July 6th, 2005 - Xtivity is a new Macromedia Flash (SWF) authoring program that promises to liberate designers with a code-free environment for developing rich interactive web experiences. Xtivity generates SWF files just like Flash does, but is much easier on the non-developer to use and is almost half the cost of Flash.

Xtivity provides the user with a visual workspace similar to a layout program. The user draws boxes, places
content in the boxes, adds actions to the boxes and then defines what triggers the actions to start and stop.
Using these four steps an average user can build an entire interactive website with no experience necessary.

As the market for rich interactive media continues to grow, more sites are placing Flash on their pages to provide engaging experiences, and to improve and control the flow of information between the viewer and the site. Flash is without a doubt the world leader in providing this type of experience and interaction, as it has an impressive 98.3% market penetration on browsers around the world.

Xtivity is a full featured application capable of doing a majority of what Macromedia Flash can do, but with little to no learning curve. As Flash is a development program requiring coding skills, Xtivity promises to expand the market for interactive media and rich internet applications to include non-developers and designers alike.

The Power of Simplicity
Xtivity was created with a single guiding principle; Simple is Better. The workflow and rapid development environment of Xtivity is a major advantage to professionals who make their living designing websites and presenting information.

Xtivity keeps the logic and content separated from each other, so that changes can be done to either, without affecting the other. An entire slideshow and navigational list can be updated with new content, without affecting the interaction or logic that makes the project work.

This efficient work flow design enables the user to do more in the same amount of time. Traditionally, creating a Flash project has been considered a development process. Xtivity changes this into a creative process. Now the user can focus on the design and viewer interaction, and not worry about the programming and figuring out how to do something. There is no coding and debugging with Xtivity.



The Power of Productivity
Xtivity incorporates numerous workflow features that boost user productivity. The content management system, for example,
lets the user import content directly in their projects. The content can then be organized within folders, previewed, opened and edited in an image editing program. The saved changes are then automatically reimported throughout the project, thus saving the user time and trouble. Another time saving workflow feature includes grouping layers and applying actions to the group so that multiple items are controlled through the single application of the action.

One of the more popular workflow features is Transferring Attributes. Layer attributes and properties can be copied and pasted on other layers to transfer the attributes. Layer cloning, step-and-repeat and drag-duplicate-repeat features allow a user to copy and populate their projects with content and interactive functionality.


The Power of Creativity
It is easy to expedite design and rapidly experiment with different creative options with Xtivty. Content and actions can be combined in an unlimited fashion. Xtivity can be used to build simple projects such as; menus, lists and slideshows. Xtivity can also build entire websites complete with steaming video, audio, interactive scenes, media players and advanced interface designs.


Pricing and Availability
Xtivity, which is available at the Tivity Online Store, is priced at $399 and is now available for purchase. Educational pricing and volume licensing are also available. Xtivity is also available from authorized resellers around the world. For more information visit the Tivity Software web site: http://www.tivity.com or call toll-free 1-866-XTIVITY (205-980-7656)

Xtivity is currently available for the Windows 98/NT/2000/ME/XP platform. A Macintosh OS X version is under development and is expected to release in late 2005.


About Tivity Software
Tivity Software produces authoring applications that are used to build and manage interactive media for the web. Tivity products are designed to provide a fast and intuitive way to develop and maintain engaging web projects. Tivity Software is based in Birmingham, Alabama, USA and is a privately held company.