FLASH. and Flex.

In 1996 we were using a plugin called FutureSplash that did some pretty cool things. It provided us the ability to add animation using vector graphics, such a huge leap beyond the animated gifs so popular at the time. Macromedia saw the potential of FutureSpash and scooped it up. Flash was born.

This coincided with the beta releases of the new Macromedia html editing software. Already users of Macromedia Director we became immediate fans of DreamWeaver. Nine versions later, we still use it. But it took several more years before we jumped onto the FLASH bandwagon. The appeal to many was the beauty, the moving dancing graphics. But until the language itself, ActionScript, developed into a OOP language we held back, preferring LINGO to provide those beauty additions in the form of shockwave files.

Everything evolves, and ActionScript did so beyond our wildest imaginings. While we remember with some fondness our days using LINGO, there is no question that AS grew up to be the language of choice.

Flex.

We can't claim to be experts in Flex (yet). There are only about a dozen people who can make that claim, and nine of them work for Adobe. But after a year of MXML we are not only hooked, we're convinced that Flex is the future of RIAs. It's more than Web2.0, it's the dreams of the last decade manifesting. We've been around since the early days, we've seen languages and killer apps come and go, so we're often cynical about such claims. For us to feel so passionately excited about something new in technology you know it's passed all the tests and critiques we could throw at it.

AIR.

Have you heard ? The web as we know it may be on it's way out. What's next ? The desktop ! Adobe has succeeded where others have not, and with the release of AIR bring full desktop control and multi platform support into the hands of internet developers. If you haven't heard of AIR until now, trust us, this will not be the last time you do.