This Story Posted:
May 24th, 1999

 
 

[3:59 PM]
Macromedia Announces Flash 4, Packed With Cool New Features
Macromedia has announced the next version of Flash. Flash 4 includes a wealth of new features and an improved user interface. The company also announced a "Free Source" license for the Flash player. According to Macromedia:

Flash 4 opens new design possibilities with enhancements such as integrated support for high-fidelity MP3 streaming audio and commands for easily creating personalized sites with sophisticated interactivity. In addition, Flash 4 dramatically streamlines the development process with a revamped authoring environment optimized to help developers create high-impact Web sites that combine the production values of television with the immediacy of the Internet.

In a related announcement today, Macromedia announced a Free Source licensing program for the Flash Player code, speeding its incorporation into the next generation of Web-enabled appliances. (See accompanying release, "Macromedia announces Free Flash Player Source Code.") The Flash file format (.swf) is already an open standard so that any vendor can create software applications that output Flash files.

The Flash Player currently ships with all major Web browsers and operating systems (including Netscape Navigator 4.0.6 and higher, Windows 98, Internet Explorer 4 and 5, AOL 4, Mac OS 8 and above, Real Player G2, Web TV, and all Liberate Technologies set top boxes) making Flash the most viewable rich media format on the Internet. Over 77 percent of Web consumers can already view Flash content without having to download any plug-ins, according to a recent third party study.

MP3 Audio, Sophisticated Interactivity Enhance Web Experience MP3 streaming audio support in Flash 4 allows designers to create new Web audio applications, such as long-form animations with voiceovers and background music, while keeping files small enough for efficient, low-bandwidth delivery.

Newly introduced support for text entry fields in Flash 4 allows developers to create more attractive and better integrated Web forms, applications, and e-commerce front ends. Sites can now easily gather customer data from within Flash-based Web pages, and then pass that information to a Web server. Flash offers extensive control over how user-entered information is displayed, allowing designers to create richly interactive Web sites without sacrificing aesthetic control.

Flash 4 takes interactivity a step further, with an enhanced set of Actions that allow Flash developers to create interactive interfaces and distinctive Web applications without needing to do any programming. New Actions in Flash 4 enable sophisticated behaviors such as draggable interface elements, conditional logic, and basic mathematics, simplifying the creation of Web shopping cart applications, for example.

A Fast, Professional Development Environment

The Flash 4 authoring interface has been revamped to make creating distinctive Flash sites faster and easier. Improvements include new Inspector palettes and drawing tools, as well as simplified layer management so that creating original content in Flash is more intuitive. An optimized Timeline and smart motion guides streamline the process of creating animations; and an improved Library palette with sorting, grouping, and usage tracking capabilities eases asset management. Finally, a new Publish command outputs the range of Flash-supported formats -including multiple versions of HTML, compressed bitmaps, and even the new QuickTime 4-with a single mouse-click.

Flash 4 for Windows and Macintosh will be available in North America in June of 1999, for an estimated street price of US $299. Current registered Flash users can upgrade to Flash 4 for US $129. Flash 4 can be purchased by calling 800-457-1774 or bought directly from Macromedia's Web site.

The Mac Observer Spin: Flash is very cool. The work being done with Flash is some of the finest web development on the Internet. For a couple of our favorite examples, check out The Image Dive, a web site from Flash developers. For gamers, check out this fan site for the game Sin (For those with a twisted sense of humor, click on the "Members" section. Once that page has come up, click 5 times on the mouth of the Sin character. This is a "hidden feature" of the site.)

Disparate in nature, these two sites show great examples of what can be done with Flash. The interesting thing is that similar effects can be achieved with QuickTime 3 and 4. The product Electrifier Pro is development environment for making web sites with QuickTime.

With the hostility Apple has shown RealNetworks of late, we wonder if it is possible that Apple could turn their eyes on Flash at some point. We hope not because Flash is such a cool technology.

Macromedia