MACROMEDIA CENTRAL DEVELOPER RELEASE NOW AVAILABLE
New environment to spark a renaissance in application design, development, and delivery
Macromedia MAX 2003—Salt Lake City—November 19, 2003—Macromedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: MACR) today announced the immediate availability of the Developer Release of Macromedia Central, a new environment that gives people the ability to interact with distributed information via XML and web services beyond the browser, blending the interactivity of rich client applications with the power of the network. Central provides Macromedia Flash developers with the infrastructure to design, develop, and deliver a new class of rich Internet applications (see attached quote sheet).
The Macromedia Central Software Development Kit (SDK), also available today, delivers user interface components, a debug panel, extensive API documentation, and other essential building blocks to enable development of Central applications. Additionally, Macromedia today announced that it is working with America Online (see separate release) to build an SDK that will allow developers to build presence-enabled Central applications that incorporate instant messaging functionality. For more information, visit www.macromedia.com/go/central.
"The Internet has become a rich, interconnected world of distributed information and social experiences. A great abundance of information is now coming at people on a regular basis and is challenging to manage," said Kevin Lynch, chief software architect, Macromedia. "Macromedia Central delivers an application metaphor for managing information that lays the groundwork for a renaissance in the creation of elegant, intelligent applications."
Macromedia Central introduces an innovative new framework for designing, developing, and delivering applications. The Central runtime environment includes an interface for applications, a console for notifications and "pods" (smaller containers for application data), and persistent agents that manage data in the background.
Built on the Macromedia Flash Player 6 code base, installation of the Central environment is enabled in the player, which is already distributed to hundreds of millions of users. Central leverages the strength of the Flash community and allows Flash developers to use their existing skills.
"Central provides a great set of APIs and the ability to easily tap directly into web services," said Daniel Dura, co-owner and developer, Dura Media LLC. "As a Flash developer, it was easy to get going with Central and fun to develop new applications that take advantage of it."
Central supports elegant application design by providing consistent user interface elements based on Halo components, a persistent desktop presence, pods for information highlights, and the ability to share data with other applications. The notice mechanism in Central allows for instant notification of data updates and relevant events, so information can be delivered proactively to users. The ability to store and cache data in Central enables applications to transition smoothly from online to offline mode.
The Macromedia Central SDK includes an extensive set of resources and building blocks to jump-start development of Central applications. The SDK is available free of charge and includes Halo UI components, a debug panel that works within Central, complete and extensive API and component documentation, ActionScript utility classes for manipulating data, Flash authoring templates, sample applications with source code, and libraries of application graphics and icons.
Central applications are delivered through single-click installation and automatic updates. Developers who create Macromedia Central applications will also be able to leverage an entire ecosystem to sell their applications directly to end users using try/buy functionality. A Central application created for Macromedia MAX 2003 conference attendees, which provides detailed information on the conference and shows the power of this new environment, is available at www.macromedia.com/go/maxapp.
ABOUT MACROMEDIA
Experience matters. Macromedia is motivated by the belief that great
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DEVELOPERS DISCOVER POTENTIAL OF CENTRAL ENVIRONMENT
gSOLO Studio
"One of the things that really attracted me to Central was how easy it makes it to deliver and update applications. It only takes one click for the user to install the application, and Central will automatically update it if I release a new version."
- Geoffrey Williams, web developer, gSOLO Studio
ioResearch Studios
"Desktop applications seem to be well behind the times in terms of networking users and information together. Central is finally a step towards making applications that are connected online and to each other. It looks to be the application platform that the web browser promised but never delivered."
- Josh Ulm, creative director, ioResearch Studios
JiWire
"With its ability to intelligently manage application information across today's occasionally connected and unwired world, Macromedia Central delivers a platform that coexists with reality. By working with Intel and Macromedia to create the HotSpot Central application, JiWire is enabling a continuous experience that follows people online and offline and making sure relevant information, location-based data, and hotspot availability is always at users' fingertips."
- Kevin McKenzie, CEO, JiWire
Phillip Kerman
"What's great about Central is that I can easily pull data from various sources and web services into a rich interface that's really useful. It's like browsing the web, but with just the information you want."
- Phillip Kerman, developer and author of "Flash MX 2004 for Rich Internet Applications"
