Wisebot is a cool new web development tool that will automatically create and maintain an entire navigational system for your web site using a combination of Java applets, push channels, and standard web pages. The client is now in beta release and while some features are incomplete or missing at this early stage, the functionality that is currently present clearly shows the potential of this exciting client. Wisebot can deliver critical features for your web site that would otherwise be possible only by hiring a professional programmer or by coding your own interactive applets and scripts. In either case, Wisebot is bound to save you money. One of Wisebot's best aspects is its extreme ease of use. The plug and play solution automatically generates and updates navigational assistants for your web site (or sites) without any programming required on your part whatsoever. In fact, all you have to do is type in the URL that you want the app to work on and Wisebot does the rest. After gathering information from the pages on your web site, Wisebot generates a knowledge index applet, a site map applet, a What's New web page, and a push channel for your site. You then have the option of editing or further customizing the applets and pages using Wisebot's built-in editing tools, or you can publish the navigational assistants directly to your web site with a simple click of a toolbar icon. The first of the two Java applets produced by Wisebot is the knowledge index. This applet utilizes Tetranet's unique Keyword Extraction Technology to scan your site and create an interactive index that your users can peruse to quickly locate specific content and information. The Wisebot Extractor takes each of your web page documents as its input and generates a list of keywords and keyphrases as output. The resulting knowledge index performs a function similar to a search engine but in a help index format. The second applet Wisebot creates is a dynamic site map that gives users a visual structure of your entire web site. It also presents your users with the ability to quickly jump to specific pages on the site. Wisebot generates a default map for you, but it works by extracting links from the site's major pages and as a result often reports redundant and incorrect structure information. The upside is that you can modify the site map to your exact needs using the client's editing tools. The What's New page that Wisebot produces is a standard HTML page with a complete listing of the pages that have been recently added or updated to your web site. The only requirement is that your web pages have time/date stamps associated with them -- servers aren't always configured to stamp the time and date on pages, so you'll want to make sure yours is in order to reap the full benefits of this feature. As with the other applets, you can set Wisebot up to dynamically update the What's New page on your site as content is added or updated. The final interactive tool created by Wisebot is a What's New push channel that you can set up for Internet Explorer 4.0, Netscape Netcaster, or PointCast. The channel provides subscribers with a periodically updated What's New web page. As is the case with the non-push What's New feature, Wisebot can be configured to automatically update the channel when content on the site changes. Overall, Wisebot gives you the ability to add advanced capabilities to your web site without the time and costs associated with programming your own Java applets or hiring someone to do so. Users with sites in need of search capabilities, site structure information, or support for push channels will benefit the most from Wisebot. Not only will the client help make your site easier to navigate, it will also help keep your users informed of updates and will also help them quickly locate specific information. The only real downside to Wisebot is that not all of the planned features are currently available. The Channel feature is disabled in the current beta release, as are the page formatting capabilities, site depth and URL filters, and the program scheduler for updating the database and applets at regular intervals. Yet even though it is only in beta release, Wisebot already delivers unique functionality that you won't find in any other application. Pros: Creates impressive navigational assistants for your site, extremely easy to use, customization tools Cons: Beta release lacks several important features including channel creation capabilities and program scheduler For the latest information on Wisebot, check out: http://cws.internet.com/32agents.html#wisebot apps conference Main Menu