Hypercosm Studio 1.0 Available

Company Makes Online Learning Simulation Authoring Tool Available to Others

LOS ANGELES - Online Learning Conference - Oct. 18, 1999 - Web developers and authors of online content now have easy access to a new expressive medium - rapid-download interactive graphics and simulations. Hypercosm, Inc. today announced its flagship product, Hypercosm Studio 1.0 for authoring, testing and previewing Hypercosm online graphical simulations, is available for purchase from its Web site, http://www.hypercosm.com. The announcement is made at the Online Learning Conference in Los Angeles, Calif., where Hypercosm technology can be viewed at Booth No. 562.

Hypercosm Studio, launched in August, has been used by the company's consulting and service business to create lightweight, yet truly interactive, rich media for the Internet. "The response of web-based training companies to our custom development services has been phenomenal," said Perry Kivolowitz, president of Hypercosm, Inc. "Now it's time to expand our reach by enabling others to create Hypercosm content as well."

Aries Technology, Inc., a creator of online training materials in Tempe, Ariz., is among the first to take delivery of Hypercosm Studio. "Hypercosm Studio gives us the tools we need to provide customers such as Cisco Systems with highly interactive online educational media that downloads quickly," said Wayne Quach, president and chief executive of Aries Technology.

Hypercosm has identified online learning as a key application for its technology - compact and rapid transmission of content with extended interactivity. End users can lose interest if files are not downloaded quickly. The level of interactivity inherent in the content affects the amounts of information users retain and the enjoyment they derive from the learning experience.

Another key application of Hypercosm technology is communicating product behavior, dimension and design to potential customers of e-commerce sites. "Hypercosm Studio is a key tool in our e-commerce strategy of helping customers understand, configure and assemble our modular furniture products," said Frank C. Miller, director of Web services at Marshall Erdman & Associates, an architecture, engineering, construction and manufacturing company headquartered in Madison, Wis. "The multidimensional simulations add a new level of interactive realism that is much more engaging for customers than static pictures or canned animations."

Hypercosm Studio is a comprehensive Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for the authoring of HTML documents and programs created with Hypercosm's unique OMARÔ (Object-oriented Modeling and Rendering) programming language. The IDE provides ease-of-use features such as the ability to collect multiple related files into easily managed "projects." File types used in Hypercosm projects often include HTML documents, image files for textures, sound files, and OMAR source programs. By default, the compiled output of Hypercosm Studio will time out after seven days. To make permanent content and to publish it to the Internet a Hypercosm Publishing Key is required.

Pricing and Availability

Hypercosm Studio 1.0 is priced at $995 per single-user license and includes five Hypercosm Publishing Keys. As an introductory offer, Hypercosm Studio customers will receive an additional three keys at no extra cost until Nov. 30, 1999. Hypercosm Publishing Keys start at $100 each and range downward to $65 each for volume purchases. The products can be downloaded from the company's Web site at http://www.hypercosm.com.

About Hypercosm

Hypercosm, Inc. delivers interactive, visual learning for the Internet. The privately-held, Madison, Wis., company debuted in January and offers a family of multidimensional content creation and delivery tools, allowing highly interactive and expressive images to be experienced over the Internet. Hypercosm also provides custom services including content creation, consulting and training related to the company's technologies. For more information visit http://www.hypercosm.com or call (608) 821-0500.

Return to Hypercosm introduction page.