Flash MX, the latest version of the Macromedia Flash development environment, and Macromedia Flash Player 6 are both now available from Macromedia. See our March 4 report for details.
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Flash is the Web’s most widely distributed interactive media player and the standard format for high impact, vector-based Web sites. Flash MX is a tool for creating a broad range of “high-impact content and rich Internet applications that go beyond the boundaries of the browser,” according to Macromedia.
The first in a planned MX line of products, Flash MX will provide a broad range of multimedia design and rich Internet application development features in one product, Jeremy Clark, Flash product manager told MacCentral. It will provide designers with the ability to create graphics, sophisticated user interfaces, and synchronized animation with audio and new video playback to provide supreme, branded experiences, he added.
With support for video, application components, and accessibility, Macromedia Flash MX will enable the creation of rich Internet content and applications. It’s available for immediate download for Mac and Windows from the Macromedia Store in English, French, German, and Japanese. Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish will be available at a later date. Boxed copies of the product will be available March 19.
Macromedia Flash MX costs US$499; upgrades from previous versions are $199. Educational pricing is also available.
Customers already deploying content and applications created with Macromedia Flash MX include Boreal Mountain Resort and Webvertising.
vFive, a strategic design and technology consultancy, has updated Boreal MountainLink, a desktop application featuring updated weather, ski lift status, mountain trail maps, video packs and current news. The application was rebuilt using Flash MX components, with the new ability in Macromedia Flash Player to store data locally to reduce the amount of bandwidth required, and allows information to be viewed when disconnected from the Internet.
With the ability to store data locally, the MountainLink delivers more of the application in the initial download, nearly eliminating per-use data transfer and greatly reducing Boreal’s bandwidth requirements for updating the application, according to aid Jody Churich, director of marketing, Boreal. Based on vFive’s “DualCard” application, the MountainLink has plenty of remaining capacity, she added.
DualCards have an extensive list of optional features such as user or event registration, real-time chat, e-commerce, personalization, and usage reporting. The technology can also be used as a marketing tool by event promoters, entertainment companies, and product launches, or any circumstance that requires something unique and functional to enhance a brand or break out of the mold. Macromedia Flash MX will enable vFive to offer these types of rich applications at a reduced cost, Churich said.
Meanwhile, Webvertising, an Internet professional services firm, has a new version of its iHotelier OneScreen hotel room reservation system. Rebuilt using Macromedia Flash MX, the OneScreen Web application now has a more intuitive, easy-to-use user interface, transforming the online reservation process to just a single screen, Jim Whitney, chief technology officer of Webvertising, said.
The one-page interface has resulted in an increase in reservations over traditional, multi-page HTML systems, he added. While the original version of OneScreen made online reservations easier and much faster, Macromedia Flash MX offers additional speed and performance to the latest version of OneScreen, Whitney said.