NCSA has developed a software suite that allows novices to edit and manage content directly on a website and corporations to maximize the efficiency of both the users in their organization and of their content management system. This comprehensive software solution is ideal for individuals, small businesses and large corporations alike, since it provides any worker with the power to easily create, update, organize, and modify content.Thus families and small businesses, including home-based businesses, gain the ability to set up and maintain a web presence, and large corporations free up the time of their IT personnel to focus on other more difficult and time consuming technology issues.
Editable Web Browser (EWB)
EWB allows highly simplified, real-time creation and editing of Web pages by authorized users. Rather than relying on a webmaster to make changes or post content, authorized users can now create and maintain a website or particular web pages themselves.Tasks such as adding new pages, correcting typos, and updating time sensitive information can be performed in the Web-browser environment with which they are already familiar. Documents are edited on the user's machine and transferred to the Web server, but to the user, EWB appears to make changes instantly on the Web server. EWB also can be used to create Web pages from scratch, providing a friendly interface for users who are not tech savvy.
Online Document Sharing/Collaboration
Ideal for small companies, clubs, and other organizations, allowing them to publish to the World Wide Web via a single mouse click. Users can intuitively create remote shared files with an integrated multilevel security system to enable online collaboration. If desired, these shared files can be made easily accessable via a Web browser or by using a Windows or Unix client.
Online Database Creation and Management
Users with little or no database knowledge can create Web-accessible databases and easily populate and search them. Users can select the field types-text, numbers, dates, images, etc.- naming them and easily uploading the relevant content. Most currently available Web-based database creation tools require the user to design and manage both the database and a set of HTML pages for accessing that database. This software provides a database with built-in Web support, allowing one-click creation of search and browse pages. Conversely, the user can choose to create their own HTML code by hand or by using the Editable Web Browser as an advanced option for presenting the database.
Digital Multimedia Management
Create "albums" containing digital multimedia files (digital multimedia files containing photos, video, audio, etc.) and publish electronic galleries and scrapbooks on the Web quickly and easily. This software provides Web based scrapbooks, allowing users to interactively place content such as images and text with absolute positioning. These capabilities are further expanded by allowing users to make audio and freehand drawing annotations.
Content Management System (CMS) with Variable Predicate Targeting
Unlike static Web pages with permanent content, a CMS creates template-based Web pages, temporarily importing content (e.g., articles, product information) from a database into the template fields. This CMS is a unique design that provides a flexible environment for the rapid creation and deployment of database-driven Web sites. Novel user-developed applications can be easily incorporated into a working site that already contains the necessary supporting systems by use of simple plug-ins. A key element of this CMS is its "variable predicate content targeting system." Targeting involves changing how information is delivered according to time, the device being used to access the Web page(e.g., cell phone, personal digital assistant[PDA]), specifics about the person viewing the page, or other arbitrary criteria. This targeting system uses several novel techniques to provide an extremely flexible system that is considerably more powerful than existing systems, but in a much simpler and more user friendly form.