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Glassbook Acquisition
The company announced its purchase of Glassbook, Inc. (http://www.glassbook.com),
a developer of e-book software that’s based on Adobe’s Portable Document
Format (PDF). The Glassbook Reader technology will be integrated into future
versions of the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Through the Glassbook Content Server,
Adobe will enable publishers to distribute their work electronically in
secure Adobe PDF and facilitate business and e-commerce transactions.
According to the company, the Glassbook acquisition is the most recent move in Adobe’s strategy to deliver business tools for the e-book publishing chain while giving consumers a visual experience that’s viewed exactly how the author intended in print—including graphics or sound.
Glassbook, Inc. has also announced the release of a new beta 2.0 version
of its free Reader software. This new release includes a two-page display,
text-to-speech capability, a personal library, sticky and inline notes,
text highlighting, searching, bookmarking, display rotation, and a special
text-enhancement feature for sharper, clearer text.
Web Partnerships
Adobe also announced plans to greatly expand the availability of e-books
in Adobe PDF at the barnesandnoble.com eBookStore. Adobe will also make
available future versions of the Adobe Acrobat Reader—incorporating Glassbook
Reader technology—to consumers at the eBook-Store, and plans to have a
branded store at the site. For a limited time, Adobe intends to make barnes-andnoble.com
its exclusive e-book retailer in the U.S.
Adobe also announced that it’s expanding its relationship with iUniverse.com to further extend the distribution of PDF-based content. In addition to PDF Merchant, Adobe’s secure e-book technology, iUniverse.com will use Adobe’s publishing products, Adobe Acrobat and Adobe PDF, Adobe FrameMaker, and Adobe InDesign to develop a flexible publishing and distribution infrastructure for this service (http://www.iuniverse.com). Using an eXtensible Markup Language (XML)-based solution, Adobe and iUniverse.com will automatically flow content created with Adobe’s tools into iUniverse.com’s proprietary Format Neutral Repository. The collaboration will also leverage the use of Adobe’s PDF for electronic-book distribution.
“iUniverse.com is taking an incredibly innovative approach both in creating a completely new business model within the traditional publishing industry and building a flexible technology infrastructure behind their publishing services,” said Mike Looney, Adobe Systems’ senior director of e-books. “It’s exactly this kind of entrepreneurial spirit that Adobe seeks in partners to further develop the emerging e-books market.”
Adobe also announced strategic Web partnerships in the areas of development,
dynamic publishing, analysis, and personalization with Allaire, Blueworld,
WebTrends, Manna, and BeFree, respectively. In addition, the company announced
a wireless alliance with AvantGo to deliver content authored in GoLive
5.0 to hand-held and cellular devices, and GoLive 5.0 support of WML/WAP
and iMode, two leading wireless formats. Adobe is now shipping version
5.0 of Adobe GoLive, its professional Web-authoring software, which offers
over 100 new features.
Commercial Publishing System
For commercial publishers managing high-volume, complex work flows,
Adobe announced the release of Adobe InScope, an integrated and highly
customizable Web-based publishing system for work flow and asset management.
From preliminary planning through final handoffs, InScope supports every
stage of creative development. According to the company, the product pro-vides
built-in support for managing any kind of digital content, making cross-media
publishing easy. InScope integrates directly with other Adobe publishing
applications, such as InDesign and InCopy, allowing the seamless exchange
of assets among different teams.
“We needed a publishing solution that could handle the complexity of modern, digital-magazine production—one that gives us a clear understanding of both the creative and logistical processes each step of the way,” said Damien Creavin, director of advanced technology at Time, Inc. “Adobe InScope will be the platform for a next-generation publishing system that we intend to deploy at Fortune magazine. We anticipate significant efficiency and productivity gains that will translate into tangible improvements for our readers and advertisers.”
Source: Adobe Systems, Inc., San Jose, CA, 800/833-6687, 408/536-6000;
http://www.adobe.com.
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