"Wallaby" conversion is here. Will it survive? Time will tell.
The technology necessary to convert Flash artwork and animation files into HTML5 has finally been released by Adobe. This will allow us to view the output on browsers and handheld devices. The software is being called “Wallaby.” It is still in its preliminary stages—Adobe team members are still in the lab working out the kinks—but the essence of it is here. The question is whether or not it will be able to survive this unforgiving technology landscape.
While so many technologies are branching out in new and separate directions further fragmenting the technology landscape, the Wallaby webkit is something that we should try to welcome with open arms, because it is an effort to bridge the gap between conflicting technologies as opposed to pulling them further apart.
Wallaby is trying to throw a monkey wrench into the age-old dispute between Flash and non-Flash technologies. It would ideally allow us to meet in the middle.
PROS:
Wallaby does a good job of converting graphical content along with complex, timeline-based animation to HTML5.
Wallaby is designed for developers and is easy to use. Essentially, the process entails dragging Flash content into Adobe Air applications, which will then convert it to a code of HTML5. Additionally, this new code can be reversed in Adobe Dreamweaver or by manually editing the software.
CONS:
This is just the preliminary version so not all Flash features are supported in the HTML5 format. The biggest issue with this preliminary version of Wallaby is four-fold. It cannot convert ActionScript, Movies, Sound, and certain web design features like filters.
At this time, Wallaby HTML5 is not compatible with Firefox, IE9, or other HTML5 browsers. Supported browsers include Chrome and Safari on OSX, Windows, and iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPod).
For a full list of Wallaby features and to see what is supported and not supported, see: http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Wallaby#Release_Notes
Despite the fact that there are multiple unsupported conversion factors with Wallaby that still need to be worked out and tested, it’s still very exciting software and something to watch in 2011.