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Next-generation Web presentation: XML enables adaptive experience. (Enterprise Solutions).

Article Excerpt
The future of Web presentation isn't high tech, it's high concept. And it's here today. It's not an information superhighway--it's an adaptive avenue.

Flexible, Web-based presentation engines are creating new options for Web presentation. As an integrated presentation and viewing environment that enables active presentation of Web content, a presentation engine uses XML-based presentation specifications to define the user experience. As a managed service that enables active presentation without reprogramming of content and without installation of software in the client or server environment, a presentation engine uses the Web services model to integrate with an array of host environments.

Web presenters and Web viewers alike are growing impatient with the limited navigation and presentation options of the existing Web environment. Static navigation methods like point-and-click don't hold viewers' attention sufficiently to draw them deep into Web content. And these primitive methods squander advances in digital bandwidth by diverting the "cognitive bandwidth" of viewers from content to navigation, producing "knowledge fatigue." A greater page-per-click ratio is essential to improving the satisfaction and productivity of the Web experience.

Dynamic presentation methods like animation and streaming media are available. But they're not feasible on all sites and whole sites ... and they require installation of specialized components in the server and client environments. Web presenters want economical ways to deliver more content in a more dynamic mode. Despite the sophisticated experiences that high-end methods can produce, site producers are frustrated with the expense and inertia of high-end media development. They want the ability to reassemble content quickly and leverage their existing content investments for new and different audiences and situations. The Web awaits more efficient and dynamic presentation methods--implemented on a broad scale--to achieve its next stage of real growth in value and activity.

The landscape of Web presentation capabilities is changing. It offers more options--and more power--in the middle ground between these extremes. Web presenters can provide an interactive experience without imposing the burden of manual navigation. Presenters know site terrain better than viewers, and they can improve satisfaction and productivity by actively guiding the viewer experience. Adaptive presentation methods will be characterized by presentation engines and virtual sites. XML-based presentation models will enable adaptive presentation and expedite its adoption.

Adaptive Presentation: The Middle Ground

Some Web...

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