July 9, 2002
Rich media interfaces according to MACR; real-world examples
If you are interested in pitching rich media interfaces to your clients, then you really owe it to yourself to spend a few minutes with these Macromedia demos (QuickTime format: 1, 2, 3 )
Basically a case study for developing a rich media interface for a fictional client; demo 1 covers the interface as it is implemented in Flash 6, demos 2 and 3 cover the tools used to build the application.
Here are a couple existing real-world examples:
http://www.toast.com/
A Flash 5 based webmail service. Check out the "Take the Tutorial" link at the upper left of the screen to get a glimpse of the service's interface without having to sign up for an account. While the support doc claim the interface is designed for an 800x600 screen, it *really* requires a 1024x768 setting if you are not on a PC IE platform (for no apparent good reason). A couple features on the main screen (bookmark, set as home-page) require JScript functionality also only available on PC IE.
http://reservations.broadmoor.com/
A one-screen reservations system also built in Flash 5 -- click on "Online Reservations" if your browser doesn't automatically take you to the Flash version. Built by the folks at iHotelier.
