ACROMEDIA LAUNCHES MACROMEDIA LABS TO PROVIDE EARLY ACCESS TO EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

MACROMEDIA LAUNCHES MACROMEDIA LABS TO PROVIDE EARLY ACCESS TO EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

Alpha versions of Flex 2 product line and Flash Player 8.5 now available for download

Macromedia MAX 2005 – Anaheim, CA – October 17, 2005 - Macromedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: MACR) today announced Macromedia Labs, a new site on macromedia.com for developers to download early versions of Macromedia technologies, share feedback and insight, and help shape the direction of new products and technologies. Beginning today on Macromedia Labs, developers can download the public alphas of Macromedia Flash Player 8.5 and Macromedia Flex Builder 2, part of the Macromedia Flex 2 product line announced earlier this month. The Flex 2 product line and Flash Player 8.5 are the foundation for building effective rich Internet applications that blend the responsiveness of desktop software, the cross-platform reach of the web, and the breathtaking expressiveness of the Flash Platform.

"Macromedia Labs represents an important shift in our development process, and is a great opportunity for developers to participate early in the rapid innovation of new technologies," said Kevin Lynch, chief software architect, Macromedia. "We can now involve our customers earlier and more deeply than ever before, while fostering an even stronger community in which developers everywhere can share their vision and expertise."

By sharing early releases of emerging technologies and products, Macromedia Labs enables developers to help shape development, provide feedback sooner, and begin to build expertise and reputation within the broader community. Documentation, samples, and technical articles make it easy to get up to speed quickly. Forums and wikis encourage discussion and collaboration, while podcasts and chats give everyone insight and updates in a casual developer-to-developer format. RSS notifications enable developers to stay current with Macromedia Labs activities. Developers can inspire their peers by sharing their work based on these early releases in the Showcase Gallery.

"There's much said about the long tail of the market. But for developers it's the long snout, if you will, the shape of products and technologies before they're packaged and shipped, that matters," said Rael Dornfest, chief technology officer, O'Reilly Media, Inc. "Early access to technology and the development behind a product or technology – like Macromedia is doing with Macromedia Labs – sets up a virtuous circle: developers inform the shape of what they get, products and technologies are vetted and improved sooner, and, of course, developers expedite their learning curves."

As part of the Macromedia Labs debut today, developers can download an alpha release of Flex Builder 2 and Flash Player 8.5. Flex Builder 2 is a new Eclipse-based environment for developing rich Internet applications and includes the Flex Framework. Previously code-named Zorn, Flex Builder 2 can incorporate rich media content from the recently released Macromedia Flash Professional 8, the leading authoring tool for creating rich interactive content.

Flash Player 8.5 adds industrial-strength programming power on top of the expressiveness introduced in Flash Player 8, creating a state-of-the-art, cross-platform runtime. It includes a new virtual machine that offers faster runtime performance, full runtime error reporting, improved debugging, and ActionScript 3. Flash Player is currently installed on over 600 million desktops and mobile devices globally.

"Macromedia has always been deeply involved with the user community, and their developer relations constantly impress me. But Macromedia Labs takes the company's open, collaborative spirit further than ever before," said Colin Moock, author, Moock.org. "Macromedia Labs lets everyone with an interest or passion get involved in product development, and it levels the playing field for newer developers trying to stay ahead and help contribute new ideas. Product quality and developer knowledge are sure to improve with such a fantastic means of communication available."

For more information and to download Flex Builder 2 and Flash Player 8.5, please visit Macromedia Labs at: http://www.macromedia.com/go/mmlabs.

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source: adobe.com