Interactive Applications & Animations

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" before I know it, the idea appears vividly on my computer screen just as I had pictured it in my head, and often much better."

Thomas Nechyba
Economics, Duke University

Technology Features

Describe your needs in economic terms, then we'll choose the best mix of technologies and create a project with which you'll be pleased. You can leave everything to us or be fully involved at every step.

Every technology we employ enjoys the following benefits, and drawbacks.

Pros:

- Work "as is" on well over 90% of laptops and desktops currently in use;
others (6 or 7%) should require only a single download

- Platform independent (Macs, Windows and Linux all supported)

- No commands or special controls to learn

- Do not require the latest OS or browser

- Video and/or audio easily embedded

Cons:

- May not work well on mobile devices

Below we list some of the pros and cons of the 3 principle technologies we employ.

I. WebMathematica Applications

Pros:

- Offer end users the power of Mathematica with no need to learn Mathematica commands.

- Server side computation so end user requires little computing power

- Beautiful, versatile 2D and 3D graphics

- Advanced mathematical capabilities: symbolic, computational and formatting

- Advanced programming capabilities

- Accepts data and can generate output in almost any file format

Cons:

- Requires a specialized server

- No direct object interaction (user can't drag points, curves etc.);
Interact through sliders, buttons etc.

- Not well suited for linear narration

II. Flash Animation (without significant ActionScript Programming):

Pros:

- Excellent for linear, visual exposition

- Versatile; easily adapted to any topic

- Synchronization of audio and video to animated playback

- Smooth animated playback on virtually any system

Cons:

- Not significantly interactive

- Playback is identical every time

- Larger file size

III. Actionscript (programming with or without Flash animation):

Pros:

- Complete interactivity: user can directly interact with objects

- Ideal for game-like applications

- Very versatile

- Can be fully integrated with Flash animations

Cons:

- Higher development cost

- Not well suited to higher level math