The Virtual Tour Java Problem
Many are aware of the court battle which ensued between Microsoft
and Sun regarding the distribution of Java as a standard part
of Windows. If you are interested in more detail, you can
read a good summary here.
What I am interested in is where this has left us, where
Java is no longer distributed with Microsoft's Windows, leaving
much of the technology you have built your business on looking
to become redundant in the very near future.
When the problem first arose and Microsoft failed to include
Java in a standard installation of Windows XP, many hardware
manufacturers and others along the chain were installing Java
separately. However, as time rolls on, web site owners are
noticing in their site stats more and more instances of site
visitors browsers without Java capabilities.
Whether Java will survive is a question for the future, but
what we can say with confidence is that those of you creating
virtual tours need a future proof solution, built on solid
and supported technologies by companies who aren't constantly
locked in legal tumult.
Whether Flash or Java prevails in the long term, 360 Degrees
of Freedom allows you to support your customers now
.
VRbrochure Flash FAQ
The Flash VRbrochure software is the web's first Flash enabled
virtual tour authoring system. For those of you with questions,
that are not answered below, please contact us at Support
and we will assist you.
Q. Which 360dof products are Flash enabled?
Q. Will you be making the 360 Panorama Lite,
Professional and Developer products Flash enabled?
Q. Can I create 3D objects that are Flash
enabled?
Q. What about the Java viewer? Are you continuing develoment?
Q. Can I convert my old Java VRbrochures to Flash?
Q. Are you planning a warped viewer?
Q. Do I create one VRbrochure or two, for Flash
and Java viewing?
Q. Do I need to reauthor my content to create
a Flash VRbrochure?
Q. How large is the Flash viewer?
Q. What version of Flash viewer is required?
Q. Can I use my existing customised VRbrochure
templates?
Q. Do I require Java on my PC for authoring?
Q. What are the version and system requirements
for the Flash version?
Q. Which 360dof products are Flash enabled?
All VRbrochure based products are now Flash enabled. These
are as follows:
VRbrochure Project
VRbrochure Professional
Developer
Suite
Virtual
Tour Business Kit
Q. Will you be making the 360.3D Lite, Project
and the panorama stitching products Flash enabled?
Yes. We plan to release the Flash enabled versions of these
products during Q1 2005.
Q. Can I create 3D objects that are Flash
enabled?
Yes. You can create Flash enabled 3D objects within the following
VRbrochure products:
VRbrochure Professional
Developer
Suite
Virtual
Tour Business Kit
Q.
What about the Java viewer? Are you continuing develoment
on this product?
Yes. We will be developing the Java and the Flash viewer
in parallel to ensure that virtual tour developers and their
clients have complete flexibilty when it comes to the viewing
environment.
Q. Can I convert my old Java VRbrochures
to Flash?
Yes. By importing your old XML files into the new authoring
tool, you can then choose the Flash publish option to create
a Flash version of your VRbrochure.
Q. Are you planning a warped viewer?
Yes. You will notice that some panoramas seem a little "distorted",
ie long straight lines will seem curved. This is because this
first Flash viewer is a "flat" viewer. Our warped
Flash viewer will be released in 2004.
Q. Do I create one VRbrochure or two for
Flash and Java viewing?
With this version of the authoring tool, if you wish to create
VRbrochures for viewing in both Flash and Java, you will "publish"
the VRbrochure twice, once to create the Java version and
once for the Flash version. You will not need to author the
content twice. Future versions of the product will include
a template that will give the user the option to view java
or Flash.
Q. Do I need to reauthor my content to create
a Flash VRbrochure?
No. By importing your project XML file, all content is authomatically
converted to Flash format once you publish for Flash.
Q. How large is the Flash viewer?
The Flash view is smaller than all java viewer on the market
and is only 44k.
Q. What version of Flash viewer is required?
The Flash VRbrochures require version 6 of the Flash viewer.
Q. Can I use my existing customised VRbrochure
templates?
Yes. The new Flash viewer is integrated with the VRbrochure
HTML template system. You select the template of your choice
in the same way when authoring a Flash VRbrochure.
Q. Do I require Java on my PC for authoring?
Yes, you will still require a version of Java on your PC
to create VRbrochures.
Q. What are the version and system requirements
for the Flash version?
 Windows
95/98/ME with 32 MB virtual memory or Windows NT/2000/XP with
64 MB of virtual memory
Microsoft
Internet Explorer 5.5 or above
Macromedia
Flash Version 6.0 and above
Pentium
90 MHz
20MB hard
disk space
800 x 600
monitor with high-color (16bit) or true-color (24bit)
If you have further questions, please refer to our Knowledge
Base or email us here at sales@360dof.com.
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