MACROMEDIA ANNOUNCES AUTHORWARE 5.1
Upgrade of leading authoring software for training applications adds
support for Flash 4 and QuickTime 4, new compact Web Player and Macintosh
playback
San Francisco, Calif. October 18, 1999 Macromedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: MACR)
today announced Macromedia Authorware 5.1, an upgrade to its authoring
software for deploying learning applications for the Web, networks and
CD-ROM. Authorware 5.1 adds support for leading multimedia and Web media
formats, new delivery capabilities and an enhanced, more productive user
interface. Key new features include support for Macromedia Flash 4,
Macintosh delivery, and a new, smaller player for streaming delivery over
the Web. The upgrade is free for registered users of Macromedia Authorware
5.
Authorware is the leading authoring environment for creating interactive,
rich-media learning applications. It enables training developers,
instructional designers and subject matter experts to create online
learning applications and deploy them to the Web, corporate networks and
CD-ROM with consistent quality. Authorware learning applications
automatically track and store student results to external databases and
data formats. Resulting student information can be easily sent to any open,
industry-standard learning management system, such as Lotus Pathware.
Macromedia and Lotus recently announced a strategic partnership, including
a co-marketing and distribution agreement for Authorware.
Macromedia is committed to providing best-of-breed software to meet the
training needs of organizations and educational institutions to rapidly
develop highly interactive online learning courses, said Christian Vescia,
senior product manager for Authorware at Macromedia. This new version of
Authorware keeps pace with rapidly evolving Web and multimedia formats,
extends Authorwares multi-platform delivery capabilities and simplifies
the deployment of rich-media learning applications over the Web. Its also
just plain faster to work with, thanks to enhancements to the user
interface.
The new features in Authorware 5.1 fall across three major areas: new media
formats, enhanced delivery and improved usability:
New media formats Authorware 5.1 allows developers to take advantage of the
latest versions of Web and multimedia formats including Macromedia Flash 4,
Apple QuickTime 4, QuickTime VR and animated GIFs. Lightweight Flash 4
content keeps applications small for fast Web delivery. Authorware can
capture and respond to Flash and QuickTime VR events, enabling the use of
these powerful media types within learning applications.
Enhanced delivery Authorware 5.1 offers improved capability for delivering
Authorware applications over the Web, networks and CD-ROM. The new minimal
Authorware Web Player reduces the player footprint by 80 percent to less
than 800K and will play all Authorware 5.0/5.1 applications. With version
5.1, Macromedia is also delivering a Macintosh player, which allows
Authorware developers to author once and deploy cross-platform applications
to Windows and the Macintosh.
Improved usability The Authorware 5.1 user interface has been enhanced to
improve usability and workflow. The new version provides model palettes,
new right-click context menus and optional scrollbars.
With this new version of Authorware, Macromedia continues to enhance its
family of Web and instructional authoring products. With Flash 4 support in
Authorware, developers benefit from the integration of Macromedia
technologies while still leveraging the unique strengths of each product.
Macromedia Authorware, Dreamweaver with Attain Objects, Director and Flash
provide a family of products that address the full range of any
organizations authoring and delivery requirements for instructional
content.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
Macromedia Authorware 5.1 is a free upgrade for registered customers of
Authorware 5 and can be downloaded from the Macromedia Web site. The full
product is available for $2,699, with $499 upgrades available for customers
with versions 3.0 and later. Educational discounts and GSA pricing are also
available.
ABOUT MACROMEDIA
Macromedias mission is to add life to the Web. Our award-winning products
empower developers to provide the most engaging experience on the Web and
enable more effective e-business. Headquartered in San Francisco,
Macromedia (NASDAQ: MACR) has more than 600 employees worldwide and is
available on the Internet at http://www.macromedia.com.