Back From MAX
Wow… I’m not sure where to start… I’ve been home for a week now and I’m still buzzing… Ok… So let’s start with the beginning. The keynote opening… Wow… That was absolutely mind-blowing. You could only do one thing after watching that and that was applaud as loud as you could. Seeing it on the massive 11.5 meter/38 feet tall screen was breathtaking.
The video really doesn’t do it justice but if you weren’t able to attend MAX this year it’s the next best thing.
There were plenty of exciting announcements in both keynotes. In day 1 we introduced our Creative Cloud offering and our new creative touch apps. Both will change the way you work! I’ve been playing around with our touch apps for a few weeks now (an employee privilege :D) and absolutely love them! My favorites are Proto and Photoshop Touch. Adobe TV has a bunch of videos introducing each one of the touch apps.
Another exciting announcement was the release of the Digital Publishing Suite Single Edition. Now everyone can use the power of the software behind tablet publications like Wired, Martha Stewart Living and 100s of other digital magazines.
And let’s not forget about the acquisition of TypeKit!
And that was just day 1!
Where day 1 was full of design oriented announcements, day 2 was all about developers. And not just Flash developers! If it wasn’t clear before that Adobe wants to support HTML5 developers AND keep innovating with the Flash Platform then I’m sure this keynote proved that point. The acquisition of PhoneGap and the release of Edge Preview 3 were just the starters. The CSS Regions and CSS Shaders entrees were delicious. But the dessert was definitely the highlight. 3D gaming in Flash Player looks absolutely amazing with Epic announcing support for the Unreal engine in Flash Player. The Nissan Juke website is a perfect example of how Flash Player keeps innovating and upgrading the web with every new release.
“But hey… You didn’t talk about Flash Builder in the keynotes.”
That’s true but that doesn’t mean that the Flash Builder team has been sitting around doing nothing! The Flex 4.6 SDK and Flash Builder 4.6 bring a ton of new components and features. Check out Jacob Surber’s article on what’s new in the Flex 4.6 SDK and Flash Builder 4.6 for more info. You can also sign up for the Flash Builder 4.6 prerelease.
Oh… And let’s not forget about the sneaks! I think Rainn Wilson was the best sneaks host to date but the engineers behind the sneaks were the stars of the evening. My favorite sneaks were “crowd sourced video” and “image deblurring” but really all of the sneaks were equally amazing! Oh… And you can view all of them online!
Is it weird that I’m already looking forward to MAX 2012? Mark your calendars: October 20th to 24th 2012, Los Angeles.
PS: If you’re in/near Paris, Berlin or London and would like to see some of this technology firsthand then make sure you sign up for the free Back From MAX events!
Can’t make it to MAX? Watch the keynotes online!
One week until Adobe MAX 2011! We have some very exciting news to share during the keynotes and like previous years we also have some very well known guests on stage! There really is no substitute for being live at the keynotes in the Nokia Theater but MAXonline is probably the next best thing.
Mister Ryan Stewart and I will be hosting MAXonline again this year and we promise to give you a behind the scenes look at MAX as well as exclusive interviews you won’t see anywhere else!
Watch on your desktop or Flash-enabled mobile device using Adobe’s video streaming technologies including HTTP Dynamic Streaming with Flash Media Server 4.5 and experience Flash Player’s peer-assisted networking technology for media delivery. Or watch it on your Apple iOS device using HLS powered by Adobe Flash Media Server 4.5!
Just make sure you don’t miss it! Register today!
MAX Wrap Up
Wow… I can’t believe that around this time exactly a week ago we were partying at the MAX Bash. Well… The MAX Bash was already over and we continued the party in the hotel bar ;-) Now… Where do I start…? Did I not tell you that this was going to be the best MAX ever? Even on a personal level this one is going to be hard to top. I mean… It was already pretty amazing to be on stage welcoming everybody for the day 1 keynote while Joa Ebert was coding and Eric Natzke was making some amazing art behind me.
Backstage MAX Online was already in full swing. Joining Ryan Stewart in hosting MAX Online was also a lot of fun and meeting/interviewing Martha Stewart is also going to be hard to beat.

Then my live intervention from the Device Lab in the day 1 keynote and hosting the Iron Builder segment in day 2…
And later that night meeting William Shatner… (I owe you one Nicole!)

I’m telling ya… It’s going to be hard to top this next year.
And then I haven’t even started about the amazing things we talked about in the keynotes and sneaks, the lovely people I met, winning the “Are You Smarter Than An Evangelist” contest with my evangelist colleagues, the new technologies that launched at MAX, … The AIR team has a great overview of AIR related announcements. You should also check Adobe Labs for more things to start playing with. My favorites are the preview releases of Flash Builder “Burrito” with Flex “Hero” and Flash Catalyst “Panini” as well as the first ever public demo of the BlackBerry PlayBook and the sneak peek of the upcoming 3D capabilities in Flash Player.
MAX will be back in Los Angeles on October 1st to 5th 2011. You better mark that in your calendar so you don’t miss it next year! I hear you can get very cheap airline tickets if you book well in advance ;-)
MAX session update: Personalized video on the web
After posting the behind the scenes articles about the MAX widget I got a lot of emails from developers wanting to know more about how you build apps like that. That got me thinking… “Why not do a session on that at MAX?”.
So… On Wednesday Oct 27th at 9:30 AM I will tell you all the secrets on how to build personalized video experiences on the web like the MAX widget.
MAX UnAwards widget uncovered: developing personalized video apps on the web
Discover the magic behind the MAX UnAwards widget, and learn how to create personalized video apps for the web with the Flash Platform. In this session, you’ll learn how to sync videos with animations, how to add video recording capabilities, and how to add personalized animations. You’ll learn how to use cuepoints and how to use Flash Media Server 4 to create engaging personalized experiences on the web.
PS: This session replaces my previous announced session.
Leonard Nimoy hosting MAX Awards (+exclusive rehearsal photo)
Adobe MAX is now only 2 weeks away and I’ve been hearing some amazing rumors about what we have lined up for you. One of those things I heard a few weeks ago was that none other than Leonard Nimoy will be hosting the MAX Awards and Sneak Peeks together with our own Ted Patrick.
Rehearsals are well underway and an anonymous source just sent me this picture from last week’s rehearsals. ;-)

You do not want to miss the MAX Awards and Sneak Peeks! See you in Los Angeles!






