If ever a product has earned its name, Captivate from Adobe is at the top of the list. This desktop software package, now in version 3, makes it extremely simple for computer users to captivate audiences by creating Flash presentations that can run on almost any desktop computer purchased in the past half-decade.

Flash, developed by a company now part of Adobe, is the technology used often on the Web to create the interactive demonstrations, presentations and animations most users see through their Web browser. It's embedded in Web sites, in online games, in advertisements and even in desktop applications, such as the popular iTunes.

But creating Flash in its native form takes programming talent, requiring the creator to understand timelines, graphic movements and logic-related commands.

Captivate, on the other hand, allows the creator to capture screens, make slide shows and turn them into interactive showcases without having to know how to program with Flash.

Opening the software presents you with the opportunity to create a new project from scratch. Start by choosing to do a software simulation by recording your screens as you work, create a role-play or develop an interactive project. Once you select the type of project you want to do, the software guides you through -- from selecting your presentation size and background image to setting up slides specific to your task.

For instance, it can give you the basic slides you need to create an interactive quiz, including how to introduce your quiz, how to set up your questions, and what to do when the user is right or wrong on each question. So when a user is correct, you can congratulate him with compelling graphics, and when he's wrong you can guide him through the correct answer -- even showing him graphically how to come up with the right answer next time.

Adobe positions Captivate as having a significant contribution for companies and individuals who do training -- because it can make the process easy for the trainer and more fun for the trainees. Yet it also provides a tremendous advantage for marketers who want to make their Web sites more engaging, or help their customers purchase from them more easily.

Almost directly after taking Captivate 3 out of the box, I was able to construct a four-minute presentation. My presentation was a bit rough -- but had only taken me an hour to create. Once I took the time to learn the software better, it took just a few hours more to create a more polished version -- with perfectly timed screen shots, pop-up instructions on-screen, and even mouse tracks that move while you watch. I didn't put audio in that test project, but Captivate provides facilities to place audio into your projects.

Once you create your project, you'll need to publish it to allow others to view it. This part is a bit tricky, because you have to choose an acceptable format (such as Flash 7 or Flash 8), and deal with the trade-off between quality and file size. Large file sizes make it slower to download your presentation from the Web. This also is where you decide whether to let your audience pause and play the presentation, and what to display while their waiting for it to start.

The biggest challenge for people who want to use Captivate to entrance their audiences is the price -- obviously not targeted at casual users. Captivate 3 is available as a stand-alone product for $699 or as part of Adobe's Technical Communications Suite for $1,599, with upgrade versions costing less.