Even newbies can get a taste of Java

Dimension X today opened the Java gates to non-programmers.

The company posted a development tool called Liquid Motion that allows Web designers, consumers, and artists to create Java applets without having to do any programming.

Liquid Motion provides a drag-and-drop interface for creating 2D animations that can run on any Java-compatible browser, including Netscape Communications' Navigator 2.0, and Microsoft's Internet Explorer 3.0, and Sun Microsystems' HotJava. The design tool supports popular media file formats such as JPEG, can embed scenes within scenes, and provides tools for timing and frame rate control.

A beta version of the tool can be downloaded now from the company's Web site for $99.99. A demo version is free.