This session will provide attendees with an overview of the iPhone SDK, including discussion of the App Store, Apple's planned distribution channel for SDK applications. Keep in mind that the contents of the SDK and experiences while using it are covered under NDA, so be prepared for me to talk in generics and leave out specific details that might be covered by the NDA. I am planning on providing a quick introduction to Objective-C for those attendees who may have never seen it and might be worried that it will be difficult to code in (it isn't!).

Creating reporting applications in AJAX is often more challenging than developing data entry CRUD applications. Reporters usually need to process lots of data, preferably on the client side to minimize the amount of information that goes through the wire. Reporters need to know how to apply formulas, group the data, and calculate totals and subtotals. Add to the mix a requirement to give the end user an ability to customize the look and feel of the report, and you're facing a serious project.

We are going to introduce you to an effect that's a lot of fun to use. Items on the Flash stage are rarely static. Things move around, menus pull down, and so on. The line between what is Flash and what is video on the Flash stage has, for all intents and purposes, been erased. It makes sense, therefore, that when planning a Flash/After Effects project, that the stuff that moves, in either app, should be indistinguishable as to its source.

When I first published my observation that 'QuickTime is dead' in this publication, I never expected the response that article would garner. It ranged from, 'Dude, you are sooo wrong!' to 'Finally, we are free.' Earlier this year, Macromedia, as is so typical of the company, quietly dropped the 'Macromedia Video Kit' on the developer community and suddenly, video was available to practically everybody who designed Web sites.

'VitalStream is one of the only companies with the knowledge, experience and delivery platform to bring these diverse elements together into a full-service solution,' said Jack Waterman, CEO at VitalStream, as his company today introduced a single-source, full-service solution enabling businesses to create Webcasts.

Why is FreeHand not part of Studio 8? What do productivity tools Contribute 3 and FlashPaper 2 add? What about Flex? Why has the product name changed from Studio MX 2004? What are the new video features in Studio 8? How about the role of Flash Player 8? These, and sundry other questions on every imaginable aspect of the new Studio 8 release, are addressed here by four executives at Macromedia speaking exclusively to MX Developer's Journal.

On2 Technologies, Inc., and VitalStream, a streaming media solutions provider and international content delivery network, announced that they have partnered to create a single-source solution combining powerful, high quality Macromedia Flash Video encoding tools from On2 with VitalStream's global streaming and content delivery services for digital media enterprises.

'The Flash Platform is the best way to deliver web video and rich media applications to the widest audience on the Internet,' said Tom Hale, Macromedia's SVP and general manager, as Macromedia today announced Flash Media Server 2 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. 'For streaming video integrated into the web experience, there is no better choice than Flash Media Server 2,' Hale added.

'We believe the launch of Flash Player 8 is one of the most important developments in rich media design and delivery on the Internet. And our customers are telling us the same thing,' said Douglas McIntyre, chairman, president and CEO of On2 Technologies, as he announced today that On2 is launching an incentives program to reward customers for early adoption of its newest line of Flix encoding tools for Macromedia Flash Player 8.

On2 Technologies today announced it will unveil its newly-enhanced Flix line of Flash video encoding products for Flash developers during the world's premiere Flash developers venue - the 2005 Flashforward Conference - in New York City, July 6-8.

Studio Interviews

Akamai Technologies, which already serves several gigabits per second of downloadable Flash content - including several hundreds of megabits per second of Flash video traffic - has in conjunction with Macromedia just announced the immediate availability of Akamai Streaming for use with Macromedia Flash

Macromedia and long-time business partner Speedera are joining in a new venture that will use Speedera's high-quality, distributed on-demand network to broadcast live video streams of Macromedia Flash Video Streaming Service. Likely customers are enterprises and large organizations that rely on big broadcast formats to communicate with investors and members.

Responding to what the company says is pent-up demand by developers for using video on Web sites around the world, Macromedia is releasing a Flash Video Kit aimed anyone planning to add video to their sites.

Flash video is resonating with media companies, interactive agencies, and other small and large companies needing to deploy video on the Web, and Macromedia accordingly has set up a video gallery so anyone and everyone can experience the clips.