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| le B U Z Z L I N E S - INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVE | |||
| Bill Dunning, Envision's JuggleShow | |||
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Envision, Inc., a small, nimble software development and communications company, has added yet another ball to its remarkable juggling act. JuggleShow, which is presently under development for the BeOS, will fill an important nitche for users who want smooth, predictable presentations under the BeOS platform. In Dearborn, Michigan, USA, William (Bill) Dunning told us about his company and his new product.
le BUZZ: First off, describe Envision, Inc. to me. What does your company do? Or based on what I see on your web site, maybe I should ask, what DOESN'T your company do? BD: Primarily we are a custom software development company -- for Windows, BeOS, and the Internet. In most cases, when we go into a company for software work, it turns out that they also need some amount of hardware or telecom consulting. Sometimes it works the other way around too. For example, we started out doing network support for one of our customers and then we built their business-to-business commerce site. This year, we're trying to focus more on the Internet and multimedia development. We're a small company with a wide range of experience. I know that sounds like marketing, but it's true. Scott Thomas, our Director of Creative Development, not only has formal training and real world experience as a graphic artist (using computers for design back when most artists would only use 'traditional' methods), but he also worked in the entertainment business as a technical director and performer for a number of years. Meanwhile, I have formal training and a degree in business administration and electronics technology. But, I also was an Arts Administrator for over five years and produced some rather large scale concert/entertainment events. One annual event drew more than 200,000 people each year. I then went on to serve five years as Director of Communications for a large suburb of Detroit. I was responsible for an extensive data network, a fiber ring, a public safety radio system, a 1000 extension telephone system, cable television and telecom franchise negotiation and regulation, a municipal television studio, traffic signal maintenance, a 911 dispatch center for Police/Fire/EMS, and lobbying state and national elected officials on telecom policy during the cable/telephone deregulation of the 90's. The point of all that is that we bring creative, technical, theatrical, and administrative experience to everything we do. And, we think that is an advantage. le BUZZ: How long has JuggleShow been around? BD: We have been selling a Windows based presentation system similar to JuggleShow for a couple of years. We have them installed in cable television systems and industrial settings. We're shipping our first dual boot systems this week in preparation for the release of JuggleShow. le BUZZ: Why did you decide to do a version for the BeOS? BD: I've been interested in the BeOS since I became a registered developer on version DR8 (a little over two years ago). We believe the BeOS is ready to take off and we want to grow along with it. It's also technically a good fit for what we want to do. It's great with multimedia content, and it allows us to deliver a product that is unique in the marketplace. We think we can gain a real competitive advantage. le BUZZ: JuggleShow appears to span several categories of programs, including presentation program, multimedia authoring, and broadcast titler. For the person who is trying to sort that out, how would you describe JuggleShow? BD: It's funny, but that's what our ad agency said too. The trouble with categorizing it, is that all of the things you mention are converging, along with about a half dozen other technologies. The lines are blurring, and we think we have an opportunity to create a new category. To force an industry convergence and radically reduce costs. Look at what the DSS dish did to the 10 foot satellite dish business. As they say, 'the revolution will not be televised' -- it just comes up and surprises you. le BUZZ: What a great line. So, what is the interface like? Is it graphical drag & drop or script-based? BD: It's simple. Objects can be placed graphically, but can have their attributes set manually as well. I wouldn't look for anything too innovative as far as the interface is concerned. le BUZZ: You're putting some special emphasis on the networkability of the program. Can you explain more about that? BD: Lets take a fictitious auto manufacturer as an example. They have plants and offices around the world. They typically have some sort of information video network in each plant that reaches the employees with information about company news, health benefits, special programs, etc. They are usually run by staff at each location. There are efficiencies to be gained if you can manage the content for all of the remote sites from one location -- not to mention the ability to create a consistent look and feel around the world. There's real power in that. And that's just one application. That same auto manufacturer also needs to stay in constant communication with it's dealerships with training and news. JuggleShow uses standard internet protocols to communicate between the server(s) and player(s). The content stays secure, private and proprietary while the connectivity is universal. le BUZZ: How format friendly is the program , from the standpoint of supporting multiple graphics, audio, and video formats? BD: We're trying to support any format that is supported by the platform. Initially, I expect we will be limited to one or two formats in any one category. le BUZZ: How interactive are the creations done in JuggleShow? Can you create multimedia like structures, or is it primarily intended for self-running presentation systems like kiosks and cable tv channels? BD: There is no interactivity planned at this point. We'll see what the demand is before we move in that direction. le BUZZ: On a degree of difficulty scale of 1 to 10, assuming 1 is a programming novice and 10 is a first class propellerhead, how would you rate the difficulty of creating a presentation in JuggleShow? BD: We're shooting for the lower end. Maybe 3-5. le BUZZ: I know predictions can be hazardous...originally you were thinking Q1, 1999 for its release...but what date looks like a possibility at this point? BD: Well, we have orders waiting right now. Our developers are attending the BeDC this weekend to learn more about the new Media Kit. Hopefully it will help solve some of the more time consuming issues we've been dealing with. At this point, I can't estimate an accurate release date. le BUZZ: What kind of price range can we expect for the BeOS release of JuggleShow? BD: It will come in two flavors. The general consumer 'software-only' version and the 'hardware/software package' version. They are both basically the same software with different implementations. We've never released a software-only version of our current system, so that is something new for us. Expect the software-only version to be released at a very low price -- introduction at probably under $100. That cost will ratchet up to perhaps $200-300 over the first year as demand dictates. There will also be a low cost upgrade path. We're also talking to other BeOS developers who are making software that compliments ours about possibly bundling ours with theirs and visa-versa. The hardware/software package typically will range from about $6,000 to well over $50,000 for multiple locations. This is a similar configuration to the systems we currently sell, where we provide computers, network hardware, software, installation and training. |
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