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Studio
MX: Flash MX, Dreamweaver MX, Fireworks MX, Freehand
10, ColdFusion MX Developer Edition, and Flash Player
6
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Macromedia |
 |
 |
[pc
and mac] Macromedia's
Studio MX comprises a vast collection of great
web development tools in one cost effective
package. Get your hands on Flash MX, Dreamweaver
MX, Fireworks MX, Freehand MX, ColdFusion MX
Developer Edition, and the Flash Player 6. |
System
Requirements
PC
Pentium II 300MHz+
Windows 98 SE/Windows ME/Windows NT 4 (Service Pack
6)/Windows 2000 or Windows XP
96 MB RAM to open one application (128 MB recommended)
Additional RAM required to open multiple applications
simultaneously
16-bit colour monitor capable of 1024x768 (millions
of colours) or better
510 MB of available hard-disk space to install applications
CD-ROM drive
Adobe Type Manager Version 4 or later for use with
Type 1 fonts
For Adobe PostScript printing: PostScript Level 2
or PostScript 3
Netscape Navigator 4.0 or Internet Explorer 4.0 or
greater
FreeHand requires a PostScript Level 2-Compatible
printer or higher
Note: These requirements do not include ColdFusion
MX Server Developer Edition
Mac
Power Mac G3+
Mac OS 9.1 or higher, or OS X 10.1 and higher
96 MB RAM to open one application (128 MB recommended)
Additional RAM required to open multiple applications
simultaneously
16-bit colour monitor capable of 1024x768 (millions
of colours) or better
510 MB of available hard-disk space to install applications
CD-ROM drive
Adobe Type Manager Version 4 or later for use with
Type 1 fonts (OX9.x)
For Adobe PostScript printing: PostScript Level 2
or PostScript 3
Netscape Navigator 4.0 or Internet Explorer 4.0 or
greater
Dreamweaver MX for the Mac OS requires Runtime for
Java (MRJ) 2.2 or above
Freehand requires a PostScript Level 2-Compatible
printer or higher
Detailed
Description
Studio MX is the ideal bundle for professional Web
designers, bringing together Dreamweaver MX for page
design, Flash MX for animation and interactivity,
and Fireworks MX for editing and epitomising graphics.
You also get Freehand 10, a full-featured vector image
editor, and on Windows ColdFusion MX for dynamic web
applications. There is no doubting the quality of
the individual products. Dreamweaver MX is a visual
web editor that generates highly compatible code,
and also includes useful site management features.
Flash MX is the de facto standard for web animation,
containing rich multimedia content in remarkably compact
files. Fireworks is a great tool for putting the finishing
touches to existing graphics, adding text effects
or other elements, and epitomising the results for
web display. These three are the core Studio MX products,
and the suite is excellent value for these alone.
Integration between the individual products is generally
very good. It begins with the interface, which uses
common elements such as dockable, collapsible panels
and a dynamic property inspector, so that you can
switch comfortably between products. On a technical
level, the key feature is round-trip support. You
can embed Fireworks graphics and Flash movies in Dreamweaver
pages without losing any information, so that you
can later reopen an element in its original application
with all its features intact.
The MX range differs from earlier Macromedia products
by targeting application development as well as design.
For this you need to build on a web application server,
such as the bundled ColdFusion MX, or one of the other
supported platforms including ASP, ASP.Net, PHP, or
any Java Enterprise Edition server. You can connect
to databases through JDBC, OLEDB, or .Net data providers,
depending on the server platform being used. Dreamweaver
MX is more developer-friendly than previous versions,
with an enhanced code editor incorporating many of
the features of HomeSite, Macromedia's code-centric
web page designer. Although ColdFusion MX has its
own tag language, called ColdFusion Markup Language--it
generates Java code that can be deployed on any of
the leading Java application servers. This also enables
Java developers to extend ColdFusion with custom tags
and components. In effect, the combination of Dreamweaver
and ColdFusion provides an easy way into dynamic,
Java-based web development. As an alternative to ColdFusion,
support for Microsoft.Net is a little less comprehensive,
but still good, and includes visual designers for
the key ASP.Net server-side controls.
Application development is not just a matter of server-side
scripting. Flash MX also has potential as a rich client,
with an interface driven by embedded Javascript. Through
a technology called Flash Remoting, Flash MX has support
for Web services, and the Studio bundle makes it relatively
easy to set up ColdFusion to supply Web services,
and Flash to consume them. While it may seem strange
to think of Flash as a rich client moving beyond the
Web page, it does make some sense when you consider
that it is cross-platform and very widely deployed.
In addition, ColdFusion itself can consume Web services
hosted on other platforms. Taking everything together,
Studio MX is an essential development tool for ColdFusion
as well as a great bundle for any Web designer.
Tim Anderson, Amazon
Manufacturer's Description
Macromedia Studio MX is an integrated suite of software
tools for creating rich, Internet applications delivered
across major platforms and devices. The collection
includes Macromedia Flash MX, Dreamweaver MX, Fireworks
MX, Freehand, a developer edition of ColdFusion MX
Server, and Flash Player 6.
Work in a familiar, customisable environment with
consistent user interface elements, including colour
management, drawing tools, code editing, a common
Property Inspector, and panel management, all making
it easy to move between the applications. Create each
element of the Web production process including graphics,
laying out HTML pages, coding application logic, building
rich, user interfaces, and assembling complete solutions
all in one suite.
Take advantage of drag-and-drop visual tools and components,
code libraries, and extensive code editing support
for developing applications using HTML, XHTML, XML,
ColdFusion, ASP, ASP.NET, JSP, or PHP. Integration
with ColdFusion MX gives you a fast way to develop
Internet applications that incorporate Macromedia
Flash. Support includes code samples and reference
material to high-performance connectivity, common
language support between Dreamweaver, Flash and ColdFusion,
seamless integration with Flash components, and an
integrated toolset for tying back-end logic with Flash
user interfaces.
Macromedia
AbleStable®
Review
Macromedia released a crushing blow to its competitors
with the release of Studio MX. With a suite of programs
as excellent as these for a price that's very competitive,
Macromedia have given the professional visually oriented
web designer a world class integrated web development
environment.
A large reason for giving Fireworks MX and Dreamweaver
MX a four star rating is the individual cost of these
applications which we feel is high. Studio MX however
comes in at a significant price reduction as compared
to buying the applications separately. Check out our
reviews of Dreamweaver
MX and Fireworks MX,
as Studio MX still represents a significant investment
for the individual web developer.
Studio MX offers the web designer the opportunity
to develop sites that use any web technology that's
out there, whether it be a Flash-based, database-led,
interactive, cutting-edge youth site, or simply a
simple html creative portfolio site. Studio MX is
for the serious enthusiast and professional designer
to create the future of their dreams.
Studio MX gets AbleStable's® 5 Star Award.
Review by AbleStable®
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