THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING URL": SMALL PROGRAM MAKES BIG SPLASH KeepShort product from Cignex makes big change in Web use, gains instant fans

KeepShort and KeepShort Enterprise, new from Cignex Technologies, make it possible for large, unwieldy URLs -- the addresses of Internet-accessible resources, including web pages, graphics, and documents, that are the backbone of the Internet -- to be compressed into stable, easy to use URLs for both human users and machine-machine communications (as in a supply chain).

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) April 19, 2004 --Last week, when CIGNEX Technologies, Inc., quietly announced its new URL-shortening product, KeepShort, and put it online for public use, it had no idea how popular KeepShort would become!

In less than one week, KeepShort (http://keepshort.com/) has leapt by a factor of 10 in the various rankings that measure use of Web pages. A little ingenuity goes a long way.

Why is such a small piece of software code making such a big impression? Because it makes the Web easier to use for students, technologists, researchers, retirees, consumers, enterprises -- in fact, everyone!

URLs (Universal Resource Locators, in webspeak) make the Web work. Theyre the addresses for everything on the Internet and the Web: every web page, every document, every service. URLs for products in catalogs, travel reservations, locations of shops and theaters, online maps, and other popular uses can extend to four or more lines of very complex code -- difficult to remember, breakable when written into an email, and impossible to verbalize over the phone. Plus even computers trip over long URLs.

KeepShort URLs, or Shorties," are easier for users to remember, manage, and share. This makes a big difference for customers shopping online, making travel plans, or getting together for a coffee, dinner, or a movie. Sharing KeepShort URLs makes it easier to get and share information about information anywhere on the Web.

KeepShort URLs also provide an operational advantage: KeepShort URLs are easier for computers to process. They make it easier to index information for search engines. They also make machine-machine communications, used in a supply chain, more efficient and reliable. The savings in terms of accurate transmission of data are tangible.

KeepShort and Shorties are uniquely popular because theyre industrial strength and backed by a profitable, reputable company," said Cignex CEO Rajesh Setty, who led the development of KeepShort within Cignex Labs. Our KeepShort Enterprise product is absolutely unique, suited for both small companies and larger enterprises whose business relies on the Web. It will change the way online business is done.
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KeepShort comes in two versions, a free version available for public use online (http://www.keepshort.com; and KeepShort Enterprise, a proprietary version for companies doing business online (http://www.keepshort.com/pages/enterprise.html).
Cignex has already started receiving inquiries about licensing KeepShort from companies that make high-volume use of URLs. Interested parties are invited to email info@keepshort.com or call 1-408-501-0455 x 302 (Sales).

How KeepShort Works

KeepShort takes long URLs that you might get online from a clothing or parts catalog, a travel or hotel reservation, a mapping service or address locator, or a thousand other uses, like this:

http://www.yourname.com/ynbl/store/sitePage.jsp?CC_SessionID=@@@@15023700.107.0370275@@@@&CC_EngineID=ccccadckjgejlmkcefecegedfhfol.0&uniqueKey=1076370277999&Type=AnonWhyUseKeepShort=?Yes

and shrinks them to:
http://www.keepshort.com/q125    
for free online use or
http://www.cignex.com/q125       
for enterprise use, the companys name replaces KeepShort" in the URL

About Cignex:
CIGNEX Technologies, Inc., privately held, was founded in 2000 and has been profitable from its inception. Cignex has offices in Silicon Valley, Canada, and India. Cignex is a technology facilitator providing professional services, custom product development, and web services. Its signature customers include Eli Lilly, Cisco, HP, Epson Electronics America, Epson Germany, Advantest Corporation, Procket Networks, Pacific Dental Benefits, Verifone, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories.

KeepShort, KeepShort Enterprise, and Shorties are trademarks of CIGNEX Technologies, Inc.

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