AdobeMAX – Wednesday

Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010 was the last day of AdobeMAX and I tried to get as much out of this day as previous days. I participated in the following sessions:

  • Deconstructing the HTML5 mobile development workflow – this session was presented by two Adobe employees who were instrumental of development of the assets and website for the hypothetical client – Citrus Cafe. As professional web designers and developers, they were able to shed significant light on what is the same and what is different when developing across multiple devices. Their main focus was on the areas of 1) discovery and planning, 2) design and production, and 3) testing and deployment. Numerous examples were presented (along with demonstrations of the development of the site at various points). A number of potential technologies were covered along with a rationale as to why certain technologies were selected for this project.
  • Developing World Ready applications using the Flex SDK – this session was all about internationalization and the many issues involved (from whether text reads right to left or left to right, to number formatting, date formatting and translation of text). Given how much our world is becoming interconnected, this session provided me with a host of insights which I plan to include in a number of classes. Emphasis was both on localization and internationalization.
  • Progressing beyond the desktop at universities with Adobe AIR – this was a great session which covered the capabilities of this technology. For example, one can integrate this with projection hardware and the operating system processes. Numerous examples were presented including a discussion of the Course Media server at the University of Denver and how an AIR application can be set to convert video to the appropriate format as soon as it is placed in a specific folder on the desktop. I got a lot of great ideas and a better understanding of the breadth and depth of this technology.
  • Creating accessible Flash content with Flash Professional CS5 – this session provided a number of insights and tips I can employ in the web accessibility class. I learned about a number of tools which can now be used to check whether a Flash .swf file is accessible. I also gained greater insights into the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act recently signed by President Obama.
  • Deep dive with Device Central CS5 – This was the final session of the conference and another BYOL (Bring Your Own Laptop). The focus was on the use of Flash in Device Central. In addition to better understanding how to use Device Central for testing and debugging, I received a number of working applications which I can share and demonstrate to students to help them better understand the capabilities of Device Central. For example, I was unaware that this tool supported the pinch behavior one experiences on smart phones. Yes, it involves a number of keystroke combinations, but it does work.

Overall, this was the most information intensive AdobeMAX conference I have attended. The emphasis on a multi-screen environment (especially mobile) was obvious throughout. I learned a lot regarding emerging technologies and what can be done today. The state of this environment is rapidly evolving and I am glad I was able to be a part of this event to obtain so much current information. I will be sharing some of this knowledge in various venues over the coming weeks. For example, I will be presenting on mobile at the next WOW/ Adobe User Group meeting on November 9 in TC 210 at 6:00 p.m.

I also included a few photos from Wednesday. I encourage you to follow the link below to view them as a slideshow on Flickr.

www.flickr.com

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