Adobe Releases Flash-less Animation Tool

In the didn’t-see-that-coming category, Adobe has released a preview (pre-beta) of Edge, an animation tool for web designers that uses HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript. That’s right, it’s Flash Professional. Only without the Flash.

I'm in yer wormhole, stealin yer Flashes.

As Ars describes it, Adobe is positioning Flash for games, streaming media, and data-driven visualizations, and it’s pushing HTML5 for interactive web pages and advertising.

Interactive web pages? Is that like the Flash web mapping site I just built? Yes. Yes it is.

When Adobe starts pushing HTML5 for things it used to push Flash for… I think the writing’s on the wall. If you’re a Flash dev, you are in a better spot than the Silverlight folks due to market share. But I’d still start eyeing the emergency exits. If you’re a GIS dev thinking about the Esri Flex API and the no-Apple-toys aspect isn’t enough to deter you, perhaps this latest news will make you think twice.

Edge is available for free download from Adobe Labs while it’s still in the threshing-out phase.