  |
|||||||||||||
|
DIGITAL OPENS ALTAVISTA FORUMFORUM -- COMMUNITY COLLABORATION MOVES ONSITE WITH THE FIRST VIRTUAL OFFICE TOWER ON THE INTERNET Maynard, Mass., Sept. 27, 1996 -- In a unique demonstration of the power of collaboration on the Internet, Digital Equipment Corporation today unveiled AltaVista ForumForum. AltaVista ForumForum is a WorldWide Web-based technology showcase for the sharing of ideas, opinions, and business information and to bring together communities of Internet users with shared interests. AltaVista ForumForum, located at http://altavista.forum.digital.com, will host a thousand different communities, each provided with an unprecedented set of Internet messaging, polling and document sharing capabilities. Like AltaVista Search Public Service, AltaVista ForumForum is a free service and a powerful demonstration of AltaVista's OnSite Computing vision, bringing the vast potential of the Internet to productive work and creative expression at any place, at any time. Among the communities housed on 'floors' in the Internet's first 'virtual office tower' will be those devoted to charities, professional societies and technical service. Out of the 1,000 floors available on AltaVista ForumForum, 700 already house ‘tenants’' who begin moving in today. Applications are being accepted for the remaining 300 floors. "With AltaVista ForumForum, we plan to capture the same magic as we created with AltaVista Search, the most popular search service on the WorldWide Web," said Ilene H. Lang, vice president of Digital's Internet Software Business Unit. "The immense potential of the Internet is finally becoming realized, and AltaVista ForumForum is a bold step forward in the development of virtual communities." The AltaVista ForumForum public service is a combination of public and private communities. Using such capabilities as post-and-reply discussion, email, password security, document sharing and opinion polling, each floor's moderator develops the community concept, establishes membership criteria and maintains areas for discussion forums and document sharing. On public floors, any Internet user with a Web browser can participate. On the private floors, moderators set guidelines on membership. After entering ForumForum, visitors enter the main lobby where they sign in, join a guided tour of the facility or access the building directory. The Lobby also contains a help desk and a registration area which processes new guests. Using a virtual elevator to reach their selected floor, visitors can join teams to participate in group discussions, surveys, and share documents and other down loadable software including Java applets. Based on the AltaVista Forum V2.0 product, ForumForum also provides collaboration centers complete with general team information, calendars and calling cards; and sophisticated news filtering to deliver data of interest to the team. AltaVista Forum technology also supports IRC text chatting. Leasing terms for tenants of this virtual office tower include a free 30 day lease with an option for a 30-day extension. After the end of the lease, floor moderators can, with the purchase of AltaVista Forum V2.0, or with the purchase of AltaVista ForumForum hosting services offered by AltaVista Business Partners, move their community with a link from their AltaVista ForumForum floor to their server or service. AltaVista OnSite Computing solutions provide high performance Internet connectivity to help cyberworkers quickly find useful information, easily communicate and collaborate over secure virtual networks. Further information is available at http://altavista.software.digital.com. Digital Equipment Corporation is a world leader in open client/sever solutions from personal computing to integrated worldwide information systems. Digital's scalable Intel and Alpha platforms, storage, networking, software and services, together with industry-focused solutions from business partners, help organizations compete and win in today's global marketplace.
NOTE FOR EDITORS: Digital, the Digital logo, AltaVista and the AltaVista logo are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. Windows NT is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
CORP/97/415
  
| |||||||||||||
