Introduction
Flash is an interesting application. primarily due to it's ability to
animate vector graphics. After spending a number of years handling graphics
for print I became well aware of the vast differences between vector
graphics and bitmap images. After making the transition from print to
the Web,
I often wondered why the web didn't support vector file formats, since
vector files are not only smaller, but "scalable." However,
after about three years in the industry i became aware of an application
which could present vector based images on the web - Flash. Not
only could Flash present vector images in a browser, but it could animate
them, and stream them - with sound!
This opened the doors for a whole new twist on the internet. But before
we go any furthur i think a little history lesson is necessary to clear
the air on how this technology
became what
it is today.
FutureSplash is the original
name of Flash. The developers of FuturSplash sold there technology to Macromedia.
Macromedia has an extensive history in the interactive application development.
A number of years ago they developed Shockwave for Macromedia's long-standing
CD-rom and Kiosk authoring tool "Director." Shockwave is a
plug-in which enables browsers to display content specifically developed
for the
plug-in. There are a number of applications which can produce Shockwave
files: Flash, Director, Freehand and Authorware - all are Macromedia
products.
For an in-depth history of Flash, click
here.
The reason for Flash's success is that it was developed specifically
for the Internet - where-as the other applications mentioned above carry
"extra baggage" for non-Internet specific functionality. And
i beileve that Flash will continue to be the standard for developing interactive
media on the Web due to it's ability incorporate a large varity of file
format import and export features.
The vision and promise of the internet is to deliver information in
an interactive and entertaining fashion enabling people to communicate
at
a higher level than TV, Radio or Telephone. Basically - the web is the
the merger of TV, Radio, Telephone and Data. There are a number
of technologies which enable this merger. RealNetworks
was the first company to successfully develope video for the internet.
Quicktime is another
vide-based technology that has had tremendous success. Microsoft's Windows
Media is also in the mix to try and monopolize internet video. While
each of the "Big 3" have outstanding quality and perfomance, they are
lacking in two critical areas that limit their overall impact:
1) Ease of use. 2) Market Saturation.
And these critical issues bring us to the first Chapter:
The Plugin Perdicament >>
NEXT -->
|