Cosmo Software, a Silicon Graphics company, today announced the beta availability of Cosmo PageFX, a new kind of Web authoring tool that enables 2D graphic and Web designers to easily add depth, motion, and interactivity to images and type.
Cosmo PageFX creates low-bandwidth Web content in the ISO standard VRML 2.0 file format, which allows for rapid download and viewing over the Web. A Windows 95 and Windows NT beta version of Cosmo PageFX is currently available for download at no charge from Cosmo’s site.
Cosmo PageFX gives designers the tools they need to create interactive ad
banners that attract and engage viewers’ attention. With Cosmo PageFX,
designers can create eye-catching banners and animated logos to drive
traffic to Web sites.
Cosmo PageFX provides the capability to creatively solve site navigation
problems. The interactive Web graphics created with Cosmo PageFX make it
possible to more effectively convey the scope of a Web site while
conserving screen real estate.
For example, a spinning cube can be designed with interactive links on each rotating side to guide Web users to specific content. The benefits of a navigational aid such as this were not missed by Patricia Seybold’s Geoffrey Bock who noted in SnapShots that “with this latest product, Cosmo Software certainly demonstrates the practical utility of 3D displays in electronic business environments. We no longer need to be satisfied scrolling through long, linear lists of on-screen items.”
Cosmo PageFX composes dynamic Web graphics from a variety of media including:
- TrueType and Type 1 typeface outlines
- Images (JPEG, or PNG or GIF with transparency) created by other tools
- Sound imported as WAV and MIDI sequences
- Shapes imported as VRML 2.0 files
- Ready-made elements from the Cosmo PageFX clip-art library.
Cosmo PageFX provides designers with the capability to:
- Maintain complete control over depth placement, size, 3D rotation and
transparency
- Define color, texture, transparency and sheen of elements
- Add motion and appearance effects from a library of 40 customizable
effects
- Orchestrate the timing, synchronization and sequencing of effects
- Control interaction cues and responses
Final customer shipment is scheduled for June. The suggested retail price
is $329, with an estimated street price of $250.