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The mission - to take computer literac... BT Tech's pick of the high riders in SA... Get in on the race without getting even ... Brave the underground with a joystic... Cellphones the key to a whole new shoppi... Entrepreneur brothers get a Silicon lif... The facts depend on where you are coming... Intelligent agents emerge from ... SA group first through the library door...
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SA group first through the library doorA LOCAL company's breakthrough in library software development has the potential to tip the global information balance in South Africa's favour. Erudite Systems's Web gateway that allows Internet browsers to access libraries throughout the world and retrieve information in multimedia form, will make South Africa an information provider, not just a receiver. "I know of nothing else comparable in the global market, though I suppose we will be only six months ahead of the gang," says Erudite director Colin Ridout. "Essentially the package means South Africa can become a player in the worldwide information marketplace, because it provides an advanced tool that others will want to use." The system allows users to retrieve files in sound, video or text and makes them readable irrespective of origin - a major step in accessibility for search-and-retrieval systems. Ridout says the package has not been easy to develop and the four software engineers involved regard themselves as "bleeding edge" technologists. About six months in real-time work, or two man-years of expertise, went into the development at the company's Rivonia premises. The system, and is able to make them understand and repackage information no matter what platforms they operate from. Ridout said the system was based on the Z39.50 (level 3) protocol for information exchange, expands the access capabilities of ordinary Web browsers like Netscape or MS Explorer to take in multimedia data at the sites visited. Erudite, a purely South African company, has specialised in library systems for 14 years and currently turns over about R4.5-million a year from its specialised library systems which serve 31 established sites in South Africa (including universities and public utilities like Eskom). Its implemented projects include the Sabinet system, which has an estimated 10-million items in its database, giving bibliographic access to some 400 libraries nationwide. Among software projects in development is a virtual library trolley that is "pushed" with a mouse, grabbing books off the shelf for order.
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