Adobe Debuts Preview Version of 'Adobe Edge' for Creating HTML5 Web Animations

[MacRumors]

Adobe today announced the launch of an early preview version of a new application called Adobe Edge, which is designed to allow web developers to easily create animations and other motion-based content using HTML5, CSS and JavaScript.




Calling Edge a "fast and lightweight professional-grade tool", Adobe is positioning the new software as a complement to its Flash and Dreamweaver offerings for Web-based content production.

The Adobe Edge preview works natively with HTML. It enables users to add motion to existing HTML documents without hampering design integrity of CSS-based layouts, and it also enables users to easily create visually rich content from scratch, using familiar drawing tools that produce HTML elements styled with CSS3. Users can import standard Web graphics assets such as SVG, PNG, JPG and GIF files and style them using CSS3. The design stage utilizes WebKit to enable design, preview and manipulation of content with incredible fidelity. The innovative timeline feature is both familiar for creative professionals and breaks new ground in animation productivity to enable users to define and customize motion applied to HTML elements with extreme precision.

Adobe is pushing out Edge in a pre-beta version, earlier than usual in order to allow users to offer maximum feedback to help shape the final product. Adobe Edge is free to download during this preview period.

Apple has famously refused to offer support for Adobe's Flash technology on its iOS devices, instead encouraging developers to turn toward newer standards-based options such as HTML5. For its part, Adobe has worked to embrace HTML5 and other standards, introducing a Flash-to-HTML5 converter and building out HTML5 development tools into its other software products.

Article Link: Adobe Debuts Preview Version of 'Adobe Edge' for Creating HTML5 Web Animations

 

[Steve121178]

But is it magical?

 

[Geckotek]

One more step forward in the demise of Flash.

 

[lifeinhd]

Still longing for the day when they discontinue all Flash offerings

 

[darthraige]

Bout time. Can't wait to use it.

 

[anti-microsoft]

Adobe should have done this a long time ago. It would have been much better for them to have just gone "Actually, you're right... Flash is kind of crappy. Let's embrace HTML5". They just chose the hard way. They've ended up going down the HTML5 road anyway.

 

[BornAgainMac]

Flash is the new COBOL.

 

[MonkeySee....]

And so it begins.

I wonder how much help/input apple have had in this. I'm sure they both just want to get along.

*hugs*

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

I did not expect this.

It sounds pretty cool... every file type and standard sounds good to me...

 

[powers74]

Makes sense...

Not.

Why not just build it into flash?

Whatever. What do I know.

At least Adobe is pulling it's act together in this regard. Now, about that twenty year old interface...

 

[pwhitehead]

Can animations and projects be imported into final cut studio? Also where and when can i enroll in the beta?

 

[ThunderSkunk]

Cool. Though I'm a little surprised that it's Adobe & not Apple doing this.

 

[cozmot]

Can't wait until this stuff starts reaching the market. As much as I dislike Flash, my iPhone and iPad get frustrated. I just want them to be happy.

 

[*LTD*]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8L1)

Witness the slow death of Flash.

 

[KnightWRX]

Adobe should have done this a long time ago.

How ? It's not like HTML5 is a long-lived standard here...

Cool. Though I'm a little surprised that it's Adobe & not Apple doing this.

Adobe providing tools for Web design surprises you ? What has Dreamweaver been all this time ?

 

[Jelite]

I cant wait for the day when im blocking HTML5 ads instead of Flash.

 

[Ryth]

Flash is teh suck.

I used it back with it was first created in the 90s as Futuresplash.

It's still a god awful program. It's about time it's being flushed and a new product set up like After Effects is taking it's place.

Adobe should have done this a long time ago.

How ? It's not like HTML5 is a long-lived standard here...

Well it should have been done a long time ago, that is the rewriting of Flash with a better UI and timeline, etc. Flash is not set up for any person who is familiar with editing or AE. It's really poorly written and should have been revamped ages ago to be a very easy to use program to knock out web banners and ads.

Edge looks like it was set up with Adobe users who are comfortable with their UI's, timelines, etc.

 

[lifeinhd]

I cant wait for the day when im blocking HTML5 ads instead of Flash.

I don't mind seeing ads. I understand their purpose, even if I never click on them. I just wish they were static rather than dynamic. I don't need to accidentally hover over something only for it to START FLASHING AND TAKE OVER THE WHOLE SCREEN!

 

[blizaine]

I think the video link is being crushed. Here is a youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKg7NN6Gsns

 

[lucidmedia]

Adobe should have done this a long time ago. It would have been much better for them to have just gone "Actually, you're right... Flash is kind of crappy. Let's embrace HTML5". They just chose the hard way. They've ended up going down the HTML5 road anyway.

a long time ago? The problem with building an IDE for HTML5 is that Adobe has to build a tool / embrace a standard that is/was in flux. The edge project was started as soon as Adobe felt the standards were finalized enough that they could put major development money behind it without getting burned.

 

[Jerome Morrow]

Better later than never.

 

[KnightWRX]

Better later than never.

Later than what ? Later than HTML5 not even being a finalized standard yet ?

Some of you guys really need a reality check here.

 

[SpinThis!]

Why not just build it into flash?

Well it's not flash. The flash runtime does things html/javascript will never be able to do and thus it's a new product. I think to try and output html/js based on what the Flash player thinks is valid would be counter intuitive. HTML is all about bringing your assets in first, versus trying to create them in a runtime environment like flash.

Better later than never.

It's funny you'd say that. Actually before Flash, Adobe used to make a product called LiveMotion which output animations to SVG format, one of the formats that is supposed to replace Flash. The product never caught on because there was no browser support for it. Here we are over 10 years later and all the fanboys are screaming bloody murder. Funny how times change.

 

[steviec]

Bad Ideas

Are the devices in the background failed Adobe products or just devices she (or anyone) couldn't get to work?

 

[Ryth]

a long time ago? The problem with building an IDE for HTML5 is that Adobe has to build a tool / embrace a standard that is/was in flux. The edge project was started as soon as Adobe felt the standards were finalized enough that they could put major development money behind it without getting burned.

The re-writting of it should have still been Flash...but with a better timeline, ui, etc. It's not a well written program and still was based on it's 1996 counterpart.