San Francisco—November 25, 2002—Macromedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: MACR) today announced unprecedented accessibility support in Macromedia Director MX (announced today, see separate release). Director MX contains features that simplify the process of creating new or repurposing existing applications to adhere to government accessibility guidelines and industry standards.

Accessibility leaders and developers praised the accessibility strides made by Macromedia Director MX (see attached quote sheet). Director MX enables developers to create self-voicing applications that don't require assistive technologies such as screen readers. In addition, easy to use drag-and-drop accessibility behaviors can control speech and tab ordering, and enable captioning of spoken words.

"With the availability of Macromedia Director MX, all of the Macromedia MX authoring tools will support accessibility to ensure rich applications and content created with our software are accessible to people with disabilities," said Bob Regan, accessibility product manager, Macromedia. "We are proud of the work we have done with community leaders to ensure the development of accessible content is practical, given that the need for this content is so crucial."

Macromedia Director MX is ideal for creating accessible CD/DVD- ROMs, kiosks, and web-based applications that run on Windows and Macintosh platforms. By using a Speech Xtra built into Director MX, along with the system-level voicing capabilities of both platforms, developers can create self-voicing applications for situations where it would be impractical to install screen readers, such as public libraries and museum kiosks. Director MX also enables developers to deliver content that is keyboard-navigable or uses alternative pointing devices to accommodate users who can't operate a mouse. The ability to completely customize the tabbing order of Director content will actually make applications that are not only accessible, but also usable to people with disabilities because tab ordering can be more intuitively designed. The product includes drag-and-drop behaviors that enable developers to easily repurpose existing content to adhere to accessibility guidelines.

Macromedia Director MX continues Macromedia's commitment to accessibility. Support is already available in Macromedia Flash MX, Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, Macromedia Fireworks MX, and Macromedia Contribute, to ensure all content created with Macromedia tools is available to people with disabilities.

ABOUT MACROMEDIA
Macromedia (www.macromedia.com) empowers millions of designers and developers to create effective user experiences across the widest array of platforms and devices. Through an open, integrated family of client, tool, and server technologies, Macromedia is driving a new generation of rich Internet applications that radically improves the Internet experience.

ACCESSIBILITY LEADERS AND DEVELOPERS PRAISE SUPPORT IN MACROMEDIA DIRECTOR MX

Equal Access to Software and Information (EASI)
"When it comes to addressing accessibility issues, Macromedia puts its money where its mouth is. As we rapidly move to an interactive application web environment, Macromedia is extending what is becoming an accessible tradition to Director MX. While others watch to see what will happen with accessibility and the web, Macromedia takes a proactive approach and it is good to see."
- Dick Banks, chief information officer, EASI

Maskery & Associates
"The new accessibility features available to Director MX developers enable rich multimedia applications that can be used by the widest possible audiences. Macromedia has once again positioned itself to be the industry leader in multimedia development long into the future."
- Helen Maskery, president, Maskery & Associates

National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM)
"Director MX brings accessibility to new settings and provides developers with a new set of tools for making rich media accessible. Macromedia has once again demonstrated its ongoing dedication to accessibility."
- Larry Goldberg, director, NCAM

Quad Media
"Designing accessible products to meet the cross-disability requirements of Section 508 and the Americans with Disabilities Act is a convergence of hardware, software, and compliant structural design. Macromedia Director MX provides a much-needed foundation to build exciting, cross-disability, accessible applications. We applaud the success and efforts of Macromedia to make this a more accessible world for all."
- Bernard LaFleur, CEO, Quad Media

Terraformers
"With the accessibility features in Director MX, developers can make accessible web and multimedia applications using drag-and-drop behaviors. With its powerful scripting language, real-time 3D support, sound features, and very affordable price, Director was the only choice when we developed the first real-time, 3D game playable by the blind, Terraformers."
- Thomas Westin, project leader and main programmer, Terraformers

Vision Australia Foundation
"The accessibility features in Director MX are another step forward in bringing the richness of the online and multimedia world to people with disabilities. Vision Australia Foundation is very pleased to see Macromedia continue its commitment to multimedia accessibility that began with Macromedia Flash MX. These enhancements will be of considerable benefit, especially in the educational field."
- Andrew Arch, manager, online accessibility consulting, Vision Australia Foundation