From the beginning, rich Internet applications have sought to answer the question, “Why do something different?” Over the past few years as RIAs have blossomed, we have discovered the answers. The applications in this article each offer a different answer to that question. First up is an existing successful software company that is expanding its overall consumer reach through the browser with Project Dragonfly. Next is an online scrapbooking solution that enables collaboration that is not currently possible with other solutions. And last but not least is an interactive movie trailer that creates new connections between the viewer and the movie, thus creating a vibrant community around a completely imagined world. It seems the reason to do something different is to open the door for even more people to experience a solution, product, or message.
Autodesk Project Dragonfly
Technology: Adobe Flex
Autodesk’s Project Dragonfly is an attractive and powerful Flex application that enables users to create floor layout plans complete with interior design elements using nothing more than their browser. This application stands out in many areas. First, it provides functionality normally seen only in a desktop application. It also provides a great benchmark for applications that are using 3D in Adobe Flash Player.
With Project Dragonfly, you can quickly and easily configure a room from scratch and then view it in either 2D or 3D mode. You can configure the size and dimensions of your room and add preconfigured elements from the library to it. Autodesk’s library of drag-and-drop elements includes a wide range of items such as windows, doors, furniture, appliances, and more.
When you are finished creating your dream home, you can do several things with it. You can easily print your design and optionally include the dimensions. You can also easily export your file to JPEG format or Autodesk’s own DWG format (to easily drop it into AutoCAD). You can also export to RVT format (for Autodesk’s Revit). Finally, you can share your design with the Project Dragonfly community so they can further tweak and admire your masterpiece.
Autodesk’s Project Dragonfly is available to use today.
Mixbook
Technology: Flex
Mixbook is a Flex based online photo book builder. It has been around for a few years, and it seems to be earning its share of success. Just like the other applications I cover in this article, it does a great job of leveraging rich Internet application archetypes, including social media integration and user collaboration.
When creating a photo book, you can choose one of many different themes from several categories. After you have picked a theme, you can start adding your photos. One of the great things about Mixbook is that it makes it so easy to access photos from many different online sources, including Facebook, Flickr, Yahoo, SmugMug, Photobucket, and Picasa. Users can also directly upload photos from their computer. Once your photos are in place, you can adjust backgrounds and layouts and even add stickers to your pages.
One element that is unique to Mixbook is that multiple users can collaborate on a single photo book. In addition, users can also rate and comment on photo books that have been shared online. Once your photo book is complete, Mixbook also provides an extremely simple way to share it across a plethora of social networking sites.
Mixbook is available to use today.
“Avatar” Interactive Trailer
Technology: Adobe AIR
The movie “Avatar” has certainly generated a great deal of buzz not only for the movie itself but also for its marketing. One element of that marketing is the Avatar desktop AIR application. This application provides a glimpse into what may be the future of movie marketing, and it is also a great use of Adobe AIR.
When you launch the “Avatar” desktop application, you first see the trailer. However, this experience is a bit different from the normal trailer. While viewing the trailer, you can enable hotspots that give you the opportunity to view additional content about a specific character or element in the movie. This additional content is a worthy addition to the trailer and gives good insight into the movie.
After viewing the trailer, you can switch to the feed view, which aggregates content from the official “Avatar” YouTube, Twitter, and Flickr accounts. From this view, you can also easily share clips with others through Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and more. In addition to this social media integration, the user can also easily purchase tickets from popular sites like Fandango and Moviefone directly from the application.
The “Avatar” Interactive Trailer AIR application is available to download today.
from http://www.adobe.com/devnet/ria/newsletter/feb2010/rias/
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