Web Design & Development '98 a tradeshow and conference produced by Miller Freeman, Web Techniques and Web Review magazines, took place in San Francisco last week(21 June - 25 June, 1998.) After sitting out tradeshows for over a year, Your Unruly decided to cover this one for GENERATOR 21 and SUITE 101. My reports, a special report, and commentary on new software, will appear at both web publications over the course of this week, in three parts. This is Part Three.
SAN FRANCISCO - Let's face it: Press people like myself are invited to Internet trade shows, given free rein of the exhibit halls and the conference sessions, wined and dined for only two reasons. The first reason is so that we'll provide the URL for the conference site itself, and thus act as a free promotional arm of the promoters. (Did that.) The second reason is so that software companies can give us the vertical massage so that we'll feature their products in a column like this one and you'll fork over your simoleons to buy them. (That's what this column is all about. HELLO! INVITE ME BACK NEXT YEAR!)
This was a small show by Seybold or MacWorld standards, which Your Unruly found a bit disappointing. But I soldiered on. And I believe I found two pieces of new software which the non-corporate webmasters out there will find of interest.
Other than the constant "cookie" bombardment which we all face at all-too-many-sites, the other phenom' which is a ubiquitous part of the web as we know it today is forms. Forms to get a user ID and password for restricted sites, forms to send feedback, forms to register for contests. For the small(or amateur) webmaster, these have always been daunting because they were dependent on cgi-scripting and knowing at least rudimentary Perl.
No more!
There's a small company in Utah called Boomasoft, which makes forms creation and having a client-side database a snap, if you can believe their demo and press kit. I recommend that you follow the link and take a look at Boomasoft for yourself.
[DISCLAIMER: I have not yet received a demonstration version of this product. I did see it demonstrated on the exhibit floor. The speed and drag-and-drop ease with which a form was created to remind me of my (hypothetical) "wife's) birthday was impressive. I therefore must recommend that you thoroughly investigate the product before making a purchase decision.]
Boomasoft's Fact Sheet reads:
...BOOMA WebForms allows users to create custom Web forms with a database back-end, in as little as 10 minutes. These web forms are created through simple drag-and-drop technology and require no CGI scripting, database programming, or Java coding. BOOMA WebForms, incorporating a Java applet, requires no application server and works well for the virtually hosted. Using an innovative approach, BOOMA WebForms solves the applet-proxy server problem, and functions perfectly behind firewalls and proxy servers. BOOMA WebForms uses MS-Access data structures, enabling users to access their data with a variety of tools.
I'd say this product is well worth a look.
Because of the rush of "newbies" to the WWW(thanks, AOL! When you gonnah fix that interface?) there are a lot of visitors/readers/surfers concerned with the security of electronic commerce, even at this late stage of the our development. People who give their credit cards to anonymous voices on the telephone, still (misguidedly) believe that using their cards on the web is dangerous. Duh.
Again, for the small webmaster wishing to overcome this hurtle, I managed to locate a software company which addresses this concern directly. eCHARGE(TM) Corporation, of Seattle, WA(USA) and Vancouver, BC(CANADA) offers software which allows your visitors to charge their purchases to their telephone bill.
[DISCLAIMER: I have not yet received a demonstration version of this product. I did see it demonstrated on the exhibit floor. I had some concerns about their target market, which I questioned them extensively about, and felt that the personnel at WDD '98 seems elusive and slightly unprepared. This was only my judgment. I advise both Canadian and U.S. webmasters to investigate the company and its product for themselves.]
From the eCHARGE(TM) FAQ:
How does it work?
The eCHARGE system is an Internet fornt-end to the premium number Telco billing(800/900) network. The system, by way of an eCHARGE Client, eCHARGE Server and the Telco 900 billing network, allows users surfing the Net to conduct transactions on the Net and obtain digital information and other items that meet the FCC Tariff regulations. The users are being billed for their transactions on their local telephone bills.
In This Writers judgment, this is a product with a finite shelf-life. I don't believe ANYONE will be using telephonic billing five years from now. But if you want a quick e-commerce solution at a reasonable price, this product might just work for you.
G21 NEWS:
IRISH EYES: JOE O'NEILL on the debut of a new Song of Peace, for Ireland, at the Guinness Fleadh in San Jose, CA, on June 28, by Belfast men, Ciarán Mac Gowan, who comes from the Nationalist tradition, and Jim Crone from the Loyalist community.
POWERSBOOKS: BOB POWERS covers Misadventures in the (213), The Greatest Benfit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity, The Lynching of Cleo Wright, and Chicks on Film. Buy one or all of these titles with YOUR Special G21-BarnesandNoble.com discount on the POWERSBOOKS page!
CRUNCHTIME: G21 SPORTS has WALLY WORTS back in the saddle on WORLD CUP FUTBOL.
ON DRUGS: ADAM J. SMITH talks about the "The New L-Word" and how you should respond.
TABLOID HART: The talk of the trailer parks of America can be found right here. Enquiring Minds Know the Truth is Out There. This Week: "CyberMom: Wanted Felon?"
BarnesandNoble SEARCH: Every writer here still reads offline. We support Barnes and Noble and hope you will, too. This is the place to find the best and brightest!
