4Home Productions Develops New "Meta4" Multimedia Development Technology; New Technology Lets 4Home Productions Create Graphical Object Interfaces 4 Any Application.

ISLANDIA, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 21, 1995--Talk about 4Sight! 4Home Productions, the consumer software division of Computer Associates International, Inc., announced an innovative technology that will define a new era in developing multimedia environments. Called Meta4, this new technology empowers 4Home Productions to design true 3D image, object oriented, graphical environments for any market sector. This includes personal computer (PC) manufacturers, banking institutions and other service industries.

4give Me, But What Is Meta4?

Meta4 uses "image objects" as the building blocks for the creation of a customized user interface. Whether the objects are automobiles, animals, fictional characters or buildings, Meta4 enables any object to perform any function, including speed launching programs, installing applications and accessing information.

4get What You Know About Social Interfaces

The home is now the largest market sector for PCs and continued growth is expected. With the abundance of computers now in the home, there is a clear need for interfaces which are easy to use, unlike the Windows interface which is difficult and cumbersome for many users. With Meta4 technology, 4Home Productions provides a solution for easy personal computing by providing interfaces that address the limitations of Windows.

"Meta4 technology signals the beginning of a new era of social interface design," said George Kafkarkou, general manager of 4Home Productions. "By developing this innovative technology, we have clearly demonstrated that 4Home is a leader in providing customized true graphical object interfaces. Our technology is a sophisticated alternative to the inflexible and stodgy social interfaces currently on the market."

But Who 4sees a Need for Meta4?

The possibilities are endless. PC manufacturers are currently negotiating with 4Home to develop customized interfaces for their computers, and a stand-alone multimedia environment from 4Home is in the making. Other institutions, such as banks may be able to take advantage of Meta4 Technology. For example, through Meta4, 4Home offers banks the opportunity to provide their customers with a customized graphical environment for home banking.

OK, Let's Talk 4mal Technical Specifications

Meta4 was developed using innovative, object-oriented techniques, providing flexibility and high performance. There are five base classes in Meta4, but the "image object" is key. Image objects are able to communicate with other image objects (or characters, depending on the interface design) and "screens" (collections of image objects) Derived Meta4 objects can be created to describe events, offer helpful tips and even respond to users. The objects can communicate using displayed text, pre-recorded spoken responses or both.

Is Meta4 used only 4 Social Interfaces?

Because of Meta4's flexibility, 4Home can offer this technology to more than just C++ developers (though C++ programmers can code directly to the class library). With a huge untapped population of creative, computer savvy users, 4Home plans to unleash a powerful software development kit (SDK) that will allow developers and non-developers to create genuine multimedia applications using Meta4 technology. Implemented in the SDK will be a complete, object-oriented visual authoring tool, allowing non-programmers to easily create applications.

And now 4 the 4malities:

4Home Productions, headquartered in Islandia, New York, is a publisher of lifestyle software products designed to enhance personal productivity. 4Home Productions is a division of Computer Associates (NYSE: CA), a multi-billion dollar software company serving most of the world's major business, government, research and educational associations. For more information, contact 4Home Productions, One Computer Associates Plaza, Islandia, NY 11788-7000. Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone].

CONTACT: Connors Communications 4Home Productions

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