You certainly heared about Adobe acquisition of Macromedia, and all the rumors that have been spread after it. I was personaly wondering what’s the reasons behind buying a competitor company ? Adobe state :
What are Adobe’s plans for Flash Player and Adobe Reader?
Our long-term plan is to develop a “universal client” by combining PDF, Flash and HTML in a single, integrated runtime. Of course, we will continue delivering the Flash Player as a small, efficient runtime for content and applications on the web, and Adobe Reader for viewing and interacting with PDF documents and forms. The integration of these technologies into a unified framework creates a ubiquitous platform that runs on virtually every device, and dramatically expands the opportunities to create compelling solutions.
In what could fusing Flash, PDF and HTML in a single integrated environnement ? PDF is certainly the most popular and performant document exchange format excellent for presentations, print, designers … etc. Flash in the other site offer the power of vectorial design inside a small player able to do powerfull applications thanks to its actions script scripting languages and the possibilites offered inside. HTML is certainly the most popular standard in the web.
The idea of a universal client is pretty interesting, because it will join the three technology in a single solution powered by PDF and flash and offering everything that could a developer, designer or just anybody need. In the mean time macromedia site is still the same but redesigned with Adobe logo and many interesting information about the strategic alliance Adobe and Macromedia.
