apple news/media reports
07/29/2005, 11:40am, EDT
Friday, July 29th
Flash 8 may compete with Apple/Microsoft
Early next month Macromedia is expected to announce Flash 8, according to a source familiar with the company's plans. The company has officially re-designated Flash as a platform for application development and released a public beta earlier this month. The new version's improved codec (VP6 from On2 Technologies) along with various other advantages could pose a threat to Microsoft Windows Media technology, Real Format of RealNetworks and Apple Computer's Quicktime.
Tim Bajarin, an analyst with Creative Strategies stated "This new version of Flash is quite an improvement, [...] if positioned more as a media engine, then it could cause Real, Apple and Microsoft some concern since it will evolve into a competitive platform for streaming video." Flash 8 also reportedly supports alpha transparency allowing users to combine Flash video with text, vector graphics and other elements. Macromedia shareholders will vote on a proposed acquisition by Adobe Systems on August 24.
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btw, when they say "application development," i think they mean the creation of stand-alone programs like games or media manipulation/creation software, not "just" web-based files.