Macromedia Launches Fireworks -- Over the past few years, we've seen releases of several programs that aim to provide an all-in-one solution for designing Web pages. With its release of Fireworks 1.0, Macromedia is attempting to do the same for Web graphics: unite the many tools in a designer's toolbox into a one-stop solution. Incorporating text, vector, and bitmap drawing tools, Fireworks optimizes images for the Web, displays real-time previews of changes, and includes features for applying and removing text and graphics effects. Fireworks has an estimated street price of $299, and a 9.6 MB trial version is available. [JLC]

<http://www.macromedia.com/software/fireworks/>