PointCast (dotcom)

PointCast was a company formed in 1992. The company used push technology to deliver news and information across the Internet. The company's main product was the PointCast Network. To access the network you needed to download the PointCast desktop client. The company was purchased in 1999 by EntryPoint, who merged with Internet Financial Network in 2000 forming InfoGate.

PointCast and the browser wars

PointCast played a part in the Browser Wars. After its initial success, Microsoft and Netscape decided to integrate push technology into Internet Explorer with CDF and into Netscape Navigator with RDF. Both companies used the concept of "channels" which pushed the content. Microsoft went even further by incorporating the Active Desktop which pushed content to the desktop.

External Links

• Webopedia definition of PointCast
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