Studio MX 2004 with Flash

by Macromedia

Product Features

• Create data-driven applications and high quality video experiences
• Includes all features in Flash MX 2004, and more
• Robust development environment to build effective, data-driven applications
• Professional video capabilities delivers high quality video integrating with Apple FinalCut Pro, Avid Express, Adobe Premier and more
• Device deployment streamlines production of content for mobile phones, PDAs, and other devices

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0000CAVVI
• Item model number: WPD070D000
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 25, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,520 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #82 in Software > Programming > Programming Languages
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

With Macromedia Flash MX Professional 2004, create data-driven applications and high quality video experiences. This top-of-the-line Flash development environment includes all features in Flash MX 2004, plus: - ROBUST DEVELOPMENT environment to build effective, data-driven applications, including forms, data-binding and source control support.

-PROFESSIONAL VIDEO capabilities delivers high quality video integrating with Apple FinalCut Pro, Avid Express, Adobe Premier and more.

-DEVICE DEPLOYMENT streamlines production of content for mobile phones, PDAs, and other devices with templates and device emulators.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Studio MX 2004 - Macromedia Continues to Impress!, December 3, 2003

By 

"ducksquat" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Studio MX 2004 with Flash (CD-ROM)

If you are serious about working on the web whether novice or professional, you cannot get any better than the Macromedia products. I've owned the suite since the second version was out and, with the exception of Adobe PhotoShop, the Macromedia products are the ONLY thing I ever use.

Dreamweaver MX 2004 with Flash Pro continues the tradition of creating seamless code so you have to do very little tweeking - only if you know how and need to do so! It saves me so much time in coding and I can trust that it will not add extensions that are not viewable by all, such as the Frontpage product. It has roundtrip HTML, meaning you can easily add your own code, modify existing code, etc. without any problems at all.

The interface builds upon MX by making CSS much more powerful. You can view your CSS styles incase you forgot what it looked like very much as you would a font in Microsoft Word 2000. The pallets are more intuitive and takes a slight adjustment to get used to from MX. Dreamweaver MX 2004 also has more robust features with added internal extensions to make your code bank stronger. The simple drag and drop method makes it so easy to use. I've used the MX 2004 version for about a month now and am thoroughly impressed. It's a significant upgrade and worth the money.

Flash MX 2004 Pro and Fireworks MX Pro simply build more functionality and makes life much easier. Flash MX Pro has more powerful tools for backend developers, video streaming and WAP devices.

The interface for all of the products are very easy to learn. I am a professional now, but have used the products prior to becoming professional and it has helped me to make my transition from professional counselor to full-time web developer a dream come true! If I can use it, ANYONE can!!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Gateway to Advanced Website Programming, December 27, 2004

By 

Tezza "Tezza" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Studio MX 2004 with Flash (CD-ROM)

Macromedia Dreamweaver is the first obvious starting point of this package. Dreamweaver is an excellent package that can be used to build full-featured websites. I would suggest anyone starting to use Dreamweaver to attend a course as the package can be overwhelming if you have no background in WSWG (what you see is what you get) software to build websites.

The next thing to learn would be Fireworks, which is a fairly web-centric graphics program. Fireworks can do many of the things that a full-blown graphics program like Adobe Photoshop can do, however it is more targeted at the web developer.

For those who are more daring, try the Flash product which can be used for animations among other functionality.

I really like Coldfusion. Coldfusion has many interesting "tags" that allow you to read and write databases, perform programming logic like "if's", "else's" and a myriad of other functionality like scripting, using Java, XML etc. There's no end to what you can do and keep discovering in Coldfusion. A great book is Sams Teach Yourself Coldfusion MX in 21 Days, which has all you need to know to build fairly significant Coldfusion applications.

The only drawback of Coldfusion, which is really the "endgame" of these products, is that it is not extensively used commercially by web developers. Time and time again I get chastised for not creating my web applications in more commercially acceptable PHP or Microsoft products that would make my products more universally hostable, supportable and acceptable.

We can only hope that a new version of Coldfusion is soon coming, with even more extensive and fun features to learn.

I would say, especially if you are a web programming hobbyist, and have access to some inexpensive courses to get you started, you won't be disappointed by joining the Macromedia way.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most useful suite I've ever used, August 15, 2004

By 

Zack Sheppard (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Studio MX 2004 with Flash (CD-ROM)

I've been in the computer game since I was 5, so I've had time to try out a lot of programs. From Adobe to Apple, Macromedia to Microsoft I've tried most of the creative suites out there.
I must say that of everything I've ever used, Studio MX 2004 is the best collection of programs you'll find (and it's worth the money if you can get an academic discount). I am a web designer by trade and I found every program in MX 2004 useful.

Flash is the recognized standard in online animation. With this program I created in 30 minutes a navbar which exceeds those of Apple and Microsoft for usability. In five minutes I created an animated advertisement (though not a very good one).

Fireworks is simply the best multipurpose image editor (photoshop is better at pure images, but not as versatile). Fireworks can do everything from having flames fly out of a friend's mouth to creating web animations that reach out to those who have not downloaded Flash Player.

Freehand is the least useful program in this suite. It has not changed at all since MX, so it is a bit behind in features and integration. Still, I used it for creating sketches of layouts or classic thoughtwebs.

Dreamweaver! Oh, what can I say about dreamweaver! Any web designer who does not praise this program is either a hard-core pure coder, or an imposter. With this new version it becomes a 10 second matter to change the font used on every page of my websites. Rather than going through 30 pages of html, I open up one css file and type a color, or font, or size change. It is a beautiful culmination of WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) technology.

While most people will balk at the $999 price tag, I say look around until you find a academic copy (I got one for $199). At a $700 discount you can buy this and a new computer to serve your creations to the world. Either way I say anyone who is a job where they need to construct creative projects for the web or presentations needs to pick up a copy of Macromedia Studio MX 2004.