Testing Adobe Share Beta

I'm testing the Adobe Share service and I'm positively surprised. It has the potential to become the YouTube of files and flash contents.

The first page is going to give you the chance to sign in with your existing Adobe ID or to create a new one.


The next screen will start loading the flash application in your browser. For my opinion it is still taking too long to load, but I'm sure that "speed" problems will be solved after the beta period will be finished.
The interface of the "Share" is very simple to understand. You have available 2 tabs, one is "Home" and the other is "My library"; the first one gives you the chance to upload, share the file with someone and specify the access level you want to give to the uploaded file:

That page shows also your recent activity, that means you will see the last uploaded files.
In the case of the "My library" page the interface is different and it is meant to show you the files you have uploaded. It also gives a tool bar where you could filter your library and check files shared to you by other persons.

Some things I like a lot:

1. You don't need to load your Internet line anymore when sending emails with attachments. You could send links to them using the service's band width.
2. All the site and sharing works using "https", that means is secure.
3. 1GB of free storage.
4. Developers could be using the APIs in order to extend the capabilities of the system and of course to create additional solutions.
5. The files and flash movies could be automatically embedded in any web site, Blog or Wiki.

Some doubts I have:

1. It is possible to upload Adobe Captivate files, does it means that I could use Share for hosting finished Captivate files with preloaders and controls?
2. Can I use Share for commercial purposes? For example to host the files I produce for my e-learning portal?

I don't like:

1. When the user receives the shared file and then goes to the "download" page, there is too much "advertising like" information for creating or getting a new account. Users are used to get the files right away when they click on the link. Adding an additional step is understandable, but it should work fast and give straight options to download the file, get the embed code, etc.

I think Share can be a real revolution. Developers could start producing plugins for Outlook and other important mail clients in order to make easy the process of attaching "links" to emails.
Good for Adobe!
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