Appian Carta / Kiosk - Press release

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 29, 1996

APPIAN Web Publishing Suite Additions:
Live Mapping and Public-Access Kiosk

APPIAN Interactive Corporation

9 Antares Drive, Nepean, ON K2E 7V5              
voice: (613) 225-4242	fax: (613)225-5262

APPIAN Interactive Corporation, a world leader in the field of corporate information dissemination, rounded out its multimedia publishing suite today by releasing two further innovations.

APPIAN Carta custom draws, overlays and queries maps from remote or local databases using fast vector graphics. Carta merges geo-referenced raster and vector data with conventional HTML to create a Web-enabled mapping system.

APPIAN Kiosk simplifies the creation of standalone and networked public-access kiosks. Kiosk broadens the reach of public-access information to include selected Websites, and, when used in tandem with other APPIAN products, live databases.

These latest APPIAN multimedia publishing products are compatible with all major UNIX Web servers, and with all major RDBMS database servers. All APPIAN publishing suite products can serve as helper applications to the Web.

...Detailed Product Descriptions...

APPIAN "CARTA" APPIAN Carta custom-generates maps, performing live, secure queries against all major RDBMS servers. Carta custom-draws users' mapping queries using vector graphics, making it faster and more interactive than importing pre-existing GIF or JPEG files. Carta is based on HTML and SQL, so applications can be constructed quickly and maintained easily.

Results are displayed as points, lines, areas and raster basemaps. Legends are created automatically. The user can query the attributes of specific points by clicking on them. Multiple queries can be layered on top of one another to create a composite map. APPIAN Carta can function in local or networked mode.

"Carta provides an ideal map interface to Web browsers. It
provides consumers of geo-spatial data with the ability to quickly identify and retrieve specific data holdings from any Web-enabled data warehouse," says Jim Rawlings, President and CEO of NDI Data Warehouse Technologies, Inc. NDI/DWT provides specialty services to assist organizations, systems integrators and GIS firms develop and deploy data warehouse information systems successfully.

APPIAN "KIOSK" APPIAN Kiosk is customizable, ready-to-use public-access kiosk technology based on lessons learned from the Web. It can be used in standalone, Intranet, or Internet conditions. Kiosk can be locked into specified outside Web sites, which allows users access to a wide new range of information, while preventing unauthorized surfing. The kiosk presentation can make use of all industry-standard and extended Pythia HTML features, including graphics, audio, video, and hyperlink access to other page selections, Websites or database choices.  

When combined with other APPIAN products, it custom-generates live database information from remote or local servers, as graphs, charts,reports or maps.

Other features of APPIAN Kiosk include: a pop-up `virtual keyboard' to enter information into fill-in forms; an `attract mode,' which cycles selected pages if the kiosk is inactive for a specified period of time; movies embedded in the page, and precisely positioned, instead of in a distracting `pop-up' window; text overlaid on top of images (useful when a choice of languages is offered). Navigation is simplified by using large, `pushable' touchscreen buttons to highlight hypertext choices. Formats include MPEG, Quicktime, and Video for Windows.

"Kiosk has extended public information retrieval as never
before possible," says Richard Crutchlow, President of APPIAN Interactive Corporation.

Carta and Kiosk come on the heels of two earlier innovations, Consul and Install. APPIAN Consul is a Web-enabled custom-report builder with charting, graphing, and live database capabilities. APPIAN Install automatically and invisibly installs software over the Web, and can use APPIAN Pythia's advanced HTML features -such as video, audio, and precise positioning - in disk or CD promotional material.

(See Website for previous press release.)

The technology on which this product line is based has been in continuous commercial use since 1994. For a live demonstration, please see our Website.

For more information, please contact:

9 Antares Drive, Nepean, Ontario K2E 7V5 voice: (613) 225-4242 fax: (613) 225-5262 http://pythia.com; email: info_at_pythia.com Received on Tue Jul 02 1996 - 00:00:00 CEST