Download - The Future of Flash
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The Future of Flash
By Chris Black
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Who am I?
• Twitter: chrisjblack• Interactive
Developer, Kayaking and Rockclimbing
• Started with Java, C, C++, HTML and worked into Flash
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What is Flash?
• Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash) is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to Web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements and games. More recently, it has been positioned as a tool for "Rich Internet Applications" ("RIAs"). -Wikipedia
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Endowment Effect
• The Endowment Effect: The value of a good increases when it becomes a part of a persons endowment. The person demands more to give up an object then they would be willing to pay to acquire it. - Kahneman, Knetsch, and Thaler (1991)
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INDEED.COM
A search engine for jobs, allowing job seekers to find jobs posted on
thousands of company career sites and job boards
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Flash, Silverlight and HTML5
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Job Trend Summary
• Adobe Flash and ActionScript have continued to grow even with the introduction of Silverlight and HTML5
• All technology jobs are on the rise and can co-exist together
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Recent News
• Flash Player 10.1 available for Android (Froyo 2.2) now
• AIR for Android (Froyo 2.2) available October 8• Flash Player and AIR will be available for the
Blackberry PlayBook• Apple lightens developer restrictions and Adobe re-
opens the iPhone exporter• 64bit Flash Player available now in public beta
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Native Applications for Mobile
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Native Mobile
• Native Flash apps perform great on the Android and on October 8 can be submitted to the marketplace
• The iPhone exporter works OK• Blackberry exporter is on the way!
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Benefits / Drawbacks
• Code re-use• Multi-platform
delivery• GPU acceleration• Access to native
API’s• 2D Physics for
Android
• No access to native user interface
• 3D doesn’t perform well
• No Android widgets
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Demo
• Game built using Flash deployed to both the Nexus One and iPod Touch
• Uses touch to control the speed and direction• Going into the green area slows down the car• Let’s check it out!
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Mobile Browsers
• Mobile browsers are not ready for highly interactive content
• iOS supports SVG / CSS3 well but Canvas poorly
• Android supports Flash well, CSS3 and Canvas poorly and doesn’t support SVG at all
• Lack of documentation in this area
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Challenges of Mobile Browsers
• Screen resolution and interpreted view• Pinch zoom and move vs. application gestures
and movement• Cross browser support
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AIR for Desktop Computers
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AIR for Desktop Computers
• Use AIR to build desktop applications using Flash
• Sell your desktop applications online• Melrose Toolkit• Thumb drive detection• Run native applications
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AIR for Desktop Computers
• Great tool for cross platform development
• Still no ‘killer’ application
• Easy distribution to the Blackberry PlayBook
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Myth
Flash has the most security vulnerabilities• Adobe Flash: 981 results• JavaScript: 1,110 results• Canvas: already 71 results• HTML: 5,920 resultsData taken from US-CERT (Computer Emergency
Readiness Team)
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Myth
Flash is a CPU hog• Version 10.1 performs great• Flash outperforms other technologies in most
areas, including mobile• Poor performance is generally due to bad
code• Another demo
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Flash for Desktop Browsers
• Installed on 99.1% of desktop browsers• Has the best tool set available for animation
and interactive development• Will continue to have majority coverage
compared to Silverlight and HTML5
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IE9 Betahttp://www.beautyoftheweb.com/• Performs great on IE9 but still buggy• Lacks and slows to a crawl on all other modern
browsers• No XP support for IE9!
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Agent 8 Ball
http://www.agent8ball.com/• Try the game with IE9• Now try playing the same game with Safari• Don’t try this on your mobile browser
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The Future
• Silverlight and HTML5 allow us to use more tools, not less
• Browser / device / technology combinations make decision making more complex
• Understand the new technologies and when to use them
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For Example
• Simple slideshow: JavaScript• Simple video: HTML5 video tag with Flash
fallback• DRM video: Flash or Silverlight• Complex games or animations: Flash• Drop shadow, gradient text: CSS3
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Conclusion
• Flash will continue to push the boundaries of interactive development.
• Each technology has it’s pros and cons. It’s your job to choose the best technology given the time and money.
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Links
• http://www.indeed.com/ • http://www.statcounter.com/ • http://www.blackcj.com/blog/ • http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/06/fanboy
ism-and-brand-loyalty/
