Business Services Industry

Web Crossing Now Supports Podcasting; Leading, Scalable Message Board and Collaboration Tools Now Powers Podcasting Via Weblog and RSS Plug-ins

Business Wire, Jan 31, 2005

SAN FRANCISCO -- Web Crossing, Inc., the leader in scalable message board and collaboration tools, today announced new standards-based support for Podcasting. Now for the first time, Web Crossing users can publish podcasts for distribution from a Weblog or over a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed.

"Web Crossing regularly adds standards-based collaboration tools to its legendary message board platform," said Tim Lundeen, president and CEO of Web Crossing, Inc. "Podcasting MP3 audio files is an exciting supplement to our wide range of collaboration capabilities. Whether providing audio format educational tools, complete tutorials, workgroup reports, or simply entertainment, podcasting support nicely extends Web Crossing's weblog and RSS capabilities."

Podcasting from Web Crossing Boards or Blogs

Podcasting is a hot, new audio file distribution technique for time-shifting audio broadcasts to a self-selecting audience who chooses when to listen to it on their iPod or other MP3-compatible listening device. Often posted as part of a blog, podcasting provides a convenient means for individuals to publish audio files online. Already popular with individual bloggers and content publishers, work-related applications of podcasting include reports, tutorials and other educational aids.

Podcasting, in general, utilizes a combination of audio file (MP3 or other format) and XML to publish descriptive data and metadata associated with the audio file. The XML files used in podcasting from Web Crossing sites are compatible with RSS 2.0 and can include dates, titles, descriptions and links to the audio files themselves. Web Crossing's RSS feeds now use Unicode Transformation Format (UTF) encoding to prevent any non-ASCII characters in a file from creating XML parsing errors of the feed.

The new Podcast capabilities are incorporated in the latest Web Crossing Weblog and RSS plug-ins. The Weblog and RSS plugins require no knowledge of XML, allowing administrators to add Podcasting support in minutes with a simple point-and-click.

The Web Crossing RSS plug-in gives a site's visitors current access to podcasts, using any modern RSS Reader. In addition, the Web Crossing Weblog plug-in makes podcasting audio files as easy as attaching an MP3 file to any Weblog entry.

In Weblogs, RSS subscription designations automatically apply to categories assigned by the blogger and chosen by the reader. Alternatively, the new RSS support provides podcasting in addition to the RSS plug-in's traditional integration with weblog categories, weblog comments, topic folders, and individual discussions.

Pricing, Compatibility and Availability

Free for a limited time, the new Podcast-enabled Weblog and RSS plug-ins are available today and compatible with all Web Crossing 5 installations. Additional information can be found at http://www.webcrossing.com/podblog/ and http://www.webcrossing.com/podrss/.> About Web Crossing, Inc.

Privately held, Web Crossing, Inc. is a leader in collaboration tools, committed to providing high-quality software and related services at a fair price. Award-winning Web Crossing is a scalable, tightly integrated collaboration tool serving a broad-spectrum of functionality and serves millions of pages per day at thousands of sites, including well-known, high traffic sites as eBay.com, The NY Times, Salon's TableTalk and Electronic Arts. Available licensed or ASP, all Web Crossing software is easily customizable and highly extensible without programming. Further information can be found at http://www.webcrossing.com/.> Web Crossing, Web Crossing Express, Team Crossing, Campus Crossing, Support Crossing, and webcrossing.com are trademarks of Web Crossing, Inc. or its subsidiaries. Apple, the Apple logo and iPod are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. All other brands and products referenced herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.