Adobe updates Web, animation software

Adobe Systems on Monday will release new versions of its GoLive Web authoring application and LiveMotion animation software.

One of the main selling points for the new version of GoLive is that it allows designers to quickly optimize content for a variety of formats, including handheld computers and mobile phones. GoLive and LiveMotion also integrate with other Adobe products, including Photoshop, the company's market-leading image-editing application.

GoLive and LiveMotion, which the company first announced earlier this year, compete mainly with products from Macromedia. That company leads the animation market with Flash and the professional Web-authoring market with DreamWeaver.

Adobe has acknowledged it faces an uphill battle with both products and has pitched LiveMotion as an enhancement to, rather than as a replacement for, Flash.

Macromedia CEO Robert Burgess said in a recent interview that he sees the graphics market split between Macromedia for Web authoring and animation and Adobe for documents and image editing.

"Really, the market has already decided," he said.

GoLive 6.0 and LiveMotion 2.0 will be available in Windows and Mac versions and will support the latest versions of the Windows XP and Mac OS X operating systems. GoLive will sell for $399, or $99 for an update from a previous version. LiveMotion is will sell at an introductory price of $199 for the full version or $99 for the upgrade.