May 5th, 2006
Transparencies in RIAs - Flex and Avalon, side by side
I think that when transparencies are used correctly, they make a very nice effect. It looks pleasing to the user, gives a much greater sense of depth and a feeling of being in a 3D space. There are definitely times when transparencies can be overkill, but all in all, I think they will have a significant place in Rich Internet Applications. Tim Sneath talks here about adding the Aero Glass effect to Vista forms. It’s a very good read, and he included a sample screenshot. Well Kevin Hoyt at Adobe sent me a Flex 2 example which mimics Tim’s. To be clear, it’s not the same effect as the Aero Glass that will ship with high end versions of Vista, that is a bit more advanced, but it’s a good implementation of transparencies. I think looking at them side by side shows that we’ll be able to do some very cool things with the technologies that are coming.
Aero Glass Effect in Vista (click for full photo)
Transparencies in Flex 2 (click for full photo)
Ryan Stewart, a Rich Internet Application developer and industry analyst, recently joined Adobe's Platform Team as a Rich Internet Application Evangelist. full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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