There’s been some confusion on the terms of the Flash 9 ActionScript 3.0 Preview released by Adobe earlier this week. Somewhere on the site, it states that the download is a 30 day trial. This prompted some questions about the logic of such a thing on the OSFlash list, which Mike Chambers cleared up:
“If you already have Flash 8, then there is not a time limit.
They time limit is for people who dont already own Flash 8 (i.e. it is basically the same as a trial in that case).”
So, if you don’t have Flash 8 installed and activated, you basically get a Flash 9 ActionScript 3.0 Preview 30 Day Trial Version. (That’s a mouthful.)
If you do have Flash 8 installed and activated, the Flash 9 AS3 Preview will last… well, I don’t know how long it will last. I’m guessing there’s a time bomb in there somewhere, but it’s a lot more than 30 days. It also mentions on the Adobe site that there are no more public preview releases of Flash 9 planned prior to the official final release sometime in 2007, so I imagine this preview will be good for many, many months.
Good to know, Keith. Perhaps there is no time bomb. Arguably, since the Flex SDK includes a free compiler, and the Flash 9 preview doesn’t really include extra functionality beyond that, it isn’t too important to limit it’s usage if someone already owns Flash 8. There may be some bugs, and Adobe will probably make some cool additions for the final release, so this preview probably won’t stop anyone from buying Flash 9 when it comes out next year.
Hi Keith –
Having written all of the copy for the AS3 Preview pages on Adobe Labs, I was disappointed to see that there was any confusion over the 30-day trial period. When you read the pages it’s made pretty clear that you need to own a license for Flash Professional 8 or Studio 8 in order to activate the AS3 preview. I even added two FAQ items:
http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flash9as3preview/
FAQ
Q: What is required in order to activate the Flash Professional 9 ActionScript 3.0 Preview?
A: You must have a valid serial number for either Flash Professional 8 or Studio 8 to activate the Flash Professional 9 ActionScript 3.0 Preview. You can purchase Flash Professional 8 or Studio 8 at the Adobe online store.
Q: Is there a trial period for the Flash Professional 9 ActionScript 3.0 Preview?
A: Yes. You can use the Flash Professional 9 ActionScript 3.0 Preview for up to 30-days.
So – if you don’t own Flash Professional 8 or Studio 8, you can trial the AS3 Preview for up to 30 days. I’ll take a look at the site to see if I can make it any clearer.
Regards,
Mike Downey
Flash Product Manager, Adobe Systems
Mike, you know, just looking at those to Q&As, they don’t seem mutually exclusive. You don’t get the immediate “either / or”. You need a serial number to activate it, and you can use it for up to 30 days. It could definitely be made more clear that if you DON’T have Flash 8, and DON’T activate the preview, you can use the trial version INSTEAD.
Offhand, it wasn’t me who came up with the confusion. It was a thread on the OSFlash list, where some people brought it up. I just wanted to point it up in case anyone else had the same confusion.