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Macromedia opened its annual developer conference by emphasizing the powerful role great experiences play on the Internet.

"Macromedia is excited to roll up its sleeves alongside our developers and customers as we continue to work together to improve the user experience," said Rob Burgess, chairman and CEO, Macromedia. "From showing new products and technologies to delivering new solutions and developer programs, MAX is really about getting early feedback from some of our most passionate users."

The company will preview several innovations under consideration for the next generation of Macromedia Flash Player, code-named "Maelstrom." Attendees will get a look at major advances in the player's expressiveness and media capabilities. Demonstrations will highlight stunning new graphical effects, improved video and text handling, and dramatically improved performance.

The company will also demonstrate a few of the capabilities under development for "Blackstone," the codename for the next ColdFusion release. Attendees will be able to use their mobile phones to access their conference itinerary using an SMS application powered by the event gateway capability planned for Blackstone. Attendees will also see demonstrations of rich forms that improve the effectiveness of web data collection and the ability to generate printable reports in PDF and Flash formats.

On Monday, Macromedia announced a customized $99 version of Contribute 3 to simplify online store creation and customization for eBay Store sellers (see separate release). The company also announced the immediate availability of Flex 1.5 (see separate release).

At Mobile Day at MAX, the company launched a new developer program as the first in a series of steps to get mobile services built with Flash launched worldwide. As part of this first step, a new mobile developer center, which delivers tools, resources, and support, is available.

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