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Push technology, also called server push or webcasting, describes an internet-based content delivery system where information is delivered from a central server to a client computer based upon a predefined set of request parameters outlined by the client computer. Illustratively a client computer such as a desktop home user would subscribe to various information topics provided by a content provider and as that content is created by the content provider, such information is "pushed" or delivered across the internet to the desktop home user and displayed on that users computer. Push Technology differs from normal internet technology, which is based on Pull Technology where a user has to request a Web Site through an internet browser.
The original push technology was in fact E-mail, as unrequested messages are delivered from the server to the client. Another type of Push technology gained popularity in the 1990s using PointCast software. It got a lot of media attention and both Netscape and Microsoft integrated it heavily into their software at the height of the browser wars. However, most people didn't find push technology useful, and it later faded into more obscure corners of software packages.
Push technology also refers to technologies where there is insufficient market demand (or market pull). In such cases, a third party (i.e., government) must intervene through mechanisms such as tax incentives or new regulatory requirements to create additional demand.
History
In 1997, the idea that millions of people would grow tired of searching for their favorite Internet sites and begin to install software on their machines that would automatically download data from popular websites and then flash it on their monitors began to grow. Investors took notice of this trend quickly, pouring their money into the new technology and Push Technology began its trip into the mainstream.
"Kiss your browser goodbye," exclaimed Wired in a flashy cover story in 1997. It wrote about how internet users would move from browsing the internet to receiving the information they wanted when they turned on their computer. Advertising would pay the freight, generating excellent profits for the push software companies. Boston’s, Yankee Group claimed they would create profits of $6 billion a year by 2000.
The enthusiasm was based on two distinct advantages. For the end user it significantly increased the access time to internet content in an age of painfully slow internet connections. For the content providers, it allowed streamlining their content delivery by targeting their audience directly and cleaning up their business model.
There was an initial rush of interest worldwide. Millions of “surfers” downloaded the famous Pointcast screensaver, the one that turned the idle computer monitor into a kaleidoscope of news headlines, stock tickers, and commercials for bad movies. This generated outrage as corporate network performance stagnated under the weight of massive Pointcast content downloads. The technology of the day could not support the network bandwidth requirements of the push distribution protocols. Also, content providers were required to produce their content multiple times to conform with the multiple programs used to transmit the "pushed" data. Some companies saw their data networks subside under the strain; others responded by banning the software. These combined factors contributed to Pointcast dying in 1999, and most people wrote off Push Technology with it.
But a handful of developers remained devoted to the idea. Instead of a bloated push client on every machine, these developers imagined simple, lightweight programs that wouldn't interfere with other computing functions. And instead of only serving up data provided by Big Media, they wanted a method that let anybody push information across the World Wide Web, at little or no cost.
This handful of developers altered the idea slightly, and in doing so, altered its title. Push Technology became the acronym -- RSS, or really simple syndication. With RSS, any Internet user can automatically receive the latest updates from thousands of websites. Don’t get this confused with spam or mass e-mailings, it is much different.
For example, if an individual frequently checks the latest headlines from CNN, rather than visiting the site ever 30-60 minutes to find out its updates, you could simply install RSS software on your computer and have it do the work. At regular intervals at your discretion the latest news from CNN will pop up, stripped of flashy graphics and annoying ads. Each "feed" requires a extreme small of bandwidth, not close to enough to clog a corporate network or slow down a desktop PC as with the original Push Technology. This new streamlined technology has alleviated many of the difficulties associated with the programs' in the late 1990's. Through these streams, users are receiving updated news, stock prices, weather information, sports scores as well as movie trailers.
Quietly, without any fuss, CNN, The New York Times, the BBC, and many other leading news organizations have set up RSS feeds that provide constant updates to subscribers. Syndic8.com lists over 20,000 RSS feeds, ranging from top newspapers to obscure weblogs run by Internet hobbyists or political activists.
Push Technology has also began to take its hold on the wireless world. Cingular Wireless as well as Blackberry have integrated push technology into their wireless devices. The information being transmitted is primarily e-mail, allowing the end user to receive notice of new mail, rather than checking themselves.
How it works
Configuring your Personal Computer (PC) to receive pushed information is relatively easy, often requiring you to simply download and install the push vendor's software from a Web site such as BackWeb's Polite Agent or Marimba Inc.'s Castanet. Some vendors even push their services without requiring anything on the user's end but a Web browser and an Internet connection. Users fill out a profile specifying what types of information they want. The profile acts as a filter and is stored either on the client's machine (client-based filter) or on the push vendor's server (server-based filter). The filter then retrieves relevant information and sends it to the user's desktop. The majority of Push Technology applications are free and easy to set up.
Home User
1. Purchase and download the software onto your desktop. The software will unobtrusively request and get information updates in the periods when you're not using your live Internet connection (you won't be aware of it).
2. The new browser/software will ask you what "channels" or information categories and specific Web sites you want to be able to have brought to you. Typically, you fill out a brief profile and select from menus.
3. Depending on the browser or application you have downloaded and installed you will receive the information for the type of software you installed. For example, you may have installed: “tickertape” – which displays news headlines, stock quotes, or other information; “Pointcast” – which provides a screensaver that brings you an array of news, weather, and other information as soon as you turn your computer on; or “Backweb's Headliner” which lets you select either a tickertape or a screensaver and change at any time.
4. As you use your computer, the software uses a portion of your Internet connection to request updates from the "channels" (Web sites) you have selected. As the updates arrive, they are either stored for you to view the first time you click on a "channel" or, if a channel is already active, the information is presented to you right away and continually as long as you are using your computer.
Intranet/Corporation
1. An enterprise's intranet manager installs its chosen software onto its corporation’s central Web server. Depending on the product, a range of provided program "channels" may be available to provide the intranet users with international, national, and perhaps local news or news headlines and possibly other services. The intranet manager decides which "channels" to pre-select for intranet users.
2. The intranet manager can develop new channels to put on the server that will "push" corporate news, industry or trade news, and news about competitors to selected users in the company.
3. Some of the products will allow the intranet manager to gather statistics on how often each channel is being used.
4. The intranet will become a much more visible part of the user's computer desktop. In some cases, the user may be able to modify the user interface and turn the software channels off (for example, turn off a screensaver background or a scrolling headline ticker) just as a home user can.
How it is used
For personal use, Push Technology is used for every day work or browsing. From sport fanatics craving up-to-date information on their favourite team, to movie watchers searching for the next best review, push technology can be used by nearly every web “surfer”. Push technology software often assists individuals in obtaining daily content.
Companies are currently using push to issue internal/corporate information to employees, such as automatic updating of business manuals, parts, inventories and policies. When tied to databases and spreadsheets, the technology can automatically notify managers when trends in sales and services change, allowing for rapid response.
The most significant technical snag associated with the push technology is network overload on the server side or performance hinderance on the client side. The best way to avoid losing performance on your PC is to keep the information being recieved relatively simple, ie. weather updates, stock quotes or sports information. Another shortfall is that many users find the information they receive is not as well-filtered as they had hoped. Information profiles are essentially search queries that find information within channels and other sources. They are rigidly defined and usually search by key words.
The profiles work well for simple queries such as weather forecasts or stock quotes, but they can work poorly for more complex queries in which the user is trying to define and search a broader concept, such as employee retention. Using it for the latter tends to result in large quantities of information that must still be reevaluated and digested by the user to determine its true relevance.
Resources
http://www.w3.org/Architecture/9709_Workshop/
http://www.darwinmagazine.com/learn/curve/column.html?ArticleID=43
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/01/05/push_technology_gets_a_nudge/
http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid26_gci213345,00.html
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/P/push.html
Besides all these, we can treat a subset of message-oriented middlewares as push technologies. They can not only store and forward messages, but also push incoming data to multiple receivers in real time.
- ICE Technology Corp.'s iPush Server (Fastest one)
"Push technology"