Finally someone has taken our advice and started displaying premium content via Flash video with embedded ads. As I
have said in this space before, content
providers need only create Flash based video content to distribute their stuff to viewers and then they can grab the
largest online viewing audience of any video app. Larger than Windows Media Player, larger than Quicktime, larger than
all other video types.
ABC has created and released a new Flash based video player for four of its shows that embeds video with
non-skippable ad content from AT&T. Users can choose from four differenct shows (Desperate Housewives, Lost,
Commander and Chief, and Alias) and view content in each with sponsor advertisments within.
Friday You Tube released a new player face for its video. They are incouraging users to check out the new
player and tell them what they think. I like the player more than the older one, but its not as 'pretty.' You Tube
added needed features including a scroller that can be easily selected and moved to jump through the playing video, a
volume control, and a time stamp. Improvements I would like to see include the release of an API so developers can
embed You videos in their projects and even adjust the player to add of remove functionality. Plus I would like to skin
the player with various colors and designs. They could even use an API to promote the site to content providers for
targetted use on sites. Maybe E! could start embedding E! content with custom skins and active dynamic Flash
content.
Third Party Flash creation software Toon Boom released an update for Mac users earlier this month. The
software is not official Universal or Intel and PowerPC Mac compatible. We talked about Toon Boom back when they won
and Emmy last year and this just
shows the software moving forward with its user base. As animators upgrade to the new Mactels they won't need to wait
for the next version to run this package outside of Rosetta. I think this developement was achieved with the help of
the Universal Flash Player that was released as a beta with Safari on the newer Macs. It will be interesting to see
what other third party Flash offerings will beat the Adobe Flash Universal IDE to market in the coming months.
So, yesterday's
news was about the PSP firmware update that included Flash Player 6. But that is only Flash 6. If you want to play
Flash 7 content on your PSP, you're going to have to resort to alternate methods. Oregan Networksannounced on 12
April the "imminent availability of its latest technology building block enabling rendering of Macromedia®
Flash® 7.0 content on non-PC entertainment devices." Later, in the press release, they specifically mention optimization
for the PSP. So what does this get you? Try:
• Flash 7.0 content rendering • ActionScript
2.0 support • JavaScript to ActionScript control API • Highly optimised integer-based code for
maximum performance on embedded platforms
All at a footprint of 500kb! Well, sounds promising, but I wonder
what exactly the schedule is for "imminent availability," and I wonder how this all sits with Sony who has
kept the PSP OS close to their chest. How important to you is Player 7 on your PSP?
I'm a little late on pointing this out, but its worth repeating it here again anyway.
Last week, Adobe released a couple of new templates for your Flash 8
IDE to address the latest changes in how Internet Explorer addresses active content (i.e. Flash). With the latest
update, IE users have to actively allow your Flash movie to play. The Flash Active Content Update
Extension will help in building new sites that avoid this problem.
If you're looking for help in
adjusting existing HTML pages, check out the Active Content Developer Center. And for information on the problem from the browser side of
things, check here.
Yahoo! Yippee! Etc! Yahoo has just released two new APIs for its mapping service. Web developers can use the new
Yahoo Maps AJAX API and the Yahoo Maps Flash API to create their own Yahoo maps in any web-based (or just web
connected) application. Now Neave will need to roll the Yahoo info into his Flash
map. The API includes hooks for other live data from Yahoo sources like their trakkic tracker and more. Plus the
Flash API comes in a Flex flavor for RIA developers looking to roll maps and live data into their applications. I would
like to see this added to a live pizza ordering application that shows a highlighted delivery route and availability map
that allows a user to click on their house and even draw out a map. Heck, while we're thinking of map drawing, let's
create an interactive app that multiple users can log into at the same time and watch a leader draw a live route on the
map (with notes) to give directions to a meeting (or something).
Clive
Whitear over at Adobe Consulting's Work in Progress
blog just posted a really nice Transition and Tween Explorer. Not the prettiest app you'll ever see, but really
functional. Great way to learn some Actionscripting as well if you're new to the whole coding aspect of things. Have
fun playing with the effects, then cut and paste the code into your own files! Download the files
here!
Adobe should build this into future Flash UIs, similar to the filter explorer in Photoshop.
Fresh out of the oven! Bill Perry just posted a link on
his blog for the new Flash Player 7
for Pocket PC. Windows Mobile 5 and PPC 2003 compatible (remember last fall when Macromedia removed the FP6 for PPC
because of stability issues?). Bill lays out the key features as:
John Dowdell just posted
about the official Flash Player for Intel based Macs. You can download the updated player to bring yourself up to a
version that doesn't require Rosetta to run and fixes the latest security issue. Current issues with this player
include a strange issue where Flash will only recognize the default iSight camera. Also this is a universal binary that
included the latest Flash Player for Power-PC based Macs. Installation is reletively painless with only four steps.
So there was this big press conference at Sony headquarters yesterday to discuss the PS3 (which I will probably
avoid, $425 is too much) and the CEO had some announcements about upcoming PSP updates, including a new web browser.
The next PSP web browser will include official Flash support! Which means we can stop trying to hack the Flash Player
into the PlayStationPortable and just go with the flow. 1UP mentioned the inclusion at 10:42 AM PST yesterday. I only wonder if the player will be a
stripped down version or even just a modified version of the Palm OS Flash Player that was included with Sony's CLIE
product line. The release of a coming camera and GPS modules leads me to think that Flash developers may be able to
build full fledged RIAs that feature location based support and video teleconferencing. Now I just need to save up a
couple hundred bucks and grab on of these for 'work.'
Time to update your Flash Player. According to Cnet, Adobe has released
a new update to Flash Player to bring all you non-beta users up to 8.0.24.0. Adobe recommends all users of Flash player
up to version 8.0.22.0 update their player via download. Apparently a vulnerability has been found that
allows 'evil' SWF files to take control of a user's system when loaded into current version of the player. So head over
to the link below and update your systems. The problem affects Breeze 5, Shockwave 10.1.0.11 and Flash debug player
7.0.14 (and earlier of course).
The first of the early adopters to realize his mistake has returned his brand new iMac with Intel after just
24 hours. Unfortunately for Jed Wood of SilentRant.com the failure of Flash on the new iMac (specifically in Safari and
Firefox under Rosetta) forced him to return his smooth new Mac. Again, careful how early you adopt, he ended up lucking
into a trade in on the PowerPC iMac, but almost suffered a 10 percent restocking fee.
On
Monday Adobe grabbed a DRM company that creates lock downs for PDF files via a client-server method and document
encryption. This seems old hat in the textbook and business documentation world, but I wonder if Adobe will use this
method to create a new SWF based DRM. For more clues I sat at work listening to the Gillmor Gang discuss DRM and video. They brought up the new Google Video store and how Google is using Flash (7 if you must know) to
display its videos. One member of the gang (I forget his name) said (aroung the 18 minute mark) that Adobe and
Macromedia's merger should bring DRM to Flash in the future so Flash can become a more viable content distribution
model. I'm all for it... er let me clarify, I'd prefer DRM free content for ease of use etc, but if it must be there I
want cross platform content, like Flash. In order words, that new VH1 video site and the new Comedy Central video
service are closed to my iBook due to lack of vision on the part of their developers (and the music industry, but
that's another story), but if the content was Flash based (like CNN's free in page
video) then the content would be semi cross platform (sorry Linux, wait for 8.5). The only question is: Is SWF (and On2
by association) better than WMV and M4V?
After
Lightroom's release by Adobe Labs this week, I immediately asked myself what this means for the Flash community. First
off I grabbed the Lightroom Beta Vodcast and sat down to watch the 20 meg video that streamed to my laptop. The video
was extremely interesting and filled with features and neat stuff, but really had only a little bit on my favorite
topic. Around 15 minutes into the video George Jardine gets to the moment I was waiting for, Lightroom allows pro (and
not pro) photographers export to HTML, PDF, and Flash with ease. This is great because not photographers, like the one
that shot my wedding, can export the perfect cross platform (Mac/PC that is) format and burn straight to CD or even
distribute to clients via the web. The only thing a pro might want would be an easy option to lower the quality of
slide photos and maybe a way to select images to save for comment or rating. Oh and maybe a way to choose Flash player
versions or bundle slideshow for CD. What do you think could be added to this non-Flash app to make it better for
wanna-be Flashers?
Everyone's favorite home of the BOFH has been lucky enough to grab a newer-than-new copy of the coming Macromedia (guess we should say Adobe) Flex 2.0 ALPHA. The multi page review explores the product with a few screen shots for your viewing pleasure.
The review includes notes of interest on what looks to be a future site license option for Flex that should make the product more easily available. Also, they see Flex as being positioned to directly compete with .NET.
I just wonder how this application will play into the merger. Will Adobe be pushing this product as part of some gigantic bundle or Extra-Creative-Suite? Or will they group it with other application and web software?
Oh, there is a link at the end of the review to the download site so you can grab your own ALPHA to try.
Finally someone has taken our advice and started displaying premium content via Flash video with embedded ads. As I
have said in this space before, content
providers need only create Flash based video content to distribute their stuff to viewers and then they can grab the
largest online viewing audience of any video app. Larger than Windows Media Player, larger than Quicktime, larger than
all other video types. 
Friday You Tube released a new player face for its video. They are incouraging users to check out the new
player and tell them what they think. I like the player more than the older one, but its not as 'pretty.' You Tube
added needed features including a scroller that can be easily selected and moved to jump through the playing video, a
volume control, and a time stamp. Improvements I would like to see include the release of an API so developers can
embed You videos in their projects and even adjust the player to add of remove functionality. Plus I would like to skin
the player with various colors and designs. They could even use an API to promote the site to content providers for
targetted use on sites. Maybe E! could start embedding E! content with custom skins and active dynamic Flash
content.
Third Party Flash creation software Toon Boom released an update for Mac users earlier this month. The
software is not official Universal or Intel and PowerPC Mac compatible. We talked about Toon Boom back when they won
and Emmy 
Yahoo! Yippee! Etc! Yahoo has just released two new APIs for its mapping service. Web developers can use the new
Yahoo Maps AJAX API and the Yahoo Maps Flash API to create their own Yahoo maps in any web-based (or just web
connected) application. Now Neave will need to roll the Yahoo info into his 
So there was this big press conference at Sony headquarters yesterday to discuss the PS3 (which I will probably
avoid, $425 is too much) and the CEO had some announcements about upcoming PSP updates, including a new web browser.
The next PSP web browser will include official Flash support! Which means we can stop trying to hack the Flash Player
into the PlayStationPortable and just go with the flow. 1UP mentioned the inclusion at
The first of the early adopters to realize his mistake has returned his brand new iMac with Intel after just
24 hours. Unfortunately for Jed Wood of SilentRant.com the failure of Flash on the new iMac (specifically in Safari and
Firefox under Rosetta) forced him to return his smooth new Mac. Again, careful how early you adopt, he ended up lucking
into a trade in on the PowerPC iMac, but almost suffered a 10 percent restocking fee.
On
Monday Adobe grabbed a DRM company that creates lock downs for PDF files via a client-server method and document
encryption. This seems old hat in the textbook and business documentation world, but I wonder if Adobe will use this
method to create a new SWF based DRM. For more clues I sat at work listening to the 
After
Lightroom's release by Adobe Labs this week, I immediately asked myself what this means for the Flash community. First
off I grabbed the Lightroom Beta Vodcast and sat down to watch the 20 meg video that streamed to my laptop. The video
was extremely interesting and filled with features and neat stuff, but really had only a little bit on my favorite
topic. Around 15 minutes into the video George Jardine gets to the moment I was waiting for, Lightroom allows pro (and
not pro) photographers export to HTML, PDF, and Flash with ease. This is great because not photographers, like the one
that shot my wedding, can export the perfect cross platform (Mac/PC that is) format and burn straight to CD or even
distribute to clients via the web. The only thing a pro might want would be an easy option to lower the quality of
slide photos and maybe a way to select images to save for comment or rating. Oh and maybe a way to choose Flash player
versions or bundle slideshow for CD. What do you think could be added to this non-Flash app to make it better for
wanna-be Flashers?
Everyone's favorite home of the 
