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From...
PC World

Remote control the Net on Shockwave.com

August 4, 1999
Web posted at: 3:51 p.m. EDT (1951 GMT)

by Cameron Crouch
shockwave
INTERACTIVE

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(IDG) -- Before remote controls came with every television, stereo, or VCR, you had to get up to change the channel, adjust the volume, or pause a tape. Now such needless exercise seems almost laughable. The Internet is now a popular source of multimedia content and games, so why doesn't it have a remote control?

Multimedia tools developer Macromedia, known for the popular animation applications Shockwave and Flash, on Monday launched its updated Shockwave Web site, a consolidation of the previous Shockwave.com and Shockrave.com community sites. The new site offers a wider array of interactive entertainment for use with two new user control tools, Shockwave Remote and Shockmachine.

Designed as a hub for both online games and entertainment, the Web site first requires that you download the Shockwave plug-in and Shockwave Remote. Next, a brief registration form creates "my" Web entertainment center and adds you to the Shockwave community. Shockwave.com's entertainment ranges from games to cartoons to music. The line-up of interactive games includes 3D gaming with Real Pool and classic arcade play with Centipede and Missile Command.
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Not surprisingly, and perhaps its strongest differentiator from gaming portals, the site contains a variety of materials powered by Macromedia products and its partners. You'll find Shockwave cartoons from South Park, Dilbert, and Peanuts, a selection of music in MP3 and other formats, and visual Sonicnet Flashradio files. Pushing further into the portal zone, Shockwave.com also features a program to create greeting cards and a Web search engine for entertainment and content.

Limited control until you pay

All of the site's features and more tailored services, like the MP3 music directory, animated greeting cards, and episodic comics, are used and controlled by Remote and Shockmachine on your desktop. The Shockwave Remote is a free controller that works somewhat like a VCR remote with play, pause, and fast-forward buttons. It provides a convenient desktop device to search Shockwave.com and other sites, to e-mail links, and to save up to five Shockwave files.

In essence, the Remote serves as a free teaser tool to entice you to purchase the second control device, the Shockmachine, for $19.95. Best suited for avid Internet entertainment and game buffs, Shockmachine lets you download and save an unlimited amount of content from the site and organize it into your own carousels. You can play games with a full-screen view not possible through a browser, and several games and cartoons are exclusive to Shockmachine purchasers.

Hardly the first player in Internet entertainment, Macromedia's Shockwave.com faces significant competition from other gaming hubs like Total Entertainment Network and Mpath's Mplayer entertainment sites. The entertainment sections of AOL, Yahoo, and other portals also target the same audience. Still, Macromedia takes advantage of the popularity of its animation software to forge strong content partnerships with top media, gaming, and interactive development companies. Among those contributing to Shockwave.com are Comedy Central, Fox Interactive, Marvel.com, Sega, and Hasbro Interactive. The allure of their content, plus the popularity of the Shockwave tool and the intuitive nature of the two controllers, creates an intriguing entertainment hub in Shockwave.com.


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