---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Florida SunFlash Third Party Product Announcements SunFLASH Vol 49 #10 January 1993 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advent IMAGER software supports Fujitsu M3096G SCSI scanner New OCR Product Announcement TCP/IP Printer Adapter requires no host software Description of Xerox's Analyst Product -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Advent IMAGER software supports Fujitsu M3096G SCSI scanner From: Graham Underwood Contact: Clare Bamforth clare@advent.co.uk Org: Advent Imaging Ltd Address: Rotten Row Hambleden Henley-on-Thames Oxon RG9 6NB England Tel: +44 491 411566 Fax: +44 491 411577 Advent Imaging Limited of Henley-on-Thames, England recently announced support for the 20 page per minute Fujitsu M3096G scanner as an addition to its IMAGER range. The Fujitsu M3096G has a SCSI interface and, using the IMAGER software, is compatible with all SPARC workstations. Support for the Fujitsu M3096G scanner emphasizes Advent's position as one of the leading imaging suppliers in the industry. The SCSI interface provides an alternative to the Advent ASI-60 SBus card for attaching the Fujitsu range of scanners. Whilst not providing as high a throughput as the ASI-60, and requiring additional compression cards in the scanner, the SCSI interface provides a mechanism for attaching a 20 page per minute Fujitsu scanner when an SBus slot is not available. The IMAGER scanning software can be used to capture documents measuring from A5 up to A3, including US Letter, Double Letter and Legal sizes. Any user specified scan area can be defined, allowing selective scanning of portions of pages. The Fujitsu M3096G scanner provides facilities for single sheet (flatbed) scanning or multi-sheet scanning at up to 20 pages per minute using an automatic document feeder. Documents can be scanned at resolutions of between 200 and 400 dots per inch, or up to 1600 dots per inch using an optional Image Processing card. IMAGER can be used to capture high quality images from many sources. As a document is scanned, each page can be viewed on the screen or scanning speed can be maximized by viewing only the first page of a document and scanning subsequent pages without displaying them. Options include an Optical Character Recognition module and a powerful image editor. IMAGER supports ALL the features of the Fujitsu M3096G scanner, including:- -Capture of images at 200, 300 and 400 dots per inch -Interpolated image resolution up to 1600 dots per inch with optional Image Processing card -Line mode for capturing high contrast and detailed documents. -Dither patterns for capturing photographs -Mixed mode scanning allowing automatic detection of line and photograph scanning over different portions of a page. -Batch scanning using the Automatic Document Feeder allowing unattended operation for bulk document scanning -Density and Threshold controls -Noise filtering and smoothing controls -Emphasis control for improving image contrast -Brightness control IMAGER is built upon imaging software developed by Advent over an eight year period. Software features of IMAGER include :- -High performance SCSI device driver specifically tuned to give maximum throughput from the M3096G scanner. -High performance image display software providing pan, zoom and shrink capabilities under user control. -Image enhancement (also known as scale to grey) in which color and grayscale monitors are used to improve the legibility of monochrome images when displayed at reduced resolution. This allows text as small as 6 point to be read from an A sized document scanned at 300 dots per inch and displayed on a standard workstation monitor. -Support for a wide range of file and compression formats -Application is completely configurable from a user's defaults allowing scanning parameters, paper sizes etc. to be specified. -Double sided scanning with automatic page collation COMPATIBILITY IMAGER supports a wide range of image file formats including TIFF, Sunraster, RLC, DSI and GIF. Images can be compressed using CCITT Group3, CCITT Group4, run length encoding, LZW and JPEG techniques. Advent Imaging's strict conformance to the standards for image file and compression format means that the files generated by IMAGER are easily incorporated into most popular desktop publishing and DIP applications. IMAGER is available for SPARC systems running SunOS 4.1 or later and OpenWindows 2.0 or later. FOR INTEGRATORS AND DEVELOPERS IMAGER is also available in toolkit form so that developers and systems integrators can integrate the Fujitsu M3096G scanner into new or existing applications. The Developer's Toolkit comes with the source code of a complete ready-to-use program and, using the example code as a base, scanning can be incorporated into another application within hours. The Fujitsu M3096G Developer's Toolkit API is compatible with the Advent ASI-60 toolkit interface which provides connectivity to the rest of the Fujitsu M309x range using the Advent ASI-60 SBus card. Systems integrators using the ASI-60 interface can add the support for the Fujitsu M3096G to their applications with minimal effort. AVAILABILITY IMAGER for the Fujitsu M3096G is available now. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: OCR New Product Announcement From: balasco@auratek.com (Alfred P. Balasco) Org: AURORA TECHNOLOGIES INC. Tel: (617) 290-4800 Fax: (617) 290-4844 AURORA ADDS OCR CAPABILITY TO ITS SPARC IMAGING AND DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS Full featured software extends SPARC power to office and business productivity applications WALTHAM, MA - December 9, 1992 - Aurora Technologies, Inc. today announced sOCRates OCR for SPARC, adding full-featured optical character recognition (OCR) functionality to SPARC systems and Hewlett-Packard ScanJet II scanners. The company also introduced FirstScan/sOCRates OCR for SPARC, combining OCR capability with the company's popular FirstScan image-capture software. These new products extend Aurora's popular imaging and document management product line into mainstream business applications, such as forms processing, information acquisition, and document management. sOCRates accomplishes in minutes, what data entry staffs need hours or even days to complete: sOCRates automatically converts text images of any font or type style from a broad range of printed materials -- including draft-quality dot matrix, typewritten, facsimile, laser printed and multi-generation photocopies -- into computer-readable ASCII text. Based on Calera Recogni- tion Systems' award-winning OCR technology, sOCRates provides up to 99.9% character recognition accuracy. The converted text can be used directly by a wide variety of SPARC desktop application software, including databases, spreadsheets, document publishing, email, and word processors. sOCRates' intuitive "point-and-click" OPEN LOOK interface allows both new and experienced users to easily take advantage of the software's built-in features. A powerful forms processing tool simplifies data capture from custom business forms like questionnaires and applications, allowing easy creation and modification of text and image databases. An editor, for example could use sOCRates to translate paragraphs or sections of this document for direct input into newsletters or articles by outlining only the text blocks he needs. sOCRates will identify and convert only the selected text. FirstScan/sOCRates OCR for SPARC integrates sOCRates' features with the capability to scan and capture high-quality text and graphic images from many sources including faxes, engineering documents, business reports, newspapers and line drawings. "As prices come down and accuracy increases with today's OCR programs such as sOCRates, we see OCR entering the business application arena for UNIX workstations," said Tim Haney, Marketing Manager of HP's Greeley Hardcopy Division. "With FirstScan/sOCRates and the HP ScanJet scanner, users can enjoy the versatility of text and image scanning - all in one convenient package." According to Dennis Daudelin, Aurora Technologies' President, "Aurora's introduction of these cost effective, feature-rich imaging and OCR solutions is another step forward for the corporate world where the power of SPARC systems is being utilized with increasing frequency for office and business productivity applications. OCR functionality is the ideal adjunct to SPARC desktop applications like Lotus 1-2-3, Wordperfect, Framemaker, and Interleaf." Both software packages install with a single command, and include a helpful User's Guide along with the company's standard comprehensive one year warranty. sOCRates includes the following productivity features: Omnifont Recognition - documents of virtually any font, typeface, and font style are recognized automatically without requiring system `training'. Other OCR products require time-consuming system training sessions for new fonts and styles. sOCRates also reads portrait, landscape and multi-column pages with ease. Forms Processing - using the powerful Template Definition tools, users can easily create page recognition zone templates that automatically capture data from specific sections of standard forms. Users have complete control of the processing order of the template zones, and there's virtually no limit to the number of text, image, or numeric zones per page. Specialized Vocabularies - easily add new words to the Recognition Dictionary for automatic recognition of specialized terms, such as those found in medical, legal, engineering, financial, or insurance vocabularies. Fast Proofing - display the original scanned image and converted text side-by-side with the Verifier window for effortless on-screen proofing. Command-line Control - users can control many of sOCRates' features via the command-line interface, allowing inexpensive ASCII terminals to process pages and create shell scripts for unattended or batch operation when using the HP Automatic Document Feeder. PRICING: sOCRates OCR for SPARC comes with OCR software, comprehensive documentation, and a one year warranty. List price is $1995.00 FirstScan/sOCRates OCR for SPARC comes complete with FirstScan image-capture and sOCRates OCR software, SCSI device driver, comprehensive documentation, a high-quality 6' SCSI cable, a pass-through terminator, and a one year warranty. List price is $2495.00. AVAILABILITY: December 1992 COMPATIBILITY: SPARC systems running SunOS 4.1 and higher. OpenWindows 2.0 and higher, Motif Window Manager, and X-Windows. HP ScanJet IIc (color and grayscale) and IIp (grayscale) scanners. Full support for the HP Automatic Document Feeder. Aurora Technologies, Inc., develops and markets a complete range of SPARC workstation performance enhancement and expansion products. These include SBus peripheral servers and SBus expansion devices, communications and networking products, and imaging and OCR software. Founded in 1988 by members of Sun's marketing and engineering teams, Aurora is a member of SPARC International and Sun Microsystems' third party developer Catalyst program. # # # SPARC is a registered trademark of SPARC International. FirstScan and sOCRates OCR for SPARC are trademarks of Aurora Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the proprietary property of their respective owners. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newsgroups: comp.newprod From: fff@microplex.com (Fred Fierling) Subject: TCP/IP Printer Adapter requires no host software Reply-To: info@microplex.com Organization: Microplex Systems Ltd Address: 265 East 1st Avenue Vancouver, BC Canada V5T 1A7 Tel: 1 800 665-7798 Tel: 1 604 875-1461 Fax: 1 604 875-9029 Email: info@microplex.com TCP/IP PRINTER ADAPTERS REQUIRE NO HOST SOFTWARE Microplex Systems Ltd., Vancouver, BC, announces version 3.0 of their M200/M201 Ethernet Printer Adapters featuring TCP/IP, Telnetd, LPD, RSHD, routing tables, and subnet masking to simplify network printing in heterogeneous LAN and WAN environments. Special host software is no longer needed with 3.0 so that any Unix system, DOS PC, proprietary mini, or mainframe using Telnet, BSD LPD, System V RSHD, or direct TCP/IP sockets can configure and send print files to the M200/M201. Print files need not be spooled to a designated Unix host or workstation reducing CPU overhead, network traffic, and printing time. Telnetd has been added to permit any system with Telnet to access and configure the M200/M201 parameters, load IP addressing, and obtain status of ports and attached printers. A routing table is now available in the M200/M201 to provide WAN access to printers, and the addition of subnet masking makes these units suitable for use in multiple subnets. LPD access lists and password protection at the root and user levels have been included to prevent unauthorized access or use of the print servers. The parallel port throughput has been increased to over 100,000 characters per second, and the M200/M201's dual 38,400 bps serial ports are now bidirectional for improved PostScript printer status monitoring. The M200 provides Thick and Thin, and the M201 provides Thick and 10Base-T UTP Ethernet Connections. Other features offered by version 3.0 firmware include: - log reports of jobs printed - queue manipulation - queue information (such as user ID and percentage of job processed) - PostScript page counting - LPD configuration. A daemon is supplied with each unit to permit bi-directional communication through pseudo tty's to remote serial printers. NPD permits printer interface programs such as Adobe's Transcript to acquire printer status information. Version 3.0 of the M200 and M201 is currently shipping, delivery on new orders is 3 to 4 weeks ARO. For additional information, please contact us. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: kiewiet.xsis@xerox.com Subject: Analyst Product Description VENDOR NAME: Xerox Special Information Systems ADDRESS: 250 North Halstead St., P O Box 7018 Pasadena, CA 91109 TELEPHONE: (818) 351-4413 FAX: (818) 351-4496 SALES OFFICE(S):Pasadena, California (818) 351-2351 Arlington, Virginia (703) 247-6900 CONTACTS: SALES MANAGER: R. Craig Smith (818) 351-4413 EAST COAST SALES: Wellington Pitts (703) 247-6964 TECHNICAL: Lorraine Kiewiet (818) 351-4441 PRODUCT NAME(S): ANALYST Combines intelligent hyperlinking with integrated applications into a comprehensive information management solution that is extendible and portable across industry standard platforms. Integrated applications employ a uniform graphical user interface (GUI). Modules include documents, databases, spreadsheets, forms, business graphics, sketches, images, maps, and outlines. Items can be stored and retrieved automatically according to type, links, keywords, and/or full text searches. Printing, networking, and data security are also provided. Versions of the software are available for both end users and application developers. BENEFITS SUMMARY: FEATURE: Object Oriented Technology FUNCTION: Ability to reuse and share software modules and data BENEFIT: Speed of development and reduced maintenance costs for programmers, speed of access to multiple types of data for end-users FEATURE: Integrated applications FUNCTION: Copy/Cut/Paste/Search/Keyword/Text string & similar commands BENEFIT: Hyper-Data links, graphics, text, other objects can be pasted into application windows. For example: paste active Forms into Documents, Databases or Images into Spreadsheets, any data item reference into Forms or Documents. FEATURE: Shared Information Centers FUNCTION: Enables multi-platform workgroups to share data BENEFIT: Facilitates cooperative processing FEATURE: Portable and scalable FUNCTION: Heterogeneous platform support BENEFIT: Applications and data support on Sun SPARCstation, HP 9000, IBM RS/6000, DECstation, Apple Macintosh and Quadra, 386 and above PCs under Windows (OS/2 and NeXT to be available in 1993) FEATURE: DE and RT versions FUNCTION: Development Environment provides Smalltalk programming environment and Analyst source code; RunTime version provides ready to use applications for end-users BENEFIT: DE versions can be modified and redeployed through purchase of RT licenses and 'runtimizer' software to protect source code ASSISTANT (Module of Analyst ) An intelligent rule-based information reorganization tool that Analyst uses to search for patterns the user defines, create new links based on those patterns, and inform the user about these new links. HUMBLE (stand alone or Analyst module) An advanced object-oriented expert system development tool, which meets the needs of diverse users through a rich set of features and an easy to use interface. Full source code is provided. TRACE: To: sunflash@suntri Errors-to: owner-sunflash@suntri.east.sun.com