Fig. 12: The myriad behaviors that ship with LSP mean that you can put off learning QScript for a while.[an error occurred while processing this directive]Disappointments
In these days of point-and-click simplicity, it seems almost unnecessary to include anything about the installation process for any program, but, alas, forces have conspired to make a discussion of product installation relevant again. More and more companies are "offering" product activation as part of their software, and unfortunately, LSP is one such program. In response to the overall trend, I plan on describing (or at least mentioning) the activation process in any affected software package I review from here on out, as I feel it's important for potential users to know the totality of what their hard-earned dollars are buying. And in the interest of complete disclosure, I need to state for the record that as a general rule, I tend to be against most forms of product activation. The process usually results in the legitimate user being made to feel like a common criminal in their attempts to use software that they have bought (often at great expense), even while most activation schemes are quickly, and sometimes almost trivially, circumvented by those bent on cracking the system. But, as with so many things in life, there are a lot of things I don't like that I have to live with anyway. Therefore, even with my stated bias, I do try to take an objective look at how various activation processes affect individual programs on a case-by-case basis.

LSP uses the Interlok system, which requires a separate install of the appropriate drivers for LSP even to run. When you install LSP, you are required to either connect to the Totally Hip Web site to generate an activation key, or have the program generate a file for you to e-mail to Totally Hip later on, which they will then process and send back. You get two activations, allowing LSP to be installed on a primary and secondary (work/home, desktop/laptop, whatever) machine, provided that the same license is not used concurrently. The software is generally "smart" enough to recognize when you reinstall your OS on the same machine, so for those of us that are frequent (or even compulsive) reinstallers, reactivating won't (or, at least, shouldn't) count against the two you get. You also are granted a third, temporary license for circumstances like when you switch machines, giving you a one week grace period to contact Totally Hip to straighten out your particular situation. I was assured by a Totally Hip representative that begging is not required should you run into trouble, as they'll typically be understanding about circumstances that require activation resets. Overall, it's a pretty fair approach to how users "really" work and is generally tolerable, though I did have trouble with my secondary install and am not real crazy about extra drivers floating around my system.

Apart from the presence of product activation, there isn't much to gripe about here. LSP is pretty much the only game in town as far as this particular breadth and depth of QuickTime authoring goes, and even with that position in the interactive QuickTime market, there are really no major areas of concern. I found LSP to be quick, stable and generally easy to use, which is especially impressive considering the potential for complexity. If I were to pick out one area to harp on, it would have to be the parts of the interface that cover the more obscure tracks, such as the Sprite and Tween tracks. With the crucial role these types of tracks play in creating interactive QuickTime, LSP's interface is, at best, a tad confusing to use, making the overall learning curve longer than it probably needs to be. However, LSP places as brave a face as possible on the somewhat quirky way QuickTime has been extended over the years to handle interactivity, so overall it's not a dealbreaker.

The Bottom Line
I've more or less barely scratched the surface of LSP's features, but suffice it to say that LSP makes QuickTime all it should have always been. We're in Director territory here, quite frankly, because with LSP's help, QuickTime actually leaves very little to be desired as an interactive, full-featured, cross-platform media layer. Data-driven Web sites, XML integration, custom QuickTime players, interactive slideshows and gobs of whatever else you'd expect from an interactive authoring program are at your fingertips with LSP. Add in LSP's easy publishing for either CD-ROM or the Web, and we've got ourselves a winner.

Granted, there are some inherent issues in relying on QuickTime as the basis for any multimedia project, such as the need to sometimes require a separate installation on Windows systems and the probability of extra hassle with licensing and distributing the QuickTime player. But if these issues are non-issues for you, LiveStage Professional 4.1 is a fantastic tool for unlocking QuickTime's full potential as a cross-platform interactive authoring environment for both online and offline projects, and with no major issues to speak of, easily earns a Strong Buy rating. As of this writing, Mac and Windows versions of LiveStage Professional 4.1 are available for $449.95 (download) or $499.95 (boxed retail), with upgrades from version 3 running $249.95, so get while the gettin's good!

For more information, visit http://www.totallyhip.com.