Indo-US FTA on services mooted
New Delhi: A Free Trade Agreement on services between India and the US could be on the cards, a move which can give a big leap to the country's IT industry.

The idea of the FTA was mooted at the Indo-US Joint Business Council and both the governments are yet to take a view on this.

According to the Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath an idea was floated at the JBC level but has yet to be taken up at the Ministry level. The idea of FTA on services owes its origin to the fact that services negotiations at WTO level are moving at a very slow pace.
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Napa Valley: Of grapes and deceptive labels
St. Helena, USA: The California Supreme Court has unanimously overturned a lower court decision that blocked enforcement of a recent California law designed to prevent deceptive wine labelling. In 2000, California passed a law originating from legislation brought forward by the Napa Valley Vintners. The law attempted to close a loophole in wine labeling regulations. Napa Valley Vintners contend that a wine label should not suggest the grapes come from Napa unless they really do. The appropriate use of a geographic name is not only a matter of consumer protection, but also an expectation of quality. The case now goes back to the Court of Appeal for hearing on other issues.
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Valtira's Simplicis 2.0 Content Management System
Minneapolis, USA: Valtira Corporation, provider of technology solutions to small and medium-sized businesses, has released version 2.0 of the Simplicis Content Management System. The latest release introduces multi-lingual support, multiple site themes, and improved usability. Simplicis removes complexity found in many high-end content management systems by making it easy to create and maintain content without forcing a foreign workflow process on content owners. It provides simple forms that organize the web site, its images, and other content assets. Users can make edits and add to the site without the need to be technical. The only pre-requisite for using Simplicis is knowing how to use a web browser.

The simplicity of Simplicis does not limit its capabilities. It is a powerful J2EE web application built on industry-standard technologies: JSP templates for logic, CSS stylesheets for layout and "look and feel". Its open architecture enables integration with most modern backend systems. Simplicis 2.0 runs on all major operating systems. It requires a J2EE application server and a SQL-92 compliant relational database. Valtira provides a bundled package that includes Simplicis and the Orion J2EE Application Server. For single sign-on authentication through LDAP or ActiveDirectory, Simplicis also comes in a package bundled with the Rolecall Identity Management System. Simplicis is available through licensed and hosted ASP options.

Valtira (www.valtira.com) provides low "total cost of ownership" solutions to small and medium-sized businesses through easy to implement and maintain software supported by fixed-priced consulting services. The core products of Valtira's Small Business Platform include the Simplicis Content Management Platform and the Rolecall Security Frameworks.
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Clinical trial begins for MRI contrasting agent
Cambridge, USA: Epix Medical, Inc., a developer of innovative pharmaceuticals for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), has announced that it has initiated its first human clinical trial of EP-2104R, an injectable MRI contrast agent which specifically targets blood clots, or thrombi, in the body. EP-2104R binds selectively to fibrin, an important component of thrombus, and is designed to provide a bright MR image to allow the detection of small clots in arteries and veins, many of which may be undetectable with currently available imaging methods. Early thrombus detection may enable better therapeutic decision-making for patients with cardiovascular disease. EPIX, based in Cambridge, MA, is a leading developer of innovative pharmaceuticals, specializing in targeted MRI contrast agents for the diagnosis and clinical management of disease.
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Artix extends .NET environments
Dublin, Ireland: Iona Technologies, a world leader in high-performance integration solutions for mission-critical IT environments, has announced that Artix, the company's family of Web services integration products, has successfully passed Microsoft testing and has been awarded the Microsoft .NET Connected Logo. This achievement also coincides with the announcement that IONA has attained Microsoft Certified Partner status. Artix lets IT organizations and independent software vendors connect existing enterprise systems, via smart endpoints, into their chosen infrastructure platform. This includes the Microsoft .NET Framework. Once connected in this fashion, these systems can easily be incorporated into new business applications or business processes created with Microsoft's development environment and run-time tools.

For organizations that aspire to create a service-oriented architecture, Artix equips existing enterprise systems with the native protocols, data formats and security formats of the Microsoft .NET Framework. Artix delivers high-performance .NET integration in a small footprint, and without requiring changes to the underlying code of the existing systems. Artix recently passed the .NET Connected Logo test suite, providing customers with the confidence that the product has the capability to integrate well into Microsoft .NET environments and that it uses industry standard XML Web services. Microsoft .NET Connected applications connect information, people, systems and devices through use of the Microsoft .NET Framework and Web services, XML-based applications that rely on a universal language to exchange data. By leveraging Web services, companies worldwide can link their business processes across enterprises to streamline transactions with employees, partners, customers and suppliers.

For more than a decade, Iona Technologies has been a world leader in delivering high-performance integration solutions for enterprise IT environments. The Artix product family, IONA's new generation of Web services integration solutions, enables existing enterprise systems to be integrated with an organization's common infrastructure components. Customers use Artix to incorporate current IT assets into valuable new business applications through enterprise-class, standards-based connectivity.
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