W3C and Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Establish Formal Relationship

2004-07-29: W3C and the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) today announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) enabling their cooperation on mobile Web specifications. "Together, W3C and OMA are well positioned to lead development toward technological compatibility and the ease of repurposing Web content, known as single Web authoring," said Philipp Hoschka (W3C). In widespread use, W3C Recommendations for the mobile industry include XHTML Basic markup, SMIL multimedia and SVG graphics. Read the press release and more about Device Independence.

W3C Director Tim Berners-Lee Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II

2004-07-16: Queen Elizabeth II has dubbed Sir Timothy Berners-Lee a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) during an Investiture at Buckingham Palace in London on 16 July. UK Honours are available to all who give service to the United Kingdom. Sir Timothy, a British citizen who lives in the United States and is Director of W3C, was knighted in recognition of his services to the global development of the Internet through his invention of the World Wide Web. Please read the congratulations and press release.

HTML and XHTML FAQ, Introduction to XML Events Published

2004-07-21: The HTML Working Group has released two publications. HTML and XHTML Frequently Answered Questions is written for Web content authors and designers. XML Events for HTML Authors introduces XML Events and its advantages over the onclick style of event handling. Visit the HTML home page. (News archive)

Speech Synthesis Markup Language Is a W3C Proposed Recommendation

2004-07-15: W3C is pleased to announce the advancement of the Speech Synthesis Markup Language (SSML) Version 1.0 to Proposed Recommendation. Comments are welcome through 27 August 2004. With the XML-based SSML language, content authors can generate synthetic speech on the Web, controlling pronunciation, volume, pitch and rate. Read about the Voice Browser Activity.

W3C Advisory Committee Elects New Advisory Board

2004-07-15: The W3C Advisory Committee has filled five open seats on the W3C Advisory Board. Created in 1998, the Advisory Board provides guidance to the Team on issues of strategy, management, legal matters, process and conflict resolution. Beginning 1 July, the nine Advisory Board participants are Jean-François Abramatic (ILOG), Ann Bassetti (Boeing), Jim Bell (Hewlett-Packard), Klaus Birkenbihl (Fraunhofer Gesellschaft), Eduardo Gutentag (Sun Microsystems), Steve Holbrook (IBM), Ken Laskey (MITRE), Ora Lassila (Nokia), and Lauren Wood (Unaffiliated). Steve Zilles is the interim Advisory Board Chair.

Call for Participation: Public Workshop on Metadata for Content Adaptation

2004-07-08: Position papers are due 6 September for the W3C Workshop on Metadata for Content Adaptation to be held in Dublin, Ireland on 12-13 October. Attendees will discuss how metadata can help the adaption of Web content to fit user needs and device characteristics, and will provide feedback and suggestions for future W3C work. Read about Workshops and Interaction at W3C.