Tech Shout!

Adobe has announced that the pre-release version of Adobe Flash Player 10 software also known as Astro is now available in beta version. The new beta version boasts new expressive features especially for interactive designers and developers so that they can build richer web experiences.

Astro builds on the capabilities of the world’s most pervasive application runtime with new support for custom filters and effects, native 3D transformation and animation, extensible rich text layout and GPU hardware acceleration, claims Adobe.

For the first time Adobe is enabling the creation of custom filters and effects, which can be combined with the native effects in Adobe Flash Player for unprecedented creative control of rich content. Custom filters and effects can be created with the help of Adobe Pixel Bender toolkit. Thanks to the Adobe Pixel Bender, developers targeting at Adobe Flash Player 10 beta will be able to create their own filters and blend modes. Also they can write small pixel-shading functions that can be parameterized to create animated effects or change the effect on rich media content at runtime.

“For over ten years Adobe has pushed the limits of creativity and redefined rich interactive Web experiences with Adobe Flash Player. Adobe has a long track record of creating technologies that influence market direction and we believe this beta release of Adobe Flash Player 10 raises the bar once again,” said David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president of the Platform Business Unit at Adobe. “Working closely with the community, we are delivering groundbreaking creative features that will be transformative for interactive designers and developers, and revolutionary for end users.”

Moreover, Adobe states that the latest version of the Flash Player offers creative control over device font attributes, such as anti-alias, rotation, and style as well as support for ligatures. In addition, more text layout options, such as vertical, bi-directional and right-to-left, will support the creation of RIAs in more languages thus it will lead to more interactive eBooks and online publications that rely on Adobe Flash Player technology.

Adobe Flash Player 10 beta also offers native support for 3D effects to easily position, rotate and animate 2D objects while retaining interactivity.

“The 3D effects and transformations now available in Adobe Flash Player 10 beta enable developers to get started quickly with 3D,” said Ralph Hauwert, owner of UnitZeroOne and a Core Developer of Papervision 3D. “For interactive designers and developers well-versed in creating 3D experiences, the revamped drawing API and Pixel Bender language will enable an entirely new depth of graphics unseen on the Web today. Interactive designers and developers will be able to create movie-like experiences, with special effects that before weren’t possible on the Web.”

The pre-release version of the Adobe Flash Player 10 beta is available immediately for download for free at Adobe Labs at www.adobe.com/go/astro.