Microsoft Corp. will integrate support for Bluetooth wireless technology in Windows XP in the second half of next year, a company executive told developers recently at the Bluetooth Developers Conference.
Microsoft Bluetooth program manager Andy Glass said Microsoft hopes to simplify both the development of Bluetooth devices and the user’s experience in using them. To do this, Microsoft will use just a subset of the many Bluetooth profiles now being used and developed for various applications of the technology. The Bluetooth software stack in XP will differ from some Bluetooth stacks now in use because it is focused on using IP (Internet Protocol) to communicate among devices. Using the same protocol deployed for other network technologies, rather than Bluetooth-specific approaches, will ultimately simplify development and users’ experience with Bluetooth, Glass said. Yet by bypassing many existing profiles and being strict about its support of Bluetooth chip sets, Microsoft may cause some inconvenience for users in the medium term.
CDNs edge into app delivery
The increased use of dynamic content and the rise of Web services are pushing enterprise application distribution to the edge of networks and into content delivery networks (CDNs).
CDN providers such as Akamai Technologies Inc. are growing beyond first-generation Web content delivery functions into distributed application delivery, whereas network equipment providers such as Cisco Systems Inc. are offering gear to build dynamic content networking platforms within enterprises. Cambridge, Mass.-based Akamai has tapped a technique called ESI (Edge Side Includes) to evolve its model for speeding Web content into a distributed computing network that executes applications at the edge of the network. Co-developed with Oracle, ESI is a markup language that creates an interface between application servers and a globally distributed network.
Gartner: VoIP becoming more viable
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is a far more viable technology that it was two years ago, according to Gartner Inc. analyst Geoff Johnson. He said recently that there are two classes of VoIP vendors: the new entrants, such as Cisco Systems Inc. and 3Com Corp., and traditional PBX vendors like Nortel and Alcatel SA.
The new entrants push VoIP as “just another application on your highly resilient data network”, and stress that switching to VoIP avoids the cost and disruption of upgrading proprietary hardware. By contrast, the traditional PBX vendors emphasize extending the voice network with seamless functionality, thus avoiding the “forklift” upgrade, or complete replacement of PBXs, instead going for phased migration in which PBX hardware continues to be used but a hybrid system is installed.
CrossWorlds Web services kit sidesteps coding
Crossworlds Software Inc. has announced a solution that lets users enable their business processes with Web services. According to the Burlingame, Calif.-based company, business processes deployed in the CrossWorlds system can be exposed as Web services without writing code. As a result, the software enables users to open up their business processes to customers and, in turn, access customers’ processes.
The suite includes the Web Services Connector and a suite of utilities, both of which take advantage of CrossWorlds’ Business Integration Management System, thereby streamlining operations and increasing connectivity with customers and partners, officials said. John Meyer, an analyst at Giga Information Group Inc., based in Cambridge, Mass., said that the management and orchestration of Web services, which includes business processes as well as business rules, will play a key part in Web services.
UDDI project launches next version of UDDI Business Registry
The Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) project recently announced the public availability of the UDDI Business Registry v2 beta. Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM, Microsoft and SAP launched beta implementations of their UDDI sites that conform to this latest specification.
The UDDI v2 specification expands UDDI functionality to enhance support for deploying public and private Web service registries. In addition to taking advantage of the public UDDI Business Registry sites, enterprises can also deploy private registries to manage internal Web services using the UDDI specification. Access to internal Web service information may also be extended to a private network of business partners. For example, a manufacturer may share information about a parts inventory Web service with its business partners through a private UDDI registry. Business partners using any tool with UDDI support can easily access this Web service information.
