The Cutting Edge: Computing/Technology/Innovation : Get Ready for the New-Age Gutenbergs : Software: A flood of new products make it easier for even novice on-line users to ‘publish’ on the Internet.
Whether it will produce a new wave of multimedia creativity or simply invite on-line vanity is anybody’s guess, but personal computer software companies are coming out with a range of easy-to-use programs for “publishing” on the Internet.
The annual Demo conference, an industry confab focusing on hot new products, was overflowing with “tools” that enable people to create their own graphic documents to print, view on screen or share via the Internet. Novell, No Hands Software, SkiSoft and Quarterdeck Office Systems all announced software that makes it easier for users to create their own World Wide Web pages for display via the Internet.
And getting good-looking photos for your publishing projects--whether they be on the Internet or on paper--will also be easier thanks to EasyPhoto, a new product from Storm Software in Mountain View, Calif.
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Creating a web “page,” which can include photos and other graphic images as well as links to other documents, until now required the user to write programming code--not an activity for the computer-buying masses. But these new products make creating a Web page as easy as typing text and pasting images in a word-processing program such as Microsoft Word or WordPerfect.
Robert Kutnick, vice president of Quarterdeck Office Systems, says small businesses, schools and even individuals will now be publishing their own graphic documents on the Internet.
One new program, from Delrina Corp., is designed to create family scrapbooks that include descriptions of historical events in the life of a family.
The program lets you include photos as well as audio and video clips--though it offers no guarantee that friends and family will appreciate your new skills.
Other products announced at the conference include “Crush,” a Windows and Macintosh CD-ROM that helps small- and medium-size companies develop business and marketing plans. The program includes video clips with case studies as well as advice from marketing guru Regis McKenna.
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Professional publishers had their say at Demo too. Dow Jones on Monday introduced Personal Journal, a service that delivers a daily personalized electronic newspaper based on information from Dow Jones, Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal. Users create their own “news profile,” which can include stock information and selected features from the Wall Street Journal.
For $12.95 a month, you get one issue a day. Users can download updated versions throughout the day for 50 cents per edition.
