The online world is saturated with the buzzword "Java." It seems if the site you're viewing isn't enhanced with a Java applet, it's just another web page. I've recently been thrown to the lions of convention, and have started looking at the various ways to make a web site stand out in the sea of online publishing. When attempting to add interactivity to a site, one has various options, each with it's trade-offs and limitations. Macromedia's Shockwave for Director allows one to re-purpose, compress and stream Director files, but a plug-in is required for viewing. Previously, my level of interactivity was limited to Shockwave, HTML coding, and GIF animations.

Boy, have my eyes been opened now that I have entered the "Java-Zone!" Java and Java script allow the implementation of cross-platform mini-applications called "applets" that allow users to interact with a web page, view animations, receive feedback to their input, and generally create a more intimate connection with the content provided, but at the cost of time for the downloading of the Java application files. As a graphic designer and creative type, I shuddered at the prospect of learning a programming language. My skin crawled at the sight of "IF-THEN" statements! But, now there's no need to fear the "J" word anymore! There are a plethora of Java authoring tools entering the market that allow us graphically-inclined mere mortals to create cool Java applets, without having to know the slightest bit of code. This month, I'm testing out two products designed to make Java accessible to the average user, Aimtech's Jamba (Windows only) and Power Production's WebBurst (Mac only).

Cover shot of Jamba manual

Jamba: Pour on the Java. . . . Hold the Programming
Jamba is a new software package from Aimtech, a company whose claim to fame is authoring applications such as Icon Author and CBT Express, known to many for the deployment of interactive multimedia via CD-ROM, corporate based training, and the Internet. Jamba gives web-developers a very powerful tool to execute Java applets, and maintain the ability to stay at the forefront of the ever-changing technological Internet revolution.

Before you hard-core, bit-crunching, programmer types run for the hills crying "Foul!," let it be known that Jamba will satisfy even the most hardy of you. Included in the Java authoring environment are the application, Jamba objects, Jamba templates, Java player, sample Java applets, and Jamba tutorial. My favorite feature is Imagelab, a stand-alone image manipulation program that I would be so bold as to call a mini-Photoshop, "Rosetta Stone" for online images. Imagelab has the ability to view, resize, crop, reduce colors, rotate, flip, manipulate palettes, create albums (groups of images that represent bitmap graphics,) display slide shows, and convert 31 different file formats. It even slices, dices, and makes julienne fries! (well, almost.)

All in all, Aimtech has really tried to provide web authors with a complete "web authoring environment". Creating a Java applet in Jamba is, to twist the old adage, "much easier to do than say." After opening the application, and selecting the "create a new project" option, you are allowed to name and define the page size, which Jamba then creates as a start page. Double-clicking on the start page icon opens the page layout editor, in which you then create objects and set the parameters for their actions/interactions. Objects are the main building blocks of a Jamba application. They can be push-button objects (next, ok, go to,) graphic objects or display GIF and JPEG graphics. Special effects enable wipes, dissolves, and cel-style animation. From fades to iris wipes, there are so many pre-defined object modifiers that appear in the various pop-up menus that you just have to see it to believe it. Two drawbacks of Jamba are that there is no way to move objects along a path, and that it does not include an HTML editor (but, being a very personal choice, it was probably a good idea to leave the HTML editor out.)

After you have finished creating your work of art, you select the file option "save all," then "play application" from the toolbar button, and your new application is played back in a separate window. Then it's ready to be distributed as-is, or dropped into an existing web page. In addition to viewing through any Java-enabled web browser (Netscape, Internet Explorer,etc...) you can also distribute your applet with Jamba's proprietary application viewer, Jamba Java Player.

Bottom line: you've got to get this application if you want to add serious Java interactivity to your web site. Jamba truly is Java for us creative types, without the limits of the usual wizard-based programs. As Aimtech says, this program lets you "Pour on the Java, hold the programming." At a list price of $295.00, and seen available for as little as $189.00, Jamba is fairly accessible to web authors wanting to add these new-fangled options for interactivity and multimedia to their sites. Unfortunately, at this time, Jamba v1.1.25 is available for Windows 95/NT only. Come on, Aimtech, this is a program that Mac users would love to have!