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NOAH - NEW WEB PAGE TECHNOLOGY
The next generation of on-page animated character technology
One of the primary challenges for web developers is getting people to stay on a page long enough to get the message as to what the site is all about. There have been a lot of techniques applied, but they generally hit the visual senses – color, images, some flash animation, headlines, etc. Web pages have pretty much ignored the auditory senses. But when they do, it is often an irritating, repetitive sound, which isn’t good for keeping people on the page.
Consider this: In reality, the thing that usually gets your attention is when someone talks directly to you - you tend to listen to a person who is telling you something. You watch their eyes and absorb their message, at least for 30 seconds or so. Take it a step further: If a person is telling you something, and points something out, your attention is directed to whatever they are pointing out. People have been conditioned to listen to someone who addresses them since birth. Since this device for getting attention works in real life, why not apply the same thinking to a web page?
NOAH does just that. It is the next step in animated character technology for web pages. A Flash-based technology, NOAH gives a page the same advantage as a person who starts talking to you – it takes your focus. NOAH can deliver a speech and move around a web page to point out the important messages.
Animated characters on web pages are not a brand new concept, SitePal and Veepers have been around awhile. But what makes NOAH new is that where the others are static, NOAH moves around the page, where the others are stiff and bland, NOAH has a full range of emotions and charisma, where the others have synthetic voices, NOAH can play a voice file recorded by real people displaying real emotions. When NOAH talks, people tend to listen. When NOAH moves to point out important things, people follow him. And where other technologies require large downloads or large file sizes, NOAH is only 17K.
Unlike the other technologies, the NOAH system allows for an infinite number of designs, human or otherwise. In studies conducted by the developer of NOAH, TelSim, Inc. of Tampa, Florida, it appeared as though many viewers were somewhat uncomfortable with a static and stiff human form on a web page. Most viewers responded far better to a cartoon character with emotions. A NOAH avatar can be created by modifying any of the standard avatars, creating a character that is perfect for any web page.
The basic NOAH technology is free. The only charges are license fees which occur when you want to use it on your web site.
The steps to creating a NOAH-enhanced web site are very simple, too. Download the free basic package, which contains a number of generic avatars (or you can purchase one of the premium avatar packages). After you create an account, you upload your voice file to the TelSim servers to create the initial control file to create the lip-synching. Then modify the control file to include emotions, moods, looks, and directions on how to move around a page. Click Compile and a final control file will be emailed to you. Put everything in your web page folder and NOAH is working on your site.
What WILL they think of next?
Examples of what NOAH can do can be found at [url=“http://www.telsim.com”]http://www.telsim.com
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NOTE: Telsim is an advertiser on the kirupa.com site :beam:
Cheers!
Kirupa =)
