| Adobe is not exaggerating when it says that Flash CS4 Professional is the “industry-leading authoring environment for creating engaging interactive experiences.” You only need to visit a few sites that use Flash to understand how compelling it is. Using graphics, animation, sound, and interactivity, Flash can excite, teach, entertain, and provide practical information.
With this version of Flash, Adobe has introduced some valuable new features, as well as further integrated Flash CS4 into its suite of products. That’s a powerful thing—when products like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Fireworks can be used to help you create graphics for use in your Flash movies. This interoperability only increases as time goes on.
More than half a billion users already have the free Flash player that enables them to view Flash movies. As of the writing of this book, more than 95% of computers connected to the Internet not only had Flash Player version 9, but more than 55% have the latest version, Flash Player 10. The fact that Adobe continues to distribute this software so effectively means the potential audience for Flash content is huge and continues to grow.
The tools needed to create Flash movies are within your reach. After you purchase Flash, the only investment you need to make is time to learn. You can even download a trial version of Flash from www.adobe.com, and use it for 30 days for free. People can grow from fiddling with Flash to making entertaining movies. Imagine a great musician picking up and learning an instrument in a matter of days. It really is that amazing. If you’re motivated, with just a moderate time investment, you feel as though a powerful communication tool has been given to you. |