Re: Multimedia and PDF

["Huber, Mike" <mrhuber -at- SOFTWARE -dot- ROCKWELL -dot- COM>]

I have this line from an old song running through my head: "Lord, we don't
need another mountain."

There is too much "cool" out there already, and maybe it would be better to
show good, clean design.

But if you must get cool, look up DHTML on a search engine. You can do some
amazing things DHTML using just NotePad. If you already know HTML and a
little JavaScript, it's not a big jump.

For some nifty looking basic animation, you might try a GIF animator.
Microsoft Image Composer comes with an animation program, and there are
several shareware programs that you can find at shareware sites like
http://www.shareware.com.

If you are up to a challenge, you could go for VRML, which allows you to
build 3-dimensional objects that the user can explore. Once again, there are
shareware programs you can use. Or you can build the code by hand. Coding a
few simple objects by hand is not too hard, as long as you don't get into
animation. I like the Cosmo player for viewing VRML. It is freeware - search
for it by name on a site like  http://www.download.com.

I've mentioned some freeware and some shareware. Shareware is not free - if
you decide to use it on a regular basis, please pay for it. The Cosmo player
is free - Silicon Graphics gives it away to promote other software.

For more ideas, try WebMonkey. It's an area of HotWired that teaches cool
web stuff. http://www.hotwired.com/webmonkey/
Not my style, but there seems to be good information there.

Just remember that the coolness is not in the tool but in how you use it. I
make incredibly cool things with a hunk of dead tree and a sharp chunk of
metal (http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2111/carvings.html) . And I use
incredible state-of-the-art server-side database Internet whizz-bang
technology to generate some of the dullest pages imaginable (hey, Da Boss
wants dull, Da Boss gets dull).

---
Office:
mike -dot- huber -at- software -dot- rockwell -dot- com
Home:
nax -at- execpc -dot- com


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kathy Ellis [SMTP:kathy -at- TIBINC -dot- COM]
> Sent: Friday, July 17, 1998 12:43 PM
> To:   TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
> Subject:      Multimedia and PDF
>
> I've been charged with creating and teaching a class on
> Acrobat Reader for our User's Group this October. (We've
> recently put all our documents on CD in .PDF files.) Anyone
> have any experience creating really cool multimedia stuff
> without a lot of fancy software. I know that there are apps
> out there that do this for you, but we can't afford them.
>
> I'm looking for examples of things using HTML, Acrobat,
> or even PowerPoint. I might be able to use Illustrator, but
> I'd have to learn it first! If you know of a cool site or any
> usefu publications, please let me know.
>