If you’d like to learn how to use Adobe’s Creative Suite tools to easily and portably create websites and apps for tablets, smartphones, and mobile devices there’s a new 2¼-hour course you’ll be interested in…

Guru Paul Trani teaches an extensive free class with 18 video chapters that will take you step-by-step on how to create portable content that will run on both Apple iOS and Google Android devices with a wide variety of screen sizes using a single code base. Basic usage of HTML5 and CSS3 is covered, as well as how to bring in Adobe’s recent additions PhoneGap (for building fast, cross-platform mobile applica­tions) and Typekit (for delivering custom web fonts).

The first half of the video series employs Adobe Dreamweaver CS5.5 to develop both websites and apps, with steps on how to convert a website into a portable mobile app. The tutorials then move on to using Flash-based tools (with Adobe AIR) to build multi-platform mobile apps. We already know that Flash Professional CS5 can be used to build apps for the iPad and iPhone, but this takes it a step further. The videos guide you all the way through to how to publish your app to your device and to the Android Market (which shows immediately) or to the Apple App Store.

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Many people have been making guesses on what’s happening now that Flash Player for Mobile will not be further developed.  There’s a lot of talk and speculation out there, as folks try to figure out what it means…  So take two dozen common questions on the subject, and here are the official answers Adobe sent to us:

What is it that Adobe is announcing?

Adobe announced plans to increase its efforts on HTML5, and to focus Flash on mobile applications (packaged with AIR) and PC browsing with an emphasis on use cases not yet addressed by HTML5, including premium video and console-quality gaming. Adobe will no longer develop Flash Player for mobile web browsers. See the blog post for more details.

Does this mean that Adobe is no longer supporting content publishers focused on delivering content via a browser on a mobile device?

Adobe offers world-class tools and technologies including HTML5 tools like Adobe Edge that allow content publishers and developers to bring rich content and experiences across mobile web browsers using HTML5.

What does this mean for Flash Player support on desktops?

Adobe is fully committed to providing a great experience for use cases not yet well supported by HTML, including console-quality gaming and premium video. In fact, Flash Player 11 just introduced dozens of new features, including hardware accelerated 3D graphics for console-quality gaming and premium HD video with content protection. We are already working on Flash Player 12 and a new round of exciting features which we expect to again advance what is possible for delivering high definition entertainment experiences.

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In continuing to provide the direct download links for such major Adobe products as CS5.5, Acrobat X, Elements 10, and Lightroom 3, below you’ll find the DDL for the brand new just-released Adobe Flash Player 11.1 (the final version).  This is important because the free Flash Player is the most widely-used and often-downloaded software in world, and some folks find it easier to access it quickly and directly, without a download manager (e.g., Akamai), or with their own DLM, and without additional products or toolbars included.

Check your current Adobe Flash Player: What version are you running now?

What’s New in Flash Player 11?

Flash Player 11.1 contains dozens of sophisticated new features and enhancements, here are some of the major ones – for more, and more details, see the Official Release Notes:

• Stage 3D Accelerated Graphics Rendering
• Native 64-bit Support Available
• H.264/AVC Software Encoding for Cameras
• Flash Access Content Protection Enhancements
• Native JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) Support
• Asynchronous Bitmap Decoding
• TLS Secure Sockets Support
• Cubic Bezier Curves
• Updated iOS 5 native extensions
• Updated Native text input UI for Android

So, without further ado, here are the direct download links – just click to download and install:

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Adobe is dropping some hints about new and future creative tools coming on tablet devices and for HTML5 content creation. On a publicly-available conference call earlier this week, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen shared some guidance on the company’s upcoming product roadmap and what to expect…

With a shifting landscape that favors HTML5-based content and application delivery, we are doubling down in our investment in this area. CS5.5 delivered enhanced HTML5 capabilities. We recently previewed Adobe Edge, a new HTML5 web motion and interaction design tool, which allows web designers to create cutting-edge animations for their websites. Interest in this tool far exceeded our expectations.

We also just introduced the beta release of a new product code-named Muse, which allows designers to create and publish HTML-based websites without writing complex HTML code. And we are contributing new innovations to WebKit to allow for a more expressive Web. These initiatives show our commitment to help drive the evolution of browsers and be the leading tools provider for HTML5, and this is only the beginning.

So what does this mean in terms of the next release of Creative Suite? Will we see Adobe Muse and Edge – or other new HTML5 tools – as part of CS6?

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You may have heard of the recent releases of Flash Builder 4.5 (formerly Flex Builder, and now part of CS5.5), plus ColdFusion 9 and ColdFusion Builder 2…

And we’ve written about this particular offer before, but it bears repeating now that we have these major product refreshes for both Flex and ColdFusion.

Adobe will give you full versions of these premium devel­opment tools ($249 – $1,299 values) absolutely free if you qualify! And if you don’t, you might know someone who does and could benefit…

Free copies of Adobe Flash Builder 4.5 Standard are given for non-commercial use to: (a) students, faculty and staff of eligible educational institutions, or (b) software devel­opers who are affected by the current economic conditions and currently unemployed.

The ColdFusion products are also available for free to educational customers, to use for learning purposes only and not for production use. Complimentary installation support is available, and if you are a teacher and would like ColdFusion 9 for multiple systems in your lab, you can request up to 30 education serial numbers.

So if you can qualify yourself for any of these categories, please go ahead and download your free software here.

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In our tradition of providing the direct download links for major Adobe products such as CS5.5, Acrobat X, Photoshop & Premiere Elements 10, and Lightroom 3, below you’ll find the DDL for the just-released new Adobe Flash Player 10.3 (final version). This is important because the free Flash Player is the most widely-used and often-downloaded software in world, and some folks find it easier to access offline without a download manager (Akamai or Adobe DLM), or with their own DLM, and without additional products or toolbars included.

Check your current Adobe Flash Player version: What version are you running now?

What’s New in Flash Player 10.3?

Flash Player 10.3 improves stability, enhances security and user privacy protection, and provides new desktop video and audio capabilities for enterprises and developers.

Besides a dozen bug fixes, this release contains several new features and enhancements:

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[UPDATE (April 11th) – Adobe CS5.5 is out!]

We just got confirmation from Adobe that a “mid-cycle release” of Creative Suite 5 will be out later this year, perhaps in the coming months.

The definitive word came from a conference call on Tuesday afternoon with financial analysts, where the Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen stated:

We will continue to expand our content authoring offerings by providing a mid-cycle release to CS5.

[ Read the full transcript here ]

We’ve known for some time now (see our October piece) that a “dot release” of Creative Suite 5 would be coming and due to incorporate the new version of Acrobat X Pro – similarly to how CS2 and CS3 had mid-cycle upgrades for that exact reason…

But here Adobe has been working quite a bit harder and longer, with no “CS5.3″ at the November ship date of Acrobat X… So instead, we have clear indications of a larger upgrade in store – and here’s what’s going to be in it:

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If you’re interested in learning about the best web and interaction design techniques, there’s a free new 2½-hour course you’ll find worthwhile…

It’s the third installment in the excellent Classroom series, which features free expert training in well-designed sessions with high-quality production values. Previous classes have been an in-depth Dreamweaver CS5 tutorial and a terrific After Effects CS5 tutorial.

This latest presentation details how to design your interfaces in the most effective way with the behavior of the user in mind. Some of the topics include crafting effective navigational systems, creating a liquid layout, how to best deliver images and media, designing forms and dialogs to smoothly guide users through a positive user experience, and more. The best practices covered here will help you make better design decisions in your work going forward.

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Following our custom of providing the direct download links for major Adobe products such as CS5.5, Acrobat X, Photoshop & Premiere Elements 10, and Lightroom 3, below you’ll find all the DDL for the just-released new Adobe Flash Player 10.2. This is important because the free Flash Player is the most widely-used and often-downloaded software in world, and some people find it easier to gain access without a download manager (Akamai/Adobe DLM), or with their own DLM, and without additional products or toolbars included.

Check your current Adobe Flash Player version: What version are you running now?

What’s New in Flash Player 10.2?

Flash Player 10.2 introduces Stage Video, a full hardware-accelerated video pipeline for best-in-class, beautiful video across platforms and browsers – making Flash video dramatically more efficient (a 10X reduction in CPU usage in some demos). This advance in performance builds on the benefits of H.264 hardware accelerated decoding and optimized power consump­tion introduced in 10.1, and works with all of the existing video on the web viewed in Flash Player – so will save significant battery life on portable computers and mobile devices.

Additionally, this release of Flash Player offers all new features like multiple monitor full-screen support (enabling you to watch videos in true full screen on one display while multi-tasking on another), custom native mouse cursors (another popular request from designers and devel­opers), and Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) hardware accelerated rendering support.

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In a week where we learned that Google’s Android has become the world’s best-selling smartphone platform, Adobe’s President and CEO Shantanu Narayen gave an interesting interview to Forbes Magazine, copied below…

In it he extols the virtues of an open ecosystem winning out in a fragmented world, perhaps not unlike the PC and Mac market dynamics of twenty years ago. Narayen cites Flash as a key differentiator and unifier of that fragmentation. Regarding Apple, he says it’s a non-issue in that they’ve made their decision, although they did recently relax some restrictions for Flash apps.

As evidence of growing momentum, he cites 10 million Flash-based devices (smartphones, tablets, and consumer electronic devices) having shipped in the latter half of 2010, essentially since the mobile-attuned Flash Player 10.1 was officially released.

Here at ProDesignTools we love both Android and iOS, Adobe and Apple – we don’t take sides, but we think the space and players are worth watching, not to mention entertaining…

Watch or read the interview’s full 4 minutes below:

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