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1995-08-15
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Software Vendor Marketing: IconAuthor Delivers Multi-Platform Multimedia
Announced on August 15, 1995
SOFTWARE Announcement 295-366
In Brief . . .
IconAuthor is a powerful, flexible, cross-platform authoring system
for developing interactive multimedia applications in an
enterprise-wide, client/server environment.
o Offers object technology to create highly interactive applications
o Delivers digital media support on both PC and workstation
platforms
o Offers content and structure separation to speed development, ease
maintenance, and enhance distributed delivery
o Delivers applications on various computing platforms without
time-consuming and expensive conversion process or degradation of
image quality or performance playback
o Supports industry standards providing an open architecture to
extend capabilities
o Directly accesses databases, including Oracle**, Informix**,
INGRES**, Lotus** Approach, Sybase, and Microsoft** Access
----------------------------------------
You can deliver multi-platform multimedia to anyone, anywhere, with a
single development effort. Offering a broad cross-platform
multimedia capability, IconAuthor allows you to develop and deliver
interactive multimedia across a range of platforms including
Windows+, Windows NT, OS/2(R), UNIX(1), and Macintosh** OS.
By seamlessly combining database information and multimedia elements
(text, graphics, animation, digital video, and audio), you can build
comprehensive, sophisticated applications for computer-based training
(CBT), electronic performance support, kiosks, and sales and
marketing systems -- all without scripting or programming.
IconAuthor provides powerful object technology to create highly
interactive applications. Object authoring consists of two main
components: SmartObject pages that contain a series of objects
representing the layout of each screen, and the icon structure that
controls navigation and lets you see the "big picture" of your
application.
IconAuthor's integrated editors:
o SmartObject Editor is a full-screen, object-oriented content
creation editor for adding interactivity to applications
o Resource Manager manages the copying and distribution of
applications (PC platforms only)
o IconAnimate creates cross-platform 2D graphic animations
o RezSolution captures and manipulates images (Windows platforms
only)
o Text Editor creates IconAuthor formatted text (FTT) (PC platforms
only)
o Video Editor manipulates analog video (PC platforms only)
Operating Environment: OS/2, Windows, Windows NT, AIX(R) 3.2.5, or
later, HP-UX** 9.0, or later, SGI IRIx 5.2, or later, Solaris** 1.x,
Solaris 2.x, and Digital UNIX 3.1
Program Name OTC*
IconAuthor for Windows and OS/2 $4,995
IconAuthor for UNIX
Fixed License(2) 5,995
Floating License(3) 7,995
UNIX Presentation System
1 -- 250 users/per user charge 100
251 or more users/per user charge 20
Availability Date: August 15, 1995
+ Trademark of Microsoft Corporation
(R) Registered trademark of International Business Machines
Corporation
(1) Registered trademark in the United States and other countries
licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Limited.
** Company, product, or service name may be a trademark or service
mark of others.
* OTC = One-Time Charge
(2) Fixed License -- UNIX product only -- one workstation/one user
only.
(3) Floating License -- Multiple or identified users with single
access. No concurrent usage.
DESCRIPTION
IconAuthor-developed applications can be easily delivered on the
various computing platforms without any time-consuming and expensive
conversion process. You can author once and deliver to any other
platform throughout the enterprise, giving you maximum return on your
development effort.
You can deploy your applications to other platforms without any
degradation of image quality or performance playback. IconAuthor
contains a cross-platform authoring guidebook that advises you of the
best fonts, colors, resolutions, and multimedia formats to use. When
you move your application to another platform, the user interface
(buttons, menus, message boxes) will look as if it was developed on
that target platform.
IconAuthor supports industry standards, providing an open
architecture to extend its capabilities. It provides full support
for Dynamic Link Libraries (DLL) under Windows and OS/2, and shared
libraries on the Macintosh. External programs can be launched on any
platform through the program icon. Your IconAuthor application can
be either a DDE client or server (Windows), an OLE client (Windows),
or a ToolTalk client or server (UNIX). And, it can communicate with
any device that can be connected to an RS-232 serial port. You can
create drivers for kiosk devices, hook up with your internal computer
systems, write custom routines, or build a performance support system
that integrates several applications. You are not limited in what
you can do with IconAuthor.
Interactive business-to-business applications often require access to
information stored in databases. IconAuthor's database connection
allows you to directly access databases, including Oracle, Informix,
INGRES, Lotus Approach, Sybase, and Microsoft Access. You employ
Structured Query Language (SQL) to perform queries, updates, and
administrative functions on a variety of data sources.
Database information can be linked directly to text, listbox, and
other objects, providing seamless connections in an easy,
straightforward way. Database support gives you the power to create
sophisticated computer-managed instruction (CMI) modules common in
many CBT courses, or connect to product or customer databases,
locally or remotely.
The SmartObject Editor is the heart of IconAuthor's object authoring
technology. Using it, you create all your multimedia content pages.
Just like you create a "master page" in a page layout program,
SmartObject Editor includes anything the user will see such as layout
menus, database forms, navigational screens, lesson pages, and tests.
SmartObject Editor provides a true WYSIWYG way to visually lay out
the screen that users will interact with. You place objects on the
page and then define their properties. Some objects such as buttons,
list boxes, pull-down menus, timers, and combo boxes control
interactivity. Others, such as text, graphics, audio, movie,
animation, and database, control content. Any combination of objects
can be placed on a page. You can easily design all of your screens
and "copy and paste" or "drag and drop" between pages to give your
application a consistent interface.
At any point, you arrange the properties of the objects through a
simple dialog box. For example, if you want to play a movie, the
name of the file containing the movie and whether it will play
automatically or when the user tells it to play are two of the
properties you define. No programming or scripting is required to
give you complete control over the user interface of your
application.
After laying out the look and feel of your application with the
SmartObject Editor, you use IconAuthor to put it all together and
determine the flow of interactivity. Using a library of 35
task-specific icons, you build a flowchart structure that visually
depicts the application's logic. Icons representing functions or
tasks are easily "dragged and dropped" from the library and linked
into a color-coded flowchart. No programming or scripting is
required.
IconAuthor contains icons that manipulate objects, some that control
functions not available through objects (DDE, ToolTalk, program DLL,
random, parse), and some that are used for designing your structure
(subroutine, note, Help). By combining object manipulation icons
with other function icons, you can create powerful, flexible
applications.
Manipulating objects is easy as you design your new world of
interactivity. All objects defined on a SmartObject page are "live."
This means the properties can change during the running of your
application, based on the actions of the user. IconAuthor waits for
an event (clicking the mouse, dragging the cursor over an image) to
occur. When an action interacts with a live object, the user is
shown a new path or a new branch to pursue. For example, you can
play a movie, move to another screen, move a button, or enter text
information. Because IconAuthor is event-based, you can have
multiple interaction types with a variety of things happening at the
same time.
IconAuthor Integrated Editors
SmartObject Editor
Full-screen, object-oriented, content-creation editor for adding
interactivity to an application's live objects, including:
Live Objects Windows OS/2 UNIX
Push button X X X
Arrow button X
Picture push button X X
Radio button X X X
Check box X X X
Group box X X X
List box X X X
Combo box X X
Audio X X X
Database X
Graphic X X X
IconAnimate X
Keyboard X X X
Menu X X X
Movie X X X
OLE X
Variable X X
Text X X
IconAuthor text X
Motif text X
Timer X X X
Transparent X X X
o Over 40 special effects, including blinds, crush, fade, overlay,
spiral, vacuum, wipe, zigzag, and zoom
o Linking and embedding graphics and text (ASCII, RTF, FTT)
o Hotwords
o Drag and drop
Resource Manager (PC platforms only)
Manages the copying and distribution of applications
o File compression using PKZIP- and PKUNZIP-compatible technology
o File splits across disks for maximum efficiency
o File encryption for application protection
o Customized installation screens
IconAnimate
Creates cross-platform 2D graphic animations
o Over 40 special effects, including dissolve, pattern, push,
reveal, strips
RezSolution (Windows platforms only)
Captures and manipulates images
o Scaling, zooming, and cropping images
o Palette conversions
o Resolution changes
Text Editor
Creates IconAuthor formatted text (FTT) (PC platforms only)
o Importation of ASCII or RTF text
o Fonts, sizes, colors, hotword
o Multiple pages
Video Editor (PC platforms only)
Manipulates analog video
o Full-motion analog video
o Digital video available within Microsoft Windows and OS/2 MMPM
o Full-screen or video-window display
Standards Supported by IconAuthor
File Formats
Text Windows OS/2 UNIX
ASCII X X X
RTF X X
FTT (IconAuthor format) X X X
Graphics
ATT X
BMP X X X
CAL X
CLP X
CUT X
DCX X
DIB X X
EPS X X
FIF (Fractal) X
GIF X X X
GX2 X
ICA X
ICO X X
IFF X
IMG X
JPEG X X
KFX X
LV X
MAC X
MSP X
Text Windows OS/2 UNIX
PBM X
PCD X
PCX X X X
PSD X
PDS X
PICT X X
PM X
RAS X X
RGB X
RLE X X X
WMF X
TGA X X X
TIF X X X
WPG X X
XBM X X
XPM X
XWD X X
Animation
FLC X X
FLI X X
AAS X
AWM X
AWA X
Audio
WAV X X X
CD-Audio X X X
MIDI X X
AU X
Audio
Video for Windows (AVI) X X X
Intel** DVI (AVS) X X
QuickTime for Windows
(MOV) X X
MPEG X
External Communications
Windows OS/2 UNIX
ODBC database OS/2-compliant ToolTalk
OLE client DLLs Program
DDE client Full MCI launch
and server command Shell
Windows-compliant language scripts
DLLs RS-232 support
Full MCI command Program launch
language (OS/2, Windows,
RS-232 support or DOS)
Program launch
(Windows or DOS)
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Specified Operating Environment
Primary Industry: Cross Industry -- Multimedia Consulting and
Solutions
Program Support: For assistance in analysis, design, and
implementation of multimedia-enabled solutions, contact IBM's
Multimedia Consulting and Solutions at 800-426-3333, extension Star
63.
Packaging: CD-ROM, installation and user manuals.
Windows OS/2 UNIX
Operating
System Windows 3.1, OS/2 2.1, Varies by
or later. or later platform.
DOS 5.0, Refer to
or later specification
sheet.
Processor Development: Development: Varies by
486 486 platform
Delivery: 386 Delivery: 386
Memory 8MB 8MB 32MB
Storage 20MB 15MB 30MB
Other
Software MMPM/2 OSF
Motif 1.2,
or later
ORDERING INFORMATION
New Licensees
Orders for new licenses will be accepted now and scheduled for
shipment by the program supplier beginning August 15, 1995. Contact
your local IBM representative for details.
OTC
Program Feature
Program Name Number Number
IconAuthor for Windows and OS/2 5758-AT7 4376
IconAuthor for UNIX 5758-AT8
Fixed License 4377
Floating License 4378
UNIX Presentation System 5758-AT9
1 -- 250 users/per user charge 4379
251 or more users/per user charge 4380
Program Feature Distribution
Environment Number Number Media
UNIX 5758-AT7 5003 CD-ROM
through
5758-AT9
GENERAL INFORMATION
Programs presented under the Software Vendor Marketing Program are
licensed and distributed by the program supplier. Terms and
conditions are as provided by the supplier.
Charges listed are for reference only and subject to change. Current
charges, discounts, allowances, and additional licensing options, if
any, are available from the supplier or in the price list included in
the supplier's marketing package.
Program service or testing provisions, if any, are as provided by the
supplier.
Disclaimer of Warranty: Not warranted by IBM. Warranty, if any, is
as provided by the program supplier. IBM makes no warranties,
express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied
warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
Address any questions pertaining to warranty coverage to the program
supplier.
The employees of IBM and the program supplier can only act on behalf
of their employers, and are not to be considered the agents or
employees of the other party. IBM has only been authorized by the
program supplier to present marketing material and to receive orders
for the programs offered under the Software Vendor Marketing Program.
The information in this document concerning non-IBM products was
obtained from the suppliers of those products or from their published
announcements. IBM has not tested those products and cannot confirm
the accuracy of performance, compatibility, or any other claims
related to the non-IBM products. Questions on the capabilities of
non-IBM products should be addressed to the supplier of those
products.
CHARGES
Prices are provided for reference only and are subject to change
without notice.
Program
Program Name Number OTC
IconAuthor for Windows and OS/2 5758-AT7 $4,995
IconAuthor for UNIX 5758-AT8
Fixed License 5,995
Floating License 7,995
UNIX Presentation System 5758-AT9
1 -- 250 users/per user charge 100
251 or more users/per user charge 20
.