COLE'S NEWSWIRE, Sept. 16, 1998

Sept. 16, 1998
Vol. 4, No. 37

The NEWSWIRE is a weekly distribution of information about the sales and installations of publishing technology and the latest news on new products developed by suppliers to the industry.

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ADOBE SYSTEMS INC.
Adobe, the San Jose-based supplier of desktop publishing tools, has introduced Adobe PostScript Extreme, a digital printing workflow product that streamlines production. Using Portable Document Format (PDF) files and Adobe Portable Job Tickets, Extreme assists commercial printers with automated page imposition and trapping, distributed workflow tasks, last-minute editing of PDF files and printing parameters, and output control through multiple RIPs.

The company also announced that Quark Inc. had dropped its bid to acquire the company (see item below).

Adobe is on the World-Wide Web at http://www.adobe.com/.

CTEXT INC.
CText, a publishing systems supplier based in Ann Arbor, Mich., has announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire North Plains Systems Inc. of Brampton, Ontario, with the acquisition to be completed by the end of October.

North Plains makes TeleScope, a digital asset management system, and has expertise in cross-platform product support. Other North Plains products include TeleScope.web, a tool for managing web-based digital assets, and SpyGlass, a stand-alone media asset manager.

North Plains will be operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary, continuing to be based in its current offices in Canada. CText is on the World-Wide Web at http://www.ctext.com/.

HARLEQUIN GROUP PLC
Cambridge, England-based Harlequin has announced an OEM agreement with Compaq Computer Corp. of Houston under which the two companies will jointly develop a front-end system for color printing using a Digital Alpha computer running Windows NT as the platform. The PostScript-based solution will drive color laser printers, offering such features as duplexing and tray-switching.

Harlequin, which has U.S. offices in Cambridge, Mass., Seattle and Menlo Park, Calif., is on the Web at http://www.harlequin.com/. Compaq is at http://www.compaq.com/.

INFINET INC.
InfiNet, a newspaper-oriented Internet services provider based in Norfolk, Va., has introduced PollGadget, a product for polling web-based readers on-line and using the results in localized web- and print-based products.

Real-time polls can be set up in a matter of minutes for use in all content areas, such as breaking or local news, sports and business. PollGadget combats ballot-box stuffing by preventing users from casting a ballot more than once every 10 minutes.

InfiNet is on the Web at http://www.infi.net/.

INSO CORP.
Boston-based Inso, a supplier of digital asset management tools, has released MediaBank Version 2.5. New features include thumbnail display of PDF files, text searching within PDF files and an optional module, FullSearch, a search engine for retrieving data from text-based files in PDF and Microsoft Word format.

Version 2.5 also offers support for additional file formats such as Adobe Photoshop, support for Imation Color Central color management products and full TCP/IP communication between MediaBank servers and web servers.

Inso also has introduced Quick View Plus 5.0, an application sold to corporations that expedites information exchange by enabling users to view, print and copy files from more than 200 formats. A separate, single-user version is planned for release soon.

Inso is on the Web at http://www.inso.com/.

MANHEIM AUCTIONS
Atlanta-based Manheim, a unit of the Internet, publishing and broadcasting company Cox Enterprises Inc., has announced that its on-line auction service has notched $200 million in sales over the Internet. The site, operated by Manheim Online at http://www.manheim.com/, has sold more than 10,000 vehicles in two years. Current sales volume averages $1 million a day, with more than 7000 dealers participating.

NETGRAVITY
NetGravity, a supplier of on-line ad management and direct-marketing tools based in San Mateo, Calif., has announced enhancements to its AdServer product line. New features include intelligent geographic targeting, more advanced reporting assets and improved performance.

A new tool in AdServer 3.5, GeoTargeting, can be used to assess and better use the geographic information provided by web site visitors in targeting the delivery of advertising messages. Other new features make it easier to schedule and deliver on-line ads.

The new release will be available for delivery by the end of October. NetGravity is on the Web at http://www.netgravity.com/.

NEWSINC.
The bottom line needs to make room for values as an asset, writes NEWSINC. Editor and Publisher David M. Cole in the Sept. 14 issue of the newsletter. Citing the recent sale of Guy Gannett Communications' Maine newspapers to the Seattle Times Co., Cole notes that some assets are intangible, but clearly play a role in determining the true value of a media property.

Inside, Senior Editor Pete Wetmore details the Guy Gannett sale, scans the country for new ways to win campaign advertising dollars, talks with an executive of a start-up community newspaper publishing company and writes of a new evening paper in Colorado. Also, Correspondent Jon Fine takes an in-depth look at hedging on the cost of newsprint -- who does it and why.

For more about the Sept. 14 issue of NEWSINC., visit The Cole Group on the Web at http://colegroup.com/.

QUARK INC.
Denver-based Quark, a supplier of page layout and multimedia applications, has announced it has dropped its bid to acquire Adobe Systems Inc. of San Jose. Privately-held Quark had notified Adobe in August of its intention to try to acquire the maker of desktop publishing tools but was rebuffed.

Quark said that since Adobe declined even to discuss a possible merger, it would not pursue a hostile takeover bid. Adobe said it was pleased Quark had decided to abandon the idea.

Quark is on the Web at http://www.quark.com/. Adobe is at http://www.adobe.com/.

TOTAL SPORTS
New York-based Total Sports, a provider of sports information to web sites, delivered news of St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire's record-breaking 62nd home run to Knight Ridder New Media's Real Cities sites four seconds after the ball landed in fair territory.

Total Sports, led by former newspaper executive and CEO Frank Daniels III, will stand ready to provide similar breaking news to the 11 Real Cities sites as this historic baseball season draws to a close. Total Sports' Baseball Totalcasts are co-branded and promoted in the 11 newspapers whose web sites are carrying the on-line updates.

Total Sports is on the Web at http://www.totalsports.net/. Major League Baseball Totalcasts may be accessed through the web site of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS at http://www.mercurycenter.com/.

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COLE'S NEWSWIRE is compiled by Pete Wetmore and distributed by The Cole Group, publishers of THE COLE PAPERS and NEWSINC., and consultants to newspapers and magazines worldwide. To receive more information about The Cole Group, send e-mail to: info@colegroup.com.

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