Kodak To Explore Jini Implementation; Kodak To Participate in API for Digital Imaging Devices

Business Wire, Jan 25, 1999

ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25, 1999--Eastman Kodak Company today joined other leaders in technology and consumer electronics in supporting Sun Microsystems' Jini(TM) initiative.

And, like many other participants in today's event, Kodak will be contributing to an Application Program Interface (API) to enable Jini networks to recognize and interact with digital capture devices.

According to James Stoffel, director of R&D, and vice president, Eastman Kodak Company, "Jini can make the printing and display of digital pictures truly easy for snapshooters, without their needing to deal with complex computer know-how.

"And making pictures more accessible, more fun, and more easily reused is what Kodak's about."

"As one of the leaders in digital imaging equipment and software, Kodak is valuable contributor to the Jini community," said Mark Tolliver, president, Consumer and Embedded Group, Sun Microsystems. "We look forward to technologies from Kodak that support the power and simplicity of Jini technology."

The API will allow any digital capture device -- camera or scanner -- to query a Jini system and locate all printers and display devices on the system. For instance, consumers could connect a digital camera to a printer and print out pictures -- simply by connecting the camera directly to the printer.

With the proliferation of computer networks, Jini enables a multitude of devices to be accessed and used from any location. The Jini initiative employs two basic principles -- Discovery and Join, and Lookup -- for connecting peripherals to a system. -0-

--   Discovery and Join. When a Jini-enabled device, such as a digital
     camera, is plugged into a network system, it places a 512-byte
     Discovery packet onto the system architecture. This Discovery
     packet allows the network to assign an interface to allow the
     device to `join' the network. For example, the Kodak API is the
     Discovery packet that gives the linking information and a driver
     to the Jini system.

--   Lookup. Jini's Lookup function stores the information from the
     Discovery packet. When a device is connected to the network, it
     registers with the Lookup and then uploads all necessary drivers
     and an overview of the attached network devices. When a digital
     camera is hooked up to the Jini network, the Lookup finds and
     downloads the necessary drivers, allowing the digital camera to
     hook-up to any attached printers.

     "Jini's easy access capabilities will help make pictures as
ubiquitous as text on the network by dissolving barriers to
interaction and letting people connect digital cameras anytime
anywhere in the world," Stoffel concluded.

Editor's Note: For additional information about Kodak, visit our web
               site on the Internet at: www.kodak.com/

Kodak is a registered trademark.