At last year’s Max conference, a new Adobe technology called Adobe Wave was revealed that demonstrated how web content publishers could easily publish notification to their user’s desktops. The Adobe Wave client is built on Adobe AIR allowing users to receive near real time notifications of new content, a new social interaction, or another notification that the publisher would like to let you know about.
Earlier this summer, this previewed technology was added to Adobe Labs for both users and publishers. For those of you that have ever used Growl notifications for Mac OS X, the style of notifications is very similar.
The Potential of Adobe Wave
Personally, I feel that Adobe Wave has some legs and if widely adopted can provide a streamlined connection with the content publisher and user. As web users, we are always looking for a way to stay on top of the web’s content. Adobe Wave simply provides content publishers the right tool to do just that in almost real time.
Overall, I think this is an exciting technology and indicates that our needs of how we receive our content are evolving. This is definitely something I will be keeping a close eye on. Don’t forget to check out, the video overview for both publishers and consumers. Also, for more information, visit Adobe Wave on Adobe Labs.
The day that many Flash Developers/Designers have been waiting for is finally approaching. Well…not quite exactly. Earlier this week at Adobe Max 2009, Adobe provided a sneek-peek to some of the new features that Flash CS5 will be shipping with. The one feature that is getting many excited(and for good reason) is the ability to export your Flash applications into Apple iPhone applications.
Export to iPhone
Flash Professional CS5 will allow you to set your publish settings to “iPhone”. This will compile your movie as a native iPhone application that can be submitted to the Apple AppStore.
A New Door Has Opened
This opens a whole new door for Flash Developers/Designers. The ability to get your content displayed to an already trendmously large iPhone user base. Hey, if this is the compromise of not having a Flash Player based within Safari on the iPhone, then I can definitely live with that. Quite honestly, this might turn out to be even a better solution.
Additonal New Features Shipping With Flash CS5
Along with being able to create iPhone applications, Flash CS5 provides some other sorely needed features like:
Improved ActionScript editor
Code Snippets panel
Flash Builder integration
XML based FLA files
Resources:
Article: Developing for the Apple iPhone using Flash
Aditya Bansodof of Adobe breaks down how this all came about. He gives a breakdown on the technology behind this conversion and how to go about creating/submitting a Flash generated iPhone application.
Video: Building Applications For iPhone With Flash Professional CS5
Learn how Adobe is working to bring Adobe technologies out of the desktop and onto a the iPhone. Learn how Flash Professional and the Flash platform will add capabilities to help developers iPhone enable, test, and publish their content.
Current Flash Apps Already Available via the Apple App Store
For more additional resources and an update on release of Flash CS5, check out Flash CS5 on Adobe Labs. Also, Flash CS5 beta is expected to be released prior to year’s end so be sure to sign up to get notified when that does happen.
Adobe TV gets a long awaited redesign that I am sure all users will come to love and appreciate. While the original Adobe TV got the job done, it simply was not up to par in comparison to other popular video sharing sites. I personally feel these new features add so much more value to Adobe TV. It now feels more natural of an experience.
New Features Added to Adobe TV are:
Loading speeds vastly improved
Easier/faster search capabilities
Customizable home pages
Save your favorite videos to a personal library
Post videos directly to your favorite social network
Video: Adobe TV Wasn’t Built in a Day
Check out this video and let the Adobe ones break down these new feature upgrades. Also, don’t forget to visit Adobe TV to experience these new features yourself.
With Adobe Max 2009 slowly approaching, there is nothing like a little promotional humor. With all the personalities in the industry, it is always nice to catch them in a moment of humor. Check out this promotional Adobe Max video starring Lee Brimelow, Phillip Kerman and the PR guy. Funny!
“FluidHtml is a text-based markup language (like HTML) that lets you dynamically generate Flash content. This is an extraordinarily powerful idea. It means that anyone can build highly animated websites, ads, media players and 3D animations quickly and easily.”
FluidHTML looks to be an innovative concept and may address current issues related to Flash content on the web. However, I believe web designers/developers who currently use HTML/CSS might find this much more attractive than Flash designers/developers.
I really like the concept of offering an extensible API and opening it up to developers, but is this going to be a viable markup language 5 years from now or is it just a phase. As ActionScript libraries that support browser-like functionality improve and as Google and Yahoo’s search engine’s begin to recognize the text within Flash files, does FluidHTML really fix anything that isn’t already steadily improving.
I believe FluidHTML does have potential however, I am not sure if Flash designers/developers will buy into the concept. Check out the introductory video below on FluidHTML. I’d love to hear how you guys feel about FluidHTML after viewing the video. Would you consider using it?
Flash and Flex Developer’s Magazine is one of few magazines that target Flash and Flex development. It offers tutorials, product reviews, and articles from the industry’s talent. Recently, this up and coming magazine subscription has gone digital and completely FREE!
September marks the first month of this free digital publication. They are also, providing downloads from previous months.
You could win a free pass to MAX 2009, along with some of the software used to create the Adobe MAX widget, simply by putting the widget below on your blog and/or social network pages, and encouraging others to do the same. The Adobe MAX widget allows you to get up to speed with Max facts, watch user testimonials and even record your own.
Here’s how to win
“Put the widget on your blog and/or social network pages, and encourage other to do the same. If you drive the most widget placements, you win! See MAX facts you like? Send them to your Twitter followers. The more you Tweet, the greater your chance of winning!” – Andrew Shorten
Wouldn’t it be great to get a free pass to MAX 2009?
A few months ago, I was introduced to the concept of Adobe “Strobe” and quite honestly I was a bit confused on the reasoning behind the project. The confusion was built up due to Adobe’s efforts on the Open Video Player project and Strobe project. The two similar projects had intentions on standardizing the market’s video players. So why two?
With the release of new documentation on Adobe “Strobe”, I can now say that the confusion I once had is now gone and I can’t wait for the official release of Adobe “Strobe”. While these two projects are similar, they both serve two different purposes and look to standardize those efforts. Actually, the Open Video Player initiative will aid the development and standardization of the Adobe “Strobe” project as it leverages code from the Akamai’s Open Video Player.
More About Adobe “Strobe”, Now Called Open Source Media Framework
Late last month, Adobe announced that Adobe “Strobe” is going open source and being renamed to Open Source Media Framework. This is great news and indicates the extent of the efforts on this project. Once again, I have to say to thank you to Adobe and its partners for contributing their efforts to a great cause.
So what is the Open Source Media Framework
Now that the confusion is out of the way,let’s talk about what this framework will be able to do. Adobe’s new media player framework simplifies the development of media players by enabling developers to assemble pluggable components, creating high-quality, full-featured playback experiences. Its open framework enables collaborative development for future web video monetization, with lower costs and faster turnaround. To learn more, visit the home of this new Open Source Media Framework.
With the Adobe Flash Platform expanding into more markets indicates the need of ActionScript/Flash Developers to expand their knowledge to the match the growth of the industry. So what might one be benefited in knowing to becoming a better ActionScript/Flash Developer?
Grant Skinner has put together a solid checklist of skill sets that an experienced ActionScript/Flash Developer should consider having. It’s not the bible but it is definitely a great model for success as a ActionScript/Flash Developer.
Grant’s Checklist
Skills I would expect any experienced Flash Developer to have include:
ActionScript development (obviously)
OOP experience
Some experience with architecture / design patterns
Code standards
Data services integration: XML, JSON, SOAP, etc.
Problem solving
Debugging
Optimization, both code and graphics
Quality testing
Reasonable understanding of UX and interaction design
Basic graphic design and motion graphics skills (enough to understand and implement designer concepts)
Graphics import
Basic skills with Photoshop, Illustrator, and Fireworks (for tweaks / exporting art)
Basic understanding of video / audio compression
Programmatic motion
Writing (for team / client communication, documentation, comments, etc)
Verbal communication and interpersonal skills for team / client interaction
Experience working with Flash and the timeline
Experience with an external code editor (ex. FlexBuilder, FDT, FlashDevelop)
High level understanding of Flex, FMS, Remoting, FlashLite, AIR and other core Flash platform products / libraries
High level understanding of server development and databases (not necessary an ability to implement anything, but a small amount of experience / understanding of the models)
Basic understanding of HTML, JS, CSS
Integration with HTML, JS
Community awareness (online resources, frameworks, etc)
Basic math – understanding and combining +, -, /, *, %, exponents and basic trigonometry (sin, cos, atan2, etc)
Hmmm…
Personally, I’ve always felt to become a reliable experience ActionScript/Flash Developer, you have got to know the ins and outs of Flash and how it can interact with the outside world. Without that knowledge, you potentially strip the use of Flash of what it is most capable of doing with its diverse integration. In other words, I think that the list that Grant provides is pretty spot on.
But hey that’s my opinion. How do you feel? Do you agree with the checklist that Grant has put together? Feel free to express your opinion below or head over to Grant’s blog and join the controversy there.
The day that many of us have been waiting for has arrived. Today, beta versions of both Flash Builder 4 and Flash Catalyst are now available for download via Adobe Labs. The two new beta releases have been in closed beta for quite some, but as of today the doors are now opened.
A Little Bit About the Two
Flash Builder(formerly Flex Builder) 4 delivers a long list of new features, plus improvements to many existing features.There are three main themes to this release: developer productivity, designer-developer work-flow, and data-centric application development.
As for Flash Catalyst, this new tool looks to vastly improve designer/developer work-flow when dealing with the Flex Framework and development of RIAs.
Further Readings:
While the news of the beta releases of Flash Builder 4 and Flash Catalyst is still young, I have compiled a list of resources that will help you get up to date topic. Enjoy!
The Potential of Adobe Wave
Loving the hype! You can already check out a 
