file describing the bike, a sound
file offering a narrative of the
trail, a video that shows you how
to fix a flat tire or a URL to link
to the bike manufacturer's home
page.
What makes Ephyx's V-Active
software unique is that devel-
opers can achieve in a day or two
what it currently takes pro-
grammers two to three months
to do. Instead of tracking a
hotspot manually frame by
frame, developers using V-Ac-
tive can track it automatically
as it moves on screen with just
one click of the mouse. Another
click and the hotspot is linked to
a further file. The simplicity of
V-Active, which can be used on
CD ROM as well as emerging
technologies such as CD
ROM/Internet hybrids, digital
video disc (DVD) and Inter-
net/Intranet video streaming,
means that you don't have to be
a mathematician or programmer
to make a video.
The software is of particular
interest to multimedia produc-
ers and Web site builders in-
volved in interactive advertising,
educational multimedia, corpo-
rate training, presentations, dis-
tance learning, entertainment
and merchandising.
For electronic retailers, who
regard the Internet as a promis-
ing shopping outlet, it is a wind-
fall.
"Stores put lots of effort into
decorating their shops, but on
the Net you only see a picture.
It's not exactly compelling.
"Video can capture the spirit
of buying in a store," said Mr.
Efrat. Videos of fashion shows
are just one way of bringing
shopping to life. Taken to its log-
ical conclusion, which Mr. Efrat
fully intends to do, this could
mean that one day users could
watch a video of Top Gun, click
on Tom Cruise's shirt and find
out where it was purchased.
Ephyx was founded in 1994
by Mr. Efrat, Avner Peleg, pres-
ident and CEO, and Yossi Her-
mush, executive vice-president.
The men, all in their late 20s,
early 30s — like most of the 16-
member staff — first became
friends when they joined an elite
unit in the Israel Defense
Forces' intelligence section
where they were involved in ad-
vanced data processing.
With this training behind
them, they had all moved into
the civilian high-tech arena, but
were looking for an idea of their
own. It was during a meeting in
a Tel Aviv cafe that they identi-
fied their goal.
Initially they invested their
own money in Ephyx, carrying
out projects for other high-tech
companies to support them-
selves. "We were bootstrapping,"
said Mr. Efrat. Later, the com-
pany received funding from the
NEW DIMENSION
page 88
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