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XStream Software Launches XStream RapidShare ™ MMS

Secure, web-based media management system provides capabilities for scheduling, tracking, and reporting on Live and On-Demand media presentations created with XStream's sofTV.Presenter technology.

OTTAWA, Canada, August 15, 2005 – XStream Software Inc., a leading provider of advanced software technologies for E-Learning, Streaming Multimedia Content Authoring, Administration/Tracking, and Web-based Communication and Collaboration, has released XStream RapidShare Media Management Server (MMS) , a new web-based media management system within the XStream RapidShare web environment and digital workspace. XStream RapidShare MMS is used to manage, schedule, track, catalog, and report on live broadcasts and on-demand media presentations created and delivered with XStream's sofTV.Presenter 4.0 technology. In addition, the system includes optional capabilities for web-based communication and collaboration.

The main features of XStream RapidShare MMS include the following:

Role-Based User Access Control – Decentralized administration capabilities provide the flexibility to customize the level of access for each MMS user. Each user can be provided with full access to all aspects of the MMS or only partial access to specific content and elements within the MMS. Each user has defined rights at each level of the MMS to control what the user has access to and what functions the user can perform at each level.

Customized Organizational Structure – Hierarchical administration capabilities provide the flexibility to host multiple organizational units (each containing their own users/groups) with complete security for the data/content within each organizational unit. Full flexibility is provided to organize the use of the MMS within the organization.

Comprehensive Security – The MMS can be made accessible using either the HTTP or HTTPS protocol. The HTTPS protocol provides Secure Socket Layer (SSL) security using 128-bit encryption, providing a completely secure environment for all transactions, including file uploads/downloads.

Publish and Schedule Live & On-Demand Presentations – Upon creating/configuring a Live or On-Demand presentation in sofTV.Presenter, a user (with appropriate rights) can easily log in to the MMS module and publish the web content and/or media content to the MMS. Published presentations in the MMS can be assigned to users/groups and scheduled to be started/viewed at a specific date and time. Internal MMS users may join the presentation by clicking a Start Presentation button available to them. External users (who are not members of the MMS) may join the presentation by receiving a URL (via e-mail or using some other method) that they can use.

Presentation Catalogs – Administrators may build customized catalogs of on-demand presentations that are available to authorized users online. Each on-demand presentation can be optionally scheduled to be started/viewed at a specific date and time. In addition, as soon as a live broadcast is completed, it may be automatically saved and cataloged as an on-demand presentation that is available to authorized users.

Calendar – Each user in the MMS has access to a Calendar component, which provides a mechanism for keeping track of scheduled presentations (by day, week, month, or year). A user who is hosting a live presentation can launch the presentation from the Calendar, and any on-demand presentations that have been scheduled can be launched from the Calendar.

Reporting Capabilities – Administrators may generate a number of statistical reports on presentations, including a report displaying the number of viewers watching a live web cast/presentation, a report displaying the number of viewers watching an archived presentation, a report showing how long a user has viewed a presentation, etc. Reports can be generated according to region/country or other defined domains.

E-mail Reminder Capabilities – E-mail reminders (i.e., reminder messages automatically sent to participants before a scheduled presentation) can be configured for presentations within the MMS. Administrators can configure the e-mail messages for each presentation separately and define who has access to the different e-mail reminders that have been configured.

In addition to its capabilities for managing online streaming media presentations, XStream RapidShare MMS provides optional access to the following communication and collaboration capabilities (as part of the MMS module):

File Transfer/Sharing Capabilities – These capabilities enable collaboration on the development of presentations and other types of content. Files and documents (created using any application) can be easily uploaded to the system, organized in folders and subfolders, and shared with other users.

Threaded Discussion Forums – Users can initiate one-on-one, topic-based discussions with other users.

Interactive Chat Sessions – Users can initiate synchronous text-based chat sessions with other users on demand. One or more invited internal users or external users may join the chat. Internal MMS users invited for a chat may be notified via animated marquee to join a chat in progress. External users may participate in chatting by receiving a URL that they can use. Each chat session can be saved and made available to other users.

“Notify Me” Capability – This capability allows users to keep track of changes occurring within the MMS. A user may choose to be automatically notified (by e-mail) as soon as a change occurs in a selected MMS component, or he/she may choose to receive a daily summary of all changes made to a selected MMS component or all changes made to the complete MMS.

Electronic Mail Facility – Users may compose, send, receive, and store e-mail messages. Since anyone can send e-mail to the mailbox, it is particularly useful for receiving e-mail from people outside of the MMS.

iMeeting Sessions – Users can create and conduct live video conferencing or desktop sharing sessions. These iMeeting sessions enable a user to share files and applications on his/her desktop with other members of the MMS and/or external users. They are ideal for online meetings, demonstrations, web conferences, instructor-led training sessions, seminars, support sessions, general web casts (to a large number of users), and more. A user may create an iMeeting session and then invite/add users as participants in the meeting. Invited users may be MMS members or other external users (i.e., any user who is or is not a user of XStream RapidShare MMS). When creating an iMeeting session, the user may also specify that the meeting session will be recorded. A recorded meeting will be automatically saved as a clip that can be subsequently accessed and played back by other authorized users.

“With our new MMS module, the power of the XStream RapidShare technology is being leveraged for maximum benefit to presentation authors and audiences," says Sunil K. Sethi , XStream's President and CEO . “ Content management and scheduling capabilities enable administrators and managers to easily control who can access presentations and when they can access them, and tracking and reporting capabilities provide valuable information on presentation viewing and attendance .”

“The MMS module bridges the gap that previously existed between the creation and deployment of sofTV.Presenter presentations and the need to effectively control, schedule, and track those presentations across the enterprise,” adds Mahendra K. Agrawal , XStream's Vice President of Technology .

About XStream

XStream Software , a 6x brandon-hall.com award winner, has designed and developed next-generation, 100% programming-free e-learning, authoring, streaming media, administration/tracking, and communication & collaboration technologies. RapidBuilder ® and RapidExam ™ are used for creating interactive Software Simulations, WBT, Presentations, Assessments, and Certifications. Linux Simulator ™ is used to create interactive software simulations for Linux-based applications. Performance Analyzer ™ is used for creating Performance-based Evaluations, which measure, track, and evaluate/test users' performance through software simulations created for Windows-based applications. RapidGuide ™ offers next-generation learning by creating 'live', step-by-step, in-application guidance and ‘Show Me' simulations. RapidSVG ™ is XStream's vector-based SVG authoring application, which enables developers to create SVG web sites, graphics, animations, and other authored content. sofTV Presenter ™ is a streaming media authoring technology for creating Live and On-Demand presentations synchronized with audio or video content. sofTV ShowAndTell ™ is a presentation tool for creating streaming audio presentations with synchronized PowerPoint slides. XStream RapidShare ™ is XStream's secure, hosted web communication and collaboration environment in which users may share files and documents, participate in real-time discussions and chat sessions, exchange e-mail, post messages and notifications, engage in real-time video conferencing sessions, and more . Also available within the XStream RapidShare ™ digital workspace is XStream RapidShare ™ Learning Management System ( LMS ), a comprehensive web-based LMS module that can manage online learning content created using XStream technologies (as well as SCORM content created using XStream technologies and third-party SCORM-authoring technologies) and offline scheduled events along with many other capabilities, including e-mail notifications, learning paths, course catalogs, prerequisite definitions, self-registration capabilities, optional web-based communication and collaboration capabilities, and much more. XStream's products are in use by thousands of internationally known clients representing businesses across all market sectors.

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XStream Software Launches XStream RapidShare ™ MMS