Time for an update to The Greatest Technology You Don’t Care About… Yet. 🙂
Engineering manager Kevin Goldsmith has announced that a new version of the Adobe Image Foundation (AIF) Toolkit Preview Release is available for download from Adobe Labs.
Think of AIF as similar to Apple’s Core Image technology (running really fast filters on your graphics card), but with added goodness. For one thing, in addition to working in desktop tools like After Effects and (maybe, someday, I’m not sayin’) Photoshop and others, AIF will work in the next version of the incredibly ubiquitous Flash Player. So…
AIF = Fast-as-hell filters on every desktop, everywhere
In addition to opening tons of doors for Flash animators, it’ll give the Flash Platform a huge bump in its ability to support apps like Photoshop Express. And it’ll encourage lots of cool cross-pollination, as developers can leverage the imaging code they write for Flash in order to create filters for Adobe desktop apps, and vice versa.
Back to the news at hand: the Toolkit helps developers write and test their imaging code in a scripting language codenamed “Hydra” (real name TBA). If that sounds like your bag, head over to Labs, grab the build, and try out & share examples in the gallery.
Whereby Adobe gives Apple the middle finger yet again.
[1996 called: it wants its shrill, beleaguered Mac partisans back. ;-P –J.]
So is this going to perform as poorly on the Mac as Flash does? And if so, it begs the question, Why not just freaking support Core Image already?
[First, we already use aspects of Core Image already. I already told you that in the 64-bit thread. We continue to work with Apple to leverage the graphical strengths of the Mac OS.
As with cocoa, Apple’s been asking Adobe to support Core Image for years. Unfortunately, cross-platform concerns, e.g. The Lowest Common Denominator Syndrome, always works against the Mac platform.
[Actually, one could argue that tying ourselves to whatever the OS vendors provide, being unable to build on or modify what’s provided to everyone, would be the lowest common denominator approach. We obviously feel AIF lets us do things that a strictly Core Image-based approach wouldn’t. Getting into the details here isn’t a productive use of my time as, not fitting your Adobe-screws-Apple narrative, it wouldn’t change your mind. –J.]
How about leveraging the unique strengths of each platform (I know, I know — Windows doesn’t actually have any unique strengths, but bear with me)
[Out of curiosity, do you have any idea how ignorant that kind of statement makes you sound? –J.]
rather than compromising both with this cross-platform drivel? I don’t want my Mac apps to look and feel like Windows apps. Stop putting close boxes on the wrong sides of palettes for the love of God. Or how about this? If you’re going to compromise, why not err on the side of better rather than worse? Make the Windows apps feel like Mac apps — they won’t know the difference anyway.
[The funny thing about the position of the close boxes is that whether they’re on the left or the right is functionally irrelevant on a panel. (What does annoy me about the current design is that I think they’re too close to the flyout menu, an issue I brought up during the design process. That’ll be addressed in the future.) Your definition of “better” or “worse” is strictly based on whatever Apple does. If they change any behavior (e.g. making UI elements more transparent, then less so, then more again, then less), right & wrong automatically change with it. “Oceania is our friend; Oceania has *always* been our friend…” –J.]
Jack,
Off topic but you gotta track this ordeal.
Laptop, PSCS3, Bridge, flash, in hand, I leave with my mom.
I am going to a photcruise starting Tuesday.
http://kblawson.wordpress.com/
All are invited to go via photos and my new blog. My first post is “throw momma off the boat”. Yea, that right, my 90 year old mom and me are going to panama canal for 10 days. As she refers to me; her 732 month old son, “kennyboy”.
Why Panama canal? You gotta know my mom. So I hope to post from the ship as often as possible
Mosquitoes and all
Ken
[b]”What does annoy me about the current design is that I think they’re too close to the flyout menu, an issue I brought up during the design process. That’ll be addressed in the future.”[/b]
On a similar line the trash can being right next to the new folder/action etc icon is a long standing interface problem. It’s so easy when tired to dump something in trash instead of duplicating. Undo solves layer accidents, but if you accidentally trash an Action, you haven’t yet saved, then oops!
There’s plenty of room to have a slightly bigger gap between the two. Never understood why there wasn’t always one there.
I use Macs and PCs and both have good points and both have bad points and I always despair when I come across the daft comments made by Macolytes such as above. The slowest way to improve, is to deny problems exist. And a major reason I like about this blog is that problems are something to be solved not denied [by crazed zealots].
How quickly the Mac aficionado’s anti-Windows sentiments are dismissed, as if there weren’t any significant justifications for such promulgation.
[Saying that there are *no* advantages in Windows is beyond ridiculous. I’d be more impressed by some fair-mindedness than by your thumbing through the thesaurus. –J.]
Consider that such dispirited views might have something to do with the demise of the innovative partnership Mac professionals used to enjoy with Adobe.
[I don’t know what you’re talking about. –J.]
Wow. Obviously nothing less than pure bliss over in San Jose. Wow.