Subject: Imaging and Graphics Business Team

From: Steve Carson <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 11:58:27 -0600

A reminder that JTC1's Imaging and Graphics Business Team (IGBT) is
beginning operations and is establishing its first Working Groups. Please
pass this information on within your countries and encourage all of you
experts to actively participate. The IGBT should be the place where SC 24
plans its next generation of standards activities and I'm sure you all will
want to participate.

The Imaging and Graphics Business Team
****** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE *******

For More Information Contact:
Mr. Jerry Smith
Phone: +1-703-275-5596
[email-masked] or [email-masked]

Sendai, Japan - 2 June 1998 -- Today the Imaging and Graphics Business Team
announces the commencement of its work. The fast paced evolution of
information and communications technologies has created opportunities for
standards-based solutions to meet the
requirements of new and emerging markets. In recognition of this, Joint
Technical Committee 1 of ISO/IEC, the International Organization for
Standardization / the International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC
JTC 1) has created the Imaging and Graphics Business Team (IGBT). The
purpose of the business team is to identify opportunities for creating new
International Standards by working with:

* Business to identify market opportunities that require new standards;
* Governments and public sector organizations to identify their unique
requirements;
* Graphics and imaging experts to agree on technologies suitable for
standardization; and
* Developers of standards outside of ISO and IEC to optimize the
application of scarce resources.

Business Teams are a strategic planning activity of JTC 1, designed to
reach outside the community of technologists within JTC 1 who develop
International Standards and involve additional leaders in business and
government who are the users of standards as well as the trade
associations, consortia and other organizations who develop standards.

The area of information and communications technology to be addressed by
the IGBT includes all aspects standard formats and interfaces used for
interaction with and presentation of, information, including but not
limited to:

* Computer graphics
* Image processing
* Single media, including animation, audio and video
* Multimedia

The leader of the IGBT is Jerry Smith of the Defense Information Systems
Agency of the United States Department of Defense. Mr. Smith is advised by
a Steering Committee composed of managers and technologists with a strong
interest in graphics and imaging. Team activities are divided into two
focus areas: Business and Government, and Technology. Within each focus
area, Working Groups will be formed to discuss and reach consensus on
specific topics. The IGBT is a fast-paced activity that will conclude its
work in January 1999 with a Final Report to be
presented to the JTC 1 Brazil Plenary meeting.

Participation in the IGBT is open to anyone. You do not need to currently
participate in any recognized standards activity to join. For more
information or to join, please visit our WWW site at:
http://www.globalcollaboration.org/jtc1/igbt/

The Imaging and Graphics Business team will hold an open meeting
immediately following SIGGRAPH 98 on Sunday, 26 July 1998 at the Omni Rosen
Hotel in Orlando, Florida. More information can be found on the team's WWW
site.

The IGBT Homepage can be found at:  www.globalcollaboration.org/jtc1/igbt

Steve Carson
Chair, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 24
Computer Graphics and Image Processing
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Steve Carson                 phone:   +1-505-521-7399
GSC Associates Inc.          fax:     +1-505-521-9321
5272 Redman Road             e-mail:  [email-masked]
Las Cruces, NM 88011 USA
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