Trying to make the development look like a spontaneous groundswell, Oracle Corp has quietly twisted a bunch of corporate arms to sign up as members for a newly created group chartered to come up with object-based specifications for developing interactive multimedia and electronic commerce systems. The specifications are supposed to become open standards that can be used by anyone to build object-oriented multimedia class libraries. That they may be, but sources in the new Object Definition Alliance say that there has not been any decision about which operating systems may be involved and whose data models will form the basis of the specifications. Oracle, unsurprisingly, is hoping to steer the group towards signing up to a standard that will work nicely with its own software. Those companies that Oracle has got to sign up for the alliance include a heterogeneous mix of software and hardware companies, along with major retailers and commerce firms including both Mastercard International and Visa International Inc. On the computer industry side it has signed up Apple Computer Inc, Compaq Computer Corp, Kaleida Labs Inc, NeXT Computer Inc, Sun Microsystems Inc, Taligent Inc, Verifone Inc and Xerox Corp. The Object Management Group has also been persuaded to play along and work with the alliance. From the industry and commerce side, in addition to the credit card giants, the Redwood Shores, California company has enrolled Home Box Office, MCI Communicaions Corp, Price Costco and Wells Fargo Bank into the alliance.
