Thoughts On Flash CS3
A couple weeks ago, Adobe released Creative Suite 3, its first full upgrade release since acquiring Macromedia last year. There has been a total overhaul of Actionscript – now in it’s 3rd version – which has opened the doors for a few big changes in site design. First on my list is Flash’s new ability to completely envelop a user’s screen with content, freeing web designers from the constraints inherent in window width, browser type and popup blocking.
Though this sort of thing isn’t entirely new – old versions of flash were able to take full-screen control of IE6 – its appearance in the newest flash does indicate how Adobe – arguably the leader in web-development software today – sees web design evolving over the next few years. Already sites have sprung up ( examples here ) showcasing the full-screen capability as a being perfect for photo-viewers, iTube viewers and the like, but I wonder what will happen when the sites themselves begin going full screen.
Visually, having control of a user’s entire screen means that flash websites – already pretty astonishing for their visual depth and complexity – could soon become more like DVD’s than the typical masthead/sidebar/content templates that dominate today. This may not sound like much, but by taking away a user’s toolbar, desktop, and other distracting screen items, the broadband web experience could open up some pretty exciting design possibilities.
Unfortunately, this is still something that can only reach those who have A) enough processing power to support a full screen animation, and B) Flash. Usability experts have historically had no love for full screen designs (or flash in general ) and I expect only a few sites will adopt it even when Flash Player 9 (required for full screen) becomes widely used. Still, it is always interesting to consider where this industry is headed, and by what odd combination of means it will get there.
In other news, Mike and I – the Mac users – have begun using Coda ( download here ) and it’s absolutely fantastic. The only issue i’ve found thus far is an occasional refusal to undo when more than one pane is open. A small fix that I’m sure will be addressed soon by Panic.