Adobe Flash Catalyst

Adobe now makes it easier for designers with no programming experience to design interactive prototypes, and communicate their interactive ideas to the developers.
http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flashcatalyst/

Google Docs

http://docs.google.com/templates?type=forms&sort=hottest&view=public

Google Analytics Tracks Flash Content

Flash content has long posed a lot of problems for the search and webmaster communities. Now Google – and more specifically, the newly introduced Google Analytics Tracking For Adobe Flash – intends to solve at least a few of them.

“In the past, Flash tracking was not provided out of the box, and every implementation had to be customized,” notes Nick Mihailovski in a post on the Google Analytics Blog. “Moreover, there was a lack of standards, and new developers who tracked Flash had to create their own processes to get it working.”

This new feature should help site owners figure out whether or not their Flash content is engaging visitors. A company called Sprout has tested it, and their Vice President of Engineering came away impressed.

Would-be users with fewer technical skills should be all set, too. Mihailovski writes, “We know there are many levels of experience in the Flash/Flex community so we tried to make it easy for both non-technical designers as well as seasoned ActionScript programmers to take full advantage of this Google Analytics Tracking For Flash. We’ve provided tracking libraries for both Flash and Flex . . .”

And Mihailovski’s “we,” in case you’re wondering where to send thank-you notes, includes Adobe. Google Analytics Tracking For Adobe Flash was apparently a joint project between Google, Adobe, and “a few ace third party developers.”

Adobe flash video and dynamic streaming

Coming from Adobe in Spring 2009:
Adobe Systems is adding dynamic streaming, which adjusts to the bandwidth rate on the desktop, and DVR capability to its Flash Media Server for streaming of Flash content.

Dynamic streaming allows for adjustments to the delivery bit rates for video. It will adjust upward for higher quality bandwidth and downward for lower bandwidth.

This capability maintains the stream of video. "Without this, you have disruptions in the video flow," with video freezing or popping, Towes said.

When accommodating lower quality bit rates, video would degrade but not be disrupted. Audio would be maintained.

Adobe differentiates itself with higher quality of service and DVR capabilities, he said. Flash Media Server 3.5 is offered in two variants: Flash Media Interactive Server, featuring DVR capabilities, customized streaming and enterprise-level scalablity, and Flash Media Streaming Server, for lower volume streaming. Perpetual licenses are priced at $4,500 per server for Interactive Server and $995 for Streaming Sever. Upgrades cost $349 for Interactive Server and $249 for Streaming Server.