Release b2

Sender: brewster@quake.think.com
To: wais-interest@think.com
Subject: WAIS beta 2 release: minor fixes over b1


	   New Unix Internet Release (Beta 2 Release) Available
		 		July 31, 1991

Thank you for the interest in WAIS.  The servers on Quake (including the
directory of servers) has almost 20k requests from over 600 different hosts
all over the world (18 countries) in a couple of months.  There are now 44
servers including one in Norway (UiO_Publications.src), poetry
(poetry.src), as well as a Connection Machine serving all sorts of things.

There are are a few mailing lists on this subject that you might want to be
on: 
	wais-interest: only announcements like this (1 a month or so)
	wais-discussion: moderated mailings every 1 or 2 weeks.  Good
			stuff including all on wais-interest.
	wais-talk: unmoderated for implementors and interactive discussions.
Requests to wais--request@think.com.  Archives available from
wais server: wais-discussion or anonymous ftp from quake.think.com.

Jonathan Goldman pulled the most recent release together (with help from
developers all over the world, see below):
Highlights of modifications (see the release for the full report)
	Overall: minor fixes and better logging	
	waisindex: added paragraph and mh_bboard types
	waisserver: added forwarding feature, runs under inetd
	waissearch, waisq, xwais, and xwaisq: fixes
        The Mac release is unchanged and stable.
We are preparing for the final release due out in late August.
Thank you to all that have contributed bug reports and suggestions.

Overview of components:
In this release is source code for:
 * Server code:  There is code to index text and picture files.
 * Protocol code: based on Z39.50-1988 using the internet.
 * Clients code: User interfaces for contacting servers
	* GNU emacs interface
	* simple shell interface 
	* Mac interface (in separate WAIStation file)
	* tool kit for making your own interfaces
	* X interface
 * Directory of servers: This is be a network service that lists
	existing servers and how to contact them.
 * A Connection Machine server with some patent information, the CIA
	factbook, and some Biomedical abstracts, info-mac, risks, etc 
	to serve as example servers.  

The public servers that are currently advertized are:
 CM-applications.src
 CM-fortran-manual.src
 CM-paris-manual.src
 CM-star-lisp-docs.src
 CM-tech-summary.src
 CMFS-documentation.src
 Connection-Machine.src
 INFO.src
 MIT-algorithms-bug.src
 MIT-algorithms-exercise.src
 MIT-algorithms-suggest.src
 Molecular-biology.src
 NIH-Guide.src
 US-Gov-Programs.src
 UiO_Publications.src
 bible.src
 cosmic-abstracts.src
 cosmic-programs.src
 directory-of-servers.src
 eff-documents.src
 eff-talk.src
 empire.src
 empire20.src
 homebrew.src
 info-mac.src
 internet-documents.src
 internet-drafts.src
 internet-resource-guide.src
 internet-rfcs.src
 jargon.src
 online-libraries.src
 patent-sampler.src
 poetry.src
 risks-digest.src
 sample-books.src
 sample-pictures.src
 sun-spots.src
 tmc-library.src
 usenet-cookbook.src
 wais-discussion-archives.src
 wais-docs.src
 wall-street-journal-sample.src
 weather.src
 world-factbook.src

The release is available from Think.com via anonymous FTP in
/public/wais/wais-8-b2.tar.Z and WAIStation-0-62.sit.hqx.

Bugs to bug-wais@think.com or to me.
Thanks to Michael Haberler (mah@parrot.prv.univie.ac.at) and to
gcardwel@uci.edu for bug fixes to the last release.

-brewster and the wais crew

"Paper and flesh are fleeting media for the treasures that are ideas."

Brewster Kahle					Thinking Machines Corporation
Brewster@Think.com				1010 El Camino Real
Project Leader					Menlo Park, CA 94025
Wide Area Information Servers			415-329-9300x228