XML Automation -- Still on its way?

Dow Jones Newswires reports that a group of technology companies has published a draft of new specifications intended to improve the use of extensible markup language, or XML. "The group plans to submit the draft specification, called Service Modeling Language or SML, to an industry standards organization later this year. The new specifications aim to provide an improved means of expressing how computer networks and other IT resources are described in XML, so businesses can more easily manage the services that are built on these resources.
Companies publishing the draft included BEA Systems Inc., BMC Software Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., Dell Inc., EMC Corp., Hewlett-Packard Inc., IBM Corp., Intel Corp., Microsoft Corp., and Sun Microsystems Inc. "

The Committee has had many programs on similar topics going back for many years, including interesting discussions in the Winter Working Meeting this year in Wilmington. Members of the Committee are directly involved in these and similar efforts, including Jamie Clark who is with the Oasis organization (one of those 'industry standards organizations' mentioned above).

Yet another reason to keep up your contacts with this committee -- We not only anticipate the future, but we're there to implement it!

Program Book Available Online

You can download the Annual Meeting Program Book and plan your schedules. Click here for a copy. A hard copy will not be mailed in advance of the meeting but will be available at the Section Information Desk located on the 3rd floor of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa and at the Registration and Expo Reception. The Annual Meeting offers over 20 CLE programs and nearly 100 committee and subcommittee meetings, open to all, which provide concise and relevant developments important to your everyday practice.

No Satellite Registration This Year!

For those of you attending in Hawaii, a special note to you from the Business Section:

The Section of Business Law will host the Registration and Expo Reception on Thursday evening, August 3, from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. at the Hawaii Convention Center. This unique reception, exclusive to Section of Business Law members and their families, is designed to let Section members pick up registration materials in advance, get a sneak preview of the Annual Meeting Expo, schedule island tours, and catch up with colleagues and friends! Attendees will be able to purchase tickets to Business Law and ABA ticketed functions during the Registration and Expo Reception. Join your Business Law colleagues for this private event—appetizers, cocktails and entertainment for the entire family will be provided! As an added bonus, there will be a special raffle during the reception! Be sure to bring your family as this is a kid-friendly event. Admission is free.

Special transportation from the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa, the Section of Business Law headquarters, will also be provided to the Hawaii Convention Center for this event. Buses will begin boarding on Paoakalani Street at 4:30 p.m. and will shuttle continuously between the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa and the Hawaii Convention Center until 7:30 p.m. Afterwards, transportation to the Hawaii Convention Center will be available via the ABA Shuttle.

THERE IS NO SATELLITE REGISTRATION IN HAWAII. You must pick up your registration materials, including your name badge, All-Access CLE Badge, CLE tickets, and social event tickets, at the ABA Registration Desk located in the Hawaii Convention Center before you can attend meetings and CLE programs. With meetings scheduled for early Friday morning, the Registration and Expo Reception is a great opportunity for attendees to pick up registration materials.