Does the appearance of a mysterious MX suffix in Flash MX indicate mysterious new powers and abilities for Flash developers, or is it all marketing hype?
To use a very tired cliche, adding X (or preferably X and P, for some odd reason) to a product name is effectively the new black. Everybody's doing it as a pure marketing ploy. The latest company to jump on the "X means sales" bandwagon is Macromedia, with what should by all rights be called Flash 6, but instead goes by the name of Flash MX.
Video killed the Flash starUp until now, Flash has been used primarily as an animation/advertising medium, and (through no fault of its own) has been used to create some of the worst websites in creation, alongside some of the best. Part of the issue, especially for Australian users, is that overseas Flash sites can be very slow to load, even with the use of interstitial loading pages. Don't look for that to change with Flash MX, as it adds the capability to insert full video clips into Flash presentations. Clips can be in MOV, AVI, MPEG or, for the totally bandwidth crazy, DV format. This is an important addition to Flash, especially for content to be delivered via means other than the Internet, but for many users it will add significantly to Flash loading times.
One of the challenges facing Flash developers is making sure that the target market can actually view content. While Macromedia is very happy to report figures of 90%+ saturation in the web browser market, how quickly that market upgrades its players is something of a chicken and egg situation. Until users hit compelling content that drives them to upgrade the player, few will have the necessary player technology, and, of course, until people have the player the push to develop new content will be lessened. Flash MX sidesteps this pothole by allowing files to be saved to Flash 5 standards; presuming of course that your project supports it.
What lawsuit?It would appear that while Macromedia isn't giving any ground to Adobe in the ongoing legal tussle over floating tool palettes, it is at least moving to make its interface visually different. Flash MX boasts a new graphical style that's somewhat stark, although it does still keep the same basic interface layout. Individual panels are now collapsible, which is good once you've familiarised yourself with the basic environment. Until that time you may end up doing a touch of random clicking in order to uncover everything. Familiarising yourself is not a long process.
For new users considering Flash MX, Macromedia has included its usual help files, which work around an embedded Flash presentation that walks you through everything from simple commands to using ActiveScript efficiently. Flash isn't the hardest program to get the hang of, and it's good to see that Macromedia backs up its inbuilt support with a comprehensive printed manual for those of us who like something physical to refer to.
For existing Flash developers the changes aren't revolutionary, but still make Flash MX worth a look. Apart from the ability to embed video of most types, existing developers will find the workflow a touch easier. Flash 5 introduced a debugging option for ActionScript users, and it's been improved upon in Flash MX. Code Syntax is now only a mouse click away, although we were somewhat annoyed by the default view that the debugger comes up with; for some reason all the subwindows are shrunk to a point that makes text impossible to read. The property inspector now works via context, so selected elements will automatically display any acceptable tool for modification without needing to remember every possible variable. Support for disabled users is realised through utilisation of Microsoft's Active Accessibility technology. It's not just a Microsoft product though, as Flash MX is fully OS X compatible, something that should bring cheer to Apple-focused designer's hearts.
Flash MX makes best sense to developers who keenly need the new features it offers. A lot of the changes made to this version don't make it a totally compelling upgrade this early in the lifecycle of the player, but given Flash's virtual monopoly of the online animation world, that's a concern that will only lessen with time.
Macromedia Flash MX
Company: Macromedia
Price: AU$1,100, Upgrade AU$450
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: (03) 9855 3100
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