COLE'S NEWSWIRE, Aug. 30, 2000

Aug. 30, 2000
Vol. 6, No. 29

COLE'S NEWSWIRE is a weekly distribution of information about the sales and installations of publishing technology and the latest news on new products developed by suppliers to the industry.

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CREOSCITEX
Two new customer support initiatives have been announced by the Bedford, Mass.-based company: eCentral, which enables on-line access to the technical and software library, placing and monitoring of service requests and on-line training, as well as an Order Desk where customers can order products, spares, consumables and check order status, and the Remote Support Server, which demonstrates new capabilities in remote support and monitoring of equipment by allowing Customer Support Engineers to dial up a system through a modem, diagnose and fix an application or hardware problem and ensure optimum performance of the equipment.

CreoScitex is on the Web at http://www.creoscitex.com/.

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL
The TIROLER TAGESZEITUNG of Innsbruck, Austria, has purchased a 242-seat classified system from the Springville, Utah-based company, replacing an SII system. The 242-seat system consists of 50 ClassSpeed seats and includes the ClassSpeed Web Publisher option for real-time publishing of classified ads to the Internet.

The display-ad system consists of 15 AdSpeed clients, integrating Adobe InDesign for ad composition, which will be used to book, manage and publish button, banner and full-page electronic ads to the 'Net. In the newsroom, a 152-seat NewsSpeed 5.0 system has replaced TIRLOER TAGESZEITUNG's own in-house editorial system.

DTI is on the web at http://www.dtint.com/.

GTD-NOVA
The Pleasanton, Calif.-based supplier of publishing systems has sold its AdEZ remote-advertising client to the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS (286k). The newspaper said it is planning to first use the system for general merchandise and then to expand into real estate and transportation areas.

AdEZ, a private-party and commercial ad entry application, allows individuals and businesses to place classified orders (including photos and logos) through a standard Internet browser with feedback on pricing and line breaks, and includes an instant preview of how the ad will appear in the newspaper.

The MERCURY NEWS is on the Web at http://www.sjmercury.com/ while GDT-Nova is on the Web at http://www.gdtnova.com/.

GEAC PUBLISHING SYSTEMS
The Tampa, Fla.-based supplier of publishing systems is negotiating with WoodWing Software of Zaandam, The Netherlands, an editorial and advertising system provider, to develop products based on Geac's LayoutXpert technology and WoodWing's InDesign implementation expertise.

Under the agreement, expected to be complete within 60 days and with the first product entering public beta testing six to eight months later, WoodWing will develop products using Geac's LayoutXpert. The first project will develop companion products for WoodWing's Smart Layout solution.

Geac Publishing Systems is on the Web at http://www.publishingsystems.geac.com/. WoodWing Software is on the Web at http://www.idplugins.com/.

INTERNATIONAL PREPRESS ASSOCIATION (IPA)
The Edina, Minn.-based group has announced that video presentations of selected sessions of the recently held Prepress 2000 Technical Seminar, which are available free of charge and are accessible to all industry professionals, are now on-line within the organization's web site.

By making these presentations available on the Web, the IPA said it hopes that those who were unable to attend the seminar will benefit from the information presented, and for those who were able to attend, they believe that the video sessions are a way to share what was learned with co-workers or to supplement written reports. Speaker presentations are also available for download on the Prepress 2000 web site at http://www.prepress2000.com/.

The IPA is on the Web at http://www.ipa.org/.

PUBLISHING BUSINESS SYSTEMS
The Barrington, Ill.-based newspaper business software supplier has announced that Houston, Texas-based Southern Newspapers Inc. (SNI) has licensed its MediaPlus Advertising, Financial Management and Human Resources business systems for use in 16 of its newspapers' locations.

SNI owns 17 publications in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, New Mexico and Texas, as well a commercial printing operation in Florida.

PBS is on the Web at http://www.pbs.com/.

SOFTWARE CONSULTING SERVICES
This Nazareth, Pa.-based company has sold its SCS/ClassPag to the SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, which is current managing the SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER (870k combined), for daily production of its classified sections.

The CHRONICLE chose SCO UNIX as the operating system for SCS/ClassPag.

SCS is on the Web at http://www.newspapersystems.com/, while the CHRONICLE is at http://www.sfgate.com/.

SAXOTECH INC.
The Rockville, Md.-based company has announced the sale of a 50-seat system, which will include both SAXoPRESS Content Management System and Publicus Online Publishing System, to Times News Inc. also of Rockville, Md., a Pencor Company, publishing the afternoon daily TIMES NEWS (16k).

The base SAXoPRESS system includes the artcles module, SAXoTEXT text editor, wire articles and wire photos modules, local photos module, layout module and Quark XPress XTensions. The automatic image processor software will automate the process of preparing images for print and Web output, and the SAXoBRS archiving system will allow the Times News' publications to archive all of their published text, images and pages in one central, indexed repository.

The base Publicus System will integrate the newsroom into the process of building on-line publications, and the e-commerce module will allow the sale of goods and services on the company's web sites, while Community Publishing Module will give Times News the ability to host the web content of community groups and associations without forcing those groups to learn HTML.

SAXoTECH is on the Web at http://www.saxotech.com/.

TVDATA TECHNOLOGIES L.P.
Knight Ridder's CABLE CONNECTION magazine, a leading turnkey program guide for cable television subscribers, has been acquired by the Glenn Falls, N.Y.-based provider of formatted TV listings. Terms were not disclosed.

With the acquisition TVData now provides an alternative to the TV GUIDE service to cable operators seeking program information for their subscribers across three platforms: print, on-line and on-screen.

TVData is on the Web at http://www.tvdata.com/.

VISTAINFO
Two major daily newspapers have been added as syndication partners to strengthen the San Diego, Calif.-based company's position as a leading advocate and information provider for real-estate professionals and consumers.

CyberHomes.com, VISTAinfo's consumer web site providing public access to market area MLS databases, added Tribune Co.'s DAILY PRESS in Norfolk, Va., and Florida's DAYTONA NEWS-JOURNAL Daytona Beach, to its list of media organizations that exclusively promote and link to CyberHomes. Consumers are given direct access from the newspaper's on-line brands to CyberHomes residential re-sale information as provided by the local market ML organizations.

VISTAinfo is on the Web at http://www.vistainfo.com/.

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COLE'S NEWSWIRE is compiled by Aimee Beck and distributed by The Cole Group, publishers of THE COLE PAPERS, COLE'S NOTES and NEWSINC., and consultants to newspapers and magazines worldwide. To receive more information about The Cole Group, send e-mail to: info@colegroup.com.

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