Historical:IBM Hotmedia
Originally, Hotmedia was sold by IBM. IBM no longer sells or supports Hotmedia. It was supplied with Remote Reality single shot 360 lenses (Remote Reality no longer offers the lenses.)
The latest version (released in the fall of 2000) is Ver. 3.5. It uses it's own propriatory format and Java based viewers. From what I can tell, it's now available free, if you can find a download site for it! If you want a copy, e-mail me. It's a Windows based PC product only.
The advantage is that your images can't be "borrowed" - The disadvantage is that if you lose your original work, you can't retreive it from the Hotmedia file.
IBM has rolled their web products into a single system they call WebSphere. Try as I may, I can't find any information concerning HotMedia and WebSphere or panoramic images and WebSphere. See the end of this article for specifications.
Kaidan supports Hotmedia: http://www.kaidan.com/ibm/
There is a great "Hotmedia for dummies" tutorial at: http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~newborn/CS767_HotMedia.htm
Placing an image and creating a pano in Hotmedia is pretty simple (once you get past the archaic interface!) - from placing an image, adding some tool tips, and creating the final product - 7 minutes.
Samples: Image: http://www.neemsi.org/ambulance360.htm Tour: http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/00/hm0_1_3.html Object: http://www.rxdesign.com/portfolio/hotmedia/rxmodel.html Several images: http://www.add360.com/wilmotmountain/meadows_images.htm
Older versions of NetObjects Fusion integrated Hotmedia development, but I can't find anything concerning it for anything past version 5.
Hotmedia allows the placement of:
Thumbnail image (opening image)
Background music (limited to wav, au, aif, avi and mov formats, varying quality, limited to 48k)
Animation (slide show)
Scrolling Image
Panorama (you can specify FOV)
iPix Image (360x180)
3D model (object model)
Synchronized Audio
Video
From IBM's write-up: IBM HotMedia is a comprehensive Java-based solution for incorporating rich media effects into any Web site. HotMedia allows the integration of interactive media without the requirement of plugins or specialized servers. HotMedia can create a very extended array of "interactive" functionalities on a Web site. These include: a) Video and animations b) Synchronized audio and images c) Streaaming audio d) Display of 3D and VRML objects, cylindrical panoramas, and spherical iPIX movies e) Zoomable images f) Visual effects and transitions g) Creation of user interface interactive controls like sliders and media control buttons
--Add360.com 02:39, 30 Oct 2005 (EST)