Big Blue to beef up Net offerings

IBM (IBM) will debut a series of new technologies from its Web-related bag of tricks at next week's Fall Internet World '96.

For example, a new software tool called Network Dispatcher lets users add Web servers without losing queries in the process. The product acts as a front-end query monitor for multiple Web servers, routing requests from new Web servers to operational Web servers. The product works over the Internet or behind a private firewall.

An application based on Sun Microsystems' JavaBeans called AppletAuthor will also be introduced. The new app lets Web site developers add multimedia, special effects, and live data capabilities to Web sites. Also announced will be functional beta code for IBM's NetRexx programming language. The code allows Rexx language developers to generate Java code while using the familiar Rexx scripting language.

IBM will also debut two new high-end Java-enabled offerings from its data warehousing initiative, dubbed net.Mining Services. The solutions-based packages include Customer Discovery, for users who want to correlate customer tendencies into demographic sets, and Product Discovery, for customers who want to correlate product performance as it relates to demographic data.

Finally, IBM will use the Internet World stage to introduce a CD-ROM for developers using Java and Internet tools called Developer Connection and a new Java-based technology called Isis, which allows content on Web pages to be timed when being downloaded through a browser. A tool for building, distributing, and tracking server applications on the Internet based on C++ programming language frameworks called VisualAge WebRunner Server Works will also be unveiled.