Subject: WANTED - Beta Testers for Sterling Softwares Upcoming TN3270 Intelligent Access Product

From: Clayton Lamm <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 20:46:46 GMT

WANTED -  Beta Testers for Sterling Software’s Upcoming TN3270 
Intelligent Access Product

A.  STAR:View - A Definition

	STAR:View is the most advanced intelligent access product in the 
industry.  It is designed to provide easy end user access to mainframe 
applications from anywhere.  The basic principle of STAR:View is similar 
to that of a standard mainframe emulator.  It allows a 3270 data stream 
to be used from clients other than the traditional "dumb" terminal.  
Unlike the traditional emulator, however, STAR:View requires no special 
cards, no tricky configuration, not even any software on the client 
machine!!

	Sound too good to be true?  It’s not.  STAR:View takes advantage 
of the growing implementation of the Internet and intranet in major 
corporations.  Simply put, the product translates 3270 data streams into 
HTML pages and then translates the HTML pages back into 3270 data streams 
to send information back to the mainframe.  While access is the backbone 
of the product, it is the intelligence of the access that sets STAR:View 
apart.

B.  How STAR:View works
	
	STAR:View runs on a Microsoft Windows NT server running the 
Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS).  The server must have access 
to a 3270 data stream over a TN3270 connection and the end users must 
have access to the STAR:View server.  Generally, connections to the 
server are all made over a TCP/IP network.

	STAR:View is accessed from any industry standard browser such as 
Netscape’s Navigator or Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.  When a user 
clicks on a link from the STAR:View home page, the server establishes 
connection with the selected mainframe application and then renders the 
initial mainframe screen into an HTML page.  This rendering is done using 
the unique "Learning Agent" architecture of STAR:View.  Every screen that 
STAR:View translates is rendered using the STAR:View Learning Agents and 
Knowledge Base.  These agents use a set of rules to determine the best 
way to render the mainframe screen.  Once a template has been chosen by 
the Learning Agents, STAR:View uses the template to convert the 
character-based screen into a graphical page and then generates the page 
into Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) for transmission to the user.  If 
data entry is required on the screen, STAR:View translates the user’s 
data from the HTML format back into the 3270 format for transmission to 
the mainframe.

C.  Necessary End-User Configuration to participate in the Star:View Beta 
   Program

	1.  Beta Tester has a Microsoft NT Server running version 3.51 or 
greater.
	2.  Beta Testers’ NT Server is setup with Microsoft’s Internet 
Information Server version 1.0 or greater.
	3.  Beta Testers’ NT Server has access to a 3270 data stream over 
a TN3270 connection.
	4.  Beta Testers’ client computer is a PC running any version of 
Microsoft Windows or is a Macintosh computer.
	5.  Beta Testers’ client computer is running one of the following 
Internet browsers
		a.  Internet Explorer 2.0 or greater
		b.  Netscape 2.0 or greater
		c.  Mosaic 2.0
	6.  Beta Tester’s client computer is communicating with the NT 
Server via TCP/IP.
	7.  Beta Tester has access to the Internet and can send/receive 
email messages via the Internet.

D.  How to become a Star:View Beta Tester 

	Send an email to "[email-masked]" 
stating the following information:
		a.  Confirmation that you meet all the necessary end-user 
configurations
		b.  Email address that you wish to be contacted at
		c.  Company that you work for

	You will be informed via email on where to access the Star:View 
Beta version on the Internet with appropriate download instructions 
sometime in Q3 1996.