erik daniel

Smokescreen is Flash to HTML5/Javascript converter that is currently in development. What does that mean? It means that developers will be able to convert their Flash pieces to operate on devices that don't have, or don't allow the Adobe Flash plugin.

Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’re probably familiar with the fact that Adobe Flash doesn’t run on any mobile Apple device. Moreover, it looks like Apple is never going to let Flash onto the iPhone/iPod/iPad empire.

These two facts paint a bleak picture for mobile advertising. Many people still want to use their existing Adobe tools for developing ads, and retooling to support a single platform seems silly. As an ad network, we believe that dynamic, interactive ads are much more fun than boring static ads and thus, we were faced with two options: live in a dark, desolate world of boring mobile ads or do something about it.

The demos are impressive, and not just because I was a fan of Homestarrunner. The first time I loaded the first Strongbad demo, it was sluggish. This may have been a browser issue. Subsequent viewings were flawless. The animation and sound were smooth, and the (few) interactive elements operated just like the originals.

The tool isn't available yet, but the developers claim it will be open source (woo hoo!). While it currently supports Flash 8 animation and "some" actionscript, if it is reliable and easy to use, it will make many banner designers very happy.