Denver Flash Programming

Some people may wonder with the recent announcement by Steve Jobs, Apple, that the ThinkPad would not support Flash – that this is a dying technology. Flash had its early roots from a company called Marcromedia before Adobe bought them out. Does anyone remember Macromedia Director — or before that Macromind Director and Authorware? Flash was originally called Future Splash Animator when it was bought by Macromedia in 1996. The key here is 1996. We are talking old technology. Sure there have been a lot of changes over the year, especially when the technology matured with the ability to play videos very well. It is estimated that two out of every three videos that plays on the web now is a Flash file. It won’t happen overnight, but you can start to see that new development programs are starting to look at other solutions. The exciting point of all of this is — what replaces Flash. There are rumblings out there — but we shall soon see. It won’t change overnight and there will be some alternative choices — we just have to see what matures in the marketplace. Microsoft’s Silverlight is a contender — but it isn’t user friendly for designers. I expect future versions will start to move that way. Either way, look at major trade shows like the NAB or CES, to lead the way. It may be a small company tucked in the corner with the right technology — just ready to be bought. That is how Macromedia acquired Future Wave Software — the makers of Future Splash Animator — now known as Flash. It was bought in 1996 and Adobe bought Macromedia in 2005. It is one fish being gobbled by a bigger fish …. and another …