In last couple of years, web design industry has gone through some significant upheavals. Some exciting new technologies appeared in the horizon, though some of them failed to live up to hype. Adobe, which is a dominant player in graphics and web design, had been facing a tough time in defending Flash, its flagship web animation and design tool. A section of industry veterans have always slammed flash for its inherent drawbacks including SEO unfriendliness. Advent of newer platforms like HTML5 and Silverlight has only added to plight of Flash developers. Industry veterans are still divided in their opinion regarding future prospects of Flash design. However, Adobe seems to be in no mood to let new technologies steal the thunder of its flagship animation app so easily! It released two web design apps- Muse and Edge in recent times to grab its share of HTML 5 pie. However it also upgraded Flash to appeal to dynamic web app and RIA developers.

It is undeniable that sheer market share of Flash will pose a challenge for newer technologies in near future in web animation segment. With Flash 11, which was unveiled recently, Adobe is taking steps to rectify a major grudge against Flash, security. Detractors of Flash web design have always slammed this app for not having robust online security provisions which can pose risk to both businesses and users.

Flash player 11 focuses on security and comes with a new private browsing mode, following heels of major browsers. Adobe is also targeting mobile web users with new media capabilities of Flash. Finally, Flash offers a version for 64 bit OSes. This release comes close on heels of Microsoft shunning Flash support for its much touted metro UI in upcoming Windows 8.

Flash 11 has got a debut date of October and it will support SSL socket connections for desktops, thereby allowing developers to build apps with security measures. Flash Player 11 will also come with a random number generator API that makes use of cryptographic functionality in the OS it runs on.

Flash Player 11 also has a version for Android OS. Android phone and tablet users will get a control panel which will enable them to control Flash player related settings. However, incognito mode, its private browsing features will be available only for Honeycomb devices in near future. Adobe has not talked about Gingerbread support at this point.

Adobe has said that it’s AIR 3, a Web application runtime environment that runs on multiple platforms and Flash 11 will support 3D rendering and HD video handling. Its new rendering engine, named Stage 3D will offer superior rendering capability over its predecessor. However, this engine is only available for PC platforms. If Adobe’s claims turn out to be true, Flash design professionals will be able to make web sites and apps with visually immersive content including 3D. Notably, AIR 3 adds seaport for three new platforms- Android, TV and iOS (both iPad and iPhone). Developers will be able to utilize these extensions for accessing hardware features in touch screen devices.