Digithoughts

Adobe has done an excellent job at confusing as many people as possible with their misaligned approach to keeping things simple. This is most evident in their marketing efforts for the Flash Platform. Don’t get me wrong, I think Adobe has come leaps and bounds, making many improvements, but I think there has been a serious lack of focus in determining the strengths of products and their position in the marketplace.

In this article I will take a simplistic approach and hopefully enable the general audience to understand the ins and outs of the Adobe Flash Platform.

First we have to understand what makes up the Adobe Flash Platform, and then understand how real world business problems can be solved with the technology. The Flash Platform consists of three primary software applications:

Flash Professional:
Flash Professional is the core software in the lineup which enables the authoring of interactive and engaging user experiences.
Simply put, it offers businesses a variety of solutions that can include:

• Rich Interactive Advertising
• Video Delivery
• Branded Entertainment
• Rich Internet Applications
• Desktop Application Development (AIR)
• Mobile Application Development
• Plus many more.

Let’s take a look at how Flash as a software program can provide insight into how businesses plan to use advertising spends online.
By the numbers, display ads make up around 35% of total ad spending online. These are made up of rich banners, video ads, and sponsorship (2%) with total spending rising up to $42 billion in 2011.

Considering that probably over 70% or more of these solutions have utilized the Flash technology to accomplish the delivery, I still believe there is room for growth in the coming years.

I have touched upon Flash Professional and some of its common solution offerings, but now let’s take a look how the technology is consumed within different target platforms. The most common consumption of Flash published content comes in the form of the Flash Player plugin within the browser.

Other target platforms include:

• Personal computers
• Mobile devices
• Touch Screens
• Plasma/LCD/LED Screens

Flash Catalyst- Interaction Design Software:
This software allows you to transform Photoshop, Illustrator or Fireworks files into rich and interactive prototypes. It can be used by designers or creatives that do not code or are looking for a quick way to bring ideas to life.

Some common uses:

• Creating a Prototype or Proof of Concept.
• Pitching an idea
• Creating interactive designs without code.

Flash Builder:
Formally known as Flex Builder, this is an Adobe professional grade development tool for building cross-platform Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) and can be used with the OpenSource Flex Framework. Built on top of Eclipse-based IDE, it can be used to rapidly build and develop applications in Flex tag syntax or ActionScript 3.0.

Features for the Flash Builder Software tool:

• Integrates well with other Adobe Creative Suite design tools.
• Powerful coding tools help debug as well as code faster with enhanced coloring, statement competition and more.

Now that I have spent a little time to clear up some of the core softwares that make it possible to build great looking applications and exciting experiences online, I will take a look at some practical real world solutions to better understand how effective it can be at reaching your business goals.

Chris McJannet Senior Multimedia Developer

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