Description:
Macromedia's Flash 5/FreeHand 9 Studio seamlessly integrates both old and new media by providing two excellent programs to manipulate and create art and animation for almost any medium. Flash delivers cutting-edge, high-impact Web design, while FreeHand provides multiple options for publishing enhanced graphics both on and offline. This revolutionary package starts with Flash 5, Macromedia's award-winning Web content creation software, which has become the de facto standard for animation and dynamic interactive content online. It's difficult to go to any cutting-edge media site today and not encounter Flash animation behind all the magic. Flash has a history of being the designer's favorite for creating innovative Web content, but Flash 5 goes above and beyond the call of duty by offering enhanced tools, options, and integration, which provide the user unparalleled license for creativity and expression. Bezier curves? Motion tweening? Perspective fields? No problem. Flash does it all and more. One major reason why Flash is so attractive for Web publishing is its ability to reuse components through the object library, substantially minimizing the required file size for complex interfaces and animations. This is what provides Flash with its overwhelming power. Just as JPEG and GIF compression helped make graphics on the Web an economical and virtually necessary feature, Flash is helping to make animation ubiquitous online, even for the unfortunate masses still using low-speed analog modems. Even existing Flash users will find the upgrade to Flash 5 beneficial. Almost every tool's options have been moved onto customizable palettes, which help consolidate and unify the many features of Flash. In addition, Flash 5 offers excellent integration with existing software, including FreeHand. Macromedia FreeHand 9 manages to keep one leg in the print media generation while placing its other foot firmly in new media by offering Web publishing options right next to PostScript, Photoshop, and Flash exporting. In addition to that basic integration, you can also share object libraries between FreeHand and Flash, helping to truly unify print and Internet media. All told, the Flash 5/FreeHand 9 Studio package seamlessly integrates both standard desktop publishing and print media with cutting-edge interactive Web trends and innovative animation techniques. Whether you're an existing print publisher trying to adopt new technologies, or a high-impact Web developer attempting to transform older print presentations into deliciously captivating new-media masterpieces, Flash 5 and FreeHand 9 will empower you to achieve new heights in presentation and innovation. With Flash and FreeHand, Macromedia holds its place as the leader in today's Internet-centric multimedia field. Taking into account Macromedia's past record for anticipating new trends, it is safe to say that it will continue to lead the online dynamic content revolution and satisfy both designers and end users with fast and furious innovation. --Victor Andersen This review refers to the Windows version of Flash 5/Freehand Studio.
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