May 27, 1997

A New Way Around Network Bandwidth Limitations

Do you want to create a site involving complex, high-resolution graphics and other large files without slowing your users down? Net Zeppelin's new SiteBooster tool, recently posted to the Web in a prerelease version, helps you do that by building hybrid Web-compact disc applications.

SiteBooster lets you mix data from both a Web server and a compact disc (CD-ROM) with the same HTML page by using the LiveCache technology that's part of of Netscape Navigator. Applications created with SiteBooster can be continuously updated and redesigned, using high-quality graphics or other files present on the CD, or any new element coming from the Web.

SiteBooster accomplishes this by creating an external cache on a CD. Netscape Navigator handles the CD cache as its standard disk cache, checking for each requested URL to see if the corresponding file can be found on the CD. This lets you put a low-resolution, easy-to-download version of your application on the Web and the larger files on a CD. Users log on to the Web, using Navigator, as they normally would; SiteBooster connects the Web site to the files on the CD, unifying all the files into a single HTML page that users experience as they would any Web-based HTML page.

SiteBooster lets you create a platform independent CD that doesn't require any specific software on the client side other than Navigator.

Using SiteBooster, Web designers can overcome current bandwidth limitations and provide multimedia Web sites to their customers without requiring them to wait hours for it to download. CD-ROM designers can keep the control of their application and redesign their project at any moment using the Web-based part of the application. Intranets/extranets administrators can offload from their servers "heavy" data - like product pictures or training videos - while still making sure that users have access to the latest information.

For more information about SiteBooster, or to download a free, fully featured evaluation version, visit the Net Zeppelin Web site.

First Online Banking Plug-In From Intuit

Intuit Inc. recently launched an Internet edition of BankNOW, its online banking program. Netscape Navigator users now have access to BankNOW services through a plug-in, the industry’s first on-line banking plug-in. BankNOW was initially offered on America Online; the introduction of an Internet version also lets users access BankNOW via the Internet.

Featuring a single-screen design that requires no navigation, BankNOW Internet Edition lets users check account balances, schedule bill payments, and transfer funds between accounts. Users can see the impact of a payment before it is sent, thereby avoiding an overdraft on the account. With BankNOW Internet, consumers don’t have to be online to access their banking data; they have the option to create transactions off line and then transmit online at their convenience.

The online banking services available via BankNOW Internet Edition are protected with a personal identification number (PIN) that consumers use to authenticate each banking transaction. Security measures also feature a 1,024-bit master RSA key encryption for session key exchange and 128-bit triple DES encryption for data encryption. BankNOW Internet Edition uses VeriSign Digital Certification technology to assure customers they are downloading authentic BankNOW software from Intuit off the Internet.

Financial institutions offering BankNOW will provide coverage for every major geographic region in the United States. Financial institutions now offering BankNOW via the Internet are Bank of Stockton, Barnett Bank, Centura Bank, Compass Bank, First Michigan Bank, First Union National Bank, and Mellon Bank.

The BankNOW Internet Edition is available from Intuit’s Quicken Financial Network Web site or from the Web sites of participating financial institutions.

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Related Readings:

• Frequently Asked Questions: Find the answers to your questions on Internet technologies.
• Documentation: A library of technical information.
• Developer Central: Collections of developer resources organized by Internet technology areas.

Any sample code included above is provided for your use on an "AS IS" basis, under the Netscape License Agreement - Terms of Use