AJAXWorld Conference -- Kapow Technologies and Proto Software have announced that they are partnering to deliver 'Mashups that Matter' to the financial services community. Kapow Technologies adds an API to services ranging from legacy apps to web-based social media. Using Proto to process, analyze, and present intelligence from these services gives users a system no 'off-the-shelf' package can match. Together, Proto and Kapow Technologies bring Enterprise 2.0 to the trading floor in a way that reduces costs and increases profits.

In my previous article, 'Enterprise Mashup Services: Real-World SOA or Web 2.0 Novelties?' (JDJ Vol. 11, Issue 12), I discussed how a Java-to-AJAX library such as Direct Web Remoting (DWR) can bridge the gap between mashup services implemented with JavaScript and business services written in Java, allowing developers to blend corporate services with external services such as Google Maps. The problem with this approach is that it relies on AJAX as an integration point, which entails a fragile development platform as well as the need to maintain browser-specific code due to idiosyncrasies in browser support for JavaScript - the primary technology behind AJAX. In addition, JavaScript lacks a standardized approach for componentizing code, making applications written in it difficult to consolidate and reuse. The solution to these shortcomings is to pair AJAX with a component framework. JavaServer Faces (JSF) provides this foundation and eliminates the complexities of JavaScript - besides providing rich integration with the Java EE platform.

Kevin Hakman of TIBCO GI, Charles Fiesel of Roundarch, Jouk Pleiter of Backbase, and Danny Kolke of Etelos joined Conference Chair and Moderator Jeremy Geelan in a lunchtime discussion panel here at AJAXWorld Conference & Expo 2007 East devoted to the current state of the AJAX, Rich Internet Application, and Web 2.0 market.

Attendees at AJAXWorld Conference & Expo 2007 East will be able to experience a live demo of Laszlo Webtop, a new framework from Laszlo Systems for delivering multiple applications inside an advanced framework and window management system. The demo will be given next week (March 20) by Robb Beal, Principal Systems Engineer at Laszlo.

NexawebTechnologies, Inc., provider of the leading standards-based platform forbuilding and deploying Enterprise Web 2.0 (EW2.0) applications, todayannounced its participation at the AJAXWorld Conference & Expo, March19-21, 2007 at the Roosevelt Hotel in NYC. For the second straight year as a Gold Sponsor, Nexaweb will serve as the industry leader of Enterprise Web2.0 applications with its participation in discussions on service-or ientedcomputing, integrated AJAX and Java architectures as well as new,innovative open-source initiatives.

Rumor has it that Google is interested in ThinkFree, the HaanSoft-owned, ad-supported, Java-based, very Microsoft-like, Microsoft-compatible online office suite. It sent its YouTube acquisition folks in to talk to the Korean concern lately. At least that's what HaanSoft's CEO has been telling the Korea Times.

In order to describe itself as an 'open source' company, need a company merely be 'a company that will help you make the switch to open source in your company' - or does it have to be one that lets users feely download, compile, and use the software in question? Where is the dividing line? How open is 'open'? At Enterprise Open Source Magazine we contacted a range of FOSS luminaries for their take on the issue.

Years before 'mashup' was used as a Web term, Kapow Technologies had been providing Global 2000 companies with enterprise-class technology that uses a unique and flexible Web-based approach to building composite services and applications. Any application component with a web interface can be quickly and easily repurposed using the Kapow Mashup Server, including Web-based content, data or business logic.

At the Gartner Application Integration and Web Services Conference today, Kapow Technologies (http://www. kapowtech.com/), the leading provider of mashup solutions for the enterprise, today unveiled openkapow, the industry's first software service and developer community designed to accelerate mashup adoption and industry best practices in mashup design.

Kapow Technologies today announced the general availability of version 6.2 of the Kapow Mashup Server, a set of patent-pending technologies that enable companies to collect, connect and mashup everything on corporate intranets as well as the World Wide Web.

ThinkFree, Inc., developer of the first online office productivity suite, today announced that it has surpassed 250,000 registered users within its ThinkFree Online community (http://www.thi nkfree.com/).

Fast Search & Transfer (OSEAX: FAST.OL) (FAST), a leading developer of search technologies, and InfoSpace, Inc. (NASDAQ:INSP), a leading developer of mobile platform services, today announced a partnership to deliver a next-generation white label ASP mobile search service that will enable carriers to take more control over their content business models, and provide a richer mobile search experience to customers. The two companies, with more than 20 years combined experience in the search industry, have deployed more white label mobile search solutions worldwide than any other provider.

Pop quiz: what company both doubled its annual revenue in 2006 and closed a $26.25 million round of funding? Clue: it also tracked 290,000 downloads of its RIA platform and lined up IBM, Walmart.com, H&R Block, Monster, Barclays Global and Pandora as customers. Extra clue: it also announced project 'Orbit' which will allow developers using its platform to compile into Java Mobile and run it on devices.

SOA World 2007 East Conference & Expo and Enterprise Open Source 2007 East Conference & Expo, both to be held June 25-26, 2007, in New York City, announced that the conference 'Call for Papers' is now open. Topics include all development and management aspects of Web Services and Service-Oriented Architecture plus all development and management aspects of Open Source technology.

This is a checklist of items you need for an all-encompassing personal branding strategy. Personal branding is the process of marketing and selling yourself as a brand in order to gain success in business. Personal branding is a continual process just as knowing yourself is a continual process. As you grow, so does your brand. The need for personal branding arises from the fact that globalization has increased competition in the workplace. As the wheat is separated from the chaff, if you are left standing, you are left standing with others of good caliber. The playing field is now that much more challenging since your competition is as good as, or better, than you.

Interest in Enterprise Web 2.0 has until now been focused primarily on blogs and wikis. These tools enhance the collaborative experience of knowledge workers and consumers by fostering improved sharing of unstructured data such as procedures, instructions and e-mail text. In contrast, there has been very little discussion about how Web 2.0 tools can enhance access to the structured data that drive the business. Now, for the first time, there is a new generation of tools and technologies that can significantly improve business productivity, by helping information workers find and use the data they need to do their jobs.

The number of mobile workers globally will soon be more than double the total U.S. population, according to predictions by another analyst firm, IDC Corp. IDC has predicted that in two years there will be 878 million mobile workers linked to their corporate headquarters by notebook PCs, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the already ubiquitous cell phone.

Stowe Boyd, internationally recognized authority on social tools and their impact on business and society and editor of /Message, the blog on 'what is happening at the edge, and its impact on the center,' will be speaking at AJAXWorld Conference & Expo 2007 East, being held 19-21 March at The Roosevelt Hotel in New York City.

AJAXWorld Conference & Expo 2007 East speaker John Eckman has been summarizing on his blog a recent digital fracas between Lawrence Lessig and Nick Carr on what it means to be a Web 2.0 company.

Dean Allemang will present a session entitled 'How to Use RDFa to Build Semantic Mash-ups' at the upcoming AJAXWorld Conference & Expo 2007 East, March 19-21, 2007, in New York City. Semantic Mash-ups ('SMash-ups') are combinations of information from multiple sources using the W3C Semantic Web languages (RDF and OWL) to control merging and filtering of the mashed-up data. We present a system for building Smash-ups from many different kinds of Web sources, including RDF source, databases, and Web pages (via RDFa, the RDF in HTML proposal). The SW standards allow you to define filters on the SMash-up display from simple to complex: e.g., 'all the places I need to be on Saturday,' 'the times of all my appointments, but the descriptions for only the professional ones.'

Sun Microsystems has announced Sun Startup Essentials, a new program designed to enable early-stage companies to run their businesses on Sun's enterprise-class technologies at a cost that fits their budgets. The program will offer eligible startups a range of Sun products and services at significant discounts, including its award-winning Sun Fire x64 (x86, 64-bit) and CoolThreads servers powered by the most advanced operating system on the planet, the Solaris Operating System (OS).

Corporate IT has always been centered on application development and maintenance. Each evolution of computing, from mainframe to client/server to web 1.0, brings dramatically improved efficiency, significantly lowered costs and new business opportunities. Web 2.0 is not different either. The web 2.0 technology stack offers real, tangible, and measurable benefits to enterprises as a better way to build, deploy and maintain enterprise IT solutions, resulting in better user productivity, lower operations costs and reduced development and maintenance costs:

There is more to Web 2.0 content than just Web 2.0 widgets. While some may not know, XML is the fabric of Web 2.0 applications. Web 2.0 or Rich Internet Applications are popular due to the interactive content on the browser. Developers building these applications will benefit from increasing XML usage beyond the browser widget - bringing this XML content into the data server. By making XML more integral to the Web 2.0 applications, developers have a new means for building high-performance Web 2.0 applications more quickly while maintaining the flexibility in the design for future data management requirements. IBM's Chris gruber will help you learn how this can be achieved. This session is suitable for audiences with basic knowledge of XML.

In this presentation, the speaker will separate the Web 2.0 buzz from reality. He will show how application developers are using PHP, AJAX and Flex to create rich Internet applications that are transforming user experiences. He will present what developers are doing 'right now' to design RIAs that combine the best of traditional graphical user interface applications with the wide reach of Web-based access, leading to better user experiences and happier customers.

Etelos provides on-demand, customizable Web applications on the hosting environment that you choose. The Etelos Ecosystem for developing and deploying on-demand applications is revolutionizing the world of software distribution; you can install an application today and then get the source code to customize and mold that application to fit your unique business needs. On the Etelos Store, developers can sell applications, businesses can try applications and Internet service providers can offer hosting services; in one Ecosystem with all the features of software as a service (SaaS) and all the flexibility of custom development.

'It's clear that many of the services we consume and manage going forward will be services that exist outside of the enterprise, such as subscription services from guys like Salesforce.com, or perhaps emerging Web services marketplaces,' says David S. Linthicum, who will be giving a session at SOA Web Services Edge 2007 in New York City in June.

SameDesk is a first realization of OpenSpot's effort. In its core, SameDesk may be described as a virtual desktop environment where applications serving directly from different web sites and domains are allowed to work together seamlessly and securely for the users. The interoperability is enabled by a technology refered as XDDE, or Cross Domain Data Exchange. SameDesk is also enhanced with various advanced graphical and interactive features which make the web experience truly refreshing and intuitive. Third party applications can take full advantage of these front-end features with minimal effort. The team is developing a number of e-commerce service applications based on this environment. And they encourage developers of any interests to try out the environment.

According to Evans Data Corp's latest Web Services Development Survey, Web Services with Web 2.0 interfaces are surging. Evans Data finds this in the rising use of AJAX, a key component of the Web 2.0 architecture. Close to half of developers surveyed say they are already working with AJAX or plan to do so in the coming year. REST (Representational State Transfer) use is rising as well. The Evans Data survey found a 37% increase in respondents implementing or considering REST, with one out of four surveyed saying that they are considering REST-Based Web Services as a simpler alternative to SOAP-based services.

Rich Internet Applications (RIA) describe what the software development community aims to do; break out of primitive Web delivery to deliver robust functionality, exciting data visualization and 'thicker,' role-based and process-oriented user interfaces. These types of RIAs are now possible.

Analyst firm explains Nexaweb's Enterprise Web Application leadership through flexible, open product platform and deep expertise with over 5,000 successful deployments at large, highly dispersed enterprises Burlington, MA 3/4 February 20, 2006 3/4 Nexaweb Technologies, Inc., provider of the leading standards-based platform for building and deploying Enterprise Web 2.0 (EW2.0) applications, today announced that a new, independent research report by The Clipper Group discusses Nexaweb's Enterprise Web 2.0 Platform and its ability to integrate disparate business applications and processes into a 'smooth composite, single user interface' for end users anytime, anywhere.

Pop quiz: what company both doubled its annual revenue in 2006 and closed a $26.25 million round of funding? Clue: it also tracked 290,000 downloads of its RIA platform and lined up IBM, Walmart.com, H&R Block, Monster, Barclays Global and Pandora as customers. Extra clue: it also announced project 'Orbit' which will allow developers using its platform to compile into Java Mobile and run it on devices.

Nexaweb Technologies, Inc., provider of theleading standards-based platform for building and deploying Enterprise Web2.0 (EW2.0) applications, and Inkriti, a technology consulting company thatis a leading provider of Web 2.0 Solutions for customer-centric e-business,today announced a new 'One-Page-Reservation' application designed to makeonline hotel and motel reservations quicker and easier.

SYS-CON Events (www.sys-con.com) announced today that AJAXWorld Conference & Expo 2007 West (www.ajaxworld.com) willtake place on September 24-26, 2007, at the Santa Clara Convention Centerin Santa Clara, California. The event is expected to attract over 2,000 developers, architects, IT managers, and software professionals of everystripe who will be converging in Silicon Valley to attend the most comprehensive meeting on the West Coast, covering the most significant technology subjects of recent times: AJAX, Rich Internet Apps & Web 2.0.

telepark, the developers of Personal Web Applications, present a new type of Wiki software, telepark.wiki ['telepark-dot-wiki', which features an AJAX-powered interactive navigation system and caters to non-geek users. telepark.wiki enables companies and freelancers to quickly and easily publish their own Wiki application. telepark.wiki is available as a free Standard Edition and as a Professional Edition for Euro 99 excl. VAT. A wiki is a Web site that allows the visitors themselves to easily add or edit content. The authoring is done in the Web browser itself without the need for any additional software or download. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for collaborative authoring.

SYS-CON Events (www.sys-c on.com)announced today that AJAXWorld Conference & Expo 2007 East(www.ajaxworld.com), which will take place on March 19-21, 2007, will attract over 1,000 developers, architects, IT managers, and software professionals of every stripe who will be converging in New York City toattend the most comprehensive meeting on the most significant technology subjects of recent times: AJAX, Rich Internet Apps & Web 2.0.

TapeTrader.com is a ColdFusion-powered, live music sharing community with over 50,000 members and a vast database cataloging hundreds of thousands of hours of live music recordings. The TapeTrader.com community connects fans together so that they can catalog, share and trade their recordings.

MB Technologies added generic SVG support to Bindows and implemented the charts, graphs, gauges and more in both VML and SVG. Bindows now presents a unified, object oriented API for creating rich Business Graphics in all supported browsers. Now developers can create complex graphics without having to deal with all the quirks of different formats and browsers. Bindows BiGauge2 class library is a comprehensive, object oriented class library for creating dynamic and advanced gauges that can contain several ranges, scales, dynamically updatable needles and more.

JackBe, provider of Enterprise Web 2.0 infrastructure solutions that integrate SOA and AJAX, announced that it has suspended all additional entrants into the recently unveiled beta program for its Presto Rich Enterprise Application (REA) platform. Announced in October 2006, the program received overwhelming interest driven by the market demand for a comprehensive solution for delivering enterprise Ajax applications based on SOA and Web services.

Ruby on Rails is what we call a full stack. A full stack meaning that it has all the components built in for doing most Web applications. Unlike a lot of other open source software, you don't have to cherry pick a lot of different packages. We try to deliver one solution in the sense of Apple delivering one solution that spans across multiple layers. We like to think of ourselves as the Apple of open source Web application development, in the sense of dealing with the database, wrapping data objects, dealing with the controller and the control flow, and getting requests coming in and dealing with template languages, and of late also dealing with AJAX on the client side, and tying all of these things together seamlessly with knowledge of each other.

What we need is a Web browser that doesn't just serve up documents, but serves up applications.' Early in 2006 I was given a design brief: a UK-based shipping company wanted to replace its shipment tracking system with a Web-based solution.