Red Dot, Toshiba and others display new wares for publishing professionals at the CeBIT 2005 trade show.HANNOVER, Germany—Publishing professionals will be interested in some of the new software and hardware on display at the massive CeBIT technology tradeshow in Hannover, Germany.
Products for the creative industries are fewer and farther between than at previous CeBIT shows, as vendors instead push business processes, consumer gadgets, home entertainment systems and mobile communications. But CeBIT, with 6,270 exhibitors from 69 countries, is a good place to identify major trends in information technology that affect the publishing business. The show opened March 10 and wraps up on March 16.
SOFTWARE
CoreMedia Presents CoreMedia CMS 2005: Content Technology company CoreMedia AG presented the most recent version of its multi-channel content management system, CoreMedia CMS 2005, which sports a lot of improvements and new features. The company wants to reposition the product as a "strategic CMS". According to CoreMedia, 100 companies in 20 countries (among them Bertelsmann AG, Deutsche Telekom, Epcos AG, NEC/Mitsubishi, Nokia Corp., SEAT S.A., T-Mobile USA Inc. and Vodafone Group) have purchased some 1,000 licenses for the high-end CMS so far.
The CMS features a high-performance search engine that incorporates FAST InStream, new business logic modules for highly dynamic Web applications and the integration of existing business structures such as ERP systems, a Web services engine, and a vastly improved Web editor. The User Interface has been adapted to the "Longhorn User Experience" as defined by Microsoft Corp. for its coming 64-bit Windows operating system.
The company also announced a new Government Site Builder for accessible multi-site e-government Web applications. CoreMedia, of Hamburg, Germany, also has a focus on DRM (digital rights management) systems for controlling the distribution of content, for example in Vodafone's "Life! Global" UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommuncations System) services. CoreMedia is a member of the Open Mobile Alliance, which shapes Java-based standards for mobile DRM Systems.
RedDot Supports Accessibility and Introduces Intranet Bundle: CMS developer RedDot Solutions Corp., together with Germany's Fraunhofer Institute FIT have jointly developed Web Compliance Manager, a module for the RedDot CMS that checks Web sites as content is updated for compliance issues with Web standards. The tool also allows users to define their own accessibility criteria based on Java-compiled XML. The pricing for this module will be $6,700.
Also at CeBIT RedDot, of New York, presented the RedDot Intranet Solution for Microsoft IIS (Internet Information Services), which combines a CMS and a DMS (Document Management System) and contains tools to integrate third-party software, as well as tools for personalization, RSS feed integration and an integrated search engine. Per seat license is $1,000 for 100 different logins.
DivX 6 Will Be Available in April: The updated video codec and multimedia suite around "DivX" by DivX Networks Inc. will be available in April. Software companies such as Cyberlink Corp., Intervideo Inc., Pinnacle Systems Inc. and Sonic Solutions intend to support DivX 6 in their new products, as do hardware manufacturers such as Sigma Designs Inc., MediaTek Corp., LSI Logic Corp., Philips' semiconductor division and ESS Technology Inc. DivX, of San Diego, will use MP3 and MP3 Surround audio codecs.
HARDWARE
Toshiba Showcases Notebook with Removable Display: Toshiba Ltd. was showcasing a first prototype of a Windows XP notebook with removable 16-ounce display that transfers wireless VGA signals and runs for two hours with battery power supply. The final version will also feature pen input and 802.11b network support, which makes the device a cross-over of PC notebook and Tablet PC ready to use in a distributed environment. You might only fetch the screen to go to meetings.
ASUSTek Presents Wireless Graphic Card: Quite similar in principle to Toshiba's removable display is the EAX700VE/WTD/128M graphics card from ASUSTek Computer Inc., which is based on Asus's Radeon X700LE and can communicate wirelessly with beamers and monitors. In open space, a user may send video signals to devices more than 300 feet apart. Four different channels in the 2.4GHz band may be chosen.
Blu-ray Disc Gets Rid of Cartridge; Apple Joins Board of Directors: Previously BDs (Blu-ray Discs), which have a capacity of 50GB, have been delivered in cartridges. Thanks to a new scratch-proof surface coating technology from TDK Corp. called Durabis, next generation Blu-ray Discs will look like ordinary DVDs in the future.
Sony Corp. showcased the first prototypes of Blu-ray Disc devices that can read and record on BD, DVDs and CDs. BenQ Corp., together with Philips, will market a BD, DVD and CD recorder solution for PCs called BD Triple Writer BW1000. Philips has developed a new pick-up head, the OPU 81, that uses only one lens for the blue (BD), the red (DVD) and the infrared laser (CD). The device is scheduled to go to market by year's end with a price of about $650.
The Blu-ray Disc Association announced that Apple has joined its Board of Directors. Apple will incorporate the high-definition H.264 Advanced Video Codec in the forthcoming version of QuickTime 7. The BDA has more than 100 members, among them Dell Computer Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., Hitachi Ltd., LG Electronics Inc., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Panasonic Corp., Pioneer North America Inc., Philips, Samsung Electronics Co., Sharp Corp., Sony, TDK, Thomson, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. and The Walt Disney Co.
Buffalo Presents Networked Terabyte Storage: Japanese manufacturer Buffalo Technology Inc. presented a compact NAS (network-attached storage) device, the TeraStation HD-H1.OTGL/R5, (6.7 by 8.67 by 9.46 inches) that comprises four 250MB Ultra-ATA/133 hard discs (Western Digital Corp. Caviar, 8MB cache), a gigabit Ethernet port and four USB 2.0 interfaces for printers, USB storage devices and other peripherals.
The system runs Linux and also provides a print server and a media server ready for streaming music and videos. The system can also run automated backups. Pricing will be approximately $1,200.
Graphics Tools 
