Flash Catalyst

“Adobe Flash Catalyst is a new professional interaction design tool for rapidly creating application interfaces and interactive content without coding.”

http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flashcatalyst/

A collaborative direction for designers and developers - rich internet applications (RIAs) will be built easier. Rapid prototyping will become more rapid.

3 positive things I see with Flash Catalyst:
1) traditional oriented designers have a less-intimidating tool to bridge their design into interactive elements - an educational platform to experiment and explore
2) interaction designers have an excellent tool for rapid prototyping, and/or grey models for testing and user scenarios
3) developers have a tool that helps separate presentation (the way it looks) from function (the way it works) - so picky designers don’t mess everything up, and can edit graphics themselves.

Up front it looks a little like dreamweaver for flash - only with transitions, animations, hooks, and interactivity. And although this helps bridge the traditional designer/developer gap - the tool is for user experiences online. So whomever is using Catalyst will still need a solid foundation, mentor, or expert in the field of interactivity. Because even the best tools won’t make web development and user experience seamless. Although, Flash Catalyst is certainly a step forward both for designers and developers. And those of us in between.