The power of the Flash Platform
Flash Player 10 is now on 75% of all Internet connected PCs. It’s amazing to see it reached that number just 6 5 months after it was released. And it’s even more amazing to see what developers are building on top of the Flash Platform these days.
Sumo Paint
When I first saw Sumo Paint, I was completely blown away. It was just a couple of weeks ago, on April 1st. I remember mailing out a link to their main page and getting replies from colleagues asking if this was an April Fools joke. ;-) Sumo Paint is actually very easy to describe. Think Photoshop in a browser window. I thought these guys were also using Pixel Bender to do some of the effects but when I met them earlier this week in Helsinki (where they are based), they told me it’s all ActionScript 3.0. Even though Sumo Paint’s feature set is extremely close to Photoshop, it’s all built using ActionScript 3 and the Flex framework.
Hobnox Audiotool
You’ve probably seen this one before but this German based company just keeps adding new features and new instruments and it just keeps amazing me every time I see or demo it. The Hobnox Audiotool is basically a complete studio to create electronic music. The Hobnox team made Flash versions of a bunch of popular electronic drum computers and synthesizers that you can easily add to your composition. Additionally, you can also add effect modules and even record your performance to share with your friends. And all this is done using ActionScript.
Aviary
Aviary is a suite of online creative tools. Where Sumo Paint is “just” an image editor, Aviary has a vector editor, image editor, visual laboratory and a colour palettes application. All built on the top of the Flash Platform. I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of code behind this application suite and it all runs smoothly in a browser window using the Flash Player.
These are just 3 great examples that nicely demonstrate the power of the Flash Platform and there are many more out there. If you know of a cool example, make sure you leave a comment with the link(s).
Now… If you’re a web developer, just ask your self this question: “Can the platform I’m building applications on do this?”. If the answer is yes, chances are you are already a Flash Platform developer. If the answer is no, it’s not too late for you. ;-)
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Hi Serge,
Flash Player 10 was released October 15 08. It’s actually only been 5 months since it’s initial release : )
-m
Thanks for pointing that out Matt. Couldn’t remember the exact date ;-) This is even more amazing!
I’d give Aviary full marks for presentation, and self-promotion. Their applications and web site look beautiful.
You wrote “I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of code behind this application suite”
Well, I can easily imagine what’s going on under the bonnet of Avairy’s applications, and I’m underwhelmed by what they’ve achieved in this respect. These are NOT powerful applications. Path splicing is primitive. No intersection or union. No import or export of common vector file formats.
So I wish you’d chosen more worthy (but perhaps less sugar-coated) examples of the power of the Flash platform.
In all fairness, I suspect there is no funding behind what they’ve achieved. I can’t help but respect what these graphic designers have accomplished. Maybe Adobe should give them some funding. If Aviary’s project had the right kind of software expertise, to match the strength of their design – it could be incredible!