Macromedia Previews Flash 2
San Francisco, CA--March 31, 1997--Macromedia (NASDAQ:MACR), a leading
provider of cross-platform software tools for digital media creation and
publishing, today announced the public beta release of Macromedia Flash 2.
Flash allows both professional and amateur Web site designers to deliver
fast interactive animations, buttons, graphics -- and now sound -- even over
slower modem connections. The extremely compact Shockwave Flash player and
file format makes it a snap for everyone on the Web to view dazzling Web
creations. The public beta is available April 1 at
http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/.
Flash 2 is the first tool for creating and animating vector-based,
resolution-independent graphics without programming. Sites such as the
Microsoft Network and the Simpsons
have already adopted Flash as the
solution for Web interfaces and animation. Macromedia now offers developers
both Flash 2 to create fast and fun Web animations that can be placed
throughout a Web site, and Director 6 to develop CD-quality Shockwave
content like games and simulations.
"Flash is fun and easy to use with support for buttons, music and
narration," said Norm Meyrowitz, chief technology officer and general
manager of Internet and Multimedia Division at Macromedia. "Anyone using a
WYSIWYG HTML editor can purchase Flash and really get to the next level of
dynamic Web page design and animation."
Both professional developers and Web enthusiasts can use Flash 2 to create
animated, interactive Web interfaces, advertising banners, navigation
buttons, panels, logos and cartoons. The new version of Flash supports
synchronized WAV (Windows) and AIFF (Macintosh) sound, enabling users to
synchronize audio effects such as voice overs or button clicks to the
graphics. Flash lets developers re-use a single sound file to produce
various effects like fade in and fade out, keeping file sizes small and
playback fast. Flash also supports files created in Macromedia FreeHand.
Flash 2 includes enhanced bitmap editing, enabling vector and bitmap
integration. Users can now import digitized photographs into Flash that
can be painted, tinted, erased, brightened or used as a tiled fill. Flash 2
also features a new autotrace capability that converts pixel-based GIFs or
JPEGs into ultra-small, resolution independent vector-based graphics.
"We currently use Flash because it creates such small files and provides
streaming capabilities," said Megan Wheeler of Ad�hoc Interactive . "We are
excited to begin using Flash 2 because the addition of audio and enhanced
bitmap support will allow us to create even more engaging content."
Macromedia will provide customers with over 200MB of clip art, font and
bitmap files with Flash 2 when it ships in May. Web designers are no longer
limited to Courier and Times in their font selection, they can now integrate
any TrueType font from their favorite font program, like Macromedia
Fontographer�. Flash also supports custom fonts and sizes, alignment,
kerning, tracking, line spacing and indents.
Pricing and Availability
Web surfers who want to view content created with Flash can download the
Shockwave Player which plays both Flash and Director movies, or get the
compact Shockwave Flash player, which plays Flash movies. Both are available
at www.macromedia.com.
About Macromedia
Macromedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: MACR) is the leading provider of cross-platform
software tools for Web publishing, multimedia and graphics. With
headquarters in San Francisco, only Macromedia delivers a complete,
affordable set of software tools for digital media creation and
delivery anywhere. Macromedia's award-winning products for Windows,
Macintosh and the Internet are available to business, education,
and government customers in over 50 countries. Additional information
on Macromedia is available on the Internet at www.macromedia.com.
Product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macromedia, Inc., as indicated. Other products or services may be trademarks or service marks of others.
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