Authoring Tools Scorecard
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| Manageability | Interoperability | Usability | Capability | Authoring Tools Scorecard | |||
| Pros | Cons | Summary | |||||
| MindLever Composition Suite Centra Software Lexington, Mass. (781)861-7000 www.mindlever.com |
A | A | B | B | Assets accessible in database; familiar working environment gives users a choice of graphics tools; ample wizards. | Requires two servers usually handled by the vendor. | A well-conceived, comprehensive system leveraging familiar Microsoft Office interfaces and capabilities. |
| Hypercosm Studio Hypercosm Madison, Wis. (608)821-0500 www.hypercosm.com |
B | A | B | A | Engaging, instructive, very interactive, low-bandwidth 3-D models can be based on scientific formulae. | Creator needs programming expertise or Hypercosms service; limited administration tools; requires plug-in. | The best visual teaching object of the group; can be inserted into any HTML environment. |
| Web Learning Studio Macromedia San Francisco (415)252-2000 www.macromedia.com |
B | A | B | A | Large installed base of users; powerful visual interaction; familiar interface; affordable training. | Powerful visual tools require structured training for new users. | Powerful, all-encompassing suite for interactive visual objects; sets the multimedia standard. |
| iAuthor beta NYUonline New York (212)226-2788 www.nyuonline.com |
B | B | B | B | Good collaboration and administration during object creation; assiduous metadata tagging. | Very high cost; heavily structured; streaming media not accepted; no Macintosh client. | Promising comprehensive program with good administrative tools; needs to mature. |
