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Follow UsEric Auchard
NEW YORK: Microsoft, together with RealNames, a provider of simpler
"keyword" Internet search technology, on Thursday introduced one more
code, ironically in a quest to banish all codes and usher in an era of easier
natural-language searches.
The effort is one of the first outgrowths of the Universal Description,
Discovery and Integration (UDDI) standard that was introduced in April as part
of a broad-based Web services industry push led by Microsoft and IBM. Web
services promise to improve communication between disparate computer
applications and systems, allowing businesses to exchange electronic information
more efficiently and people to use data and services regardless of the software
used or the location of the data.
The announcement means Internet Explorer users can go directly to company Web
sites with simple keyword searches via the browser instead of scrolling through
a long list of results from a search site. "Keywords are poised to become
the digital name tag of choice for small and large business," said Nico
Popp, RealNames chief technology officer.
"We can now foresee a future where RealNames name services are central
to the next-generation Internet and the Internet Explorer browser becomes a
primary access point for anyone making inquiries about companies through
UDDI," Popp said. In addition, businesses can now easily add their products
and services to the UDDI directory.
Making Internet Explorer the Web services interface will speed development of
new applications since the browser is so universally accessible, said David
Smith, vice president of Internet strategies, at market research firm Gartner
Inc.
The UDDI directory will offer data about companies, products and services in
a consistent manner in much the same way white or yellow pages give standard
information about businesses; their name, address, telephone number and a
description of the services they offer.
Embedding keyword technology into the UDDI directory will simplify use of Web
services and further propel RealNames technology into the mainstream.
Results vary depending on countries
Users can ignore the standard HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) or WWW (world
wide web) and simply type UDDI, a blank space, and a company name like
"Microsoft" or "IBM" or a business category like
"Flowers" or "Travel," then hit the return key and up pops a
page of possible links. For example, users just type "UDDI Flowers" to
find flower shops.
While the Microsoft-RealNames effort is just one of dozens of rival efforts
to simplify the process of searching and finding useful information on the
Internet, the service is immediately available to the 87 percent of Internet
users who rely on Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser to surf the Web.
The UDDI features operate on Internet Explorer browsers from version 4.0 and
above, a Microsoft spokesman said.
Under the UDDI plan introduced on Thursday, Microsoft has enabled RealNames
Keywords as a UDDI identifier for companies and their products and services
throughout its UDDI registry site (http://uddi.microsoft.com
/ ).
RealNames also provides a one-click registration service for UDDI via its
channel of Keyword Registries and Registrars, simplifying the process for
companies to begin using the UDDI business directory. In a move to make searches
relevant, Internet Explorer search results vary depending on the nation where a
computer user lives. Users who search for flower shops in Finland see different
results than users in the United States or Singapore.
RealNames already sells search terms to companies so every time an Internet
Explorer user types "New York Times," for example, the user is whisked
off to the newspaper's site without needing to type "http://",
"www" or ".com" Another RealNames service allows Internet
Explorer users to go straight to the Nasdaq.com quote page to find information
on individual stocks by typing the word "Nasdaq" and the ticker symbol
of any stock.
Microsoft owns a 20 per cent stake in RealNames, a privately held firm that
is based in Redwood City, Calif. RealNames recently struck a similar deal with
OpenWave, the dominant supplier of browsers used on Internet-equipped mobile
phones that allows companies to reserve keyword searches within the phone
browser software that Internet-ready cell phones use.
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.