Quick Takes: MX No Flash in the Pan

Dennis O'Reilly

If your only encounters with Macromedia Flash-- used primarily to create Web navigation and other interface elements--have been via gratuitous Web animations, get ready for a change. The features added to the new $499 Macromedia Flash MX move this software from the periphery to the heart of your Web-design tool kit. The company introduced its new integrated development environment with this version of Flash, which, for instance, adds Property Inspector, a popular Dreamweaver tool that provides context-sensitive information about tools or objects you select. And Flash MX can now import and stream.avi,.mov,.mpg, and other popular Web video formats via Sorenson Media's Spark technology. You also can embed video in movie clips to let viewers start, stop, pause, and otherwise interact with them. This Flash looks like it has staying power. Macromedia.