IBM Unveils Web Transcoder Technology

IBM has taken the wraps off new software that translates, or "transcodes," Web information - including text and images - to a format readable on a variety of Internet appliances.

Known as WebSphere Transcoding Publisher, the software is said to extend the reach of Web data and applications to a new generation of information appliances, including smart phones, car browsers and personal digital assistants (PDAs).

IBM said that because Transcoding Publisher customizes the content to match the capabilities of the receiving device, applications do not have to be rewritten.

The software is based on open industry standards and available for AIX (IBM's flavor of Unix), Linux, Solaris and Microsoft Windows NT and 2000 operating systems.

Ed Harbour, director of connected e-business marketing with Big Blue, cited research from the Gartner Group as saying that between 2003 and 2005, the number of mobile phones worldwide will top the 1 billion mark.

At the same time, he said, by 2004, 70 percent of new cellular phones and 80 percent of new PDAs will feature some form of access to the Internet.

"We're a society accustomed to getting information any time, any place, and in a way we can use," he said, adding that the new software makes it possible to take today's Web content - which has largely been designed for PCs - and deliver it in a format appropriate for a variety of devices.

Built on an extensible, Java-based architecture, WebSphere Transcoding Publisher converts data and applications written in the standard markup languages of the Web - HTML (hypertext markup language) and XML (extended markup language) - to other formats such as WML (wireless markup language).

IBM said that its new software technology can also convert graphics to a format that can be viewed on a hand-held device, or convert the graphic to a hyperlink.

Big Blue said it has already started to use transcoding technology in selected customer applications, including a real-time, interactive service for Sabre and Nokia which allows travelers to initiate flight changes and receive updates from airlines virtually anywhere, anytime via a Nokia cellular phone.

More information on the software technology can be found on the Web at http://www.ibm.com/software/websphere/transcoding.