| NetObjects Fusion™ 4.0 First Visual Product to Deliver e-Business Sites in a BoxNetObjects Fusion 4.0 is the first product to provide
integrated, visual support for creating business sites that include dynamically generated data, e-commerce functionality and rich content.Business customers have been very vocal about their frustration with the lack of an integrated, cost-effective and productive solution for creating e-business Web sites. NetObjects Fusion 4.0 was designed to address this requirement, and unlike Web authoring products aimed at desktop productivity or high-end media designers, NetObjects Fusion
provides the fastest, easiest way to build sophisticated business Web sites. From Billboards to e-Business Sites Today's businesses need more than just an on-line presence, they need an "e-business site" or a place where customers, employees, suppliers and distributors can reach, interact and transact with the business. e-business sites represent a convergence of publishing, electronic commerce and application functionality and enable businesses to leverage the potential of the Internet.
However, it is still too difficult for most business users to build content-rich sites that include dynamic data and business logic as well as facilitate e-commerce. According to a study released by the analyst firm Yankee Group, the majority of small and medium businesses have not strategically embraced the Internet as a business tool due to the lack of easy to use, productive solutions that help them get started and scale with their needs. "Not only is NetObjects Fusion easy to use and
robust, it has enabled me to grow and develop my site building skills at a rapid pace," said Toni Skorusa of Information Processing Group Operating Systems at NationsBank. "From powerful site management capabilities to the ability to visually implement high-end technologies, version 4.0 reaffirms NetObjects' commitment to producing a valuable product for business users." Delivering e-Business Sites in a Box- Key New Features and Functionality NetObjects Fusion 4.0 is an open, extensible
platform for creating e-business Web sites. The product now provides unparalleled visual power and flexibility thanks to a robust, new Java-based component architecture. The new component architecture taps the full potential of the Java language, and enables the creation of components that extend the power of NetObjects Fusion by providing seamless integration with several leading third-party products and technologies. In version 4.0, NetObjects provides a variety of new components to add
application functionality and e-commerce capabilities to sites, and expects more components to be available from partners like IBM for Websphere, INTERSHOP, and other third parties. Collectively, these components will radically accelerate the productivity of business site builders. In addition to the new components, NetObjects Fusion 4.0 includes several user-requested enhancements to the trademark ease-of-use, WYSIWYG design and robust site-management capabilities of earlier versions.
e-Applications NetObjects Fusion 4.0 provides a powerful feature-set to add dynamic database publishing and application functionality to Web sites, and includes components to query and display data using the most popular application server platforms including, Allaire ColdFusion, Microsoft Active Server Pages and Lotus Domino.
Site builders can simply drag-and-drop these components to connect to standard ODBC compliant databases from Oracle, IBM, Informix, etc., and work with intuitive wizards to incorporate dynamically generated data and other sophisticated functionality, such as customer self-service applications, into their sites with just a few mouse clicks. The product also includes components that connect to Lotus eSuite DevPack, a set of business productivity Java applets that help developers quickly turn
static Web pages into robust interactive applications which provide easy access to and presentation of enterprise data. The eSuite DevPack applets include a spreadsheet, word processor, chart, project schedule and presentation graphics. e-Commerce In addition to providing e-commerce functionality through components that connect
to leading application servers, NetObjects has partnered with iCat to provide site-builders an out-of-the-box, drag-and-drop solution that will turn a Web site into a compelling Web store in a matter of minutes. A set of NetObjects Fusion components for iCat Commerce Online ships with the product, and provides site-builders an easy, efficient and cost-effective solution for creating Web-based storefronts. Using an interactive wizard, site-builders can connect to iCat Commerce Online, a hosted
solution that offers several unique features such as the ability to sell up to 3000 different items, full on-line ordering capabilities, shopping cart functionality with several payment options, automatic tax and shipping charge calculations, and extensive reporting.NetObjects Fusion 4.0 also includes components that connect to HotMedia , IBM's popular rich media technology for the Web. These components allow NetObjects Fusion users to add dynamic multimedia content including 3D objects,
zoomable images, and more, to their e-business Web sites. e-Publishing NetObjects Fusion 4.0 includes several features to facilitate e-publishing or the distribution of information on the Web. Version 4.0 allows users to easily convert documents (including those from Microsoft Office) into an HTML format and place them anywhere on
a page. Also new to version 4.0, is pinpoint control over HTML with support for cascading style sheet positioning (CSSP) and layers. The product also includes incremental publish capabilities for quick page or section updates and management. To offer customers a variety of options for a creative look and feel, fifty brand-new SiteStyles are included with version 4.0. New to the SiteStyles Editor in version 4.0, is the ability to use or create dynamic styles with elements such as rollovers,
and anti-aliasing of TrueType fonts for a cleaner Web presentation.NetObjects Fusion 4.0 to Include Allaire Homesite 4.0, NetStudio 1.0.1 and IBM HotMedia NetObjects Fusion 4.0 also offers integrated solutions with several leading Web products and technologies that are included with the product. Site builders can use Allaire Homesite to hand-code HTML pages, which can be integrated into sites built with version 4.0. NetStudio, an intuitive image editor, designed for business users,
provides site builders powerful image editing capabilities, while IBM's HotMedia toolkit allows site builders to author multiple types of multimedia experiences. Trial versions of the best-of-breed Web script editor NetObjects ScriptBuilder™ 3.0, the popular application server Allaire ColdFusion and Live Picture's panorama imaging product PhotoVista are also bundled with NetObjects Fusion 4.0.
Pricing and Availability NetObjects Fusion 4.0 will be available by January 1999 at an estimated street price of $299.95. Customers who purchased NetObjects Fusion 3.0 between December 1- December 31, 1998 can receive a free upgrade to Version 4.0. Customers who purchased NetObjects Fusion 3.0 before December 1, 1998 can receive an upgrade for $99.95. NetObjects will also continue to offer a $100 competitive upgrade
rebate for those customers who own competitive Web authoring products.In addition, customers interested in purchasing a complete Web development solution that includes NetObjects Fusion 4.0, NetObjects ScriptBuilder 3.0 and NetObjects BeanBuilder™ 1.0, can purchase the NetObjects Fusion Business Edition for $495. For more information visit the NetObjects Web site at www.netobjects.com. Click here to download a trial copy.For an interactive tour of NetObjects Fusion, click here.
© 1998 NetObjects, Inc. All rights reserved. NetObjects is a registered trademarks, and NetObjects Authoring Server, NetObjects BeanBuilder, NetObjects Fusion, and NetObjects ScriptBuilder are trademarks of NetObjects, Inc. All other brand and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
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