Seybold still crazy about Web
How designers give Web pages some of the multimedia sizzle of CD-ROMs is one of the topics to be discussed at the Seybold trade show.
That's one of the questions software companies such as Macromedia (MACR), NetObjects, and PaceWorks will try to answer at this week's Seybold Seminars trade show in New York. All three of these companies are unveiling design tools intended to electrify the look and feel of otherwise static Web sites.
Whether they're being held in New York or San Francisco, Seybold events typically draw the creative sides of the multimedia and print worlds, rather than hard-core programmers. Still, the shows have become a meeting place for both "content providers" and technical wizards.
For example, Kim Polese, chief executive of "push" software company Marimba, will share a keynote speech tomorrow with executives from New York Times Electronic Media and computer publishing giant Ziff-Davis.
The show will be highlighted by the unveiling of Adobe Systems' PostScript 3, a new version of its printing language designed to handle the new demands of business networks including Web printing and management capabilities and better graphics performance.
Other announcements at the Seybold show include the following:
The entire suite of tools also lets designers build "hybrid" applications that use CD-ROMs to store hefty multimedia video and sound clips and the Internet to download timely information.
Authorware 4 Interactive Studio will be available for Windows 95, NT, and Macintosh platforms in the second quarter.
The new features in ObjectDancer 1.1 include speedier rendering of animations and smoother, more lifelike animations through a capability called "subpixel sampling." The product is in beta testing now and will ship within a month.