TM) applet-enabled World Wide Web browser, royalty-free for individual non-commercial use. Versions are currently available for Sun, SGI and Linux platforms, with Windows and Mac versions to follow in first quarter '95. The application, and sample Weblets can be downloaded via the Web at http://www.eolas.com/eolas/webrouse/. Based upon enhancements to NCSA's award-winning Mosaic program, WebRouser features patent-pending technology that drasticaly expands the functionality of Web-based applications, and provides a simple and convienient way to add new features to browser programs through the use of plug-in applications, called Weblets(TM). The Weblet enhancement allows fully-interactive program objects to be run from within Web pages, through the use of a simple <EMBED> command within the document's text. These Weblet programs become treated by the browser as a part of the Web document, displayed "inline" and controlled by the user in place, without diverting the user's attention from the document itself. Three demonstration Weblet programs are being distributed with the WebRouser package. These include an "inline" MPEG movie player, a 3D CAD file viewer/manipulator, and a 3D molecular modeling application. For example, when a user visits a Web page that has a URL for a 3D CAD model placed within the Web page through the use of the <EMBED> tag, the browser fetches the CAD file over the network and then launches the CAD viewer weblet on the user's machine. The user sees a live window within the Web page, displaying the fully-rendered 3D model, and a control panel which allows the user to rotate the model and zoom in to see details. When the user then travels from that page to the next destination on the Web, the browser "caches" the Weblet together with the Web page. If the user then hits the "back" button, to return to the most recent site, the Weblet appears again, right where the user left it, having maintained its "state" (rotation position, zoom level, etc) during the time it was cached. Many other Weblets are currently under development by Eolas and others, including Weblet-based interpreters for several popular programming languages, such as Safe-Tcl/Tk, PERL, and the GRASP animation language. Plans are in the works for the creation of both JAVA and Visual Basic Weblets as well. Other unique features of WebRouser include client-side image map support, and the ability for the browser's button bar and menu structure to be dynamically modified by simple commands within HTML documents. Client-side image maps, for example, allow HTML authors to create graphical interfaces to their content that can be distributed on CD ROM, using the same image-map-based front ends as the online versions. Many publishers are attempting to create hybrid CD ROMs that use Web browsers as their front-end, capitalizing on the ability to develop one body of content that can be used both for CD and online distribution. These projects are often stymied by the fact that the image maps that are currently all the rage on the Web cannot be used to front-end the CD content. The currrent approach on the Web is to use ISMAP-based image maps that require that a remote server decode the hotspots on the image. Since the ISMAP-based image maps are served up by the remote machine, they can't be used to front-end CDROM-based content, where oftentimes a network connection is not available. WebRouser's client-side maps can be loaded directly from the CD ROM, with no network connection required. Another major advantage of WebRouser is the ability of Web documents to dynamically modify the browser's button bar and menu structure. According to Eolas CEO, Mike Doyle, "Most Web designers try to build in some sort of navigation system into their documents, usually at the top of the page. The problem arises when the user scrolls down the page and suddenly the navigation GUI is no longer visible. WebRouser's <LINK> command allows the Web document to place a button bar at the top of the screen, as a part of the WebRouser GUI. When the user scrolls down the document, the navigation buttons remain in place. Since the document drives the definition of the buttons' functions, each Web site can have its own Netscape-style "What's New," "What's Cool," etc. button bar pointing to their own content, not to some hard-coded browser company location, such as in other browsers." Similarly, a <GROUP> command allows a Web document to define a new menu option in the WebRouser menu bar, allowing the user to quickly jump to a particular Web page within a large, complex Web site hierarchy. "This represent a new paradigm, since these technologies empower Web designers to personalize their Web sites, and to deliver new levels of interactivity via the web. Taken together,these enhancements represent a quantum leap in the ability of Web site designers to build compelling functionality into their Web pages." Eolas also announced the launching of their commercial licensing program for both WebRouser and the development of Weblet-based commercial applications. Further information can be found at the Eolas WWW site (http://www.eolas.com), or by calling (312-337-8740), faxing (312-337-8743), or emailing (info@eolas.com) Eolas directly. ********************************************* * Eolas Technologies Incorporated * * 10 East Ontario Street, Suite 5106 * * Chicago, IL 60611 * * * * voice: (312)337-8740 * * fax: (312)337-8743 * * Web: http://www.eolas.com * ********************************************* ------- End of Forwarded Message
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