Radley Marx

Five Myths of HTML5 (vs. Adobe Flash)

First off, the inevitable disclaimer: I’m a Flash guy, not really an HTML5 guy. But I’m also an Apple guy  - I’ve owned 8 Macs, 2 iPhones, and 0 PCs over the last 20 years. I’m naturally receptive to Steve’s ideas, so maybe this HTML5 stuff does make sense. Or does it?

I don’t mean to come late to or prolong the argument. Rather, I actually wanted to dig a little deeper into the HTML5 vs. Flash debate and offer a fair rebuttal to the most fanatical of claims.

Let’s get to it…

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Best of MAX ‘09 on Adobe TV & Max Online

This year’s MAX was a blast. Lots of great announcements (but not many releases) from Adobe on what’s in store in the coming year. The best part: almost all of the sessions are now available as videos on Adobe TV and  MAX Online.

The big announcement was Flash-based app development for the iPhone which came as a great surprise for everyone. I’m very surprised how close I came in calling it in my pre-MAX blog post. If blogging was pool, my post would count if we’re playing “call pocket” and not “call shot”.

Most of my planned sessions focussed on P2P, AIR for Mobile, Collaboration, and Flex. Only a few ended up ditch-worthy (I’ll never attend “roadmap” sessions again, bah!) and in one case fell happily into a great iPhone session with AIR-master Arno Gourdol. In the end, I attended mostly P2P, video, iPhone, and Flex courses… yet there are more than a few that I missed.

This is a very subjective “best of” list based on my personal interests and skills. Thus, I’ve compiled a list of the best sessions I attended (*) as well as those recommended by others that I’ll catch up on over the next few weeks.



Flash / iPhone

XML based FLA: The New Flash File Format (Jeff Ahlquist)

Designing Flash Applications for iPhone * (Arno Gourdol)
(aka Designing Applications for Desktops and Mobile Devices with Adobe AIR)

Optimizing Flash Content for iPhone Applications (Scott Petersen & Chris Brichford)

Building Applications for iPhone with Flash Professional CS5 * (Aditya Bansod)

Multi-Touch and the Flash Platform * (Daniel Dura & Matt Bugbee)

Secret Session: Flash Professional (Richard  Galvan, long video: session repeats due to scheduling)

ActionScript 3.0 Tastes Good (and Is Good for You, Too!) (Phillip Kerman)

Things Every Flash Developer Should Know (Grant Skinner)



Video / P2P / OSMF

P2P on the Flash Platform with RTMFP * (Matthew Kaufman)

Social Media Experiences with Flash Media and RTMFP * (Tom Krcha)

Introduction to Adobe’s Open Source Media Framework (Will Law & Edwin van Rijkom)

Netflix on TVs Using Flash (Matt McCarthy & Michael Hoch)

Encoding Best Practices for H.264 Video Using Flash (Fabio Sonnati)



Flex / AIR

Preview: Flex for Mobile Devices (Ely Greenfield & Greg Burch)

Flash Builder 4 Advanced Tips and Tricks * (Scott Evans)

Effects in Flex 4 (Chet Haase)

What’s New in Flash Builder 4 (Tim Buntel)

Moving from Flex 3 to Flex 4 (Joan Lafferty)

Multitouch Development with Flex (Andrew Trice)

A Deep Dive into Flex 4 Lists and Layouts (Glenn Ruehle)

What’s Coming in Adobe AIR 2 (Christian Cantrell)



Flash Catalyst

Working with Flash Catalyst Projects in Flash Builder 4 (Andrew Shorten)

Prototyping and Interactive Wireframes Using Flash Catalyst (Peter Flynn)



Flash Platform

Killer Text in Flash with the Text Layout Framework (TLF) (Doug Benson & Rusty Williams)

Flash Player Internals (Lee Thomason)

GPU Acceleration in the next Flash Player (NVIDIA)

Adobe Wave: Increasing the Use of your Websites and Applications (John Shapiro & Joerg Beckert)

SEO Secrets, Technology, and Magic Behind Flash (Duane Nickull & Rich Tretola)



Design

Hot Tips and Cool Tools in Illustrator CS4 (David Macy)

Photoshop CS4: Hidden Gems and New Technologies (Brian O’Neil Hughes)



[Update: New videos and missing links added. A few session videos didn't get posted to Adobe TV, but are available via MAX Online (thank you @mesh).]

Will Adobe Release AIR for iPhone at MAX?

In regards to the MAX Conference next week, Adobe seems to be taking an all-or-nothing approach to the iPhone. Either they plan to announce (and promptly release) AIR for the iPhone or they’re deliberately blowing off iPhone users. As things stand now it’s the latter, but there’s clues (and assumptions) that have me wondering if this October miracle might happen…

Clue #1:  it’s almost impossible to find and/or follow the sessions at the conference via the iPhone. Both the Session Catalog and MAX Map exist only as Flash apps. On the iPhone you’ll actually see a generic template filler:

Alternate HTML content should be placed here. This content requires the Adobe Flash Player. Get Flash

Clue #2: Today Adobe released the Adobe MAX Companion – a desktop widget for twittering MAX news and gossip as well as following your MAX schedule (doesn’t work for me) and maps of the conference floors. The size and shape of this widget seems to fit nicely into a smart-phone screen (such as the iPhone).

Clue #3: AIR for Mobile has been in the MAX Session Catalog for the past few months. But recent chatter has revealed surprise and some concern from internal Adobe peeps that AIR for Mobile was made public, as if it was a big secret. AIR for Mobile is a cool advancement but not enough to freak employees out, yet AIR for iPhone certainly qualifies.

Assumption #1: AIR for Mobile will definitely be part of the keynote. As such, I predict that a beta will be released at the conclusion for people to download and use during the remainder of the conference.

Assumption #2: For every Palm Pre user at the conference there will be ten Android users and at least 500 iPhone users. With such a low user ratio, at best a special release of AIR for Mobile release would impress ~50 developers (and  maybe ~500 Blackberry  suits) at MAX, but an AIR for iPhone release would benefit half their audience and amaze everyone.

Assumption #3: It’s hard to imagine that Adobe could be so obstinate as to provide zero support for iPhone users. Most websites at least have some form of HTML backup. Even the Adobe Store, which is entirely Flash (!), has an HTML alternative viewable via the iPhone.

I wish I could say in confidence at this point “I predict Adobe will release AIR for iPhone at MAX this year” but it seems like such a long shot. Nevertheless, it’s worth stirring up the hornets nest for this one.

I’ll be crossing my fingers!!

360° Video in Flash

By using a Google Streetview-like camera, a system with six lenses, not as a photo but as a video camera, an all-encompassing picture is captured. […]
From the point where the images were recorded, the viewer can look in any direction, let his eyes wander through the crowd, or stare at the ground or the air, which makes viewing a video an experience without boundaries.

Link to product

(via Hacker News via Karagos)

Flash on Twitter – 100+ essential people & topics

This is a list of some of the most influential and interesting sources on Twitter. It’s somewhat California-centric, but includes major Flash events, evangelists, and pros from around the world. It’s not absolute nor complete. But I did make a point of finding people that are active and often on topic.

Update: I’ll update the list over the next few days for accuracy and add/remove names if requested. I also created an Addendum for 15 19 new names & sources (added on Wed), so if you’ve already gone through the list, you don’t have to guess what’s new.

Basics
@adobeflash – Adobe Flash
@adobegroups – Adobe Groups
@AdobeTV – Adobe TV
@air – Adobe AIR (by @ryanstewart)
@Flash_Platform – Flash Platform (by Matt Rozen)
@pixelbender – Adobe Pixel Bender

Events & Groups
@360Flex – 360 Flex Conference
@adobemax – Adobe MAX
@BugQuash – BugQuash (Seattle based Flex SDK bug fix event)
@FITC – FITC Conference
@flashallstars – Flash Allstars
@flashbelt – dave schroeder
@FlashDenNet – FlashDen
@flashontap – Flash on Tap
@flashtuts – Flashtuts+ (Flash tutorials)
@FOTB – Flash on the Beach
@fwa – Rob Ford (Flash Website Awards)
@insideria – InsideRIA
@silvafug – Silicon Valley Flex User Group

Adobe Team & Evangelists
@adobeted – Ted Patrick (Events & Community)
@arnog – Arno Gourdol (Sr. Engineering Manager, AIR)
@ashorten – Andrew Shorten (Platform Evangelist)
@cantrell – Christian Cantrell (Technical Product Manager)
@ccoenraets – Christophe Coenraets (Flex Lead)
@ddura – Daniel Dura (Platform Evangelist)
@duanechaos – Duane Nickull (Evangelist)
@ehadobe – Eric Herrmann (Flex Bugs)
@esulliva – Edward Sullivan (DevNet)
@garazi – Greg Rewis (Worldwide Evangelist)
@gburch – Greg Burch (Flex Mobile)
@gregorywilson – Greg Wilson (Enterprise Platform Evangelist)
@jdowdell – John Dowdell
@jlward4th – James Ward (Flex Evangelist)
@joshdura – Josh Dura (Technical Account Manager – FMS)
@kevinlynch – Kevin Lynch (Chief Software Architect) – private
@leebrimelow – Lee Brimelow (Platform Evangelist)
@mchaize – Michaël Chaize (Adobe France)
@mchotin – Matt Chotin (Sr. Product Manager, Flex SDK)
@mesh – Mike Chambers (Principal Product Manager for Developer Relations)
@nigelpegg – Nigel Pegg (FCS, ConnectNow)
@parkerkrhoyt – Kevin Hoyt (Senior Product Specialist)
@pdehaan – Peter deHaan (Flex SDK QE)
@pburnett – Paul Burnett (Flash Evangelist)
@rlux – Rachel Luxemburg (Community Manager)
@robchristensen – Rob Christensen (Product Manager, AIR)
@robdixon – Rob Dixon (Flashlit.com)
@ryanstewart – Ryan Stewart (Platform Evangelist)
@sfdesigner – Doug Winnie (Group Product Manager for Workflow and Web Tools)
@sjespers – Serge Jespers (Platform Evangelist)
@tomkrcha – Tom Krcha (Platform Evangelist)
@vortex – Matt Voerman (Senior Technical Consultant)

Community
@andremichelle – Andre Michelle (Flash audio dev)
@bartekd – Bartek Drozdz
@BenStucki – Ben Stucki
@bigspaceship – Big Spaceship
@bit101 – Keith Peters
@bitchwhocodes – stacey mulcahy
@BK4D – Ben Kanizay
@BrianDunphy – Brian Dunphy (Flex Authority)
@brianjeremy – Brian Jeremy (JUXT Interactive)
@C4RL05 – Carlos Ulloa (Papervision3D)
@cg219 – Clemente G
@dalerankine – Dale Rankine (Flash mobile dev)
@daringfireball – John Gruber
@darronschall – Darron Schall
@dougmccune – Doug McCune
@drawlogic – Ryan Christensen
@drwoohoo – Dr. Woohoo!
@flashfreaker – Robert Reinhardt
@FlashGuru – Guy Watson
@flight404 – Robert Hodgin
@gillesguillemin – Gilles Guillemin
@gruber – John Gruber
@gskinner – Grant Skinner
@jesterxl – Jesse Warden
@jnbeck – Nate Beck (@BugQuash)
@joa – Joa Ebert
@johnlindquist – John Lindquist (pv3d.org)
@joshtynjala – Josh Tynjala
@joshua – Joshua Kinberg (PBS)
@JoshuaDavis – Joshua Davis
@kristoferjoseph – Kristofer Joseph
@lisamarienyc – Lisa Larson-Kelley
@lordalex – Alex Leon
@LordBron – Tom Ortega
@mdowney – Mike Downey (Silverlight evangelist)
@ Michael_Plank – Michael Plank (FDT Master)
@neave – Paul Neave
@NeoRiley – John Grden
@peterelst – Peter Elst
@phillip – Phillip Kerman
@Pucknell – Shawn Pucknell (FITC)
@Quasimondo – Mario Klingemann
@rblank9 – R Blank (Rich Media Institute)
@richtretola – Rich Tretola (EverythingFlex)
@robpenner – Robert Penner
@scalenine – Juan Sanchez
@scottjanousek – Scott Janousek – private
@sebleedelisle – Seb Lee-Delisle (Papervision3D)
@stevensacks – Steven Sacks
@TheFlashBum – Jesse Freeman
@thenewstuff – OneZeroThrice (ARtisan)
@tmtek – Tony MacDonell (Teknision)
@UnitZeroOne – Ralph Hauwert (Core Developer for Papervision3D)
@waxpraxis – Branden Hall
@webr3 – Nathan

Addendum
(names in list added after original posting)

@BugQuash – BugQuash (Seattle based Flex SDK bug fix event)
@jnbeck – Nate Beck (@BugQuash)
@johnlindquist – John Lindquist (pv3d.org)
@bartekd – Bartek Drozdz
@Michael_Plank – Michael Plank (FDT Master)
@cg219 – Clemente G
@BK4D – Ben Kanizay
@sjespers – Serge Jespers (Platform Evangelist)
@ashorten – Andrew Shorten (Platform Evangelist)
@UnitZeroOne – Ralph Hauwert (Core Developer for Papervision3D)
@drwoohoo – Dr. Woohoo!
@lisamarienyc – Lisa Larson-Kelley
@fwa – Rob Ford (Flash Website Awards)
@gregorywilson – Greg Wilson (Enterprise Platform Evangelist)
@tomkrcha – Tom Krcha (Platform Evangelist)
@insideria – InsideRIA
@C4RL05 – Carlos Ulloa (Papervision3D)
@webr3 – Nathan
@thenewstuff – OneZeroThrice (ARtisan)

Update part 2:
I didn’t add all of the suggested names – there’s too many great people (~150+ suggestions). I filtered for “signal to noise” and relevance to SilvaFUG users.

I highly recommend that you take the time to make personalized lists for your UGs and friends. They’ll appreciate it =)