Adobe gives away free copies of the new Flash Builder 4 Standard edition to students, teachers, and unemployed developers. To apply for your free copy, visit http://bit.ly/FreeFlashBuilder
Flash Player is open and SWF is documented
The core of Flash Player is the Tamarin Virtual Machine, which is an open source project under Mozilla. While the SWF file format is not fully open, it is documented by the community on osflash.org. Additionally, there are numerous open source products that read and write SWF files.
The Flash Player’s product direction has traditionally been heavily influenced by the community and their needs. The core language for Flash Player is an implementation of ECMAScript 262, which is the same specification for JavaScript. Flex also uses CSS for styling of components/applications.
Come save us HTML5 in 2022 AD
HTML5 has been in the works since 2004 and is still in “draft”. Its primary intent is to reduce the need for proprietary plug-ins (like Flash Player and Silverlight).
I can definitely see the benefit of not relying on a plug-in for multiple reasons. There is a concern if users will have the plug-in, but the bigger concern is vendor dependence. I think Adobe has the install base issue covered fairly well, yet it should still be a concern for locked down environments. To the bigger concern, I’d say that we already depend on companies like Apple and Microsoft quite heavily and that Adobe is far from a fledgling startup that would be considered very risky. Naturally, I understand to the concern and will help my clients choose the appropriate technology.
The reality is that HTML5 is not coming anytime soon
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, claims that “the world is moving to HTML5″. How is that going to happen Steve when Ian Hickson, editor of the HTML5 specification, expects the specification to reach the W3C Candidate Recommendation stage during 2012, and W3C Recommendation in the year 2022 or later?[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML5]
Should we hold off development for a few years while Google (Ian works at Google) finishes the specifications?
Finally, how many different implementations of HTML5 do you think there will be?. There will most likely still be cross browser compatibility issues to deal with.
Flash Player and Silverlight
I’ll sticking with vendor dependence that I can use now over incomplete technology with potential compatibility nightmares any day!
If you need an easy and affordable way to secure your application against license sharing and ‘keygen cracks’, Zarqon just may be the answer you’ve been looking for.
A good friend of mine, Cliff Hall, is most known for the PureMVC framework which was inspired by his his lack of love for the Cairngorm framework. Well, Cliff apparently was irritated by the inability to create licensed products with Flex and AIR too, so he did something about it. Zarqon. He has created very useful tool for creating a licensed Flex and/or AIR applications. How you implement your app is totally up to you, Zarqon just helps you easily issue and validate licenses.
Are you a software skeptic, me too! No worries, there a free 30 day trial license that will allow you to fully evaluate the product and make a decision about whether it’s right for you.
It is now in “beta”, but if you begin implementation of a Zarqon-licensed product within the trial period that you plan to launch, let him know and you just may get a free license. Even if you do have to buy a license, it won’t set you back but $25.
I’m going to start my testing immediately and I’ll let you know my thoughts later.
You can read all about it and sign up for the Beta at http://zarqon.net
Download Adobe AIR from the Adobe downloads.
Open a terminal window.
cd to download directory
chmod the AdobeAIRInstaller.bin to 755
su -m
enter password
./AdobeAIRInstaller.bin
I’ve been reading a few discussions on how to more effectively manage development of a Flex project. And the reason many are looking for a solution has nothing to do with Flex, per say, but has more to do with the complexity of our development environments.
The hidden reason is cost. Cost for setting up each developer environment. Cost of licenses.
The bigger reason is, or should be, security.
Enter Platform as a Service (PaaS) to the conversation.
Although the idea of using the cloud for development is good in theory, it can be cost prohibitive. Here is why:
• The cost of using the cloud. In reality, you’ll end up spending around $1k per computing instance per year. i.e. per developer
• You still have to license any development tools for each developer seat. Check your EULA, they typically address ways of circumventing license requirements via virtualization.
You do get the benefit of quickly setting up an environment for a team. But lets face it, the only real benefit is the level of security in that your code base is never on someone’s laptop. Don’t get me wrong… this is a really big benefit!
From my research, I would recommend VMware ACE instead of PaaS. VMware ACE allows you to provision standardized client PC environments inside secure, centrally managed virtual machines called ACEs. Each ACE contains a complete client PC—including the operating system and all applications. Administrators use the dynamic policy configuration capabilities in ACE to lock down endpoints with device and network access control, there by protecting confidential company data and ensuring compliance with IT polices. You will get security through a managed virtual machine and the ability to quickly deploy a “ready to go” environment for your developers.
No, its not cheap. But it is way less expensive than the cloud with the equal benefits.
I know this because I’m looking into these tools in order to manage our training facility where we teach ColdFusion, Flex and LiveCycle.
TypeError: Error #1009: Cannot access a property or method of a null object reference.
at mx.managers::FocusManager/focusInHandler [no source]
This is definitely an SDK bug. I was using the Flex 3.5 SDK and then downgraded to 3.4.1.10084. That is when this error magically appeared. Switched back to 3.5, all better.
ELIPS Studio 3 is a cross-platform mobile application SDK based on Adobe’s Flex Builder. But it only works on Windows, so I’m wondering how that is going to work.
Check it out: http://developer.openplug.com/index.php/learn/elips-studio-3-flex-for-mobile
The event is Flex Training for ColdFusion Developers
A free full-day, hands-on training session, where attendees can learn how to build their first Flex application using the latest Flash Builder 4 beta software. This training is designed to help experienced ColdFusion developers get started in understanding how to add rich UI to existing and new ColdFusion applications.
Date / Time
November 16, 2009
Event: 9am – 4pm
Registration: 8:30am
Main Website / Registration
http://www.adobe.com/go/flextrainingforcfdevelopers
Monday, November 16
The Curtis Hotel, 1405 Curtis Street, Denver, CO 80202
Not going to Adobe MAX 2009? Not to worry…
Watch MAX keynotes, streamed live from Los Angeles-register now
(go to http://max.adobe.com/online/ )
On October 5th and 6th, Adobe MAX Online will feature the keynotes, streamed live, highlighting the newest and most exciting developments in the world of technology. Join 10 minutes early and participate in the backstage behind the scenes action.
View the top three sessions from each day on demand:
Check back each day by 8:00 PM PT, from October 5th to 7th, to see the top session of the day from each track: Design, Develop, and Envision. You’ll be able to view these sessions on demand on MAX Online and join the buzz by participating in the extended Twitter conversation.
View all of the session content on demand:
Check back on Sunday, October 11th, for all of the sessions available on demand with the exception of labs or BYOL (Bring Your Own Laptop) labs.
MAX Session Guide: http://assets.max.adobe.com/pdfs/MAX_2009_EventGuide.pdf
Adobe MAX (Los Angeles, CA Oct 23-27, 2010)
Rich Web Experience (Ft. Lauderdale, FL Nov 30 - Dec 3, 2010)
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