Hangouts – Probably the killer app, a video chat with 10 friends (or strangers) about a very specific topic. Video automatically switches to the person who’s talking (or typing the loudest!)

Circles – Not all friends are created equal (especially online acquaintances), so you can organize your friends into groups. Only you can see your group names. Best of all, friends can belong to multiple circles, so you can share based on common interests, such as “Golf” or “Tech” circles.

Privacy Built-In – You can broadcast posts publicly like Twitter or share privately with only your family circle (more like Facebook) — you get to choose. It isn’t all or nothing like Twitter or Facebook, you can share a family photo one moment and publicly post an industry tip in the next.

Swiffy converts Flash SWF files to HTML5, allowing you to reuse Flash content on devices without a Flash player (such as iPhones and iPads).
Swiffy currently supports a subset of SWF 8 and ActionScript 2.0, and the output works in all Webkit browsers such as Chrome and Mobile Safari. If possible, exporting your Flash animation as a SWF 5 file might give better results.

What’s the catch? Well, unless your animation is fairly old and basic, don’t expect much. Actionscript 3.0 has been around for a while now (and is fundamentally different than 2.0). Flash Player 10+ is the most recent version of the SWF player, so it is at best 2 full versions behind.

But it is hard to complain… you don’t need your original project files to make it work, and you could potentially have working HTML5 files without any real extra work.

“Wallaby” is the codename for an experimental technology that converts the artwork and animation contained in Adobe® Flash® Professional (FLA) files into HTML. This allows you to reuse and extend the reach of your content to devices that do not support the Flash runtimes. Once these files are converted to HTML, you can edit them with an HTML editing tool, such as Adobe Dreamweaver®, or by hand if desired. You can view the output in one of the supported browsers or on an iOS device.

Take time today to contact us and we’ll guide you to a more successful web tomorrow.

Today, Microsoft unveiled the new version of Windows Mobile called “Windows Phone 7 Series.” The interface draws from the Zune platform (which by the way was never commercially successful against the iPod) and marks a strong departure from Windows Mobile, which they are now calling “Windows Phone Classic.” One of the most interesting parts about the interface design is that the Hub view would translate very well into a tablet form factor. Microsoft reiterated several times that the phone is not a PC, so they have definitely learned from Apple that a phone can still be compelling even if it is not a “PocketPC.”

The most intriguing part of the announcement is that despite having dozens of hardware partners, Microsoft appears to have shifted its focus to tighter control and more integration across device manufacturers. This means a unified UI experience called Metro will apparently appear on every device. Metro uses cloud-based updating tiles for status updates on services like Facebook, and these tiles are customizable so while hardware makers will be unable to make wholesale changes to the interface they will be allowed some level of customization. In addition, high-end technical specifications are required on the hardware such as a capacitive touchscreen display, camera, a fast processor, and lots of RAM — even more notable is the maximum of five physical buttons — historically Windows Mobile devices have been covered in buttons and this is something Microsoft wants to avoid. The iPhone debuted with just two physical buttons and a volume up/down button, Microsoft takes another page from Apple here too.

Historically, Windows Mobile phones have run a very slimmed down version of Internet Explorer for browsing websites on the go. When the iPhone introduced Safari Mobile browser it raised the bar not only for web design but consumers’ expectations of mobile web browsers. There were many replacement browsers for Windows Mobile including Opera, SkyFire, and even Mozilla was working on a mobile version of Firefox that was never completed. Windows Phone 7 Series promises a full-featured web browser with pinch to zoom, just like Apple’s mobile Safari web browser.

Overall, Windows Phone 7 Series brings nearly the level of innovation that we saw with Palm’s webOS on the Palm Pre and a more unified user interface than Google’s Android, while striking a lot of the same chords of simplicity normally found in Apple’s products.

To purchase an iPad it’s going to set you back at least $499, plus $9.95 for each of the software applications (word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software). Compare that to Office Professional 2007 which weighs in at $499.95, but obviously has more features and, oh, is productivity optimized; but, hey, when have spreadsheets ever been this much fun?

When these come out in a couple months you can expect to see a lot of authors writing iBooks and updating their blog posts in Starbucks on their iPads with the optional keyboard attachment. Apple is bringing the coolness factor to office productivity apps in a way we’ve never seen before — and who wouldn’t want to be caught in public updating their website or making last-minute changes to a presentation on a slab of science fiction?

Time magazine has already released a prototype interface for the new digital Sports Illustrated magazine. The digital issue runs on Adobe’s Air platform, but they plan to support Apple’s tablet natively as well.