Document creation and management software house Interfleaf Inc has announced Jamba Animator 2.0 an updated component of the Jamba web authoring tool which the company purchased from Asymetrix Learning Systems back in September (CI No 3,275). A direct competitor to Macromedia Inc’s Shockwave and Flash technologies, Animator 2.0 will let users create Java animation for the web by using graphics, text, sound and special effects like zoom and fade. It will also let them create path-based animation; create interactivity with events or triggers and trigger actions such as playing sound, going to another web page or interacting with another part of the animation. Integrated with the Jamba authoring environment, the product will be available early next year for $125 and under. Originally owned by Aimtech the Jamba authoring tool was taken on by Asymetrix back in July when it acquired Aitech. It then sold the product on to Boston, Massachusetts based Interleaf in September. According to officials at Interleaf the product fits into its new range of Java-based Xtreme web publishing products. Our engine concentrates on assembling content including live video and audio; and the Jamba technology allows us to present these elements, said Mike Torto vice president of marketing at Interleaf. The company posted alarming losses in 1996, but has spent the last year or so reinventing itself as an enterprise wide web publishing provider. As well as Javaanimator 2, the company has unveiled Interleaf Xtreme PE, an entry-level version of its Xtreme web publishing technology, which enables departmental users to convert documents into a web viewable format without converting to HTML. The company is planning further product announcements in the New Year.
