Corel Corp. is making the jump to a Web-based world at the Comdex trade show in Las Vegas, the company introduced two Web-based imaging tools, CreativeAnywhere and e-Too.
CreativeAnywhere is a Web-based imaging application aimed at digital camera users, while e-Too allows users to add graphics to Web-based e-mail. Demonstrations of Corel’s new services are available at CreativeAnywhere.com and Corel’s e-Too Web site.
CreativeAnywhere is based on PhotoPaint image editing and painting technology adding what Corel calls a more intuitive interface to help novice users. CreativeAnywhere includes an application-programming interface for file transfers to online storage, the ability to retain the print resolutions of images and basic image correction (but no red-eye removal).
Several images can be combined into a collage and text can be added, although once text is converted to a graphic it can’t be altered. Also provided are several dozen special effects filters, including Crayon, Cubist, Oil Paint, Jigsaw Puzzle, and Relief.
Spice Up Your E-mail
E-Too is designed for users of Web-based e-mail programs, such as Yahoo and Microsoft’s Hotmail. It allows users to send messages in a variety of text formats, as well as adding graphics, including hand-drawn sketches and handwritten signatures, according to Corel.
E-Too is a 60KB standard Java applet that provides easy-to-use tools for formatting text, sketching, and inserting emoticons and other graphical elements into Web-based e-mail.
The application features a Sticky Note tool, which lets users annotate a message by entering text into a new graphics layer with a predefined background color. It also features a Style tool, which allows users to apply a predefined page style, such as a corporate letterhead, to a message.
Another feature, called Me-to-You, allows users to add personalized information, such as news, maps, weather reports, book reviews, or stock quotes. This personalized content is plucked from certain sites, which hope to drive visitors back to them.
Corel’s new application service provider strategy is the latest example of an established software vendor looking for a way to transfer its technologies to a Web-based model. By promising online service providers increased traffic and stickier Web sites, Corel expects to increase demand for its imaging technology. With consumers not likely to see the first of these services until the first quarter of 2001 at the earliest, the validity of this model won’t be known for a long time.