November 25, 1996 6:00 PM ET
Data compression/caching tool promises faster Web surfing
By Maria Seminerio

Datalytics Inc., a privately held Internet software developer, today debuted a technology called xSpeed that speeds World Wide Web browsing through data compression and intelligent caching. The server software enables users to surf the Web at speeds up to five times higher than normal using standard browsers, company officials claimed after testing the technology on more than 2,000 Web sites. xSpeed employs "read-ahead browsing" technology for fetching pages in advance of a user's request, as well as a data encapsulation technology that reduces the number of HTTP connections between clients and servers as the user downloads information, according to officials with Datalytics, in Dayton, Ohio. The product works with the HTTP standard and does not replace existing protocols, said James Caan, product manager for xSpeed. The software works with Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Information Server, Netscape Communications Corp. servers, Apache on Windows NT, and several Unix platforms, company officials said. It is compatible with the Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 and Netscape Communications Corp. Navigator 2.0 browsers running on Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 platforms. xSpeed will roll out in mid-December. The client technology will be released at the Fall Internet World trade show in New York next month. Pricing was not available. Copyright(c) 1996 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company is prohibited. PC Week and the PC Week logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. PC Week Online and the PC Week Online logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. Send mail to PC Week