The Web 2.0 Generation

I will post more details about Hardin Design and Development’s presence at CES 2008 later, but here are some pictures for now. The shear scale of this show is amazing, and the potential clients that we have been able to interact with have been awesome. So without further ado, here are the pictures:

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In the last year, Adobe has continued to transform Flash from a simple animation platform to an incredibly powerful software development environment that allows for sophisticated applications to be deployed on the web. Action Script, the underlying language that powers Flash applications, used to be relatively primitive. With the advent of Action Script 3, Flash now incorporates a full implementation of ECMA Script (the standard behind JavaScript). This combines a complete, object-oriented programming language with an efficient virtual machine and a state-of-the-art graphics engine.

Since it based on ECMA Script, Flash also has the ability to directly interface with web applications driven by popular AJAX technology, using an External Interface system that allows it to send and receive events to and from JavaScript. The Flash virtual machine can be used to complement AJAX systems, instead of being isolated from the container webpage like previous versions of Flash.

Finally, the popularity of sites based on Flash, such as YouTube, means that Flash has a very high deployment rate. Adobe’s Flash browser plug-in is installed on a higher percentage of browsers than any other, with over 75% of current internet users able to access Flash content. This number continues to climb, as more and more sites are built using applications developed in Flash. As the Web 2.0 is becoming a reality, Flash stands at the forefront as one of the primary technologies driving innovation on the web.

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As you might expect, one of the most common questions I am asked is, “What is the Web 2.0?”. When I was asked that by one of my employees earlier today, I figured that it was time to answer it. Much ink has been spilled trying to define the Web 2.0, including huge quantities of techno-babble and buzz words. If you are completely unfamiliar with the concept, In Business actually has a very enlightening article entitled Web 2.0: Come Closer, Said the Spider to the Fly that talks about the basic concepts behind the Web 2.0. Instead of just a technological advancement, the Web 2.0 is a cultural development:

“Web 2.0, he explained, is an emerging cultural phenomenon. It isn’t just using the Internet as a platform to conduct business or as a convenient way to earn a master’s degree in your pajamas. It is the mental acceptance of the web as a dimension, with social components and memberships. It’s seeing it as something we contribute to, as well as benefit from. It isn’t a work-play separation, but a work-play blend.”

For those who are still stuck in the original Web 1.0 paradigm of the late 1990’s, this cultural phenomenon may be hard to grasp, but it is absolutely essential to understand.

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According to a post on Slashdot, a beta update for Flash Player 9 has added support for H.264 standard video. This is a huge upgrade for the Flash video industry, and I believe that Adobe is continuing to make excellent strides to retain their market share in online video, with the threat of competition from products like Microsoft’s Silverlight. The new upgrades to the player, which is codenamed “Movie Star”, give support for true HD video to Flash. Tinic Uro, a Flash engineer for Adobe, discusses it in an entry on his blog entitled What Just Happened?, and the release has also received press on ReadWriteWeb.

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