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CoolBase -- hardware & software framework for Cooltown apps
(Last updated: Aug. 22, 2001)

The coolbase platform consists of several sub-projects which combine to form a coherent framework for bringing together all the elements necessary to build a cooltown service or application. These sub-projects include software for enabling smart, connected web devices; software for representing people, places and things and their contextual relationships; some supporting hardware and software elements; and sample applications that illustrate the use of these various elements.

coolbase appliance server

The CoolBase Appliance Server and coolkit implement an object-oriented web application server designed specifically for embedded systems. With this software and an IP network connection, an embedded system can serve dynamic web pages, host and participate in web services, and in general interact with and be invoked by other HTTP-enabled components. For example, HP has designed this capability into its newest laser printers, creating products that can order their own supplies and interact directly with tech support services. In addition to the small native C implementation that is CoolBase Appliance Server, HP's Chai Server is a Java-based implementation of the architecture, and coolkit is a GUI-based tool for easily composing embedded cooltown web services. While the server components are designed for embedded environments, they can be prototyped in a variety of environments including Win32 and Linux.

esquirt

The Esquirt project provides an API and implementations for a new device interaction model -- by-reference invocation with reflected user interface. Simply stated, Esquirt enables a personal device like a mobile phone or PDA to become a universal remote control for e-services delivered through other web devices. For example, you receive an SMS message on your phone telling you that the new baby was born and you just became a grandparent. As part of the message you receive a URL for the website where the pictures have just been posted. Those pictures aren't going to look very good on your phone's display, but you happen to be near a color photo printer. You beam a reference (the URL) from the phone to the printer using a short range connection like infrared or Bluetooth; the printer reflects a user interface back to your phone as a WML page; from the UI page you select '4x6 prints @ $0.99 each' and 'charge to my phone bill'; the printer then accesses the photos and prints them. Esquirt also implements the ability to receive cooltown beacons (see hardware section below). Esquirt is available for the following operating systems: PalmOS, WinCE, Linux, Symbian EPOC and Win32.

web presence manager

The Web Presence Manager (WPM) enables creation of web service representations for people, places and things. WPM implements a directory of relationships, a dynamic parser, and a template-based engine to present views of an entity (e.g., a place) and its contextual relationships (e.g., the people, things and services in or related to the place).

beacons

Cooltown beacons are small hardware devices whose function is to broadcast references (e.g., URLs) wirelessly in specific locations. For example, a beacon in a room might broadcast the URL for the room's web presence; a beacon next to a painting might broadcast the URL for the museum's web pages describing the provenance of that artwork. Specs, board layout and firmware are provided for a battery-powered beacon that transmits using infrared (IR-Ultra). The cooltown Esquirt software implements the receiving function for beacons.

taggy

Cooltown Taggy is a small personal device the size of a key fob which simply acquires beacons and 'squirts' them back out. The UI consists of a few buttons and LEDs. It serves as an illustration of an extremely simple client that can be useful in a cooltown application environment.

baseboard

BaseBoard is a commercially manufactured small-footprint single board computer which implements a reference platform for web appliances; the software configuration is built on version 2.4 of Linux. This device can be used to prototype cooltown web appliances.

secure web tunnel

Secure Web Tunnel (SWT) is a service which supports transparent secure access to web resources that exist behind a firewall. There is a service component which sits on the firewall and a client component that runs on each remote client device. Due to license restrictions on the required SSL component, SWT is delivered as non-functional code requiring the integration of a licensed SSL component.

sample applications

An initial sample application, the Internet Radio, is provided as an illustration of how to create a prototype web appliance. The radio uses the Spiderman HW/SW platform, the Chai server stack and Esquirt to implement an interesting (and fun) device that can be controlled from a web browser or from a PDA.


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Data Monitoring with NightStar LX
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Virtualizing Service Provider Networks with Vyatta
This paper highlights Vyatta's unique ability to virtualize networking functions using Vyatta's secure routing software in service provider environments.

High Availability Messaging Solution Using AXIGEN, Heartbeat and DRBD
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Understanding the Financial Benefits of Open Source
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This paper provides an overview of the network-centric computing model, data distribution services, and distributed data management. It then describes how the SkyBoard integration and synchronization service, coupled with an implementation of the OMG¿s Data Distribution Service (DDS) standard, can be used to create an efficient data distribution, storage, and retrieval system.

7 Advantages of D2D Backup
For decades, tape has been the backup medium of choice. But, now, disk-to-disk (D2D) backup is gaining in favor. Learn why you should make the move in this whitepaper.

 

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