Second Generation of Sonic Foundry's Core Technology Cited as Example of One of "10 Emerging Technologies That Will Change the World"

PITTSBURGH, PA — Technology Review, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's award-winning "Magazine of Innovation," this month cites Sonic Foundry (formerly MediaSite) core technology as an example of one of the "Ten Emerging Technologies That Will Change the World."

The citation, which appears in the magazine's January/February 2001 "Annual Innovation Issue," examines the "video mining" technology to emerge out of Carnegie Mellon University's Informedia II project, which represents the second generation of the technology upon which MediaSite's products are based. Launched in 1997 as ISLIP Media, MediaSite derives its core technology from the university's Informedia Digital Video Library project -a $10 million research effort funded by a consortium of government and corporate sponsors.

In addition to video mining, which Technology Review examines in the larger context of data mining, the magazine's editors and a team of independent technology experts selected brain-machine interfaces, flexible transistors, digital rights management, biometrics, natural language processing, microphotonics, untangling code, robot design and microfluidics as the hottest areas of technology.

In an introductory note to the story, the magazine's editors explain that they "have chosen 10 emerging areas of technology that will soon have a profound impact on the economy and on how we live and work.... All of these areas merit special attention in the decade to come."

"We are humbled but not surprised to find our technology reviewed in such glowing terms," said MediaSite Chairman and Co-founder Howard Wactlar, who is individually cited in the story as an innovator who exemplifies the potential in this field. "We've always believed in the economic promise of our software, and because of our strong links with Carnegie Mellon, MediaSite is in a unique position to continue reaping the rewards of some of the very best research occurring in this field."

The 100-year-old MIT publication, which is considered the world's oldest technology magazine, has seen its readership more than double to an estimated 250,000 since its re-launch in 1998. In addition, Technology Review was recently named one of the top-five growth magazines in an Advertising Age report that tabulated the advertising lineage of 369 magazines. It was also named a finalist for the prestigious 1999 National Magazine Award in the general excellence category.