Flash
Flash is a technology to jazz up static Web sites. Its history started when talented software developer Jonathan Gay launched FutureSplash Animator in May 1996. As the name implies, this product was focused on animation. At that time, the only way to play back animation in a Web browser was through animated GIF files and Java applets. Gay’s product was initially based on a Java applet and it was, as Gay later admitted, awfully slow. Yet, it was interesting because it provided easy animation without programming.
Gay’s luck came in August 1996 when he closed a deal with Microsoft, who was smitten by FutureSplash Animator’s capability to create, as Gay puts it, “the most TV-like experience on the Internet.” Gay was amazed that Microsoft launched MSN that was dependent on a new animation technology from a six-person company!
Another success story followed when Gay signed up Disney Online, who would be using FutureSplash Animator to develop the Disney Daily Blast, a site for small children. In November 1996 Macromedia bought this product and in December 1996 FutureSplash Animator became Macromedia Flash 1.0. Soon Macromedia turned it into one of the most successful software products in history. Macromedia Flash became synonymous with Internet animation. Adobe must still be banging its head against the wall for turning down Gay who offered to sell FutureSpalsh Animator prior to his rendezvous with Microsoft.
Note
More details on the Flash history can be found here: http://www.macromedia.com/macromedia/events/john_gay/
When first launched, Flash was used solely for producing animation that could play in Web browsers. Its competitor for creating animation without programming was animated GIF files, but Flash movies loaded faster and could be programmed to provide interactivity. Flash took off in no time and has since grown into a full-blown general-purpose programming platform that can be used to take user input, connect to the database, create games and e-learning sites, and many others. Internally, Flash uses vector graphics so image quality is not affected when they are resized.
Today, Flash players (currently at version 8) are available in most browsers, including in Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, and Mozilla Firefox. In total, more than 95% browsers in use today can play Flash without manually reinstalling the player. The list of browsers that include the Flash player can be found here:
http://www.macromedia.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id= tn_14159
Mozilla FireFox 1.5, the latest version of this open source browser, blocks Flash by default, however. The reason: many people are annoyed with too much animation. However, support for Flash in this browser is still available because a user can simply click on blocked animation if he/she wants to let it run.
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If your browser does not support Flash, you can download a Flash player from http://www.macromedia.com/downloads/
Flash is deployed as a ShockWave Format (swf) file and this format specification can be obtained from Macromedia by agreeing to their specification license, which allows software developers to use the ShockWave Format to create applications that generate Flash files. The licensing agreement does not grant you the right to make a Flash player, however. You can view the license here:
http://www.macromedia.com/licensing/developer/fileformat/license/
OpenLaszlo is possible thanks to this licensing agreement. It is now challenging Macromedia by providing free software for writing Flash.