Take off-shoring IT roles. What a brilliant idea! We can cut our costs on junior developers and only hire the senior/architect level guys for planning and oversight.

That is, until your senior guys leave and there are no junior level guys gaining the valuable experience needed to be a senior level architect. Now what are you going to do genius?!

This is exactly what is happening in the UK according to some research written in this article by Nick Heath.

So, if you think its tough to find quality development resources now… brace yourself.

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“I’m sorry but HTML5 isn’t actually an official standard yet and therefore it is impossible for any browser (even the most modern ones) to be compliant with it!

HTML5 absolutely does NOT offer all of the features of Flex. Flex (hosted in Flash Player or AIR) was a truly object oriented language that would allow someone to write code once and deploy to many devices and browsers in a pixel perfect way with little or no compatibility issues.

HTML5 + JavaScript has none of the above properties. Yes, people have faked object oriented like features with hundreds of KBs of JavaScript that you have to load on every page but in my opinion that is bending a technology further than it was meant to go. And yes, people have also built hundreds of KBs of “polyfill” JavaScript libraries but they only support certain brands / versions of browsers to a point (plus you have to load so much stuff so performance will be impacted).

HTML5 is landing us right back into the browser hell of the late 90’s / early 00’s where most of your code was concerned with detecting the browser and working around each of their little quirks (or just simply making it clear that certain browsers aren’t supported).

Even taking into account that the HTML version of Workspace is still in pre-release stage, you’d have to admit that you cannot open the application in Chrome, Safari, FireFox and IE9 and get the exact same user experience in all 4 browsers – conversely, you can open the Flex based Workspace in any of those browsers and you are unlikely to notice a difference. Moreover, you can open the Flex based Workspace in IE6 & IE7 with no troubles at all…you cannot even get past the login screen in the HTML version of Workspace using those browsers. As our current client requires us to support IE7, we have had to build our own HTML Workspace application using “traditional” HTML4 technologies.

Eventually HTML5 will become a standard and every browser will implement it in its own way with its own quirks that will – one day – hopefully converge into a manageable set of known issues that can be easily worked around. Then all we need to do is wait for everyone to get rid of their legacy browsers and we’ll be fine…by which point people will start saying that HTML6 is the only way to do things!

Oh well…at least it keeps us all in a job I suppose.”

-John Nesbitt

Thanks again John, I enjoyed your rant.

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On Tuesday, Adobe announced Flash Player 11.4 and AIR 3.4 along with Flash Builder 4.7. I’m excited to hear about some of the additions (and a subtraction) to the upcoming version of Flash Builder by Adobe.

Here are some of the new features you can expect to see in 4.7:

First, the long awaited 64-Bit Support has finally arrived in Flash Builder 4.7.

It will also integrate the next generation compiler, Falcon, into the IDE.

There has always been a multiplicity of shortcuts built into flash Builder, like “fore” ctrl-space to insert a “for each” block or ctrl-o to jump to an object/method definition. Well, Adobe has added more to improve productivity.

Apache Flex SDK integration.

Flash Player 11.4 adds the new ActionScript Concurrency (ActionScript workers) feature which is also integrated into Flash Builder. Each worker is a SWF and handled for you by Flash Builder 4.7. This will be great for mobile games and enterprise apps.

If you’re targeting Apple iOS, you’ll love the new on-device (USB) and simulator testing and debugging support.

They added the ability to configure multiple build targets for multi-screen projects.

There is new support for customizing arguments to the ADT and ADL.

The new version, 4.7, will have one thing missing that you most likely will not miss. Design View.

Looking forward to the release!

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Although I don’t dispute Daianna’s research, I would add that many corporations already know this and have been seeking out custom software companies, like On3, to help them build enterprise mobile applications that focus on their business. More importantly, these applications are being build to work across platforms due to the acceptance of the BYOD movement in corporations.

Custom enterprise mobile and desktop applications are the best way to optimize ROI because they focus specifically on the business needs and have optimized usability to better suit those needs.

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You can’t make this stuff up. Someone sent me a couple of great graphics supporting my assertion. So please respond with anything that supports the contrary.

Update:

After getting a little splashback from some of my friends and colleagues, I thought that I’d add a little supporting evidence to my assertions.

“Moving” to HTML5 at this point is senseless gambling.

I’m not just blowing smoke up your pipe here either. Open your browsers to HTML5test.com and see for yourself. Come on… go ahead and do it!

The HTML5 support score on latest Windows 7 browsers that I have: IE 138; FF 330; Chrome 400. And then on the Mac OSX 10.6 that I have; Safari 319; FF 340; Chrome 400. That makes Chrome our top student with a whopping 80%. And I’m what many would call an “Advanced User.” Expect less from the general public.

Last I checked, 80% was a low “B-”. And with over 50% of the browser usage coming from browsers that have failing scores, you can see why I would not recommend HTML5 except in specific edge cases. And you thought IE6 was bad! (Browser stats from w3schools.com)

As a mobile or web developer, adding HTML5 to your list of skills is imperative. But with the severe lack of consistent support, moving an enterprise development project to HTML5 now is purely experimental or an exercise in ego.

If you think I’m wrong, please provide supporting evidence and I’ll gladly educate myself.

Original Post:

The fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) is being slung around by profiteers like folding chairs at a WWE event. The haters are still being haters. Nothing new there. But now I see JavaScript companies’ desperate pleas for Flex developers to start using their HTML5 software.
The context is all wrong here.  Very, very few Flex developers have shifted, moved, changed over, or whatever you want to call it… to HTML5 (or anything else JS-based.)

There is not a move to HTML5

I will go as far as to say that there is not a move to HTML5. The simple fact is that, developers are being developers. No matter the background, we are always trying to broadening our skill sets. This includes HTML5 since it started showing up a few years ago. For anyone to imply, or state outright, that there is some mass exodus from Flex is completely false!

The reality is still the same, Flash Player is still the most consistent cross-browser, cross-OS, and cross-device platform for software development.

It doesn’t matter if you are building business software or games, with one technology you are able to build for the desktop, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Android, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry and Internet TVs.

What most haters fail to realize is how nice it is to go through your bug list and not find ANY bugs that are browser/platform specific. The only bugs I have, are actual bugs that I can fix. Not browser support related issues that you have no control over. For the first time in years I had to deal with browser specific issue when our On3 client embedded the application in a JSF, JSTL, ADF container. It reminded me of how good I have it. I don’t have to deal with this headache on a daily basis. In fact, it was one of the complete joys that drove me from building DHMTL development to Flex development.

So, the next time someone says, “Flex is dead” or “Everyone is moving to <insert tech here>,” take it with a grain of salt. In all likely hood, they have a hidden agenda.

Thank you Moai for this great graphic on the HTML5 Hype vs. Reality.

The post No one is moving from Flex to HTML5 appeared first on in a rush.

Some tweeters use “Shock ‘n Awe” and others use humor (that’s humour for my Canadian friends.)

OT: Should I call them “tweeters” or “twits”?

Never mind, let’s talk about some of the things you can do to make the most of Twitter.
Just like the subject line to an email, each tweet should get to the point very quickly. In fact, many of us read email in the same way we read tweets (only the first 140 characters.)

Lets face it, if you’re not Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber, getting a bunch of people interested in what you have to say doesn’t come easy. But with a little advice on the subtlety of tweeting, you can grow your followers with fellow twits that are actually interested in what you have to say.

Here are 5 things you can do to get more followers that matter:

PCMag Article “How to Get More Twitter Followers – The Right Way”

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If you don’t know what these features are, this announcement does not effect you.

It’s funny to me how a simple statement gets construed when passed on to even one person. This phenomenon is called  Chinese Whispers. Unfortunately, in our fast paced world, we don’t actually pay attention enough to prevent this from happening nor the erroneous blow back regarding the Chinese Whispers. As many of you know, I work with several Adobe products. So I follow them closely and hopefully understand their direction better than most. So let’s clear this up.

Yesterday, Adobe announced that they are adding a licensing component to 2 specific features of Flash Player for developers.

This does not effect you if:

This only effects you if:

The licencing is very clear that it is for two (2) specific features used in combination that are most likely to be used by game developers. The features are domain memory and hardware accelerated Stage3D.

It is important to note that games and applications using either hardware-accelerated Stage3d OR domain memory individually do not require a license.

Game developers, before you get all WoW on Adobe, be sure to read the whole announcement and make sure that it does apply to you. And if it does apply to you… congratulations of creating a successful game!

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The real answer… public speaking, community involvement, not sucking at what I do and genuinely enjoying my work.

Now, I can’t help you with all these topics. But I can give you some advice on getting start with being recognized. Start submitting to speak at conferences. Conference organizers love new faces. Start with smaller conferences and user groups to build your skill.

Here are a few tips you should find helpful when submitting:

• Be authentic! Your peers need real-world scenarios they can use. Give original presentation ideas that focus on knowledge transfer, with engaging and relevant examples.

• Include as much detail about the planned presentation as possible. The more they know about what you plan to present and why it matters, the better.

• Keep it free of marketing.

• Keep the audience in mind: they’re forward-minded, professional, and already pretty smart.

• Clearly identify the level of the talk: is it for beginners to the topic, or for gurus? What knowledge should people have when they come to the presentation?

• Give it a simple and straightforward title or name—fancy and clever titles or descriptions make it harder for people (committee and attendees) to figure out what you’re really talking about.

• Limit the scope of the talk: Pick a useful aspect, or a particular technique, or walk through a simple program.

• Explain why people will want to attend: Is the framework gaining traction? Is the app critical to modern systems? Will they learn how to deploy it, program it, or just what it is?

To be honest, I don’t always follow my own advice. But I do try to stick close to it.

Good luck and let me know if you get accepted to speak somewhere.

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