Fusion stays fresh and hot

Scrambling to stay in the Web publishing spotlight, NetObjects today announced that Fusion 2.0 for Windows 95 and NT will be available in the first quarter of 1997.

Fusion began its life as a high-profile guinea pig, a previously unused publishing tool that helped build the "instant Web site" for last February's 24 Hours in Cyberspace project. NetObjects then retooled it into a commercial product and cut bundling and marketing deals with IBM, Microsoft, and UUNet for the late July release of version 1.0.

The basic features include a site structure editor, a page layout editor, and style templates to create a consistent look throughout a site. Under pressure from Microsoft FrontPage 97, Adobe PageMill 2.0, Macromedia Backstage Internet Studio 2, and other Web-pub suites, NetObjects has added a spate of new features.

According to the company, vers ion 2.0 will add an import tool for importing and editing entire sites or portions thereof; a border tool that creates consistent page layouts across a site or through a specific section; automatic frame creation that converts borders to independent scrollable frames with a mouse click; and five component apps, including a message board and site map that can be dragged and dropped into a Web page.

Fusion 2.0 for Windows 95 and NT is expected to ship early in the first quarter of 1997 at a street price of around $495. Users of version 1.0 can apply for a free upgrade. A beta version will be available on the company's Web site at the end of December. The company released Fusion for Macintosh in November.