Entered CNET Catalog: 03/26/2002
SKU: FLW060D000
Manufacturer: Adobe Systems
Manufacturer description
Macromedia presents Macromedia Flash MX, the latest version of the Macromedia Flash development environment, which will usher in a new generation of rich Internet content and applications. With support for video, application components, and accessibility, this milestone product builds on the track record of Macromedia Flash for enabling the creation of expressive online content and applications. Macromedia Flash MX unites designers and developers who can build on their existing knowledge to deliver more effective, rich Internet applications. Macromedia Flash MX applications provide increased return on investment for companies, and amazing user experiences across everything from mobile phones, PDAs, interactive TV systems, game machines, Internet appliances, Web pads, and in-room hotel entertainment systems. Macromedia Flash MX meets the needs of both designers and developers to deliver rich Internet content and applications that can be experienced consistently across all leading platforms and devices. The product simplifies the process of visual authoring for traditional Web developers who want to use a rich client technology for their applications. The more than one million designers already familiar with Macromedia Flash can use their existing skills along with new server technologies to address the emergence of rich Internet applications. Video support enables developers to deliver a better overall user experience by bringing and adding interactivity to video clips within the overall Macromedia Flash content. Video content in Macromedia Flash allows designers to maintain control of the look and feel of their applications, unlike today's existing video options, which require external players to be launched and have platform inconsistencies. Support for the Sorenson Spark codec ensures compressed, high-quality video playback. Macromedia Flash MX enhances the authoring workflow with a flexible workspace that can be customized to maximize productivity for both designers and developers. Pre-built user interface components accelerate development by providing users with customizable scrollbars, list boxes, and other standard interface elements to ensure a common experience across applications. Macromedia Flash MX also supports industry standards such as ECMAScript, HTML, MP3, Unicode, and XML.CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 05/01/2002
Interface saves time and space
Flash MX's updated look resembles a typical Macromedia MX interface, which should appeal to Macromedia devotees. But everyone will appreciate Flash MX's excellent tutorials, sample animation sequences, and templates. Flash's 20 dockable and collapsible palettes, including the Movie Explorer, save screenspace, and the convenient Properties Inspector lets you alter the properties, such as color and size, of any selected object.
To start building a movie, you create a separate layer for each object you add to your work space. To generate objects from scratch, delve into Flash MX's Bezier pen as well as tools that produce circles and squares. Version MX's new Free Transform tool lets you distort object outlines. Better still, Flash integrates closely with Fireworks and FreeHand, a vector drawing package, so you can edit an image in FreeHand and export it back to Flash.
Making the movie
Lights, camera, action
Programmers: 1; newbies: 0
All is not lost for newbies, however. Macromedia offers extensive Flash MX support, including guided training movies and extensive, easy-to-read tutorials, such as one that helps beginners use ActionScript. For human interaction, you can call a toll number or e-mail Macromedia tech support as many times as you like during your 90-day complimentary support period. After that, you must pay $25 per incident or purchase a Support Package for $95 to $650, depending on the amount and type of support you need.
There's no question: Flash MX is an enormously powerful animation toolkit. However, though the product offers much to beginners, even intermediate Web designers will struggle to harness Flash MX's true potential. For a less complicated but equally powerful animation program, get our current favorite: LiveMotion.
Take me back to the roundup!
In Flash, you use the rulerlike Timeline panel to animate your movie. The Timeline window displays layers vertically, with a horizontal set of frames for each layer--much like a cartoon flipbook. Animate your movie in one of two ways: frame by frame or through tweening. In the first option, you must manually alter the content of each successive frame to, for example, move an object or change its appearance. In the latter, speedier method, you define the first and last frames of your movie, and Flash MX interpolates, or tweens, the intermediate frames.
Unlike QuickTime movies, Flash movies don't just play, pause, and stop, they also respond to user input and control cursor movement. To make your Flash movies interactive, assign actions, commands written in the JavaScript-like ActionScript language, to parts of the movie. For example, a GetURL action sends your browser to a new Web address when you click a button in the movie. Flash MX's easy drag-and-drop Novice Mode, like LiveMotion's drag-and-drop interface, masks the complexity of the ActionScript programming.
For heavy-duty commercial Web sites, Flash MX pulls out the big guns. You can, for instance, make movies that gather data from online forms and send it to a database. But you must program these complex actions using the ActionScript scripting language, which will flummox both new and intermediate designers.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
User Rating: 
10/10
PROFESSIONAL FLASH FREELANCER KERSTINFOSSEN.com love it
Pros: Can create Professional Applications
FLASHY
Cons: Must KNOW what you are doing!
NOT FOR EVERYONE
My suggestion - get serious about it and take a class on how to use this product.
OR get help and have someone else do it. That simple.
-Hope that helps!
Kerstin Fossen
Freelancer Professional
www.KerstinFossen.com
User Rating: 
2/10
If you love crashing you'll love this.
Pros: The best and only flash presentation authoring software.
Cons: The best and only flash presentation authoring software.
User Rating: 
9/10
A flash in a Box
Pros: Easy to learn, Easy to draw with. opened live motion after using flash for a year or so and thought livemotion was BAD
Cons:
User Rating: 
8/10
Flash MX is for building Flashy Applications..
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User Rating: 9/10
Vast improvement!!! Still the best!
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User Rating: 
1/10
Its good. Its Macromedia.
Pros:
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Yet its of use. The tool is good. Takes you way ahead of time, I shall say. Long live Macromedia! Long Live Flash!!
User Rating: 9/10
A great upgrade to the best Flash program out there.
Pros:
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User Rating: 
7/10
The program may have market share (for now) but is outdone by Adobe LiveMotion.
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User Rating: 10/10
It's much more easier than other versions of Flash
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User Rating: 7/10
Still not for the typical user
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User Rating: 8/10
Takes some getting use too
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User Rating: 8/10
Everything you'll need...
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User Rating: 10/10
A powerful alternative for web application developers
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User Rating: 10/10
Better then ever
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Flash MX specifications
- General
- Category Creativity application
- Subcategory Creativity - web design / publishing
- Language(s) English
- License pricing Standard
- Localization English
- Software
- License Type Complete package
- License Qty 1 user
- License Pricing Standard
- Platform Windows
- Min Supported Color Depth 16-bit (64K colors)
- Distribution Media CD-ROM
- Package Type Retail
- System Requirements
- OS Required Microsoft Windows XP , Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition , Microsoft Windows 2000 , Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 , Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
- Min Processor Type Intel Pentium - 200.0 MHz
- Min RAM Size 64.0 MB
- Min Hard Drive Space 85.0 MB
- Peripheral / Interface Devices CD-ROM , SVGA monitor
