Wallaby
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Adobe's Wallaby hints at cracks in Flash armor
The standoff between Adobe and Apple has been the stuff of legends. Neither Adobe, which rightfully maintained that it could not be ignored because a serious chunk of web content was delivered by its proprietary Flash format, nor Apple, which doesn't like ceding anything to anybody....ever, seemed likely to budge. When the standoff began three years ago, when the first iPhone was released sans Flash capability, Adobe had little to fear. But not only has the iPhone transformed the smart phone market, the iPad has created and cornered the exploding tablet market. Now, a significant chunk of users are, at least part of the time, viewing the web through these types of devices, eroding the impact of Flash-only developed sites and creating frustration for users and web developers.
Adobe releases Wallaby, experimental Flash to HTML 5 conversion tool
Adobe announced the release of Wallaby, an experimental tool designed to convert FLA files to HTML 5. This initial version of Wallaby is meant to convert animated Flash banners to HTML 5-compliant code. This output is optimized for viewing by WebKit-based browsers, including those on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Since it is designed for banners, the first iteration of Wallaby is limited and will not convert ActionScript, movies or sound. The tool converts the Flash file to an HTML File, a CSS file, a JavaScript file and an asset folder that contains SVG and image content. The exported content has been tested on and is compatible with iOS 4.2. If you are not happy with the output, these files can be tweaked with a text or image editor if needed. If you are a Flash developer and want to give Wallaby a try, point your browser to Adobe Labs' website and grab the Wallaby application. It is a 32-bit Adobe Air application and is available for Mac OS X 10.5/10.6 and Windows XP/Vista/7.
Adobe outs experimental Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool, calls it Wallaby
Ah, if only we could flip a big happy switch and convert all the web's Flash content into (functional) HTML5 code. It's a dream shared by many and, funnily enough, the company pushing to make it a reality is none other than Adobe itself, the owner and proprietor of Flash. Its Labs research team has just released an experimental new dev tool, dubbed Wallaby, that's targeted at taking Flash-encoded artwork and animations and turning them into a more compatible mix of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Of course, the intent here is not some magnanimous move to free us from the shackles of Flash -- Adobe openly admits that the initial goal for the new tool will be to help convert animated banner ads so that they work on the iOS platform -- but hey, even bad tools can be used for good sometimes, right?
VC Tuesday: Mr. Driller World's world debut
Arc System Works finally brings the classic Double Dragon to Japan's Virtual Console today. In the US, we've been lucky to have the opportunity to be killed by those two Abobos who come out of the cave since April! However, our "victory" in the Double Dragon availability department is eclipsed by the availability of Wallaby!!, a kangaroo-race betting game that will most certainly remain in Japan. Double Dragon (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points) Wallaby!! Usagi no Kuni no Kangaroo Race (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points) Once again, WiiWare is the real attraction in Japan, with downloadable Mr. Driller and the second installment of Square Enix's Crystal Defenders series. Mr. Driller World (1 player, 800 Wii Points) Crystal Defenders R2 (1 player, 1,000 Wii Points)
