In February, the Canadian Media Fund (CMF) announced changes to their requirements to provide funding for television and media projects. In order to secure CMF support, a television project must now include a rich, interactive digital media component. You can watch their announcement in full at http://webcasts.welcome2theshow.com/cmf-fmc2011

Use of interactive digital in support of television projects is already proving highly successful in Canada.  The Showcase series “Lost Girl” has created exclusive content, back story and teasers for their website, enticing fans to interact with the show through multiple mediums.  The web presence has furthered their reach beyond the current television broadcast area, creating loyal online viewers throughout the United States.

Pixelcarve is currently developing interactive digital strategies with independent film makers, and participating in industry events such as the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television’s Breakfast Series.

For the blow-by-blow of all the shiny new features, jump on over to Adobe’s site directly.

Or for a summary on how it might affect you, here are some of our thoughts on Adobe’s latest effort.

By far the biggest advancement is Flash’s new Stage Video API with hardware acceleration. What that means in layman’s terms is that Flash will now allow smooth, beautiful playback of up to 1080p HD video with minimal effort from the CPU. In addition to providing a more stable experience, it will keep resources lean, and preserve battery life on both smartphones and PCs. In addition, they’ve also improved the smart seek function, and the new technology will allow for slow motion, double-time, instant replay etc., allowing you to jump around video effortlessly. This will have a huge impact on building interactive experiences around fullscreen video playback. It will also accommodate changing networking conditions – adjusting quality on the fly depending on the users network speed.

Adobe has also focused a lot on enhancing globalization, with locale support that can be based on location or OS/user selected language. A big addition is sub-pixel text rendering for improved clarity and readability (especially for complex character-based languages).

Some of the most significant enhancements in 10.2 are in the mobile realm. Major improvements have been made to multi-touch and gestures, as well as mobile text input. If a physical keyboard is not detected on the device Flash will now automatically raise the native virtual keyboard for text fields. They’ve also done a lot of optimizing for loading and playback, including pausing and sleep-mode if it’s not being used, with no interruption in audio/video playback. One of the most anticipated features was the accelerometer, which they’ve implemented with x, y and z axis.

Back on the desktop they’ve brought things like advanced memory management (to prevent browser crashes), native custom cursor (to dramatically improve performance), stream reconnect (keep video going even if the connection is disrupted), IE9 hardware acceleration, multi-monitor fullscreen support, and browser privacy mode.

All in all Adobe has done an impressive job – by adding important new features that show their commitment to innovation, and to answering their critics who are concerned with their relevance on mobile platforms.

At Pixelcarve we look forward to continuing to drive innovation on the web by using many of the new features available, and helping our clients create unique and memorable experiences for their brand.

Until next time,

Curtis Priest
Pixelcarve Inc.
Partner/President & CEO

*Special thanks to Daniil for his contributions.

No matter which side of the Flash vs. HTML debate you find yourself on, there is no denying that both of them possess strengths and weaknesses. For creating immersive, rich, visually impactful experiences, Flash is still the best way to go – and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. And yes, that includes HTML5 and its many accompanying tools (I’m looking at you AJAX).

Flash’s strength is also its weakness; it’s a powerful tool with near limitless possibilities. Far too often it’s used to assault a user’s screen without regard for message, restraint, relevance or style. This leads to poor experiences, and the perpetuating myths about Flash’s usefulness.

There are infinite examples of REALLY BAD Flash websites. You know the ones – they take FOREVER to load, only to make you “skip intro”, and then treating you to a visual assault of every tool, trick and blinking animation effect the “designer” could think of. Google can’t read it (but really, why would it want to), and even if you wanted to send a sub-page to a friend or copy and paste a phone number it just won’t let you. And if this atrocity’s maker had the gall to force open a fullscreen browser window on you… well… hey, we get the hate! It leaves a bad taste and rightfully deserves the bad reputation the likes of Steve Jobs and others have given it.

Or does it?

There IS a better way. Flash is a powerful development platform that, when used correctly, can allow for the creation of the most basic, simple experience, or the most beautifully, richly interactive experience you have ever seen.

Now let’s take it to the next level. When used correctly and with its full feature set, Flash websites can offer superior Search Engine Optimization (SEO), can be Content Managed, and can offer all of the same copy+paste and unique page linking goodness of conventional HTML websites.

Creating these types of highly functional Flash websites does require specialized skills. Think of it as right brain v. left brain if you will. Flash websites have typically been built by artist/designers who have been using the default set of tools available within Flash the best they can for years. But much like the web as a whole has evolved, so has Flash. It is no longer a glorified scripting language, but rather a media-focused, object-oriented development platform. This allows for a blank canvas on which pretty much anything can be built – displayed on any digital medium from web browser to digital signage to kiosks.

As such, proper and effective Flash development has evolved to require a diverse, skilled team of strategists, designers and developers. And it makes sense; major companies wouldn’t dream of building their entire brand messaging and marketing campaigns using only one type of skillset. Technology has evolved to allow for fully interactive brand experiences that can fill a screen, powerfully blending images, video, audio, vector graphics, fonts and motion into something that can also be indexed, managed and optimized. That begins and ends with Flash.

If you agree that a strong web is an open web, you love the Flash platform because it benefits from both the resources of the open source community, as well as the visionary driving force of a single company (much like Java by Sun Microsystems); a company that works intimately with its community to implement new features and guide development. Because it’s simply a language, it can be built in anything – we ourselves don’t even develop in Adobe’s Flash, and we compile with the open source Flex SDK. This lends itself well to the massive community contributing to the codebase. Adobe has even made available the full player specifications should someone feel inclined to make their own.

So forget everything you thought you knew about Flash, and let me welcome you to the new generation of the web’s best rich-media development platform. Learn how.

Until next time,

Curtis Priest
Pixelcarve Inc.
Partner/President & CEO

He goes on to say “For the past couple of days, I have been watching content directly from YouTube, streaming Flash videos from CNET, enjoying episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants (okay, laugh at me) on Nickelodian, watching Flash enabled video clips on Foxnews.com, and basically enjoying Flash content all over the web.”

Daryl’s experience is not unique. We’ve been hearing from a number of users who have tried the new Flash 10.1 on Google Android’s newest version and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. The only issue that comes up occasionally is that certain Flash content designed for high-resolution desktops can sometimes take a while to load. One of Flash’s primary benefits is that you can use incredibly high-quality content to improve the desktop user experience – but yes that will certainly present a problem in certain situations on mobile devices. Trying to play a 1080p HD Flash video, or load a number of 2560×1600 jpeg’s may exceed the limits of mobile broadband.

The argument against Flash by the likes of Steve Jobs positions HTML5 as the solution. But as a web development company specializing in heavily interactive websites, I can say unequivocally that HTML5 is not a substitute for Flash. Putting aside the fact that HTML5 is an unfinished spec fraught with its own set of bugs and challenges, it simply does not have anything even close to the feature-set of Flash.

We build immersive, fullscreen, rich interactive experiences with Flash because our customers demand it due to the positive results it has on their business. The fact is people vastly prefer interacting with a well designed Flash site more than a clunky HTML site. Flash sites are limitless because they start with a blank canvas instead of HTML’s blocky structure.

But we have no illusion that our Flash sites will always load quickly over mobile broadband because the content can sometimes be very high quality and large in file size. That is why it’s often a good idea to build a separate version of the website specifically for mobile devices, which you really should do for an HTML site as well if you want to minimize bandwidth usage and prevent pinch and zoom until your fingers are bleeding. The ideal language for a mobile website still remains Flash for all the same reasons it’s successful on the desktop.

The real holy grail here is that developers will now have the ability to develop incredibly immersive and engaging content in Flash for mobile users that can match the branding of the desktop version. Having desktop Flash content run properly over mobile broadband is just a bonus, and one that I’m sure Adobe will perfect over time. This is a .1 release afterall…

So what’s the problem? As with all war, selfish interests, propaganda, misinformation and the unwavering entrenchment of ideologies make it difficult to dissect the real conflict. Being an innovator and leader in new media technologies, especially with the use of rich media, we have a stake in the outcome of this war. Therefore it is important for us, and you, to understand exactly what is happening and why.

So when did this all start? Well, the battlefield was set when the first smartphones were released using rudimentary web browsers. They were basic, featureless and supported very few plugins – probably the most obvious missing plugin was the very popular and desktop standard Flash player. Adobe had not yet developed a mobile version and was keeping “mum” on its progress (eventually a “Lite” version was released, but it was so weak it doesn’t deserve much more mention than this one sentence).

Then came the release of Apple’s much anticipated iPhone and iPod Touch. Devices that were expected to literally transform the way human beings interact with mobile devices. In addition to their new Touch interface they boasted a proper web browser, HTML5 support (sort of) and actually viewed most websites properly. Considering most mainstream desktop web browsers only supported HTML4, this was a significant leap forward.

But Apple’s devices were not without their flaws. The initial releases were buggy, limited in even basic features such as cut and paste, had only moderate HTML5/CSS3 support, and sported archaic single-tasking operating systems. Many of these features were added over time or are planned for future releases, but one of the biggest problems revealed itself in the web browser – people realized that using a website designed for a large monitor just wasn’t functional on a small phone. Quickly the concept of “pinch and zoom” became fodder for mockery and using websites became more of a chore than a convenience.

But the potential was there. Enterprising companies started using the powerful web browser engine within these devices to build sites designed specifically to fit the smaller screen. It was certainly a lot better, but it was not perfect. One could not help but notice that the “mobile” websites still lacked that fluid and engagingly interactive experience people were becoming used to on both desktop computers with Flash based websites, and on mobile devices with apps from Apple’s App Store. The HTML5 in the mobile devices just lacked that organic motion and user experience – and Adobe was about to step up.

With much anticipation, Adobe announced the release of Flash Player 10.1, bringing support to mobile devices and including hardware video acceleration for increased performance and battery life. They also announced that the release of their next Creative Suite (5) would support Apple App development, allowing developers currently designing applications in Flash, Flex or AIR to compile for Apple devices.

Well everything sounded fantastic and the future was looking very positive indeed. Suddenly the very restrictive model of Apple’s App development was about to get blown wide open – both in that now developers would be able to build more powerful mobile websites, and also in that it would be easier for developers to build applications in one language and compile for multiple devices – significantly reducing costs, increasing productivity and setting the stage for major innovation.

So what happened? Well, as many knowledgeable industry experts are aware, Apple has a long and sorted history with proprietary thinking. Although topic for another article completely, the critical mistakes they made during the evolution of the personal computer and their refusal to share or play nice with others resulted in their near-demise a number of times.

One would have thought Apple would have learned from their mistakes in the past, but in Steve Job’s now infamous letter posted on Apple.com recently it appears as if they have returned to their old ways – only this time they have enough market share and influence that it actually matters.

Essentially Apple is banning the Flash player from running in their mobile web browser. And what’s more, days before Adobe announced the release date of CS5, Apple rewrote a section of their developer agreement to ban anyone from using any development platform other than Apple’s for building apps. A direct attack on not only Adobe, but also every other cross-platform development tool such as Unity, etc.

The reasons for this are unclear, other than a number of inaccurate and misleading points in Steve Job’s letter. What’s even more confusing is that the Apple devices tout themselves as supporting the “full web experience”. Since Flash is used on more than 85% of all websites, that claim is preposterous. What is obvious is that Apple is trying to protect its proprietary App store and control content and its delivery on their mobile devices. It would be unfortunate if Apple was willing to destroy the entire future of mobile computing over their selfish interests, but one could make that case from their actions. Apple has proven themselves to be anti-competition, anti-developer, and anti-consumer.

Apple’s arguments seem to mainly focus on Flash’s video use (Youtube, Facebook, etc. use Flash video), which they believe can be easily replaced by another video format of their choosing (codec H.264, which ironically is also the video format standard within Flash). The problem is that Apple is neglecting the thousands of websites built entirely in Flash using Adobe’s very powerful ActionScript3 development language. Long gone are the days when Flash was simply an animators tool creating annoying flashy buttons and “skip intro” pages. Flash has grown into a robust, open and powerful tool for building highly engaging and immersive online experiences – it is here to stay as a very powerful rich-media application development platform. Apple’s arguments that the currently unfinished HTML5/CSS3 spec will replace Flash are not only absurd, but surprisingly misinformed and dangerous.

Even if HTML5/CSS3 were completely finished and implemented into all browsers today, and even if it supported the full depth of Flash’s AS3 language (which is doesn’t come even close) it would take it years to roll out across the Internet to the majority of web users. Neither of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer versions 7 or 8 support it at all, which are still the standard for web browsing on desktop computers. Firefox, Chrome and Safari support an unfinished version of the HTML5 spec, but none of them support it in the same way and therefore it is impossible to develop websites in it that are universally compatible. Considering it has taken Internet Explorer 6 over 4 years to become obsolete (and astonishingly people are STILL using it), one could even surmise that HTML5 will not be a universally supported standard on desktop computers for another 5 years or more.

Flash meanwhile is supported by over 98% of all computers on the Internet, and runs exactly the same way in every browser, and will continue to run exactly the same way in every browser. Even arguments about Flash’s lack of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) are fallacy now, with HTML sublayers and new tools available to bring Flash sites on par with HTML. Flash will also be supported by every other major smartphone maker, from Blackberry to Google’s Android.

So what’s going to happen? Well, Adobe has responded in kind. They have launched their own campaign to dispel the myths being propagated about Flash by Apple, and the founders of Adobe have written their own letter in response to Steve Jobs. Once close friends and business allies, the companies have for all intents and purposes declared war on each other.

Why? There really is no good reason. Who will win? It’s unlikely there will be a victor anytime soon, but the losers will most definitely be the developers and consumers.

People have asked if we’re biased because we develop in Flash, and the simple answer is yes. But our decision to use Flash as our platform of choice wasn’t made in a vacuum. It was a conscious business decision we made due to the demand by our clients to provide a more innovative, beautiful and rich online experience. The case is made by every single award winning website on the http://thefwa.com/ , which shows the true power and influence of this platform, and there is simply no alternative.

The US Department of Justice & Federal Trade Commission have also taken notice and are now investigating Apple for antitrust violations.

It is our hope that in the interests of mobile innovation Apple releases their firm grip and decides to play nice with the rest of the industry. In the meantime, we will continue to watch the battle unfold and provide whatever mobile solutions are available to our customers at the time. We recognize the importance of mobile support, and ensure that our Flash websites get mobile add-ons built in HTML that run properly on smartphones.

For examples, please visit the following sites on your iPhone/Pod/Pad to see how it works.
http://www.pixelcarve.com
http://www.jayhodgins.com
http://www.stokelydesign.com
http://www.rhombusmedia.com/

And contact us to learn how you can get one too!

Sincerely,

Curtis Priest
Partner – President, CEO
Pixelcarve Inc.

Steve Jobs’ Letter:
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/

Adobe’s Response:
http://www.adobe.com/choice/flash.html

Adobe Founders’ Letter:
http://www.adobe.com/choice/openmarkets.html

Mashable Article:
http://mashable.com/2010/05/13/adobe-responds-flash/

Tech Crunch Article:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/10/adobe-vs-apple-war-generates-rage-facebook-group/

ZDNet Article Regarding the DOJ & FTC Investigation of Apple
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/report-doj-and-ftc-investigating-apple-updated/6804

For years we at Pixelcarve have been fighting the perception that click-based advertising online is the only worthwhile investment, as that whole concept flies in the face of years and years of proven marketing methodologies. The argument goes that CPC gives you solid metrics and therefore you can track every dollar spent for every dollar made. Well, putting aside the fact that metrics are by their very nature flawed, and often provide grotesquely inaccurate information, this argument ignores the fact that TV, radio and print advertisement has been very successful without any form of direct audience interaction. Consumers are affected by the messages that they see and read, not just by the ones they seek out.

Finally the obsession with clicks is starting to evaporate, as heavyweights in the ad industry like Gian Fulgoni of comScore Inc. begin to address the major flaws in this system, and are able to demonstrate how important display-based ads actually are.

Check out this article to read more:

Enter Adobe, and their release of Flash 9 with its shiny new ActionScript 3 (AS3) language. As the true power of this new platform is being discovered, companies like us are using it to wipe out all of the things that we ourselves, as web users, disliked about Flash sites. Personally, I absolutely hated not being able to use the back/forward button in my browser, or send a specific page to a friend without a convoluted explanation as to how to get there. If I want to bookmark, or send to a friend the stunning Graves 601 Hotel project that Yabu Pushelberg designed, it shouldn’t be any harder than this: http://www.yabupushelberg.com/#graves_601_hotel

Now enter Google, a company that once shunned Flash, has now seen the light! Adam Ostrow looks into Google’s new love for this powerful interactive platform, and its support for analytics within Flash. Welcome to the world of Flash without compromise!

http://mashable.com/2008/11/17/google-analytics-for-flash/

Now comes word of Windows 7, which by all accounts is what Vista was actually supposed to be. For studios such as ours, with Vista operating as solidly as it does, Windows 7 presents and even more exciting leap forward.

Giz explains.
http://gizmodo.com/5070219/giz-explains-why-windows-7-will-smash-vista