Allaire and Studio MX


As 2001 went along, Allaire started to see existing programs that Macromedia developed as being an end to end platform for all its programs, and Allarie went to work. Macromedia had plenty of work ahead, as they were trying to create their programs to run off of their own application server (Carr, 59). Allaire saw things differently, he focused on making a package that included server technology (Allaire's previous creation ColdFusion MX), animation and multimedia editing software in Flash MX, a code based platform for editing in Dreamweaver MX, and creating graphic elements not unlike Adobe's Photoshop and Imageready in Fireworks MX(Anderson 1). These programs address the whole web, creating a familiar interface. It allows the designer to see both how the site looks and to view the applications that are behind it . This bold move anaylsts say, allow Macromedia to move into a web-focused environment (New Media Age, 28) On one hand, a designer can edit static content with Fireworks and Dreamweaver, add animation in lieu of Flash, and on the other be able to create back-end scripting with ColdFusion(Anderson 4). As CTO, Allaire was instrumental in creating these programs and packaging them into Studio MX, which sells at $799. Allaire believes that this series can help even the small shop developer reach their Internet goals(since 1969.com, 1).

With the MX series, this is forcing other competiors in the new media industry to scramble to compete with Macromedia. Microsoft released the .net platform to be a major competior with ColdFusion(since1968.com, 2). It also has forced another major competitor, Adobe, to more or less abandon attempts to develop software not unlike the services offered by Macromedia, and focus more on e-publishing and e-documenting. Allaire supports this notion, saying that Adobe would benefit more from focusing more on those types of programs (New Media Age, 28).