I need advice what to focus on

I am a bit in the Twilight Zone currently of what to focus on.

1. HTML5 Javascript
That seems to be an area everybody is jumping on. I see that at least one should know some basics. However, because of Javascript, which is not a real programming language I have my doubts the hype will continue forever. I also hear that actually many people who are serious programmers don't think much of that. Your opinion?

2. Flash, Flash builder
That is what I know and I think sticking to AIR applications is not time lost. I am developing scientific applications with that, since I am Biologist. Does AIR have a future?
Is worthwhile to get into Flash for mobile or will that sooner or later disappear?

3. 3D
However, I missed all the 3D development (Molehill, away3D etc). Is that worthwhile getting into at this stage?
I have Swift 3D and know to some extent how to use it. Is that something, which still has a future and is worthwhile following up?

Thanks for any advice. I know there are some threads on that but there is just small bits of information.

If you are really into 3D and make it a living forget SWIFT 3D and get into autocad. My nephew has been doing cadcam design work for years. It's a lot of math and a steady income.

Man I'm like a moth to flame with these types of questions.
My honest hope is that the javascript circle jerk fades but in terms of professional advise I would never tell someone not to waste their time with it. It's certainly worth "understanding" what's going on. You don't need to master 1000 libraries and how to deploy them on 50 app stores but definitely make a small project that utilizes most of the modern methods including local storage, the <canvas> and <video> tags, jquery and css3. If you really want to get into it, learn backbone or angularJS.
You'll either decide it's reasonable effort for the money or run screaming. Don't don't don't go into it with as3 concepts in mind. They don't work or exist. Get to know who Douglas Crockford is and learn his methods. I highly recommend his book, Javascript The Good Parts.

Back to that in a sec,
So, to put it simply, Flash/Air is alive and well. The markets they facilitate are varied and lucrative. Learn what those are and do what you love. Adobe has not forsaken us, they're just not sitting back and waiting to see what happens. That's not to say they haven't royally screwed up some prime opportunities. I mean hey, the Democratic party can f*ck up a free lunch and they got the white house!

I really haven't followed Swift3D's relevance or where they stand on the molehill but I kinda doubt choosing that type of work as a specialty is enough to hang your hat on. You never know though, there's some lucky guy out there probably killing it for good money right now.

I know Away3D and some others have better relationships with adobe and are better positioned to be part of flash's future. Again, not something I'd specialize in personally but a great skill to add to your abilities. I myself have chosen to pursue a future in 3D but in a way that has me focusing on Unity3D. Still, if I produce anything worthwhile, I'll be proud to localize for flash.

Now, back to the js party.
I think there are a handful of different types of js devs right now. I'm tired of being diplomatic and always trying to say "html5, css, js" people. If I say js, you know what I'm talking about.

Type 1 is the hater. We've all met this guy. He never hesitated to talk sh*t about flash and never lifted a finger to learn it. On the day Jobs lied about its future, these guys thought their ship had come in. They celebrated by getting extremely high on their own sh*t and haven't come down yet. They see all the borked standards as sensible and are happy as pigs in sh*t.

Type 2 is the pragmatist. These guys are smart, have been programming long before actionscript and don't view js as some poop in their swimming pool. They are typically business owners, self employed or are in some other obligatory position that doesn't allow them to choose sides. They just rolled up their sleeves, drank some kool-aid and got back to work. Good for them.

Type 3 is the basketcase. This guy never wanted to be a programmer. He just ended up that way when he outgrew flash's timeline. He's good but is a one-trick-pony. Steve Jobs pissed directly in their cheerios. They don't know how to do anything and don't understand why that's bad. They can be mistaken for the "hater".

Type 4 is the activist. They understand both landscapes, they are competent in either. But they can't help but take a long look at the modern web and conclude that there is something rotton in Denmark. When the look at the 4 major means of consuming content and what developers are forced to sacrifice in order to deliver on them, a small tear runs down their cheek. These guys are few but growing in number. There is a ground swell of people waking up and while they can't put a finger on it, they feel the damn will break soon and the sinners better find the high ground.

Those advice helps me a lot orienting myself. Frets, I was not thinking to get that deep into 3D. Autocad is close to $4000, a big investment worthwhile only if you absolutely don't want to do anything else than that.

Sometimes I'm type 2 others type3 and still others type4

MS is installing flash directly into metro. Which is good for the medium.

Honestly adobe did itself no favors with the advent of as3 They forsake the saved trying to appease to the masses of non flash programmers. In the end everyone lost. Naysayers were still naysayers to flash and many a devotee of the medium became disillusioned with the brave new frontier. The average flash developer really needs no more then MX Sure there are times when advanced flash users can appreciate what the medium has to offer.

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Originally Posted by Frets

Honestly adobe did itself no favors with the advent of as3 They forsake the saved trying to appease to the masses of non flash programmers. In the end everyone lost. Naysayers were still naysayers to flash and many a devotee of the medium became disillusioned with the brave new frontier. The average flash developer really needs no more then MX Sure there are times when advanced flash users can appreciate what the medium has to offer.

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I disagree. I created an AIR application and was included by two research groups in their publications. This could most probably been created in a different programming language, but it's possible in Flash. In this respect I think with inclusion of 3D (which I found confirmed here) Flash still has a future.

http://flashscript.biz/AIR/imagemete...eMeterPro.html

I just made a provisional website and raw videos to demonstrate what the program can do.

Flash couldn't have remained what it was in the pre-AS3 era. It's rise was arguably hugely due to IE6 and the browser industry stagnating for half a decade. In an era where the browsers are vying for market share again, and TONS of users are accessing the web on all sorts of devices running different platforms(with the OS tweaked with different builds for each device), Flash couldn't guarantee that stuff made in it, would run for every user.

The gaming industry on iOS/Android seems like it's going to grow tremendously, and that's obviously a very lucrative area for Flash to focus on. Flash used to be really easy to pick up and learn, it had a lower barrier-to-entry compared to professional dev languages where you'd have to be an expert to do the sort of interactive stuff relatively noob folks could do in Flash. I think Adobe's lost that now, their gaming stuff requires you to learn a low-level shader language and that sort of stuff.

If they could make interactive games with great graphics possible, without needing you to do all that, I'd imagine that would make Flash alot more popular to a wider audience. If they go for the professional developer though, then Adobe needs to be better than Unreal and all these other professional 3D engines that can run on Android and iOS.

Flash has nothing to do with the state of the browser.

Flash as "playground for the layman" has reached its peak. Looking at the activity on this forum compared to what it used to be, and the time when people said WOW when seeing an flash animation, regardless quality, is long gone.

Like flash, HTML5 has the potential for making irritating content. But now the difference is that the user can no longer block it. I think Flash will remain for online video media for many years and in the app world it will continue to grow.

I think flash as an animation tool is great and will still remain. HTML5 does not provide the same scalability or support for vector graphics and the x and y coordinates are limited to 0 decimals, so animations may not look as smooth.

I think online 3D games will take over for 2D, and I don't think flash is prepared for that.

Flash is more than ready for 3d content. It's a reality.

One of the ways I have been using Flash is to create Flash animations and then make video clips of those animations by video taping them on screen and use them to create a whole informative video together with camera-taken video. Since I know Flash it was easy for me to do that. Is that an efficient way or is it much easier and nicer to use different techniques?

By video taping, do you mean screen recording?

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Originally Posted by jAQUAN

By video taping, do you mean screen recording?

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I'm guessing you mean using some sort of screen capture software, not an actual video camera. :)
Although, why wouldn't you just export as a movie? Maybe there are timeline or code reasons.

We're still doing mostly flash development but are converting some of our flash templates/shells to HTML5 from a capabilities stand-point. We don't currently have any clients that are requiring that for development, but the rumblings have begun and it's only a matter of time.

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Originally Posted by cancerinform

One of the ways I have been using Flash is to create Flash animations and then make video clips of those animations by video taping them on screen and use them to create a whole informative video together with camera-taken video. Since I know Flash it was easy for me to do that. Is that an efficient way or is it much easier and nicer to use different techniques?

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It's faster and easier to export as avi or mov. If you want it in an different size than your stage size, use JPEG sequence instead.

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Originally Posted by jAQUAN

By video taping, do you mean screen recording?

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yes, Flashpipe1 also correct guess. Quality setting was high. Using video editing software I could mix sound, videoclips and animations. All animations are done with AS3. I don't think I can export the swf as a .mov. In addition I used an old version of Motion for some text effects.

Exporting to .mov from Flash Pro is extremely seldom a viable option. If any part of the animation is code driven or on a sub-timeline forget it. I use iShowU screen recording software or quicktime. Audio can still sometimes be an issue.

Capture using export can be problematic especially if you have an audio stream as opposed to playsound.

When something requires I render to video format I use a separate screencast capture utility such as BB flashback (though I prefer techsmith) Though I rarely if ever use video as an export format. Maybe it's Ipad spite,

I use Snapz Prox (Mac) and have no problems.