InformationWeek

Final Report From Internet World

Trying to get everyone on the same boat: Many of the heaviest-hitting Internet software and online-service vendors are backing a small, Silicon Valley company to develop interoperable security technology for transactions and sharing confidential information. The alliance is an attempt to head off a potential standards war.
Apple, Sun Launch Internet Strategies: Apple Computer Inc. and Sun Microsystems said last week that they plan strategic infiltrations into the Internet server market, with Apple coming out with a line of World Wide Web servers and Sun announcing an alliance with Netscape Communications Corp.
CompuServe will offer graphical access to the Web: Companies doing business on the Internet can look for another big influx of users from the consumer sector. CompuServe introduced free, full Internet access and free Web browsing software for its 2.7 million members.
CommerceNet experiments with Web site certification.: CommerceNet launched a pilot program that would allow those companies doing business on the Internet to prove that their Net sites actually belong to them.
Getting serious about Yahoo: The students who run one of the most popular online Web directories plan to take an academic leave of absence to run the service full-time.

--San Jose, April 10-13

Apple, Sun Launch Internet Strategies

By Mitch Wagner
Monday, April 17-- Apple Computer Inc. and Sun Microsystems said last week that they plan strategic infiltrations into the Internet server market, with Apple coming out with a line of World Wide Web servers and Sun announcing an alliance with Netscape Communications Corp.

Apple said at Internet World in San Jose April 10 that it plans to bundle Web server applications and Internet connectivity software on its new, high-end PowerPC servers. The next day, Sun said it plans to extend its licensing of Netscape's commercial Web servers, and work with Netscape to jointly develop and market software for building an infrastructure for commerce on the Internet.

The entry of the two computer giants into the Internet market will make the environment more congenial for corporate users, according to industry watchers. "In a corporate environment, managers of MIS want a product from an established vendor," says Ben Kutler, technical specialist at the Internet Group, a Pit tsburgh, Pa., consulting firm that specializes in putting companies up on the Internet. The ability that Sun and Apple share to be able to offer a combined package of hardware and software will also be attractive, he says. "There's a real advantage to having a single point of contact and saying: `look, you, I paid you money, make this work.'"

The Apple and Sun announcements are the latest in a series of entries into the Internet market by big vendors of servers and enterprise systems. In the fall, Digital Equipment Corp. announced a joint licensing agreement with Netscape. Novell and Silicon Graphics followed. Meanwhile, on the desktop, Microsoft plans to put Internet connectivity into Windows 95, while IBM has already put Net hooks into OS/2.

The new Apple Internet Server Solution Workgroup Server mixes third-party Internet software with pre-existing Net utilties from Apple, and puts them all on any of three PowerPC servers. The servers to choose from are the Workgroup Server 6150/66, 8140/ 100 or 9150/120. The systems are Apple's three most powerful servers, all of which were introduced two weeks ago, before the show, as general-purpose Mac servers. Each system will come with a CD-ROM that contains all the software components needed to establish a presence on the Web. Those components include MacHTTP from BIAP Systems, the basic Web server software that allows documents to be read over an HTTP connection; BBEdit from Bare Bones Software, an HTML editor; and Netscape Navigator.

The servers will also include utilities for accessing information on the Web. Among these are AppleSearch, for searching documents; Adobe Acrobat Pro, which allows documents to be published in the exact format they were developed; Common Gateway Interfaces (CGI) to access other programs from the Web, Apple RAID Software for disk mirroring and protection, and AppleShare Client for Windows, which allows Windows users to access AppleTalk file and print services.

Apple says MacDNS, a Domain Name Server which allows th e Mac to identify itself to other servers on the Web and, conversely, to find other servers, will be available in early summer. Until then, Mac-based Web users will have to lease DNS services from an Internet service provider.

Although the elements of the Internet Server Solution were all on the market prior to last week's announcement, the combination into a bundle is nonetheless significant, says Robert Womack, director of computer services, for Hale & Doerr, a Boston law firm with several hundred employees and revenues in excess of $100 million annually. "The easier it is for the end-user to work with it and put it together, the more attractive it will be."

The servers will be available in May, according to Apple officials. The Workgroup Server 6150/66 will be priced at $2,909, the 8150/110 at $5,319 and the 9150/120, $8,209.

Apple's announcement of the product was the scene of a face-reddening snafu for Apple. After touting the server's ease-of-use, Apple technicians were unable to get the product to work, leaving Jim Groff, VP and general manager of Apple Business Systems, attempting to put a cheerful face on the situation . "If we can figure out which cable came unconnected, we can get it to work," he said. "We must have angered the demo gods."

Meanwhile, Apple says that later this spring, its eWorld online service will include new Internet connections. The new version, code-named "Golden Gate," will permit Usenet and file-transfer protocol (FTP) access to the Net, along with TCP/IP connections to eWorld for faster responsiveness. Apple will build in intelligent mail-processing clients, as well as support for compound documents.

Apple also introduced specialized Net client software designed for the education marketplace.

Sun's announcement was far less detailed than Apple's, but has the potential to be more significant to commerce on the Internet in the long term. Sun and Netscape announced a joint development and marketing agreement in a p lan to create new systems and software for doing business on the Internet and World Wide Web.

Officials from both companies say they hope the agreement will combine the smaller Netscape's technology innovation on the Internet with the worldwide sales and support infrastructure of $4.7 billion Sun.

As a first step, Sun will offer Netscape's World Wide Web servers on its own systems. Sun already has its own Internet server system--the Netra i, with prices starting at $6,000. Even before the Netra i shipped last year, Mountain View, Calif.,-based Sun had a long history on the Net. Since the late 1980s, most of the hardware servers on the Net have borne the Sun nameplate.

But what Sun doesn't have is Web server software of its own, and the Netscape agreement will give them that. Netscape's Web servers have built-in security and database features for use in commerce.

The companies would not comment on pricing, availability, or give many technological details on the planned new offerings. According to Andrew Barker, product line manager for Internet products at SunSoft, Sun Microsystems' software subsidiary, the two companies will reveal further information at the upcoming SunWorld trade show in San Francisco on May 23.

For its part, Netscape, which is also based in Mountain View, Calif., gains access to Sun's infrastructure as an established vendor of scientific, engineering, and business systems. "They've got a worldwide distribution and support system," says Netscape spokeswoman Roseanne Siino. "They're already targeted at people doing things on the Internet. They've got a great presence in the area of servers and a huge presence worldwide."

The agreement is the latest attempt by Netscape to build partnerships with big IT vendors. In addition to DEC, Novell and Silicon Graphics, Pacific Bell will sell Netscape server software as part of its Internet connectivity service for businesses in California. And MCI Telecommunications is using Netscape as part of its internetMCI pr oject. That effort is MCI's attempt to serve as the host for businesses that sell goods and services on the Web.

The availability of Net technology from an established vendor like Sun will make large enterprises more comfortable about setting up Web sites, says consultant Kutler.

"In a corporate environment, managers of MIS are not comfortable using the sort of public-domain software that's been available until now for running on the Web," he says.