Imaging & Document Solutions - e.docs: Web Content Goes Wireless

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Web Content Goes Wireless

By Penny Lunt

It's not hard to imagine the day when many of us will do the bulk of our business computing from wireless devices. The Butler Group (www.butlergroup.com) predicts that there will be one billion mobile WAP (wireless application protocol) phones in use by the year 2004. Within a few years, they add, more people will be able to browse the Internet using mobile devices than will gain access via PCs.

Resource Locator

· E-business software company BroadVision (www.broadvision.com) announced in January an agreement to acquire Interleaf. They plan to combine Interleaf's XML-based content management tools with BroadVision's instant publishing tools to shorten time to production for content.

· The WAP Forum (www.wapforum.com) is a consortium of 260 companies that are developing standards for wireless information and telephony services. The site provides information about WAP and its infrastructure.
· The Butler Group recently opened a new Web site devoted to wireless devices at www.mobileXplorer.com. Access to the site is free except for the Butler Group research material, which is free to subscribers. The site provides white papers, product information, related Web sites and case studies.
· Palm Pilot VII users can go to www.tucows.com to download applications, some of which are freeware and others shareware.

InfoBytes

· 3Com has sold more than 5 million Palm Pilots of all types. The wireless Palm Pilot VII ($500) offers many useful features. Our favorite was its integration with Microsoft Outlook's calendar, task list and email. You can make additions and changes on both your PC and the PDA. When you want to synchronize, you put the Palm in its cradle, hit the HotSync button and both devices are updated. The iMessenger feature lets you send short text messages. Query applications let you access information over the Internet.
· For more information on Interleaf's BladeRunner and X-WAP applications, click on ProductInfo 207. For more information on the Palm Pilot VII, click on ProductInfo 208.

Barry Briggs, chief technology officer of Interleaf (www.xmlecontent.com) feels this presents a challenge to many businesses. "The dot-BAMs [Web-plus-brick-and-mortar businesses] are spending millions on their Web sites and typically creating a completely PC-centric solution," he says. "But they're going to have to deliver to an infinite number of devices."

Imagine saving a document or creating a form in your usual application and then being able to post it in XML format to a server that automatically designs and presents it in a viewable way to any pager, Palm Pilot, cell phone or personal computer. What if users could then respond by feeding answers or additional content back into that system using their wireless device? This is the idea behind X-WAP, a new add-on to BladeRunner, Interleaf's XML-based content management system (the two systems together start at $100,000).

BladeRunner parses existing documents into reusable elements that are stored and managed with version control. X-WAP taps into the BladeRunner database and delivers content to devices such as digital phones and pagers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and even electronic books.

The delivery challenge for X-WAP is pretty straightforward: make data fit presentably on a variety of screens. The Palm Pilot VII from 3Com (www.3com.com) displays 14 lines of text, and you can read 500 words or more by scrolling. Digital pagers, on the other hand, have Band-Aid-sized screens.

We tried out Interleaf's beta X-WAP implementation by downloading XML-based news bulletins to a Palm VII. It was convenient to be able to stand in a crowded commuter train and download what could just as easily have been business documents or reports. I also revised my calendar, read and sent emails and looked at online news.

Most of the content was clear and well-presented, though there were a few glitches of content being too large or incorrectly formatted (which Interleaf attributed to needed site development). We were impressed with X-WAP's ability to access customized content on such a small device.

Here's how X-WAP works: BladeRunner users typically create documents in basic applications like Microsoft Word. They click on "Save As XML" to convert the documents and save them in the content repository. The content can be edited and approved.

Next, Web editors determine which content will be served to which types of devices. X-WAP also accepts information directly from DBMS and ERP systems. X-WAP applies eXtensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) to content, formatting the information to fit particular devices and layouts.

A utility company could use this system to distribute directions to a repair site to field service personnel. They could repurpose content from a 7,000-page service manual showing schematics and parts lists for the components needing repair. The element of response can be added using XML Web forms. Purchase orders could be presented, filled out and fed back to the server.

The possibilities for this technology are endless, and Interleaf is definitely pioneering fertile territory for content management.