Macromedias Flash is all grown up. Webmasters will now have access to a host of tools, part of the new multifunctional Flash Platform announced Friday, that include content creation and Web development tools that can interact with a companys server and be sent to mobile devices.
The company also unveiled its next-generation Flash player, codenamed “Maelstrom,” which is currently being beta tested and will most likely be released later this summer.
The Flash Platform includes a collection of individual Macromedia Inc. products, many of which have been in the public eye for a long time. Now, theyve been brought together to form an interactive coalition.
Platform users will have access to the Flash Player; development tool Macromedia Flex; Flash MX 2004 for content creation; the Flash Communication Server for two-way audio and video streaming; FlashCast, which delivers mobile content; and Flash Lite, which is used to run Flash on mobile devices.
Macromedia CEO Stephen Elop said the Platform will help companies in all of these fields create a better customer experience on the Web.