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JANUARY 12, 2004 Roundup: Macworld Expo 2004
 On the interactive side, Macromedia used the Macworld Expo as the launching point for Director MX 2004, the latest version of the company's multimedia authoring environment. Due out in February, Director MX 2004 boasts, for the first time, the ability to author to multiple plaforms from a single version of the software--something users have been craving for years. It also includes the ability to mix and match Lingo and JavaScript. And it adds to its video capabilities, allowing authors to stream content in QuickTime, Real, Windows Media, Flash and DVD-Video formats. With the new DVD-Video functionality, users can embed, play back and control DVD video content within their presentations. More info: http://www.macromedia.com/. Also on the multimedia front, RealViz started shipping Stitcher 4.0. Stitcher is an application for creating panoramas for print, film, the Web and 3D. The new 4.0 version offers improved integration with Adobe Photoshop, including the ability to export individual images in a panorama as separate layers in a Photoshop document; new options for image interpolation for resizing; a new "Best Rendering" option; interactive QuickTime VR previewing for adjusting parameters; and new interface and workflow improvements. More info: http://www.realviz.com/.[an error occurred while processing this directive]So there were some major developments for creative professionals at the expo--in design, interactive, video and 3D--and I haven't even mentioned everything here, just the items that I thought were worth particular note. And I've left out hardware almost entirely, except for Apple's announcements. But you get the idea.Rating the expo I should conclude my review of this year's Macworld SF event discussing the show itself. After all, it's not just about new products and news announcements. Macworld is and event people simply like to attend for the sheer pleasure of being there, for the learning experiences, for sharing information and techniques and for meeting up with like-minded Mac folk. While other important trade shows have lost their focus and followed their marketing dodos to the fate of the dodo, IDG has kept it together for this event, providing relevant seminars and a congenial environment for people to take care of business and pleasure. (I particularly appreciated the lack of security stations with random personal searches that have been depressing trade shows for the last couple of years.) I neither heard nor expressed a single note of discord from attendees, but, on the contrary, got an earful onsite and off from attendees who found the show to exceed their expectations. It's a well managed and well organized event, and this was reflected by the sheer volume of attendees. Attendance figures for the show had not been posted at the time of this writing, but it was, simply, shoulder to shoulder in the exhibit hall fairly consistently, and it was obvious that the companies that decided not to exhibit or to diminish their presence at this year's expo made a pretty big mistake. Oh well, there's always next year. Contact the author: Dave Nagel is the editor and producer of Creative Mac and Digital Media Designer; host of several World Wide User Groups, including Synthetik Studio Artist, Adobe Photoshop, Apple DVD Studio Pro, Mac OS, Adobe InDesign, Adobe LiveMotion, Creative Mac and Digital Media Designer; and executive producer of the Digital Media Net family of publications. You can reach him at dnagel@digitalmedianet.com. Prev 1 2 3 4 Related sites: • Animation Artist • Creative Mac • Digital Animators • Digital Media Designer • Digital Post Production • Digital Producer • Digital Video Editing • DV Format • Film and Video Magazine • Presentation Master • The WWUG Related forums: [an error occurred while processing this directive] 
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