Macromedia Prepares Customers for Microsoft Internet Explorer Browser Changes; Active Content Developer Center on macromedia.com to Provide Resources.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 6, 2003

Macromedia(R), Inc. (Nasdaq:MACR) today announced it has launched the Active Content Developer Center on macromedia.com to provide information, tools, and resources for responding to future changes that will be made to Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) browser. The alterations to Internet Explorer are the result of the Microsoft/Eolas patent case. For information on changes to Internet Explorer please visit: http://msdn.microsoft.com/ieupdate.

"Our goal is to ensure developers have the tools they need to update their web sites so that end users continue to enjoy the best digital experiences possible," said Norm Meyrowitz, president of products, Macromedia. "Even though the new browser is not going to be available until early next year, we have been working hard, and today have made available a number of solutions to help developers, website administrators, and business owners navigate through this change and ensure a straightforward transition."

To help web developers get started, the Macromedia development team is today providing some examples of "before and after" HTML and scripts in the Active Content Developer Center at www.macromedia.com/devnet/activecontent/. Developers can immediately begin updating their websites by applying a manual change to affected web pages, or by writing their own scripts to apply the change across their site.

Macromedia is also developing a set of free tools called Active Content Update Utilities, which will be available shortly through the Active Content Developer Center. By using the utilities, developers can efficiently incorporate the changes necessary to support content created with Macromedia technologies such as Macromedia Flash(TM), Shockwave(R), and Authorware(R). The utilities will be provided for free under an open source license.

"For developers, we want to make this change as easy as possible," said Mike Sundermeyer, senior vice president, product design, Macromedia. "We believe that most websites will be updated by the time the new version of Internet Explorer becomes widely used, so for most web users, this change should be transparent."

As the user community works to incorporate changes in support of the alterations to Microsoft Internet Explorer, macromedia.com will continue to provide the latest information and solutions for responding to these changes.

About Macromedia

Experience matters. Macromedia is motivated by the belief that great experiences build great businesses. Our software empowers millions of business users, developers, and designers to create and deliver effective, compelling, and memorable experiences - on the Internet, on fixed media, on wireless, and on digital devices.

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