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December 2003 Archives

December 1, 2003

Macromedia Central: Direct file system access coming sooner rather than later!

Read Michael Williams comment here.
Yay! Do you remember that Branden Hall posted an entry in his blog on "Ready? Take AIM (and ICQ!)" saying that

"Macromedia Central has been sort of interesting to me since I heard about it - but like many developers I wasn't happy with the limitations imposed by it (i.e. no direct file system access) "

Well, I just read this comment posted by Michael Williams:

"AIM/ICQ integration is huge for Central... but just wanted to say one thing. Direct file system access (with user permission of course) is coming to Central sooner rather than later. We hear you :) "

Wow! How cool is that?

[Via Mapp's post in We're Here]

Posted on December 1, 2003 3:43 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (2)

Asian Pirates Sell Microsoft Longhorn years before it is supposed to be on sale

Read Reuters article here.
Incredible! This pirated version of Microsoft Longhorn is on sale for six ringgit ($1.58).

"The software is on sale in the largest shopping complex in Johor Bahru, the Malaysian city bordering Singapore, alongside thousands of pirated programs, music CDs and DVDs. "

Bill gates has said that Microsoft Longhorn is not expected to be released before 2005. For him, Longhorn "would rank as Microsoft's largest software launch this decade."!

Read more here.

Posted on December 1, 2003 4:20 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

December 2, 2003

Why the next version of Microsoft Corp's Windows operating system is called "Longhorn"

Visit Longhorn Saloon & Grill website here.
Longhorn. Long Horn. Long Horn Cattle... Hmmm, nah, let's try... Whistler Mountain (British Columbia, close to Microsoft's headquarters)... skiing population... Longhorn Saloon & Grill???! Hey! Wait a second!!!

Continue reading "Why the next version of Microsoft Corp's Windows operating system is called "Longhorn"" »

Posted on December 2, 2003 2:14 AM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (2)

Santa spammers: Merry *spam* Christmas?

The Grinchs!
Jingle spam, jingle spam, spam all the way, Oh what fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh, O!...

"Christmas is coming and spammers want to fill your inbox with more messages than ever. " wrote the BBC on November 11, 2003.

"Spammers are anticipating higher than average response rates for the holidays, because as the holidays near, people are busier, they have less time to shop, so online offers look inviting" says Vircom marketing manager Francois Bourdeau (internet.com)

Well, I received today my first Christmas spam message. Yikes! So, this Christmas I'm contacting a data protection authority for legal advice and assistance. As I wrote a month ago, the EU has banned the spam and is working on new privacy rules for digital networks and services.
More information about Privacy Protection in the EU here.

Related links:
Clearswift: "Spam, Viruses And Malicious Code Set To Peak In December"
TACD: Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) spam survey
BBC: Spam set to soar this Christmas
How spammers are targeting blogs
BBC rules to stop getting spam
Internet.com: Spam for the Holidays
The Grinch: The Grinch

Posted on December 2, 2003 10:50 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (3)

December 3, 2003

Welcome to the real world

Visit The Meatrix.com
A funny Flash satire of The Matrix. I love lettuce!

Posted on December 3, 2003 12:09 AM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Migration Season: Flash MX to Flash MX 2004, Actionscript 1.0 to ActionScript 2.0 and Flash Applications to Macromedia Central (Links)

See Winged Migration trailer.
Three migrations, three articles, three links.
Read on!

Continue reading "Migration Season: Flash MX to Flash MX 2004, Actionscript 1.0 to ActionScript 2.0 and Flash Applications to Macromedia Central (Links)" »

Posted on December 3, 2003 5:39 AM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)

Sun Microsystems and Macromedia: to integrate and ship Macromedia Flash Player 7 with the Java Desktop System

Read Press Release.
"As part of the agreement, Macromedia Flash Player will be pre-installed into Mozilla -- a popular open source browser, a key component of the Java Desktop System -- allowing users to conveniently view Flash content "out of the box," without having to download and install the player separately. Flash Player offers Java Desktop System users the same experience of viewing rich, interactive multimedia content and applications currently enjoyed on an estimated 453 million personal computers worldwide"

Read more here.

Posted on December 3, 2003 9:17 AM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (2)

DevNet Resource Kit Volume 5 (DRK 5) available for non DevNet subscribers

See DevNet Resource Kit Volume 5 Overview
"The Macromedia DevNet Resource Kit Volume 5 is now available. Volume 5 delivers the latest functionality to your Macromedia MX 2004 tools with a new set of Macromedia Flash MX 2004 components, Dreamweaver MX 2004 extensions, and a host of components, tags, and utilities for ColdFusion MX. The CD also contains sample applications and an archive of the last three months of articles on the Developer Center website." Read more here.

Contents:

Macromedia Flash MX
Tab Bar Component
Updated Component Sets
Font Browser Sample Application
Selection to Drawing API
Image Sprayer
Pollster 2.0
Weather Sample Application

ColdFusion MX
Blog Man Application
Weblog Service Application
Lighthouse Bug Tracker Application
Pollster 2.0
Socket.cfc Component
CFID3 Component
HTTP Agent Tag
Query Randomize Function

Dreamweaver MX
Advanced Search
Conditional Region
JavaScript Panel
Polling Application Object
Privacy Policy Extension Suite
BCL WebContent

Fireworks MX 2003
Duplicate, Offset & Rotate extension

Additional Learning Resources
Developer Center Archive
Book Excerpts

Read details of these resources here.

Read the release notes for the DevNet Resource Kit Volume 5 here.

Note: Support actionScriptHero.com when buying the DevNet Resource Kit Volume 5 (DRK 5) by clicking on this affiliate banner just before you place your order at Macromedia.com. Thank you for your support.

Posted on December 3, 2003 12:28 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (2)

DevX.com: From 10,000 feet, Mozilla's architecture looks remarkably similar to Windows Longhorn

Read DevX.com article here.
"Windows Longhorn is a big advancement for Microsoft, and the understanding gap created is proportionally large. Take heart, there's little that's truly new under the sun. A look at Mozilla technology shows that this road is already laid out. Don't believe me? Read on."
Longhorn and Mozilla: Birds of a Feather.

[Via mozillazine.org on Comparing the Architectural Principles of Microsoft Longhorn and Mozilla]

Posted on December 3, 2003 2:36 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (4)

DevX.com: From 10,000 feet, Mozilla's architecture looks remarkably similar to Windows Longhorn

Read DevX.com article here.
"Windows Longhorn is a big advancement for Microsoft, and the understanding gap created is proportionally large. Take heart, there's little that's truly new under the sun. A look at Mozilla technology shows that this road is already laid out. Don't believe me? Read on."
Longhorn and Mozilla: Birds of a Feather.

[Via mozillazine.org on Comparing the Architectural Principles of Microsoft Longhorn and Mozilla]

Posted on December 3, 2003 3:19 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (15)

Secunia.com: Highly critical security flaw founded iin Yahoo! Messenger

Read Secunia Advisory.
"Secunia rated the Messenger vulnerability "highly critical," saying that researchers tested the hole and successfully exploited it by downloading and running a Trojan horse program. " wrote PCWorld today.

For Secunia, the solution is to remove the vulnerable ActiveX component. "Secunia furthermore recommends that running of ActiveX controls and Active Scripting support are disabled and only allowed on a site per site basis. "

"The vulnerability is caused due to a boundary error in the ActiveX component "yauto.dll" in the "Open()" function. This can be exploited to cause a buffer overflow by supplying an overly long argument to the vulnerable function via a malicious web page.
Successful exploitation may allow a malicious web site to execute arbitrary code on a user's system.
The vulnerability has been reported in versions 5.6.0.1347 and prior.
"
Software: Yahoo! Messenger 5.x

Read Secunia Advisory Yahoo! Messenger "yauto.dll" Buffer Overflow Vulnerability.

Read PCWorld article Security Flaw Found in Yahoo Messenger.

I wonder if there are some issues with America Online's AOL Instant Messenger...

Posted on December 3, 2003 9:57 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

December 4, 2003

22 Macromedia Breeze presentations and interactive tours

See Breeze in action
[Note: For some of this links, high bandwidth connection is recommended]

Featuring: Flash MX 2004, Flash MX Professional 2004, Data Integration (Flash), ActionScript 2.0, Screens (Flash), Components (Flash), Video (Flash), Macromedia central, Macromedia Flex, Business Impact of RIA, Studio MX 2004, Dreamweaver MX 2004, Fireworks MX 2004, Macromedia Breeze, Director MX, Authorware 7, Freehand MX and Macromedia DevNet Professional.

Flash MX 2004:
What's new in Flash MX 2004? Take our in-depth feature tour (15 min)

How do I use Flash MX 2004? View a free online seminar (50 min)

How do I use Flash MX Professional 2004? View a free online seminar

Data Integration (10 minutes)
"Get started working with data in Flash MX 2004. Learn about using the new data components to connect to data sources. Use data binding between components to populate interface elements throughout your applications with appropriate data."

ActionScript 2.0 (10 minutes)
"ActionScript, the coding language for Flash, has become fully object-oriented in Flash MX 2004. Learn the structure of the language; you'll find it familiar if you have experience with other object-oriented coding languages, like JavaScript."

Screens (10 minutes)
"Use screens to plan, organize, and build applications visually. Screens give you a quick way to develop navigation, place application elements, and plan how the different parts of an application will work together. "

Components (10 minutes)
"With the addition of data and media components, you can build more in less time in Flash MX Professional 2004. Learn about using components, working with the new v2 component architecture, and building components."

Video (10 minutes)
"The new Flash video (FLV) format and Flash Player provide faster performance and better quality. Find out how to use FLV files and how to control their playback with the new media components in Flash MX Professional 2004. "

Macromedia Central:
Macromedia Central Features Overview by Kevin Lynch (Macromedia Chief Software Architect)
"A Renaissance in Application Design, Development and Delivery"

Macromedia Flex:
Macromedia Flex overview
"Presenting Flex. Join Libby Freligh, Flex Product Manager, for an overview and demo of Flex."

The Business Impact of Rich Applications

Studio MX 2004
What's new in Studio MX 2004? Take our in-depth feature tour (6 min)
How do I use Studio MX 2004? View a free online seminar (25 min)

Dreamweaver MX 2004:
What's new in Dreamweaver MX 2004?Take our in-depth feature tour (5 min)
How do I use Dreamweaver MX 2004? View a free online seminar (15 min)

Fireworks MX 2004:
What's new in Fireworks MX 2004? Take our in-depth feature tour (10 min)
How do I use Fireworks MX 2004? View a free online seminar (20 min)

Macromedia Breeze:
Macromedia Breeze Overview and Demo

Director MX
See interactive tour

Authorware 7:
See Aurhorware 7 in action
"Take a five minute tour to see how you can easily develop accessible rich-media e-learning applications with the new features in Authorware 7. "

Freehand MX
Five Minute Tour
"No other design tool has the unique features of FreeHand MX. Take this five-minute tour to see why."

Macromedia DevNet Professional:
Overview Presentation
"Want to learn more about DevNet Professional? Sit back and listen to our hosted overview presentation."

With this post I'm launching a new category in my blog called Macromedia Breeze Presentations. This new category list some Breeze presentations that I have begun to put together. I figured that it might be useful for the community. Like my Flash MX 2004 and ActionScript 2.0 Tutorials: The Definitive List, here it is another centralized and selected source for you.
In this listing, there are Macromedia Breeze presentations, interactive tours and Macromedia On Demand seminars.
Enjoy it!

Posted on December 4, 2003 12:23 PM | | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (2)

Colin Moock announcing: ActionScript 2.0 Essentials. Object-Oriented Development with ActionScript 2.0 (O'Reilly)

See book cover here.
Download the sampler table of contents and sampler examples files here.

Do you remember that Colin Moock said on August 26 (2003)

"I am currently working on a project that will cover ActionScript 2.0. however the details and shipping date are still confidential. "

Well, now you can see in his site the announcement of ActionScript 2.0 Essentials: Object-Oriented Development with ActionScript 2.0

Hmmm... I wonder what kind of animal is that...
[Via TweenPix.com]

Posted on December 4, 2003 3:34 PM | | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (2)

December 5, 2003

Space Invaders advance on the US

Be ready!
[Errata: The Space Invaders flash based game was developed by Paul Neave not Dirk Behlau]

At least 10,000 machines carrying the aliens will show up in the USA reported Reuters and the BBC today.

I found this flash based "training program" [game] developed by Dirk Behlau Paul Neave that should help you to be ready. If you are an ActionScript Hero interested in developing more stuff, you might take a look to this post.

Posted on December 5, 2003 12:25 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

December 6, 2003

Apple: Security Update for Safari to prevent unauthorized access to a user's cookies

Visit Safari website here.
Today Apple released the Security Update 2003-12-05 for Safari. As MacWorld wrote:

"The software did not yet appear to be posted to Apple's downloads site as MacCentral posted this article."

However, you can download the Security Update through the Software Update system preferences pane.

[Via MacWorld]

Posted on December 6, 2003 12:07 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yahoo! will hold the key to get rid of e-mail spam?

Read Reuters article on "Yahoo Proposes New Internet Anti-Spam Structure" here.
"Yahoo Inc. on Friday said it is working on technology to combat e-mail spam by changing the way the Internet works to require authentication of a message's sender.
Yahoo said its "Domain Keys" software, which it hopes to launch in 2004, will be made available freely to the developers of the Web's major open-source e-mail software and systems. "

[...]

"Under Yahoo's new architecture, a system sending an e-mail message would embed a secure, private key in a message header. The receiving system would check the Internet's Domain Name System for the public key registered to the sending domain.
If the public key is able to decrypt the private key embedded in the message, then the e-mail is considered authentic and can be delivered. If not, then the message is assumed not to be an authentic one from the sender and is blocked. "

Read more here.

Posted on December 6, 2003 3:10 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (2)

December 8, 2003

Communication Arts Magazine announces the deadline for their Tenth Interactive Design Competition

Visit the Interactive Design Competition site here.
Communication Arts Magazine ask me to publish some information about the deadline for their Tenth Interactive Design Competition. I figured that it might be useful for the community so, read on!

"Communication Arts Magazine announces the deadline for their Tenth Interactive Design Competition--January 15th, 2004.

INTERACTIVE DESIGN COMPETITION
Enter the most prestigious design competition for interactive media, the tenth annual Communication Arts Interactive Design Competition. Any interactive project created for digital distribution on the World Wide Web, CD-ROM, interactive kiosk or handheld device is eligible.

Selected by a nationally representative panel of distinguished programmers, interface designers and creative directors, the winning entries will be published in the September/October Interactive Annual of Communication Arts and on our web site. Seventy-five thousand copies will be distributed worldwide, assuring important exposure for the creators of these outstanding projects.

Submission guidelines and FAQs can be found here.

To download an entry form go to PDF.

Posted on December 8, 2003 6:10 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

December 9, 2003

Links on "Congress Sends Anti-Spam Bill To White House"

See discussion at Slashdot.com here.
Here you'll find some links to articles written by SFGate, Forbes, Slashdot, CAUCE, CNET News, Infoworld, The New York Times, PCWorld, The Washington Times, Internetnews.com and AOL (Press release).

SFGate: Congress approves first national anti-spam legislation

Forbes.com: US Congress backs anti-spam bill, now goes to Bush

Slashdot: Congress Sends Anti-Spam Bill To White House

CAUCE: CAUCE Statement on House and Senate Spam Bill Vote

CNET News: Congress OKs antispam legislation

Infoworld: Spam bill headed to U.S. president

The New York Times: House Accepts Revisions on Antispam Bill

PCWorld: Federal Antispam Law Nears. Congress approves bill, sends CAN-SPAM Act to president for approval.

The Washington Times: House passes spam controls

Internetnews.com: Congress Sends Can Spam Act to White House
House Set to Finish Can Spam Act

AOL Press release: America Online Hails Tough, New Federal Legislation Aimed at Curbing Spam and Penalizing Spammers

Posted on December 9, 2003 9:49 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Macromedia Central License Programs updated

Read Mike Chambers announcement here.
I just want to say 2 things:

1. Although the discussion on Macromedia Central License Programs was made in different places, I would like to thank David Bisset (CentralMX.com) for his work. He called the community to express their views. He also "moderate" the discussions (over 100 comments) and praised the importance of constructive criticism. I think that he's making a terrific job.

2. On November 27, Mike Chambers wrote in CentralMX.com:

"I am going to talk to the team on monday and see if there is anything we can do in the short term to address some of the concerns raised."

Well, as you can see, Mike Chambers is also available in weekends! (More on Mike Chambers commitment at Eric Dolecki's blog: "3 cheers to mike chambers".

I welcome this new update, this "anything we can do in the short term to address some of the concerns raised". Sure, there are other concerns, but it's nice to see that Macromedia listen the developers community.

Posted on December 9, 2003 10:44 AM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

December 10, 2003

Strong Bad, emails, answering machines and notices in Central

How you answer your emails? Listen Strong Bad process here (wait 15 sec at the end will ya?).
The easter egg of Macromedia Central, the super hero Strong Bad, could be added in a Central app for webcomics that Craig Newkirk is currently developing.
That's sweet! It would be nice to add Marzipan's Answering machine too. My preferred messages are the number 5 and 2 at this location, and the number 6 at this location.

Posted on December 10, 2003 10:54 PM | | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (0)

December 11, 2003

Videostream of Colin Moock on "multiuser experience", "Introduction in OOP in ActionScript 2.0" and " Applied OOP in ActionScript 2.0"

See videostreams of Colin Moock sessions here.
Some of the sessions of the shockwards conference 2003 in Stuttgart are now available in videostream. Three Colin Moock's sessions are there (each 45' - 1 hour).

Btw, I heard that he's now very busy with his new book ActionScript 2.0 Essentials. Object-Oriented Development with ActionScript 2.0.

As Francis Bourre wrote, too bad that the conference of Mario Klingermann (Quasimondo) is in german :(

[Via Quasimondo.com and TweenPix.net]

Posted on December 11, 2003 3:29 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Listed three more Macromedia Breeze presentations: Active Content, MM Breeze live and MM Breeze training module

See MM Breeze presentation on "Active Content: Overview of What痴 Coming in the Future IE"
Listed three more presentation in my category Macromedia Breeze presentations. So now you'll find 25 breeze presentations on Macromedia products.

The new ones:
Active Content: Overview of What痴 Coming in the Future IE
Macromedia Breeze Live Overview
Macromedia Breeze Training Module Overview

Have fun.

Posted on December 11, 2003 11:36 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

December 12, 2003

Some comments of Lucian Beebe (Product Manager for Flash) on Macromedia Central

Read interview.
In the interview of Friends of ED with Lucian Beebe (Product Manager for Flash) that Peter Elst announced in his blog, you'll find some comments about Macromedia Central.
When asked "Is Flash going to replace the browser?", Lucian Beebe said:

"No, Flash is not going to replace the browser. Macromedia Central will reduce people's dependency on the browser and Flash is making the browser a significant place to build and use applications and rich media design."

Read more here.

Note: Sham Bhangal, Jen deHaan, Peter Elst, Keith Peters, and Todd Yard helped in the interview.

Posted on December 12, 2003 2:05 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

December 13, 2003

Following Colin Moock on ActionScript 2.0

See the sessions of Colin Moock in videostream at the Shockwards conference 2003 in Stuttgart from here.
August 13. Colin Moock announce in his blog the extensive chat tutorial. He said:
"if you're not interested in chat, but are interested in OOP flash development, you'll probably want to take a look" [...] "more than just chat, this is a solid overview of multiuser application development in general".
This unity2 uSimpleChat tutorial has now an ActionScript 2.0 version that you can read here. To see the uSimpleChat v4 in action please click here.

August 20. Barber's Pole visiting Colin Moock's blog, find the tutorial and post an entry.

August 25. Colin Moock post an entry on "flash mx 2004 announced" saying:
"/**
* my impression of this release?
*/
for programmers and app developers: fucking outstanding." [...]
adding the famous comment "my favourite new feature: ActionScript 2.0. (the prototype is dead! ding dong the mean old prototype is dead!*) [...]* almost..."

August 26. Moock post an entry on asdg2, actionscript 2, and asgd3 saying that he's working on a project that will cover ActionScript 2.0:
"however the details and shipping date are still confidential" adding:
"even if you're working in actionscript 2.0:
1) the language reference of asdg2 is still 99% accurate, and still provides complete coverage of the core language as it exists in Flash Player 6. of course, if you want to use a specific Flash Player 7-only class, you'll have to consult Macromedia's help for the documentation.
2) all non-object-oriented aspects of the language have not changed, so asdg2's coverage of non-object-oriented topics (such as variables, loops, conditionals, operators, movie clips, etc) is still accurate and should continue to be useful."
Thirteen minutes later, he made a new post on "a taste of ActionScript 2.0". You can taste the post here (must read! is very simple but it's history ;).

September 10. Moock announces "flash mx 2004 now shipping". If I'm not wrong, he was the first in the Flash blogger community to announce the release. You can read his post here.

November 10. Moock announces in his blog that in shockwards in germany:
"i'll be doing a 5-hour, hands-on training session. the workshop will show how to build a chat application based on Unity. it teaches how to structure an actionscript 2.0 OOP application, how to use the flash mx 2004 v2 components, and how to build multiuser applications. every participant will be sitting in front of a computer, actually using flash mx 2004 professional."

December 3. Francis Bourre writes in his blog that Colin Moock officially announces ActionScript 2.0 essentials. You can see my comment here.

December 10. Mario Klingermann (Quasimondo) announces in his blog that the sessions of the shockwards conference 2003 in Stuttgart are available on videostream. Read his post here. In those videostreams, there are the three sessions (must see!) available of Colin Moock. See my comment on "Videostream of Colin Moock on "multiuser experience", "Introduction in OOP in ActionScript 2.0" and " Applied OOP in ActionScript 2.0"" here [via Francis Bourre]. The abstracts of those sessions are available here.
Seeing the videostreams I have learned that ActionScript 2.0 Essentials will be ready for february.

December 12. Somebody told me that Colin Moock is busy finishing ActionScript 2.0 Essentials.

December 13. I noticed that C. Moock is updating his ActionScript WorkShop for ActionScript 2.0, pointing to the sampler chapter and sampler files in his new site for ActionScript 2.0 Essentials. Object-Oriented Development with ActionScript 2.0.

Preparing some material for flash students and updating Flash MX 2004 and ActionScript 2.0 Tutorials: The Definitive List (hey!! The update it's not yet available! ;) I came up with this record. I hope it is useful for you.

Posted on December 13, 2003 10:14 PM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

December 15, 2003

Movable Type, Macromedia Central and Flash MX 2004

Read "Software Development and Usability".
The last article of Six Apart make some corrections to the last issue of Baseline magazine on Six Apart: Love at First Blog. But, I was surprised by the success of their software (Movable Type and TypePad):
"Now, companies and organizations庸rom publishers Advance Communications and Primedia to many of the presidential-campaign Web sites, including Dean for America and Bush/Cheney '04預lso have embraced the product, plunking down $150 for a commercial license." (Six Apart: Love at First Blog)

Well, I think that Samuel Wan was right when he wrote on October 29:
"Learned more about flash mx 2004's data-binding, web services, and xml connector. It should be trivial to build a flash-based blog now, wonder why nobody else has built one yet, or maybe they have?"
Well, sam might to take a look to the blog of the ActionScript Hero Even Westvang, member of the Hall of Justhese.
Even says about his flash based blog:
"it also successfully uses Apache's invisible mod_redirect to channel google indexing to html pages and redirects searches right back into flash"
Read Even Westvang's comments in my blog here.

But yeah, it should be trivial with FMX2004! And I think that what could be really, really nice is to build a Macromedia Central application for not only edit and post new entries (right now you can save your drafts in Movable Type only if you are online) but to retrieve the comments in your blog and answer those comments. When you are done, you just connect to intenet, post your new entries and comments and retrieve more comments. Also, you can be notified via the notices when a new comment is posted (well it would help to have local system access tho).
AOL will help to add a feature in blogs that allow users to contact the author if he's online. This is not only very nice for Macromedia Central developers but for the developers community in general.

On a side note, I think that the upcoming version of Movable Type will have not only some improvements on spam vulnerability but also a nice notification system if I'm interpreting correctly this:
"Movable Type simply lists comments as they're posted. It wasn't designed to handle multiple discussion threads among readers預 feature many bloggers now want. In practice, Barrett says, posted comments on MT became "more like an endless AOL chat room transcript than a categorized and civil discussion."
Ben Trott says that Six Apart has plans to "improve the community experience on larger-scale sites."" (from Six Apart: Love at First Blog.)

Related post: "Flash based blog"... "flash blog viewer"... You think that's air you're breathing now?.

Posted on December 15, 2003 12:59 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

[Via MacWorld.]
"Apple today announced that its iTunes Music Store has sold more than 25 million songs since it was opened in April, 2003." [...]
Jobs said that "the numbers show that iTunes Music Store is selling about 1.5 million songs per week, or 75 million songs per year." Read more here.
The 25 millionth song was Frank Sinatra singing "Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!"

Posted on December 15, 2003 4:14 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

December 16, 2003

Macromedia to Launch Flash Video Streaming Service (FVSS) powered by VitalStream

See overview and features of the Flash Video Streaming Service (FVSS) from here!.
"Apple, Microsoft and Real Networks are the big players in the streaming video market today. All three offer customers free and pro versions of their applications as well as Web sites to view content specifically designed to highlight the benefits of their technology. But Macromedia doesn't feel any of these companies are doing it right.
"We don't feel video is being deployed correctly on the Web right now," said Hock. "We are offering the next generation of video delivery -- this is our coming out party."" (Flash streaming video hits the Web by Jim Dalrymple, MacCentral)

Read Delivering High-Quality Video with Flash Video Streaming Service by Tim Napoleon of VitalStream

More links:
Macromedia Flash Video Streaming Service (FVSS)
See Flash Customer video Gallery from here
Visit VitalStream on Flash Video Streaming Service (FVSS)

Posted on December 16, 2003 12:03 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Updated Flash Video Exporter (1.1) and Media Components Available at Macromedia

Download the update now from here!
"This update resolves issues identified with the Flash Video Exporter and Media Components in Flash MX Professional 2004. All users creating video projects in Flash on any language should install this update."

Download the update and learn more here

Posted on December 16, 2003 12:10 PM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

New DevNet articles available at Macromedia

Read the last article of Mike Chambers.
My favorites? Ok, here we go:
Using the Central Accordion Tab Component by Mike Chambers, Developer Relations Product Manager, Macromedia

Using Notices in Macromedia Central by Ethan Malasky, Macromedia

That's all.

Ok, Ok, ;) there are more really, really nice articles in the wild (sorry I'm a central fan). Take a look:

Providing a Flex Front End to Your Struts Applications by Christophe Coenraets, Macromedia

Flash Video Templates and Tutorials by Forest Key, Senior Product Manager, Macromedia Flash

Delivering High-Quality Video with Flash Video Streaming Service by Tim Napoleon of VitalStream (see my previous entry on FVSS)

Controlling Media Components with Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Behaviors by Dan Carr, dancarrdesign.com

Planning Your Mobile Flash Projects by Nader Nejat, OmegaMedia

Posted on December 16, 2003 12:32 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (2)

First Penetration Statistics for Flash Player 7 Released!

See statistics from here.
The first NPD Online Worldwide Survey (September 2003) for the Flash Player 7 shows:

Asia: 12.4% (Flash 6: 85.3%)
Europe: 9.40% (Flash 6: 91.8%)
Canada: 9.00% (Flash 6: 92.7%)
US: 7.20% (Flash 6: 90.0%)

The flash player 7 really rocks!!! The Flash Team made an incredible work here. I'm really impressed with the performances of the player and for video is awesome! ... but, hey, US: 7.20% ?
In September 2003 only the english version of Flash MX 2004 was available, the localizations were available only in mid november if I'm not wrong... hmmm interesting.

Posted on December 16, 2003 1:37 PM | | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

From Cow To Cone To Flash Video

Read Macromedia Press Release from here.
"Macromedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: MACR) and Ben & Jerry's today announced that Macromedia Studio MX 2004 is powering the new "From Cow To Cone" minisite, a euphoric user experience that makes extensive use of Flash video to explain how its ice cream is made. The Ben & Jerry's site is featured as a premier example of a Flash video experience on the new Flash Video Gallery (see separate release). To see the site, visit www.benjerry.com/fun_stuff/cow_to_cone/." (Read more here.)

Chech my post on "Macromedia to Launch Flash Video Streaming Service (FVSS) powered by VitalStream" here.

You gonna love this one Jesse.


Ok folks, I'm going to stop flooding the aggregators today with useful information :p

Posted on December 16, 2003 2:14 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

December 17, 2003

Waleed Anbar: Flash Player 7, one of the fastest-growing player versions to date (over 33 million computer users worldwide have downloaded it)

Read the last Macromedia Flash Player Update by Waleed Anbar, Macromedia Flash Player Product Manager.
As I wrote today, the first Flash Player 7 penetration statistics has been released. The adoption of this version is just fantastic! I remember when the Flash Player 7 beta was released: I couldn't believe my eyes! Well, the size of the player was 1.5 megas, which is normal for a beta. When the Flash Team made the optimization I remember that it was too much for me. Seriously, how they do that??

Ted Patrick has reported some bugs iin the player, and it is my understanding that the Flash Team is currently working on. Now, what it's cool, is that the Flash Player updates itself and there is even a auto-notification feature alert (for windows)! and... hey! wait! get the real thing! Read Waleed Anbar's Macromedia Flash Player Update!

Posted on December 17, 2003 1:07 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Testing the Second Edition of The Definitive List

Read the FAQ first!


TIP: Use the search feature to browse the list by keywords or authors.

I'm currently testing the Flash MX 2004 and ActionScript 2.0 Tutorials: The Definitive List (Second Edition, 358 tutorials, tips and articles)
Basically, the idea with this new forum-environment for the Definitive List is:

* to promote the tutorials, tips and articles on Flash MX 2004 and ActionScript 2.0;
* to increase the visibility of these tutorials, tips and articles;
* to increase the feedback and the discussions on those resources in the websites, forums or blogs were they are posted (Important: the definitive list forums are locked by default. Only the owners or authors can be moderators of their own forum, from the FAQ:
"Moderators are the authors, owners or admin of the websites that the Definitive List link. They run their own forum, they can submit (more tutorials, tips or aticles), add descriptions to make more visible their posts via the search feature, add corrections, unlock their forum, asign user permitions, allow replies and votes, post polls, updates, etc. They skip the forum "Submit your tutorial, tip or article", but they can post there if they want. They can also recommend new forums.");
* to promote and support these websites, forums or blogs, listing the resources by website and author;
* to help flash students and teachers, offering a selection of resources on Flash MX 2004 and ActionScript 2.0;

I strongly recommend you to visit the FAQ. The questions covered so far are:
Q. What it is this "Definitive List"?
Q. Why a Flash MX 2004 and ActionScript 2.0 Tutorials Definitive List?
Q. What is the story of the "Flash MX 2004 and ActionScript 2.0 Tutorials: The Definitive List"?
Q. Hey! I'm an ActionScript Hero member of the Hall of Justhese!!!
Q. So... how can I participate in the Definitive List?
Q. I would like to list stuff in the Definitve List
Q. How should I submit tutorials, tips or articles on Flash MX 2004 and ActionScript 2.0?
Q. As registered user what kind of posts I am allowed to do?
Q. I have pretty good stuff in Flash MX 2004 and ActionScript 2.0. I want my own forum and I want to be the moderator
Q. So... Who are the moderators and what they do?
Q. As moderator what kind of posts I am allowed to do?
Q. My tutorials, tips and/or articles are already listed. I want to be the moderator of my own list!
Q. I want to add descriptions to my tutorials, tips and articles because they don't appear in the searching
Q. Someone else is moderating my list!
Q. I want to delete my forum
Q. I found a link that it's not working
Q. I would like to link to "Flash MX 2004 and ActionScript Tutorials: The Definitive List"
Q. I would like to translate this faq to my language.
Q. I would like to rewrite this faq because your english sucks.

Links:
First Edition of the Definitive List
Second Edition FAQ please read.
Second Edition Editorial Policy
Secon Edition Registration Agreement Terms
Second Edition Banner (88x31)
Definitive List Second Edition Home Page

WishList:
Polls per tutorial/tip/article
RSS feed
Macromedia Central application (...)

Issues:
* I need a new server.
* Some db connectivity problems have been reported

Note:
I need feedback!! If you have some comments, suggestions or you just found a problem, please let me know. You can send me an email to [email protected] or post your comments here. Remember that there is the Red Pill Lounge forum to chat about the white rabbit ;)

Posted on December 17, 2003 2:16 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (5)

December 18, 2003

Free Online Seminar on What is Macromedia Central, Building a Central Application and Deploying your applications to Macromedia Central

Watch the seminar!
Here a nice free online seminar to learn what is Macromedia Central, how to build a Central Application and how to deploy your Applications To Macromedia Central!
Yeah! is Mike Downey again. Now on Macromedia Central. Nice work. This free online seminars are in fact the Macromedia On Demand Seminars.
But, what is Macromedia ondemand? you'll ask. Well, as Macromedia says: "Evaluating a new product can be difficult, and with each version there are always new features to navigate. Enter Macromedia On Demand seminars, the fastest way to get up to speed quickly. Our seminars feature multimedia presentations and demos designed to help you maximize your evaluation experience with our products."
To understand what Macromedia On Demand is, why don't you watch a Macromedia On Demand Seminar on "Learn how to use On Demand" here?

Important:
- A high bandwidth connection is required;
- You will need to sign in to your Macromedia account to view the seminars. If you don't have a Macromedia account, you can begin a free membership process.

The Macromedia Central seminars and modules are:

Seminar: Macromedia Central
(Sign in to your Macromedia account, go to this page, click on "Browse the On Demand seminar library", select Seminars)
 Duration: 17:07
"In this seminar you will learn what Central is, what your deployment options are, how to prepare your Flash Project for Central, and finally, how to publish your application to Central. We've also included two screen capture demostrations that will guide you through the entire process."

Module: Demo: Building a Central Application
(Sign in to your Macromedia account, go to this page, click on "Browse the On Demand seminar library", select Modules)
Duration: 05:17
"You will get a high-level overview of the steps necesary to publish your Central applications to the Macromedia Central servers"

Module: Demo: Deploying your Applications To Macromedia Central
(Sign in to your Macromedia account, go to this page, click on "Browse the On Demand seminar library", select Modules)
Duration: 04:56
"In this step-by-step demostratiion you will see each step necessary to publish your applications to the Macromedia Central servers. Learn how to obtain a product ID, how to prepare the necessary files and how to install your application for testing"


Watch the seminars and modules here.


Have fun and stay tunned. More goodness soon.

Posted on December 18, 2003 12:01 AM | | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (4)

Ultimate 3G i-mode Phones, FOMA 900i Series: "Flash applications of up to 100k are possible"

See the 900i series.
"The 900i series will boast the first 3G phones equipped with a Macromedia Flash browser for the enjoyment of rich content enhanced with highly fluid animation. Flash applications of up to 100K are possible, compared with 20K in 2G movaｮ 505i series. The new series will also handle richer, more sophisticated online games. Javaｮ-based i-appli™ applications offer a 400K scratch pad and have a maximum capacity of 100K for content/archiving, compared with 200K and 30K in existing models." Read NTT DoCoMo press release here.

"TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's largest mobile phone operator, NTT DoCoMo Inc., on Thursday unveiled five new phones for next year that let consumers play fast-action games, send email with graphics, and download bigger files in a bid to fuel demand for its advanced wireless service." Read Reuters article here.

Posted on December 18, 2003 1:59 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

iTunes 4.2, QuickTime v6.5 and Mac OS X v10.3.2 available to download

Read Mac OS X 10.3.2 Update enhancements.
This week, Apple has released iTunes 4.2 (Mac and Windows. Now you can buy music with an AOL account), QuickTime v6.5 (Mac and Windows) and Mac OS X v10.3.2 (update). The enhancements in Panther are releated with Address Book, Mail, Networking, Print, Fax, Finder, FireWire etc. Read details here. Some quotes:

"Apple's details on what's new in iTunes 4.2 are scant, but according to the documentation included with the download, the new version of iTunes now allows users to sign in and buy music using either their Apple or AOL accounts, view the iTunes Music Store in a separate window, and includes a number of performance improvements." Read iTunes v4.2 now available for download (MacCentral)

"Apple on Wednesday released QuickTime v6.5, a new version of its core multimedia technology for the Mac and Windows. The new version incorporates new features and updates, including expanded support for mobile multimedia, improved DV playback options and more." Read Apple releases QuickTime 6.5 (MacCentral)

"Apple has released Mac OS X v10.3.2, an update to its "Panther" operating system, available for download through the Software Update System Preferences pane. Apple also notes that a standalone installer is available. The new update is recommended for all users, according to Apple." Read 10.3.2 available for download (MacCentral)

Posted on December 18, 2003 10:23 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

December 19, 2003

FutureCandy release Gordon 1.2.4.

Visit FutureCandy website.
As you know, Gordon is "the only SWF decompiler, resource extractor and SWF editor built for Mac OS X."

FutureCandy states that this update resolve two bugs:

1) On rare occasions Action Script was not correctly displayed.
2) Large transparent JPG data caused Gordon to quit unexpectedly (Mac OS 10.1 and 10.2 only)

Gordon Free Trial version 1.2.4 is also available to download.

Only 16 days after the release of Flash Gordon 1.2.3, appear this new update... I mean, after the release of Gordon 1.2.3... ;)

Posted on December 19, 2003 1:17 AM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (37)

Portraits. Francis Bourre on TweenPix.net

TwenPix.net.
One of my favorites flash blogs (in french) I visit on a daily basis is TwenPix.net, by Francis Bourre. Now Francis has released a new category on "Portraits". First interviews: Camille Chafer (available) and soon Colin Moock on ActionScript 2.0 Essentials and Unity (maybe this interview will be available in English).

I like TweenPix.net for it's particular view on flash development. Francis is involved in very interesting projects (see Atomic Boarder) and his articles reflect this experience. But there is more. Excellent french traductions of Joey Lott and Grant Skinner articles on ActionScript 2.0 ("Special thanks go to Francis for his fantastic translation of this article and making it accessible to the French Flash community." Joey Lott) , musical compositions (must hear! click on "Le chant des sir鈩es"), and now great portraits.

TweenPix.net it's becoming incontournable ("impossible to circumvent").

Posted on December 19, 2003 4:17 PM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

POSTER: It's a bird! It's a plane! Nah, just me!

See the artwork!
For the first time, for the very first time, a poster of aSH is available!!! A beautiful artwork of Tanja Pislar aka "klaut" from blog-o-fobik. Many of you know Tanja by her articles in blog-o-fobik, but not many of you know Tanja Pislar The Artist. I'm her fan forever. I LOVE her artwork!

Seriously, she's very talented! Take a look to her artwork in www.klaustrofobik.org/. It's wondeful! Thank you Tanja, you honor me! :) I have to say that it could be my favorite christmas gift. I love art in general and I'm very excited when an artist create something for me.

Yay!!! Woohoooo! ;)

Posted on December 19, 2003 5:39 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

Xreative Commons launch Moving Image Contest

Errata: This entry has been moved here. Sorry for the hassle.

Posted on December 19, 2003 10:34 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Creative Commons launch Moving Image Contest

See Creative Commons Moving Image Contest website
Creative Commons has launched the Moving Image Contest, "a contest to create a 2-minute moving image that describes Creative Commons' mission."
First Prize: an Appleｮ Power Macｮ G5 Computer (Dual 2GHz PowerPC G5) (Approximate retail value ("ARV"): US$3000), or an Alienwareｮ 2001DV™ System (ARV: US$3000).
Second Prize: Sonyｮ Handycamｮ Camcorder (Model DCR-PC120BT) (ARV: US$1200).
Third Prize: Appleｮ iPod™ Digital Music Player (ARV: US$400).

Judges: Amir Bar-Lev, Mitsuhiro Takemura, Elisabeth Shue, Joshua Davis and Jason Zada.
Deadline: December 31st, 2003
The official rules are available here.

"Create, or mash-up, a moving image that explains Creative Commons mission, using your favorite moving image authoring tool, such as Flash, iMovie, or Final Cut Pro. Entries can contain video, animated images, text, and audio. We welcome and encourage the use of other people's work, provided that you have permission or the work is Creative Commons-licensed or public domain. The entry should be 2 minutes or less. All entries must be licensed under a Creative Commons license of your choosing by time of entry." Read more here.

Posted on December 19, 2003 10:35 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

December 20, 2003

eHelp "Now a proud member of Macromedia"

Macromedia Press Release
Macromedia has completed the acquisition of eHelp. At Macromedia.com you'll find some new products listed (RoboHelpX4 and RoboDemo5). At eHelp.com you'll find this announcement: "eHelp now a proud member of Macromedia".
Bersin & Associates ("leading e-learning research and consulting firm") has released an analysis on Macromedia acquisition of eHelp. The analysis is available to download at no charge (you need to register).

More links:
Macromedia Press Release
FAQ
Jorgen Lien (Chairman and CEO eHelp Corporation) and Anthony Olivier (CFO eHelp Corporation) Announcement

From Macromedia's press release:
"By combining the eHelp solutions with the Macromedia authoring family and with business solutions such as Macromedia Breeze, developers will be able to seamlessly create and deliver the rich user assistance and tutorial content that are integral to great digital experiences."

Posted on December 20, 2003 4:11 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

FlashCom components updater for Flash MX 2004 (Windows) available to download

Download the updater.
"This updater enables the Flash Communication MX 1.5 authoring components to work within the Flash MX 2004 authoring environment."
You can download the Flash Communication Server authoring components updater for Windows from this location. The Macintosh updater will be available soon.

[Via Waldo Smeets]

Posted on December 20, 2003 12:04 PM | | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (2)

December 21, 2003

The real HERO of The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of The Rings
I just saw The Return of the King...WOW!!! But I would like to talk about the real hero of the trilogy. I bet that many of you will agree with me that the real HERO is:

Continue reading "The real HERO of The Lord of the Rings" »

Posted on December 21, 2003 4:39 AM | | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

December 22, 2003

MacWorld on Dreamweaver MX 2004

Read MacWorld review (link).
MacWorld has published a review on Dreamweaver MX 2004. "Dreamweaver has become an indispensable part of any Web-site developer's tool kit, and Dreamweaver MX 2004 is the latest incarnation of Macromedia's powerful Web-site– development tool." Read more here (link).



Posted on December 22, 2003 7:59 AM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (2)

Movable Type 2.65 released

Read announce (link).
"A security issue has been found in Movable Type's XML-RPC server. We suggest that all users of Movable Type upgrade their installations to fix this issue." Movable Type 2.65 fix this problem and it is now available to download. This new release also includes the fix for spam vulnerability in mt-send-entry.cgi (read my post here). Movable Type 2.65 also includes an Atom syndication template and tags. Read more here.

Movable Type 3.00 will be released in early Q1 of 2004. Interesting new feature:
"Comment registration. As a response to both comment spam and to the increased usage of Movable Type on large community sites, we'll be adding the option to restrict comments to registered users."

Posted on December 22, 2003 2:23 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

December 24, 2003

Dear Santa

A letter to Santa
Please be generous with all the folks of the flash community. Make them happy. But don't forget those who can't celebrate: please send my gifts to them, that would be nice. And for those who do not celebrate christmas please send them my best regards and feelings. And for you... hmm buy a macromedia central application for you: I bet many developers are ready to built a santa central application to help you in this season... Cheers, aSH.

Posted on December 24, 2003 5:56 PM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

December 27, 2003

4 days left to use the serial numbers to extend your non-updated Flash MX 2004 trial version

Read more at Macromedia.com
[Update January 04, 2004: The serials numbers has been removed at macromedia.com (January 2, 2004) and this site because they expired in January 01, 2004.]

If you have a non-updated trial version of Flash MX 2004 installed, you have only 4 days to extend it for the updater. These serials numbers (for both Macintosh and Windows) will no longer extend your trial version after January 1, 2004, and they will be removed from Macromedia's web site (and from this site too):

Flash MX 2004: EXPIRED
Flash MX Professional 2004: EXPIRED Read more here.

Try Flash MX 2004 7.0.1, read the top reasons to upgrade to Flash MX 2004, learn what you can do with Flash MX 2004 and take your decision!


Remember that you can support actionscripthero.com by clicking in the affiliate banners just before placing your order to Macromedia.com:


Posted on December 27, 2003 9:55 PM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (2)

December 29, 2003

OT: Solidarity with the people of Bam

Visit the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Website
From the BBC:
"The Iranian authorities say tens of thousands of people in Bam desperately need food, water and shelter. Local officials say the death toll has now risen to 22,000 - but one said it could reach 30,000. Hopes of finding more survivors are fading - but Iranian media say 1,000 have been rescued since early Saturday."
 Read more here.

To help, some links:
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Make an Online Donation

Other Red Cross and Red Crescent websites:
National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies by Country
Iranian Red Crescent Society
British Red Cross
American Red Cross
Australian Red Cross
Canadian Red Cross

Posted on December 29, 2003 2:04 AM | | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (1)

Have your say about Macromedia Central with the Macromedia Central Survey

Macromedia Central Survey (link)
I just filled out the Macromedia Central Survey and I encourage you to do the same. "Your input is critical in the continued success and development of Central." Besides, you can win a $500 cash price if you respond on or before December 31. Please visit Mike Chambers weblog for more information (link).

Posted on December 29, 2003 7:21 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (7)

Flying sharks and four-winged dinosaurs

National Geographic Top Ten News Stories of 2003
It's time for the Top Ten of things in 2003. National Geographic has published the Top Ten News Stories of 2003. My favorites:

* Photographing Africa's "Flying Sharks". Amazing! Take a look to the photo galleries: Part One and Part Two

* Four-Winged Dinosaurs Found in China, Experts Announce. Yo!

Oh yeah another one: First Picture of Earth From Mars:
"No one would have believed, in the last years of the 19th century, that human affairs were being watched from the timeless worlds of space. No one could have dreamed that we were being scrutinized as someone with a microscope studies creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. Few men even considered the possibility of life on other planets. And yet, across the gulf of space, minds immeasurably superior to ours regarded this Earth with envious eyes, and slowly, and surely, they drew their plans against us.邑ar of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells (1898), as adapted for Jeff Wayne's musical version of the book." Read more here (link).

Hmmm, the Top image from actionscripthero.com I guess is this one (made by Tanja Pislar):
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's aSH! :p

Posted on December 29, 2003 10:40 PM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

December 30, 2003

Macromedia Central and Digital Films

Read "Coming to a Theater Near You: Digital Films" (link).
[Update: Please submit your comments and follow the discussion here (CentralMX.com Think Tank forum).]

A Macromedia Central application for Digital Films: a killer app. Reuters has just published an article on Coming to a Theater Near You: Digital Films. The application, made for theaters and cinemas around the world, could feature the Digital Films available (like "Finding Nemo" or "The Last Samurai" for instance), provide reviews, prices, dowloads, etc. As you can see, the distribution of new movies is changing, and that's why a Macromedia Central application, following the on-line and off-line model is just perfect. Maybe Beau Amber could add this feature to the Movie Finder application (read review here) or maybe you can build this application inspired by the Movie Finder and rock the Movie World (you can try to sell your project to some entertainment industry).

Some quotes from Reuters:
"After years of Hollywood hype, 2004 could truly be a watershed year for digital cinema. A recent surge in investment by theater chains and technology companies means the number of digital projectors in cinemas will more than double to over 400 in the next 12 months, Screen Digest reports.
There's no guarantee the technology will make the next Jennifer Lopez-Ben Affleck film more watchable, but at least the final product will look better.
As always, whenever art and technology collide, snags emerge. Installation costs for cinemas are high and the major studios are slow to churn out fully digitized blockbusters until technology standards and anti-piracy measures are resolved." [...]

""The new technology, we see, gives the local filmmaker the chance to exhibit to a bigger audience. Those films that do not get a chance under the 35-millimeter distribution model, will get a fresh chance," said Steve Perrin, deputy head of distribution and exhibition of the UK Film Council." [...]

"Stored as a digitized image file, the technology offers a better medium to enhance special effects, and playback quality will not deteriorate over time.
A digital film can be beamed to theaters via satellite, optical discs or fiber optic networks, potentially eliminating that exasperating several-month lag overseas viewers must endure for a big Hollywood production. And subtitles can be swapped in and out minutes before show time.
At the theater, a digital film is stored on a computer server connected to a digital projector. The projector is equipped with a state-of-the-art computer chip that cleans up the image -- capable of showing 35 trillion color variations. " [...]

"A cinema can download a digital version of the film on a computer hard drive and show it as long as the audience shows up. No longer are theaters bound to the major studios' distribution schedule, he said [Peter Wester, project manager for Swedish cinema chain Folkets Hus och Parker] .
"The average rise of income for us is 25 percent after one year," he added.
It can cost thousands of dollars for a cinema to get a Hollywood blockbuster film at or near the release date. A theater operator, therefore, often has little choice but to show the movie as often as possible before returning it to the distributor.
A digital version, because it can be easily reproduced, shipped and stored, costs less than $20 per copy, according to cinema exhibitors. It also allows the cinema operator to free up their viewing schedule, perhaps opening up the odd week-night slot for an art-house title. "

Read more here.

Posted on December 30, 2003 5:50 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (7)

MacWorld review: Flash MX 2004

Read MacWorld's review (by Martin Gittins)
MacWorld has just published a review of Flash MX 2004: "Flash MX 2004. Development tool of choice for creating rich Internet content." You can read the review here (link).

Posted on December 30, 2003 6:29 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (5)

PCWorld: Top Tech Stories of 2003

Top Tech Stories
More Top Ten stories of 2003. This time is PCWorld on "Top Tech Stories of 2003. Spam was outlawed, 64-bit computing moved into the mainstream, and more."
The Top Tech stories are:

1. It's a Spam, Spam, Spam World
2. 64-Bit Hits Prime Time
3. Worms Slam the Net
4. The Wi-Fi Revolution
5. The Future Is the Consumer
6. PC Market Bounces Back
7. The Linux Boat Is Rocked
8. Megamerger Drama
9. One Worker's Gain Is Another's Loss
10. The Tech Story That Wasn't

Read more here (link).

Posted on December 30, 2003 7:09 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Jakob Nielsen: Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2003

Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2003
More Top Ten things of 2003. This time, Jakob Nielsen (useit.com) on Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2003. You might take a look to The Ten Most Violated Homepage Design Guidelines too.
[Via Onlineblog.com]

There is also an interesting article at WebReference.com by Fu Tien Chiou, Genex on "We Are All Connected: The Path From Architecture To Information Architecture". Aulthough there is not many ink for RIAs, it's interesting tho.

Posted on December 30, 2003 7:33 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

internet.com: readers' favorites articles in 2003

internet.com on "2003 a Big Year for Small Businesses"
Yet another Top stories of 2003. This time internet.com on 2003 a Big Year for Small Businesses: "we take a moment to look back at some of our readers' favorites articles in 2003". Some topics: Taxing Times, Big Year for Small Business Software, Hardware Gets Better, Costs Less, Online Marketing, Web Management.

Btw, you can "Cast Your Ballot for the Best Products of the Year" if you want.

Posted on December 30, 2003 8:01 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yahoo.com: Top Yahoo! Searches 2003 and Lycos.com: Web's Most Wanted 2003

Top Yahoo! Searches 2003 Lycos Web's Most Wanted 2003
More Top things of 2003. This time top searches 2003 in the web (Yahoo and Lycos):

* Yahoo.com: Top Yahoo! Searches 2003: "In search of enlightenment and answers, information seekers the world over turned to Yahoo! Search in 2003. File-sharing program Kazaa beat out heavy hitters like Harry Potter and Britney Spears to take top overall honors. War in Iraq and rumors of cloned babies topped news searches, while American Idol and Survivor continued to outlast their reality TV competition. The year also saw its share of scandals, with Rush Limbaugh, Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant, and Paris Hilton in the spotlight. Here are some highlights from The Year in Search..."
* Lycos.com: Web's Most Wanted 2003: "The Top 100 items of the year 2003, with last year's rank in parentheses." Hmm, nice to see that "William Shakespeare" is still there (the last year was 65, this year 98).

Well in both, Yahoo and Lycos, Kazaa appears as the Web's Most Wanted 2003. You might take a look to Paul Roberts' article (infoworld.com) on "Yahoo users most interested in KaZaa in 2003".

Posted on December 30, 2003 8:30 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (8)

eWeek: Best (and Worst) of 2003. (A must read)

eWeek's Best (and Worst) of 2003
More Top Ten stories 2003. Now "a must read!": eWeek's Best (and Worst) of 2003:

The Year's Top 10 Tech Stories
Top Tech Person of 2003
Top Products of 2003
Top Technologies of 2003
Stupid Technology Tricks of 2003 btw, Product activation is listed there, but there is no mention of Macromedia's Product Activation Program.
PC Mag Picks Top Products of '03
Year of Our Discontent
Best Wireless Products of 2003
The Year's Database Delights and Disasters
eWEEK's Stance on Top Tech Issues of '03
A Tech Market on the Mend
The Channel Looks Bright for 2004
That's it. Have fun.

Posted on December 30, 2003 9:00 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ars Technica: Mac.Ars takes on 2003: the year in review

Mac.Ars takes on 2003: the year in review
Yep, another Top things of 2003. This time Ars Technica: "Mac.Ars wraps up the year with a look back at the good, the bad, and the ugly for Apple while also looking ahead at what 2004 may hold. Was 2003 Apple's best year ever? Will 2004 be better? See what Mac.Ars has to say"
Read more here. Visit Mac.Ars takes on 2003: the year in review. Pretty good review by Eric Bangeman.

Posted on December 30, 2003 9:14 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (9)

CNET: Top 100 products of 2003

CNET's Top 100 products of 2003
CNET: Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004: BEST WEB DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE. read review here.

More Top things of 2003. CNET's Top 100 products of 2003: "The year 2003 for CNET was a lot like any other: there were a lot of tech products tested, a lot of hype, and a lot of products that couldn't live up to the hype. But when a product meets or exceeds our expectations, that's reason to celebrate. From desktops to cell phones and more, see the tech gear that our editors believe really stood out from the crowd this year in our roundup of the top 100 products of 2003." Read the Top 100 products of 2003 here (link).

The categories are:

Desktops
Notebooks
Software
Handhelds
Storage and software
Digital music
Peripherals
Digital cameras and camcorders
Home entertainment
Cell phones

Read more here.

Posted on December 30, 2003 9:35 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

CNET: Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004, Best Web Development Software (Top Ten Software Products of 2003)

Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004: Best Web Development Software
CNET has reviewed Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 as the Best Web Development Software: "Hobbyists, look out: Macromedia's Dreamweaver MX 2004 now caters specifically to professional Web designers and developers. The app's integration with UltraDev lets you create dynamic, database-driven Web applications. And that's great if you know what you're doing, but Dreamweaver MX 2004 isn't for rank newbies or dedicated hobbyists. Consider this version only if you're a code-savvy developer looking to hook your Web site to server-side databases. Adobe enthusiasts should go with GoLive." Read announcement here. Read review here.

Posted on December 30, 2003 10:25 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (2)

PCMagazine: The Best Products of 2003

PCMagazine: The Best Products of 2003
PCMagazine has published The Best Products of 2003: "PC Magazine's editors pick their favorites". Categories:

Desktops & Notebooks
Processors
Digital Imaging
Printers
Productivity Software
Utilities
Audio
Video
Peripherals
Home Entertainment
Mobile Devices & Services
Open-Source Tools
Networking
Development Tools
Games
Education & Reference

Read more here.

Posted on December 30, 2003 10:37 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

PCMagazine: Macromedia Studio MX 2004 and Macromedia Contribute 2, Best of Development Tools (The Best Products of 2003)

PCMagazine: Best of Development Tools (link)
PCMagazine has reviewed Macromedia Studio MX 2004 and Macromedia Contribute 2 as Best of Development Tools (The Best Products of 2003).

* Macromedia Studio MX 2004: "Though the individual apps in Macromedia Studio MX 2004耀uch as Dreamweaver MX 2004, Fireworks MX 2004, Flash MX 2004, and FreeHand MX預re excellent on their own, they're more impressive together." Read more here.
* Macromedia Contribute 2: "Macromedia Contribute has carved out a niche as a tool for non妨eb designers who need to maintain Web sites. It offers some high-priced features like check-in/check-out, file versioning, and rollback." Read more here.

Posted on December 30, 2003 10:54 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (3)

December 31, 2003

Fantasy and Reality of 2004: Macromedia products for Linux?

The Fantasy and Reality of 2004 (Michelle Delio, Wired)
I was reading "The Fantasy and Reality of 2004" (Wired). A dozen experts were asked "What do you wish would happen in 2004, and what do you think will actually happen?". Tim O'Reilly said:

"I wish that Adobe, Macromedia and other leading PC software vendors would port their products to Linux, since we're just about at a tipping point for Linux on the desktop. I remember this great quote from Warren Buffett: 'Sometimes Mr. Market offers his wares cheaply, and sometimes they are dear. I've never understood why people hate to buy them when they are cheap, but rush to buy them when they are dear.' Linux application market share is cheap right now, so that makes it a great time to enter the market.
My guess, though, is that most folks will wait till 2005 or later, and then be rushing to catch up to the leaders who moved early."

Read more here (link). It's really interesting the article (signed Michelle Delio):

"Fling dishes or flaming furniture out the window, fire off celebratory gunfire, jump off chairs, ring bells, beat drums, clutch silver as the clock strikes midnight or sweep bad juju out of the house with a kitchen broom -- these are some of the ways people welcome in the New Year.
And we make resolutions, of course. This will be the year we lose weight, get healthy, quit smoking and organize ourselves. It's a way of shaping the new year according to our will, as is the practice of making predictions.
So we asked a dozen experts in fields that are apt to touch all our lives this year -- privacy, defense, spam, security, open source, technology development, life online and human rights -- to answer this question: "What do you wish would happen in 2004, and what do you think will actually happen?""

Posted on December 31, 2003 9:50 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (70)

Spammer-Man

Watch Spider-Man 2 Teaser Trailer
The New York Times has published an interview with Alan Ralsky "one of the most prolific senders of junk e-mail messages in the world", who admitted that once he produced "more than 70 million messages a day". Check it out here (link).

Some quotes:
""I have never once been ashamed of what I do," he said. "I feel this is a business that has afforded me and my customers a better way of life."" [...]

"Ralsky's mailing list now exceeds 150 million names. Unlike many high-volume mailers, Ralsky does not claim to send only to people who ask to receive marketing pitches. He says he sees nothing wrong with sending unsolicited mail. He insists, though, that he has always honored requests for removal from his list, something now required by the new law.
"If someone is mad, all they need to do is unsubscribe," he said. "If you don't want to get it, I don't want to send it to you." " [...]

"For all the obstacles, Ralsky said that he did not intend to stop sending bulk e-mail in some form.
"There is too much money involved," he said. "I'm a survivor. And when you are a survivor, you find a way to make it happen.""[...]

Read the entire New York Times article here (link) or at CNET news here (link).

[Via Slashdot]

Posted on December 31, 2003 10:58 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Macromedia Central: Master and Commander in 2004!

Macromedia Central
"NEW YORK - December 30, 2003 - Nielsen/NetRatings, the global standard for Internet audience measurement and analysis, reports that three out of every four home and work internet users or 76 percent of active Web surfers, access the Internet using a non-browser based Internet application. Media players, instant messengers and file sharing applications are most popular Intenet applications."

And guess what, the number of people using non-browser based Internet applications is increasing!:

"The total unique audience using Internet applications reached 106 million during the month of November 2003, an increase of 11 percent from the same period last year. Internet users spent an average of three hours and 37 minutes per month using Internet applications."

The top five applications are:

"Windows Media Player, AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger Service and Real Player. Of these top five applications, Windows Media has the largest active user reach at 34 percent. AOL Instant Messenger was next at 20 percent, followed by Real Player also at 20 percent, MSN Messenger Service at 19 percent and Yahoo! Messenger Service, which reaches 12 percent of the active user base." Download Nielsen/NetRatings' report (PDF) (link)

Macromedia Central fits and responds to this reality! The on-line and off-line powerful capabilities of Central and the ubiquity of the Flash Player puts Central in a privileged position!

AOL vice president of desktop messaging Edmund Fish was right when he said "Today we are making history" when the partnership of AIM, ICQ and Macromedia Central was announced at the MAX 2003 conference:

""Today we are making history. For the first time we are inviting software developers to embed ICQ and AIM into their applications. We understand that you are going to think of specific times when IM and presence will really add to your applications"" Read more here.

As Kevin Lynch, Macromedia chief software architect said:

"Our relationship with America Online provides a wonderful foundation for Central developers to build a wide variety of presence-enabled, social applications for AOL Instant Messenger and ICQ with the great user experience and responsiveness of Macromedia Flash, [...] This partnership opens the door for developers to build applications that add context through online forums such as discussion groups, virtual classrooms, and multi-party chat." Read more here.

Wow! The whole thing is so exciting! The Macromedia Central Team released a survey (I encourage you to fill the survey, and maybe you can win $500 one prize cash if you do so today!) where they ask what kind of features do you want to see for the next version of Central. If direct file system access is available for the next version (and other goodness like FP7) and the AOL/AIM SDK is ready, Central could be Master and Commander in 2004!!!

Posted on December 31, 2003 4:34 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Jesse Warden: ActionScript Hero of the Month (December 2003)

Jesse Warden: ActionScript Hero of the Month (December 2003)
See details here. And don't forget to cast your Hip hip hooray! ;)

Posted on December 31, 2003 11:38 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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About December 2003

This page contains all entries posted to Actionscript Hero in December 2003. They are listed from oldest to newest.

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