Macromedia announced the debut of Central, a new application development environment that takes advantage of Macromedia’s flagship Flash technology to deliver a new set of rich Internet-based applications. At the same time, it also unveiled a free Central software developers kit (SDK), and a partnership with America Online, Inc. to incorporate AOL’s instant messaging and presence notification features into Central applications.

The moves are all aimed at getting developers to use Central to build rich applications that help users aggregate and filter Web-based information – whether they’re online or not.

Macromedia says that since Central provides context outside the browser, it enables a more responsive, immediate and convenient way to interact with information needed on a regular basis. Regardless of whether users are online or off, Central allows them to access, filter and interpret content and share data across applications in meaningful ways, the company said.

As an example of how Central applications might work, Macromedia shipped with the Central environment a Macromedia-built application called Movie Finder. Developed by Macromedia Central guru Beau Amber, the application takes information from sources such as Netflix, Rotten Tomatoes and the Fandango movie ticketing site to help users plan a night out at the movies.

Amber said that users set parameters within Movie Finder that then help them make their movie plans. For example, users can set Movie Finder to be on the lookout for movies featuring certain actors. Once a movie with the right set of parameters is out, Central can alert the user. From within the application, then, users can check movie times at local theatres, view reviews and even purchase tickets – all without visiting a single Web site.

This is because once parameters are set, the Central application continually searches the Web for pertinent data and caches it in the background. Once a user enters the Central application, the data is presented in a context-sensitive form. The caching ability also works to make the move between offline and online much smoother, as well, since data is accessible even when users are not physically online, the company said.

The environment can also be set to be aware of a user’s location, Macromedia said. For example, users simply tell the Central application whether they are at work or at home and the application automatically tailors the information it presents to the user based on that information.

The environment should help prevent information overload – and the need to constantly surf the Web to keep on top of new information, Macromedia said. "The Internet has become a rich, interconnected world of distributed information and social experiences. A great abundance of information is now coming at people on a regular basis and is challenging to manage," said Kevin Lynch, chief software architect at Macromedia. "Macromedia Central delivers an application metaphor for managing information that lays the groundwork for a renaissance in the creation of elegant, intelligent applications."

The Central runtime environment includes an interface for the applications (based on Macromedia’s recently introduced Halo), a console for notifications and "pods" (which are smaller containers for application data) and persistent agents that manage data in the background. It is built on the Flash Player 6 code base, enabling to leverage its installed base of Flash players, Macromedia said.

The free SDK includes an extensive set of resources and building blocks to jump-start development of Central applications. It includes Halo UI components, a debug panel that works within Central, complete and extensive API and component documentation, ActionScript utility classes for manipulating data, Flash authoring templates, sample applications with source code, and libraries of application graphics and icons.

AOL partnership

As part of the announcement, Macromedia also announced a partnership with AOL whereby developers can incorporate AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) and presence notification capabilities within their Central applications.

The two companies said they will work together to integrate the features and functionality of the America Online Presence and Instant Messaging SDK into Macromedia Central. Under terms of the agreement, the AOL SDK, which contains APIs and other development tools for the AIM platform, will be made available to Macromedia Central developers.

Macromedia Central is currently available. For more information, or to download the free SDK, visit the Central homepage here.