News Briefs and Product Shorts

Let BOScom Replace Your Dumb Terminals and PCs

Whether you are still using dumb terminals or have already made the move to full PCs, BOScom has a way to move you to the thin-client architecture. At the recent COMMON conference in San Antonio, the company announced two new hardware offerings and one new software offering that can bring customers into the world of thin-client computing. The new BOSaNOVA Thin PC is a $99 software offering that turns any PC into a locked-down thin client that can be managed remotely. "This new product allows enterprises to preserve their investment in existing PC hardware while migrating to a more manageable, cost-effective, and virus-free environment," says Martin Pladgeman, president of BOSaNOVA, the North American distributor of BOScom products. The company also rounded out its young line of thin-client terminals with the new Linux-based BOSaNOVA TBT-350 terminal and the Windows CE.net-based BOSaNOVA WTC-350 terminal. The company says both are good choices for replacing green-screen terminals with LAN-attached thin clients. Both 350-series terminals are based on the SiS 550 chipset, provide 5250 and Citrix emulators, can be used to connect to a variety of host systems, and start at $399. For more information, go to www.bosweb.com.

Original Speeds Web App Testing with TestWEB 2.0

Original Software has issued a new release of TestWEB, a record and playback tool for testing Web applications through a Web browser. Original says TestWEB 2.0, announced two weeks ago, will run much faster, thanks to new its "single thread" script recording technology and new "BusySense" playback technology. TestWEB has also been expanded to capture and display all the properties of the objects or components it tests on a Web page, which, the company says, enhances screen error detection by highlighting the parts that have changed between script runs. Original also has developed a new interface for TestWEB that combines content, properties, and input reports with a graphic representation of the page. TestWEB supports Web applications running on OS/400 and integrates with Original's TestBench suite to provide a full spectrum of testing of OS/400 applications. It also will test any Web-based applications served from SQL Server, Oracle, and Access databases, and integrates with Original's new TestPLAN product.

Geac Introduces Business Intelligence Software for System21

Geac announced new Windows-based business intelligence software for the System21 ERP suite last week. The new Performance Management product line, based on the MPC software that Geac obtained in its acquisition of Comshare last year, is designed to tighten the linkage between a company's business strategy and its actual execution. For its OS/400-based ERP system, Geac announced two specific Performance Management modules, including System21 Performance Analyzer, which allows users to set, monitor, and analyze goals using System21 financial data, and System21 Budget Management, which also pulls data from the System21 Financials module and allows users to collaborate on the budgeting process. In addition to System21, Geac rolled out Performance Management software for its other applications, including SmartStream, AMSI, and EnterpriseServer.

Surround Technologies Integrates ZIP Codes with Contact Manager

Surround Technologies is now shipping a new version of Contact Management, an OS/400 application it developed to help companies manage their contact information, such as names, phone numbers, mailing addresses, e-mail addresses, and Web addresses. With Contact Management 2.0, Surround is including an interface to its Zip/Postal Code (ZPC) product, which provides full ZIP code and postal information for cities, states, and countries. Other new features with this release of Contact Management include a preview pane on the user interface, a "history" explorer bar, a place to add remarks about a contact, and improved security, the company says. Surround says that Contact Management, which the company built using Envision Visual LANSA Accelerator (EVLA) software, can integrate with any software application.

DPS Addresses Picking and Packing with Zap WMS

Data Processing Services recently announced a new release of its OS/400-based warehouse management system, called Zap WMS. The Indianapolis company says users will find the following new features in Zap WMS 3.0: an interface to automated storage and retrieval systems with "pick-to-light" features; new dynamic location determination capabilities for storing inventory in the most efficient way possible; new user-defined "pick rule" sets; new "location blocking" capabilities; expiration-date tracking for accommodating product shelf-life requirements; and new "footpath efficiencies." Zap WMS 3.0 is available now.

Manhattan Associates Dances with the i5/OS Who Brought It

Manhattan Associates did right by its roots when it was among the first independent software vendors to announce support for i5/OS V5R3, the new release of OS/400. While the Georgia software company, which had revenues of nearly $200 million last year, has plotted a predominantly Microsoft .NET development course of late, its success was born nevertheless on the back of PkMS, its rock-solid warehouse management system for the AS/400, which was renamed simply WMS a year ago. "The OS/400 platform plays a substantial role in the supply chain industry, and we are excited to have been one of the first to test the next generation, i5/OS V5R3," Ed Reynolds, vice president of product development for Manhattan Associates, said. "We found i5/OS to be an impressive platform, with rich new functionality. This, combined with IBM's new eServer i5 servers, provides a powerful infrastructure to support our clients' needs." Manhattan Associates also recently announced the 2004R1 release of its entire suite of software.