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Startup led by Co-Inventor of XML Launches Next Evolutionary Step of the Internet with Showcase Site Using Netscape/AOL's Open Directory Project
Vancouver, BC - November 14, 2000 -- Antarctica Systems Inc., a pioneer developer of visual network maps, today announced the launch of its public website, map.net, an integrated continent-sized map of the Internet. This site, a showcase for Antarctica's Visual Net product, enables users to explore the Web in 2D and 3D, representing sites and subject categories visually. Led by XML (Extensible Markup Language) co-inventor Tim Bray, Antarctica sees Visual Net as the next step in the evolution of how people and companies access and share information on the Internet and their enterprise Intranets and Extranets.
"People have gotten used to seeing the Net through the tiny, unsatisfying lens of search engines," said Tim Bray, CEO and founder of Antarctica. "While the engines are getting smarter, nobody would describe Web navigation as either efficient or fun. Antarctica offers a productive and enjoyable public Web site that gives people a view of the whole Net and lets them use it in a way that is consistent with the everyday world they live in."
The Antarctica showcase at www.map.net maps the category structure of the entire Web onto one screen. The basic data is sourced from Netscape/AOL's Open Directory Project (www.dmoz.org) and enhanced by Antarctica's proprietary technology. At the heart of the technology is Antarctica's Visual Net product, which plots and diagrams hundreds of thousands of subject categories and millions of Web sites on 2D and 3D maps that communicate not only the categories but also the sizes of the sites, their popularity and their quality of service. The 3D experience immerses users in a videogame-like environment, allowing them to 'walk around' the Web and look at sites in great detail without having to actually visit them, resulting in more efficient navigation. In addition, each of the 300,000 categories includes chat capability, enabling users to connect with dynamic communities of shared interests. Antarctica is fully internationalized, containing thousands of categories and hundreds of thousands of sites in languages ranging from Afrikaans and Arabic to Thai and Ukrainian.
Antarctica's Visual Net is an ideal application for enterprise networks. Over the last 5 years, enterprises have made immense investments in leveraging their human capital by deploying Intranets and Extranets. Antarctica helps complete this process by making network interaction more efficient and enjoyable and thus help realize the full return on these investments.
Service Details
The showcase Web site is free to the public and available immediately at map.net. Enterprise network mapping projects are delivered on an ASP basis and fees vary depending on the size and complexity of the data.
The Antarctica Visual Net product has an open API based on Web standards, chiefly HTTP and XML; the company invites technology partnerships with those who wish to build network-map-based applications. To this end, the Antarctica client software is Open Source, and the client-server protocol fully documented; anyone wishing to explore alternative visions of network maps will have the company's support.
About Antarctica
Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Antarctica Systems Inc. is a pioneer developer of visual network maps. Antarctica delivers its services to individuals and organizations through its public Web site, at www.map.net, and through server-side software that can easily be customized and adapted to new application areas. Antarctica Systems Inc. was founded in 1999 by XML co-creator Tim Bray. Privately held, Antarctica's funding partners include Royal Bank Ventures Inc. (TSE:RY), the Working Opportunity Fund, itemus inc. (TSE:ITM), and Primaxis Technology Ventures Inc. For additional information, please visit www.antarctica.net or call 604-873-6100.
Antarctica and Visual Net are trademarks or registered trademarks of Antarctica Systems Inc. in Canada and foreign countries. All other referenced trademarks belong to their respective owners.
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