MACROMEDIA CELEBRATES SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF SHOCKWAVE
Company Continues to Improve Web Experience with Smart Shockwave
San Francisco, CA-January 19, 1998-Macromedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: MACR) today
celebrated the second anniversary of Shockwave with the release of Smart
Shockwave. Through the use of JavaScript, Smart Shockwave allows users to
automatically download, install and play the most current version of
Shockwave without ever having to leave the intended Web site. Shockwave
remains one of the top playback technologies on the Web. In 1997, over 37
million Shockwave players (Flash and Director combined) were successfully
downloaded from Macromedia's Web site. Shockwave downloads continue to
break records with over 1 million downloads per week in recent months.
"Shockwave makes the Web come alive," states Richard Glosser, senior vice
president of Columbia TriStar Interactive. "Fans of our movie and TV sites
demand to be entertained and Shockwave allows us to deliver to millions of
Internet surfers the exciting games, animations and interactivity they
love."
Shockwave Momentum Continues
Shockwave was the first browser plug-in and began as a collaboration
between Macromedia and Netscape to find a way to add dynamic media to Web
pages. Since its inception two years ago, Shockwave has transformed the Web
experience, adding multimedia to thousands of Web sites including top
entertainment sites such as Starship Troopers (www.starshiptroopers.com/),
Alien Resurrection (www.alien-resurrection.com/index.html) and I Know What
You Did Last Summer (www.spe.sony.com/movies). A wide variety of businesses
such as MCI, Visa, Levi Strauss and the Lifesavers Company have
incorporated Shockwave in numerous ways, from enhanced advertising banners
and branded games to online catalogs.
In the past year, Shockwave has received several top industry awards
including the SPA Codie Award for Best World Wide Web Plug-In and
NetGuide's award for Best Internet Utility.
In addition to the millions of Shockwave players downloaded from
Macromedia's Web site, Shockwave is distributed through the following
product CD-ROMs:
* Netscape Navigator 3.0 and 4.0
* Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0
* America Online 3.0
* Microsoft Windows 95
* Mac OS 8 computers
Smart Shockwave
By implementing Smart Shockwave, developers of "Shocked" Web sites make it
more convenient for visitors to view interactive content on their site. A
smart "Get Shockwave" button detects if the visiting browser has Shockwave
installed. If the user needs to download Shockwave or install a more
current version of Shockwave, a small status window tells the user the
appropriate player is automatically being downloaded. Web visitors can
begin playing the Shockwave content immediately without ever having to
leave the Web site. Smart Shockwave is compatible with Netscape Navigator
4.0 and Internet Explorer versions 3.0 and 4.0.
"We are relentless in our commitment to making Shockwave easier to get,
install and use," said Norm Meyrowitz, chief technical officer and senior
vice president of Macromedia's Internet and Multimedia Authoring Tools
Division. "Shockwave significantly improves a Web site's return on
investment through increased traffic, retention and repeat visits."
Shockwave Evolves
Since its initial launch, the Shockwave Director player has been enhanced
to include streaming animation, audio and graphics. Recently, Macromedia
began shipping Shockwave Director 6.0.1, reducing player size and download
time by 40% while dramatically improving playback speed. In addition,
Macromedia recently started shipping the preview release of Shockwave Java
Edition.
Availability
Shockwave is available for free from www.macromedia.com or
www.shockzone.com. Web developers using Shockwave on their sites can obtain
Smart Shockwave at www.macromedia.com/shockwave. Macromedia showcases the
newest and most innovative applications of Shockwave in the Shockwave
Gallery, the weekly Shockwave Spotlight and the Shocked Site of the Day.
For more information on Shockwave distribution statistics please refer to
www.macromedia.com/shockwave/distribution.html.
About Macromedia
Headquartered in San Francisco, Macromedia (NASDAQ: MACR) is a leading
provider of software products, each designed to help make creativity and
interactivity more possible in the new technology ecosystem. Macromedia's
award-winning products for Windows, Macintosh and the Internet are
available to business, education and government customers worldwide.
Additional information on Macromedia is available on the Internet at
www.macromedia.com.
For more information, contact:
Macromedia Schwartz Communications
Jon Brovitz Jeff Goldman
jbrovitz@macromedia.com jeffg@schwartz-pr.com
(415) 252-2182 (415) 512-0770
