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Adobe Wave: A Wave of Content Right On Your Desktop

Adobe Wave: A Wave of Content Right On Your Desktop

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.

Adobe Wave ScreenshotThe 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.

Posted in Adobe AIR Applications, Latest Adobe AIR News0 Comments

Flash Making Its Way To The iPhone?

Flash Making Its Way To The iPhone?

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

Fickleblox Flash iPhone GameLoving the hype!  You can already check out a handful of Flash generated iPhone applications via the Apple App Store.  The list of Applications include Chroma Circuit, Trading Stuff, Fickleblox, Just Letters, South Park, That Roach Game, and Red Hood. Enjoy!

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.

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Adobe TV Redesigned and Looking Fine!

Adobe TV Redesigned and Looking Fine!

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.

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Having Fun Promoting Adobe MAX!

Having Fun Promoting Adobe MAX!

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!

Posted in Industry News6 Comments

FluidHTML: A Markup Language That Generates Flash Content

FluidHTML: A Markup Language That Generates Flash Content

“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?

Posted in Industry News13 Comments

Flash and Flex Developer’s Magazine

Flash and Flex Developer’s Magazine

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.

Download your copy now!

Current Issue: Study of Flash Media Server

Flash & Flex Magazine 05 2009

  • Putting “Brains” into Flash Apps…
  • News Digital Media Toyota Tarago Campaign Driving a Difference…
  • Working with MySQL Database from Flash Media Server Server-Side
  • Adobe Flash Media Server 3.5…
  • Streaming to Flash and iPhone with Wowza Media Server 2 Advanced…
  • Wowza Media Server…
  • Options When Planning a Video Application With FMS…

Previous Issue: Branding for Developers

Flash & Flex Magazine 04 2009

  • Creating a game using WOW-Engine…
  • How to monetize your game?…
  • So you’ve written your AIR application, now what?
  • Five Reasons Enterprise Developers Learn Flex…
  • Bring Flash content into the social realm of Facebook…
  • Rich Components with Flash and Flex…
  • ActionScript 3.0 programming paradigms, and code organization Through OOP

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Share Adobe Max 2009 Widget, Win Free Pass

Share Adobe Max 2009 Widget, Win Free Pass

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?

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Understanding Adobe Strobe A Little Bit Better

Understanding Adobe Strobe A Little Bit Better

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.

Features (To name a few):

  • An Open and standard framework
  • An open plug-in architecture
  • Drag and drop component architecture
  • Flash Media Server integration/support
  • Content delivery network integration
  • Skinnable
  • Custom measurement/analytical reporting
  • Many more…

Video: The Adobe Ones Answer Some Questions

Additional Resources:

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Becoming An Experienced Flash Developer

Becoming An Experienced Flash Developer

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.

Posted in Industry News10 Comments

Flash Builder 4 and Flash Catalyst Betas Now Available!

Flash Builder 4 and Flash Catalyst Betas Now Available!

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!

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