Building Flash applications for Facebook just became a whole lot easier
Facebook and Adobe have just released an ActionScript 3.0 Client Library for the Facebook Platform API. This will make it a whole lot easier for Flash developers to build applications for the Facebook Platform using Flash, Flex and AIR.
If you have already built a Flash based application for Facebook in the past, you’re probably wondering what is so new about this release. While there are some unofficial libraries out there, many of these struggle to stay up to date with the rapidly evolving Facebook Platform. Today’s release makes ActionScript one of three officially supported languages of the Facebook Platform. The new AS3.0 Client Library is fully supported by Facebook and Adobe. Both Facebook and Adobe are committed to making sure that this library is kept up to date and provides the best experience for developers building on both platforms.
Danny Dura published a quick start video tutorial that will get you building Flash apps for the Facebook Platform in no time. We’ve also created a dedicated area on the Adobe Developer Connection that has everything you need to get inspired and get started.
Flash on!
Weekly blend – March 28, 2009
- Apple announces WWDC 2009 dates; iPhone, Snow Leopard countdowns begin
- Can’t wait for the improved Exchange support in Snow Leopard. - New Macheist Bundle Offers 12 Programs for $40 [Dealzmodo]
- Great deal and there are some really cool apps in there. - Recent ‘Mythbusters’ explosion shatters windows up to a mile away
- I love the Mythbusters. Can’t wait to see that episode! - Play Ball! Preview MLB.TV in HD Today
- Go Flash!
Fiat eco:Drive AIR application wins MediaGuardian award
The Fiat eco:Drive application built by AKQA won a MediaGuardian award this week in the “DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY” category. eco:Drive is an innovative application built on AIR that aims to improve your driving skills. It analyzes your driving style and helps increase your fuel efficiency, saving you money and minimizing your CO2 emissions.
Andrew and I recorded a video about eco:Drive a few months ago. If you haven’t seen it and would like to find out more about why and how eco:Drive was built, check out the video here.
Congrats to Rick, Adam and Harald at AKQA and Claudio at Fiat.
White House streaming live with Flash
Imagine you are the most powerful man on the planet. You want to organize a town hall meeting online so that anyone anywhere can view the meeting online without having to install anything new. Which technology would you choose? The answer is simple: Flash.
Barack Obama just started an online town hall meeting where he will answer the questions people could submit and vote for online. I’m currently on a hotel network and it’s still streaming in nicely.
They are streaming this using Flash Media Server 3.5 (the latest version of FMS) which does dynamic streaming and even allows you to pause the live broadcast. Check it out on http://www.whitehouse.gov/openforquestions/
Flash on!
Success stories: Flash on devices
It’s all about the user experience. These days, everyone expects the same experience across all the devices they use while capitalizing on the unique strengths of each medium and device. The single screen world is already far behind us. People are now going online on their mobile phones, set-top boxes and even MP3 players. We also expect these multi-screen experiences to just work. When you visit a site on a desktop, you expect the same functionality and experience when you visit the same site on a mobile device. That’s exactly why Opera has embedded Flash Lite in to their mobile browser.
Sean D’Arcy (Director of marketing Opera Software): “Opera’s vision is to provide the best Internet experience on any device. Adobe Flash Lite brings an emotionally heightened experience to browsing from mobile and a wide variety of other connected devices.”
The use of Flash Lite has helped Opera deliver a fuller web experience that end-users expect more and more on any connected device. If they open up a site that has Flash content, that content will show in their browser as they expect. Opera Software also uses Adobe Flash Lite to bring rich web browsing to set-top boxes, portable media players, connected TVs, and game consoles—places where the ability to enjoy dynamic media enabled by Flash technology really matters.
The consumer also demands nice looking applications and interfaces that are responsive and easy to use. iRiver is one of the many companies that use Flash as the front end for their devices. Everything you do on the device, you actually control using a Flash application.
Jack Lee (marketing manager for iRiver): “Adobe Flash Lite software helps us answer consumer demand for devices that are both beautiful and highly functional. Consumers love the sleek, high-end design of our products, but they really appreciate the reliability and ease-of-use of the multimedia features made possible by Adobe Flash Lite.”
By building the user interfaces using Flash they can also bring products to market more quickly and it also greatly differentiates the iRiver media player from other offerings. iRiver first designs its user interfaces in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator software, which lets designers follow their creative vision with confidence. Designs are then taken directly into the Adobe Flash Lite development environment where designers can see their work brought to life on the various portable media players.
Check out the success stories about Opera and iRiver on Adobe.com.
Feel free to follow me on: 
