WS without MS: Microsoft revokes Passport service

WS Revolution: Amazon - Giving Away the Store

WS : An Extensive Examination of Web Services (Part 1)

SOA & WS : Book - Understanding SOA with Web services

EC Call for Proposals:  Semantic based Knowledge and Content Systems

The fourth IST call for proposals under the FP6 programm, launched Novembe '04, includes 'Semantic based Knowledge and Content Systems' as one of the Strategic Objectives (SO 2.4.7) of the next phase of funding. Deadline for the call is 22 March 2005. Further information is available from this background document. Additional background info from the EC pages.

WS collaboration:  Microsoft and Sun: Détente Takes Time

Sun Microsystems and Microsoft officials said they have reached a number of significant milestones since announcing their landmark settlement and technical collaboration agreement. Still, eight months later, there is evidence of few tangible deliverables.

WS apps: BEA Diablo WebLogic Server Beta Available For Download

BEA's Diablo application server supports the latest industry standards such as J2EE 1.4 and the latest Web services standards, and helps developers create portable and interoperable applications.

WS business: eBay Continues Acquisition of Varied Web Services

In this latest acquisition, eBay has agreed to buy Rent.com for $415 million.

SOA ruminations :  Thinking about SOA (again)

W3C recommendation :  W3C Publishes Web Architecture

WS Humour :  Web Services Takes Over the World

WS Q&S :  Web Service Quality, Security, and Manageability -The Need for Automated Error Prevention & Standards Compliance

Building and deploying secure and reliable Web services is one of the most vexing challenges facing enterprises today. Thisn article explains how quality can now be built into all Web services development process much earlier in the process, thereby avoiding potential headaches later on.

WS Standards :  W3C Publishes First Three WS-Addressing Spec Working Drafts

The Web Services Addressing Working Group has released three first Public Working Drafts: Web Services Addressing - Core, WSDL Binding and SOAP Binding .

Interoperability:  WS-I Launches Advocates Program

The Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I) has announced the introduction of the WS-I Advocates Program, a newly launched recognition opportunity for companies that support the work of WS-I.

WS security:  Kenai doubles its Web services security profile
Startup Kenai Systems Inc. has released its second product, eXamineST, which inspects Web services messages and gives developers the ability to import WSDL files and test them for compliance with the WS-Security standard.

Web architecture:  World Wide Web Consortium Issues "Architecture of the World Wide Web, Volume One" as a W3C Recommendation

The authors, W3C's Technical Architecture Group (TAG), have documented the architectural principles that make the Web of today work well, and will help build a better Web tomorrow. Future publications will include lessons learned from integrating Web services, the Semantic Web, and mobile Web.

SW apps:  The semantics of fighting financial fraud online

The EU-funded FF POIROT project underlines the power of online semantic knowledge bases to help law enforcement agencies and financial regulators detect, investigate and prevent financial fraud.

WS apps:  StrikeIron Continues to Gain Momentum with More Financial Services Offerings
StrikeIron™ Inc. has announced the availability of four additional financial management Web services to its expanding network.

WS alliances:  IBM Expands SOA Practice With AmberPoint Web Services Products

AmberPoint has announced a global reseller agreement with IBM under which IBM Global Services will offer AmberPoint's Web services management products as part of its recently launched SOA Management Practice.

WS specs:  Industry Leaders Demonstrate WS-Context Interoperability

IONA Technologies, along with Arjuna and Oracle, have announced the successful public demonstration of WS-Context, an important Web services specification that has been approved by OASIS as a WS-CAF Committee Draft.

WS trends:  Looking Back at Web Services, Part 1
SearchWebServices.com columnist Preston Gralla examines the big trends for Web services in 2004. In Part 2, he will look forward to what can we expect from the technology in 2005.

SW apps:  Semantic Web Touts Improved Data Sharing

W3C has targeted the life sciences as an ideal application area for Semantic Web technology, where it aims to eliminate much of the manual work required to get at data today.

Web Ontology:  OWL-S Web Ontology Language Spec Submitted to W3C

OWL-S, according to the submission abstract, is "an OWL-based Web service ontology, which supplies a core set of markup language constructs for describing the properties and capabilities of Web services in unambiguous, computer-intepretable form. OWL-S markup of Web services will facilitate fuller automation of Web service tasks, such as Web service discovery, execution, composition and interoperation.

WSE 2.0:  Web Services Enhancements (WSE) 2.0 SP2 Released

WSE is a vehicle for Microsoft to get the most recent implementation of the WS-* specifications out to its developers.

EC Call for Proposals:  Semantic based Knowledge and Content Systems

The fourth IST call for proposals under the FP6 programme includes 'Semantic based Knowledge and Content Systems' as one of the Strategic Objectives (SO 2.4.7) of the next phase of funding. Deadline for the call is 22 March 2005. Further information is available from this technical background document. Additional background info from the EC pages.

WS infrastructure:  IBM Refreshes CICS For Web Services, J2EE

IBM is breathing new life into existing CICS, by adding support for Web services and Java applications.

WS platforms:  Cape Clear Unveils Upgrade of Web Services Platform

Cape Clear Software has unveiled an upgrade of its web services integration platform that supports creation, deployment and management of business processes.

WS specs:  BPEL committee closer to final draft

OASIS technical committee co-chair Diane Jordan, program manager in emerging Internet standards at IBM Corp., talks to SearchWebServices.com about where BPEL stands and its importance to the innovation of Web services.

WS patents:  Ghost of Commerce One Looms Over Web Services

39 of the company's e-commerce technology patents are being auctioned off in bankruptcy court. Could they be used in infringement lawsuits against today's Web services technology vendors?

WS apps:  StrikeIron Expands Data Quality Offerings with Three New 24-Hour Accurate Directory Information Web Services

StrikeIron™ Inc., developer of the innovative StrikeIron Web Services Business Network™ (WSBizNet™), has announced the availability of three additional data quality Web services to its expanding network.

SW debate:  On Folly

XML.com columnist Edd Dumbill asks whether true believers in XML-oriented programming languages and the Semantic Web, who have been targets of mockery in their time, might be right after all.

WS Infrastructure:  Was the Universal Service Registry a Dream?

A regrouping is taking place right now across the software industry and is focused on the problem space of Web service description, discovery, and integration.

WS Legal:  Web services patents fetch $15.5 million

A mysterious bidder paid $15.5 million in a bankruptcy court auction of dozens of Internet-related patents - and then rushed out of the courtroom.

WS Apps:  Oracle launches major app server upgrade

Oracle is introducing Oracle Application Server 10g Release 2 at its OpenWorld conference, with RFID backing as new and improvements in Java, web services and identity managementn.

Interoperability:  Sun shines on interoperability progress with Microsoft

Microsoft and Sun have declared some progress in achieving interoperability citing co-operation on web services standardisation and deployment of Windows on Sun systems.

WS Design:  Use XML databases to empower Java Web services

This article discusses the design and use of service-oriented architectures in the enterprise, and provides an alternative approach to architecting such solutions by integrating a native XML operational data store.

Standards:  W3C focuses on future at 10th anniversary meeting

Speakers described events leading to the creation of the Web and the W3C, and looked forward to future developments including the Semantic Web.

WS Tools:  New Eclipse Plug-in From IBM Visualizes Web Services

IBM has released a Rational Application Developer (RAD) plug-in, that interactively visualizes Web services transactions. The WS Navigator plug-in will enable developers to debug programming faults in architectures such as those seen in SOA applications.

WS Infrastructure:  Delivering, Administrating, & Tracking Distributed Web Services

The transaction-centric approach will see greater focus on delivering, deploying, and administering Web services across a company's value chain and enable a more flexible administration.

Reversing brain drain :  Tim Berners-Lee pursues Semantic Web at Southampton University

Berners-Lee is taking up a professorship at Southampton University's (UK) computer science department in addition to his directorship of the W3C and his senior researcher post at MIT.

WS Infrastructure:  Web Services Just for CICS

IBM has unveiled a version of the company's 35-year-old Customer Information Control System (CICS) transaction server, which is primed for Web services.

WS-Discovery:  WS-Discovery Finds Web Services Without the Load of UDDI

WS-Discovery undergoes its preliminary testing workshop at Canon’s Lake Success, N.Y., headquarters Dec. 6-7. Vendors will implement versions of the early specification and see how interoperability can be attained.

WS Tips:  Use DIME to send files to Web services

DIME (Direct Internet Message Encapsulation) allows you to send binary data so you can overcome bloated data files.

Intelligent Enterprise:  Set Disruptors ON FULL

Neil Raden, a consultant and the founder of Hired Brains Research , argues that the promise of the Semantic Web challenges everything people are currently doing with information integration..

Standards:  W3C Celebrates Tenth Anniversary; Event Brings Together Technical Leaders and Luminaries to Reflect on Past, Inspire the Future

The World Wide Web Consortium marks its tenth anniversary with a day-long symposium which brings together Web and Internet technical leaders to both remember the W3C's origins and look to the future of the Web and W3C's role in it.

Research and Markets:  Web Services Gaining Momentum

Research and Markets  Enterprise Adoption of Web Services Survey indicates that web services initiatives are increasing across industries and suggests that web services and SOAs have matured beyond the early adopter stage to mainstream adoption.

WS Management : End-to-end Management of Web Services

Can you really deploy or use Web services without worrying about how you’re going to manage them? Apparently you can, with the Web services management solutions from Computer Associates.

Open Source:  Tech giants launch open-source messaging for Web services

Reliable Messaging for Grid Services (RM4GS) from Fujitsu, Hitachi and NEC implements the WS-Reliability standard, and allows Web services to communicate without the risk of losing data. The Java source code for RM4GS is available for download from the Japanese IT Promotion Agency site.

WS-Reliability:  A Java implementation that allows more robust web applications

Fujitsu, Hitachi and NEC have released an open-source source implementation of a standard from OASIS to ensure reliable messaging between Web services applications.

Knowledge Management:  Making knowledge management work for e-commerce

A feature article appearing on the 'IST Results' webpages regarding some key findings of project INKASS.