Ted On Flash: August 2007

OSX - "Open With" and "Always Open With"

DIGG IT! 7 Comments Published Friday, August 31, 2007 at 8:44 AM .

As with many developers switching to the MAC there are lots of shortcuts to learn. The most important I have found recently is "Open With" and "Always Open With". If you right click on any file in OSX you get a menu that looks like this:

While this menu is displayed hold down "Option" and it switches to this:

This makes it easy to switch the default application for a particular file.

Cha-Ching!

Ted :)

Using Flex Builder for Flash CS3 Code Editing

DIGG IT! 23 Comments Published Thursday, August 30, 2007 at 3:46 PM .

Well this morning I jumped back into Flash CS3. I was pretty shocked about the lack of code hinting for custom ActionScript 3 libraries, I am addicted to Flex Builder now. Also I was confronted by the seeming lack of support for using Flex Builder for ActionScript 3 Flash CS3 editing. It looks like you can use virtual files and folders to fix this problem. Here is how to do it:

1. Open Flex Builder 3 (Beta 1)
2. Create a new ActionScript Project, any project name will do!
3. Delete the generated ActionScript base class (Here is where things get virtual).
4. File > New > File or File > New > Folder
5. Select Advanced on the Dialog, Check "Link to file in the file system"
6. Select Browse and select your "Document Class" AS3 class file.
7. Press "Finish"

If you map all your dependent libraries into this project virtually, you will get code hinting for custom classes in Flex Builder for a Flash CS3 Project. The key is to use the ActionScript project to map to all the files and folders you need, including the class paths within your Flash CS3 application. Assuming everything is there, you will get code hinting for all custom classes, properties, and events.

With projects in Flex Builder (Eclipse), it doesn't matter where the files are located. Use virtual files and folders to bring files located all over together in one project. This will simplify development and allow you to organize projects easily regardless if the project is Flex, AS3, or Flash CS3.

I am using this for PV3D development and having code hinting for all these custom classes is invaluable. Shoot even organize imports and refactoring works!

Cheers,

Ted :)

PaperVision3D Training with John Grden

DIGG IT! 1 Comments Published at 11:04 AM .

This morning at 7AM PST, I dialed into a 2 hour conference call with John Grden. We opened a Connect session where John shared his screen and I began learning PaperVision3D. The training was for a top secret Adobe MAX project and John's help was really invaluable. The training allowed me to quickly get up to speed specifically for the project at hand.

John went through the demo he had created and we explored the project in exhaustive detail, line by line, class by class. I have to say I was nothing less than impressed with John and his technically ability. He answered by questions and communicated PV3D inside out all while answering my (sometimes absurd) questions. I am very impressed with PV3D and how easy it is to add real 3D into Flash Player using AS3. It is amazing what you can create in just a few lines of code once you understand how it works.

To thank John I donated towards his new MacBook Pro and am sending him a copy of Master Collection to install on his shiny new MAC. John is a real leader in the Flash/Flex community and his work stands on its own. From Red5 to PV3D to XRAY and the countless other projects, John you have added allot of value to Flash.

This clearly is deserving of a 5 rock on rating:
RockOn Rating: RockOn vote

John hats off to you!

Cheers,

Ted :)

MAX 2007 Open BOF Sessions Closing Sept. 1

DIGG IT! 4 Comments Published Tuesday, August 28, 2007 at 8:51 AM .

The MAX 2007 Birds Of a Feather, BOF, sessions are closing to entries on Sept 1. If you want a BOF on "Flex {SOMETHING FXCOOL HERE}" or CF "{SOMETHING CFCOOL HERE}" or "AJAX {SOMETHING $JSCOOL HERE}", please post a BOF session:

POST A BOF SESSION

It is as simple as posting to a discussion list, oh wait it is a discussion list!

Cheers,

Ted :)

AS3 Integration into Yahoo Mail

DIGG IT! 0 Comments Published Monday, August 27, 2007 at 2:54 PM .

The Yahoo Mail team has fully integrated instant messaging into the new Yahoo Mail. What is cool for me is that this application is powered by Flash Player at the protocol level with YIM. The Yahoo Web Messenger team used Flex and ActionScript 3 to integrate with Yahoo Instant Messaging protocol using flash.new.Socket. The addition to Yahoo Mail launched today leverages this same codebase allowing an AJAX application to directly integrate with YIM's backend. Instead of polling for new messages, the full protocol of YIM is exposed as events to the AJAX UI of Yahoo Mail.

It is great to see another great application integrate with Flash Player 9 and ActionScript 3.

Cheers,

Ted :)

$400 off Adobe MAX Chicago

DIGG IT! 2 Comments Published at 9:52 AM .

I snuck a secret discount code from the MAX web team that trims $400 off the MAX Chicago on site price and will expire on Sept. 10! Please feel free to forward it to friends you want to attend MAX Chicago.

BFF755

REGISTER NOW!

I hope I do not get in trouble for blogging this, well here goes nothing!

Cheers,

Ted :)

MAX 2007 Chicago Conference Bag Testing

DIGG IT! 6 Comments Published at 8:03 AM .

I go to many of conferences and have many conference bags to show for it. As with MAX, this years MAX bag is different and the team made sure the bag selected was reusable and of the highest quality. 4 weeks ago I received a demo of the bag and decided to give it a real world test by using it daily. For the last 4 weeks I have been using the MAX bag as my daily laptop bag for all work and travel.

Here is my testing report:

Comfortable shoulder strap
Makes long Airport security lines seem smaller. This bag has a softer strap and nice shoulder padding making it easier to travel with.

Padded Laptop Compartment
AJ, Design Lead on MAX team, literally threw my fully loaded MAX bag onto the floor for testing while on site in Chicago. Nothing broke including my Macbook pro, iphone, blackberry, camera. His test was unexpected and I was angry that he threw it but it proved that the bag provided the protection for some very important items. It holds a MacBook Pro 15" perfectly and holds a MacBook Pro 17" in the main pocket.

Zippered cord pockets
This is the first bag with a dedicated area for cords and sleeves. The pocket is right behind the back padding. The MAC power adapter is a bit big for back here but fits in one of the front pockets perfectly.

Inner pocket for phone
This pocket fits a iPhone perfectly and provides a scratch resistant area. This area also includes holders for pens and clear pocket with zipper.

Inner zippered pocket for documents
I use this pocket for expenses and to hold my passport. It also contains a clip and tether for keys. Simply clip you keys onto it and do not loose them on a trip.

Slim design
The bag design is a bit slimmer than a Timbuk2 messenger bag and I keep finding the smaller size makes it a much more functional bag. I have been threw 4 airports with the bag and find it very handy for travel.

In my real world tests of the bag, it is perfect for real world use. I abused the bag to see how it held up and it is working like new with 4 weeks of hard use. When I tell people this is the MAX 2007 bag everyone has looked shocked. It is a really nice bag that I hope will go to great use within the greater Adobe community.

Adobe MAX 2007. Connect. Discover. Inspire.

Ted :)

Woooops, 30,000,000 player installs to low

DIGG IT! 5 Comments Published Thursday, August 23, 2007 at 3:17 PM .

Well it looks like my Flash Player Install counter was a little off, 30,000,000 off to be exact. On 8/21 the Flash Player install count from Akamai was 2,524,330,000 which is actually ahead of where the counter is today, 3 days later in total.

What is 30,000,000 installs between friends?

Cheers,

Ted :)

Get over it, Flash Player made video overlay advertising possible!

DIGG IT! 8 Comments Published at 1:31 PM .

There is a great online debate raging over who invented video overlay advertising. The fact is that video support in Adobe Flash Player made 100% of this possible and we are seeing a multi-billion dollar market form right before our eyes. Regardless if the overlay ads are delivered by VideoEgg, YouTube, BrightCove, or even Adobe within AMP, Adobe Media Player, one things should be crystal clear, Flash Player is how video is delivered.

Flash Player allows you to play video on a surface and allows a developer to fully control the experience of video presentation. The result is that many innovative companies have turned to Flash for custom video players and creating ad engines that allow overlays over video. With the addition of H.264 and full screen video, Flash Player is really changing the game for video online. With AMP, Adobe Media Player we will see this taken even further. AMP is really targeting the desktop video DVR market and in a few months we will see this land big for content owners, advertisers, and most of all end users. Video offline is such a nice change.

While everyone fights over who invented video overlay, I think every one is in agreement that Adobe Flash Player made this a reality.

For detail on AMP, H.264, Flash Player and all the new stuff we are working on at Adobe, I would highly recommend being at the Adobe MAX 2007 Event in Chicago Oct 1-3.

Cheers,

Ted :)

2.5 Billion Player 9 Installs?

DIGG IT! 7 Comments Published Wednesday, August 22, 2007 at 9:27 AM .

In a few minutes my counter will pass 2,500,000,000 players installed. I will check with Emmy on the Akamai data for today, tommorrow when it gets reported.

Ahhhhh... 2.5 Billion Served!

Ted :)

Codec Choice - H.264 and ACC added to Flash Player "MovieStar"

DIGG IT! 8 Comments Published Tuesday, August 21, 2007 at 4:08 PM .

Today is a great day for Flash Player as Adobe announces support for H.264 video and ACC audio codecs. These additions to Flash Player really alter the dynamic for media content in Flash Player and allow developer choice in regards to codecs.

Flash Player 9 Update
Adobe Press Release

See, Adobe is not in the codec business and we have a good track record of selecting codecs for inclusion into Flash Player that provide value for the problem at hand. For H.264/ACC it is about supporting the ecosystem of encoders, CDN support, video assets, and providing developer choice with regard to codecs. When a developer looks to deploy video within Flash they have 4 codecs to choose from which all vary in quality/bandwidth for the video type being viewed.

Sorenson -> "Talking Head" for Video Conferencing
ON2 VP6 == "Web Video" low/medium/high bandwidth.
H.264 == "HD Web Video" using standard codec w/ medium/high bandwidth.
ON2 VP6 Simple = "HD Web Video" with optimized performance w/ high bitrate.

With this release we are providing 2 video codecs that range in performance for HD video on the web in H.264 and ON2 VP6 "Simple Profile". Add on hardware acceleration, multi-core support, and Platform Cache for Components (MAKES FLEX TINY) and this is an impressive set of features.

Another great release!

Ted :)

FXWidget part 2

DIGG IT! 10 Comments Published Monday, August 20, 2007 at 12:05 PM .

This morning I put together a new build of FXWidget. This build leverages an inner IFRAME to preload the SWF file before Flash Player detection and writing the OBJECT/EMBED tags. Again the goal of FXWidget is to keep everything self contained and reduce adding an element of Flex on any webpage by adding a simple DIV.

Here are the FXWidget and the new Flex HTML Template for review:

DOWNLOAD FXWidget Flex Builder Project

SAMPLES (VIEW HTML SOURCE):
Full Banner
Half Banner
Rectangle
Vertical Rectangle
Large Rectangle
Medium Rectange
Skyscraper

Ideally I would like to get FXWidget working like so:

<script src="FXWidget.js"/>
<div id="Rectangle_div">
   <script>
      new FXWidget({
         swf:"Rectangle.swf",
         name:"Rectangle",
         width:180,
         height:90,
         background:#ffffff,
         major:9,
         preload:true
      });
   </script>
</div>

Also this morning Beau Scott posted his version of FXWidget that uses the AJAX Prototype framework and an AJAX call to cache the SWF file.

More to come!

Ted :)

MAX 2007 "Inspire" Session - eBay : Lessons learned on AIR by Alan Lewis

DIGG IT! 1 Comments Published at 9:29 AM .

Why does the desktop matter in 2007? Learn why as Alan Lewis from eBay discusses what he and his team have learned from developing the eBay �San Dimas� desktop application using the AIR platform. This "Inspire" session will give you an inside look at eBay's use of the Adobe Integrated Runtime, AIR. Although Adobe AIR has only been publicly available in beta for a few months, Project San Dimas, which is built on AIR, of course, has been in development for over a year, and both San Dimas and AIR have come a long way.

Alan thanks for helping us change MAX 2007!
Adobe MAX 2007. Connect. Discover. Inspire.

Ted :)

FXWidget = Flex SWF + SWFObject + Custom HTML Template

DIGG IT! 16 Comments Published Saturday, August 18, 2007 at 4:12 PM .

I have long thought one of the best uses of Flex is for HTML page widgets. One of the barriers here is the default Flex generated HTML. It makes it very hard to add just a single Flex application into a webpage let alone 2 or more. I have created a new project called FXWidget to make this easy and wigitize Flex. FXWidget includes SWFObject, Geoff Stearns sweet JS library for SWF detection and embedding, and a new HTML Template for Flex generating simple HTML tags for page insertion.

DOWNLOAD FXWidget Flex Builder Project

SAMPLES (VIEW HTML SOURCE):
Full Banner
Half Banner
Rectangle
Vertical Rectangle
Large Rectangle
Medium Rectange
Skyscraper

The goal here is to make things easy, super cut and paste easy to add a Flex SWF onto any page on the internet. It isn't quite there yet but this is major progress and I will be refining this methodology over time. Here is what I was thinking:

Steps:
1. ADD a SCRIPT tag loading SWFObject.js within the HEAD tag.
2. Copy and Paste DIV contents!
3. Done

The real hack here is loading a SWF file within a SCRIPT tag. When the SWF is fully loaded, the SWF is then written into the DOM. Under these circumstances, the Flex SWF file is fully preloaded before the object/embed tags are written to the HTML DOM using SWFObject. Ideally the page fully loads and content is viewable as the widgets load without disturbing the page.

Currently the Flex SWF files are large for this purpose but with Flex 3 and Framework caching Flex will begin to be used in these situations. This technique is also very appropriate for use with ASProject and works perfectly.

The key is the file generation pattern within a Flex or ASProject in Flex Builder. The /html-template/ folder contains a template file called index.template.html. This file generates HTML files for every Flex Project File and thus can be customized using variables. In the index.template.html file notice the ${variable} these project properties within the MXML file being compiled and allow you to generate HTML/JS to suit your project needs. In this case I used it to embed using SWFObject vs the regular Flex methodology.

NOTE:
This technique does not currently support HistoryManager and DeepLinking in Flex 3. It can work with these features but support has not been added, feel free to add it in!

So that is FXWidget. Have fun and FXWidget! Woot!

Cheers,

Ted :)

Flex Builder Tip - Preferences > General > Web Browser

DIGG IT! 6 Comments Published at 12:37 PM .

Flex Builder has some impressive documentation but under the Eclipse internal web browser it is not ideal. With the Eclipse internal web browser you cannot select/copy/paste code examples making this documentation almost unusable. This is easy to change though! There is a preference in Flex Builder/Eclipse under Preferences > General > Web Browser to use an external browser for Help documentation. Once you make this change you will be reusing all the code examples within the documentation like a pro.

I will be the first to admit to copy and pasting from the documentation examples because they are a really great resource for learning Flex. Once you set the help to use an external browser, you will see how valuable these are.

Copy, Paste, Compile ... it works! :)

Cheers,

Ted :)

Webpass home internet

DIGG IT! 7 Comments Published at 12:06 PM .

I just moved into a new building and when I signed my lease i was informed that the building was wired for Internet by Web-Pass. The installer just left and I tested the network, 28 Mbps download and 22 Mbps upload. I am speechless.

Time to set-up a server!

Cheers,

Ted

iPhone battery life and WIFI

DIGG IT! 8 Comments Published at 10:45 AM .

I have been slowly testing my iPhone and it seems clear that the battery life is extended if WIFI is turned OFF. In my simple tests I charged my iPhone fully with WIFI on and the phone lasted about 34 hours with moderate phone use. With the WIFI turned off I am still going with over 60+ hours of moderate use.

A month ago my Blackberry 8700 died and I borrowed an Nokia N80 demo phone from the Flash-Lite team. The N80 I borrowed was terrible and battery life was 24 hours tops with a full charge. I thought surely something was wrong but it turns out that the WIFI chips are very power hungry and simply turning the WIFI off on the N80 returns battery life to normal. When I started to see shorter battery life in my iPhone, I explored the WIFI to see if that had a measurable effect. Bingo!

I am also curious if the WIFI density has an effect on battery life as well. I live in San Francisco and my iPhone detects over 2 scrollable pages of networks. I am not sure at the chip level this would have any effect on battery life.

So turn the WIFI off in your iPhone and your battery life will be extended.

Cheers,

Ted :)

FlexJobs List Traffic 100% higher

DIGG IT! 4 Comments Published Friday, August 17, 2007 at 6:18 AM .

I have seen a jump in the job postings over at FlexJobs list lately, about 100% in the last month. When I started the list I seeded the list with postings from Indeed but after a month I set the list free to succeed or fail. Postings have averaged about 25 a month but this month we crossed 25 listings on the 15th of the month. Looking deeper the traffic rise is evenly distributed across posters.

FLEX JOBS LIST

I need to raise awareness about the job resources for Flex. FlexJobs is lower traffic but the job quality of the list is high and I filter it to make sure it stays that way.

SUBSCRIBERS: 566
POSTS: 305

Cheers,

Ted :)

MAX 2007 Training - New session on AIR using HTML, CSS, JavaScript

DIGG IT! 2 Comments Published at 5:31 AM .

Given the AIR Training session on Sept 30 sold out, we have added an additional all day course focused on AIR using HTML, CSS, JavaScript. If you are waitlisted for the AIR session or booked in the existing course you can change your selection now by logging into the MAX 2007 website.

Here is the description of the new course:

Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR): Building Desktop Applications with HTML, CSS and JavaScript

This full-day course will include everything you need to get started building applications with AIR. We'll cover techniques that will allow HTML/JavaScript developers to create rich applications for deployment on the desktop. Learn how to interact with the windowing API and file system, drag and drop to the desktop, handle data persistence, and more. Learn more about the dynamic cross-scripting between Flash and HTML within AIR. We'll also discuss how to easily package and distribute AIR applications.

Here is the existing course information:

Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR): Bringing Rich Internet Applications to the Desktop

This full-day course will include everything you need to get started building applications with AIR. We'll cover techniques that will allow Flex developers to create rich applications for deployment on the desktop. Learn how to interact with the windowing API and file system, drag and drop to the desktop, handle data persistence, and more. We'll also discuss how to easily package and distribute AIR applications.

If you haven't registered for training you might take a look at either of these two sessions. They will both sell out and positions will fill on a first come basis.

See you at Adobe MAX 2007. Connect. Discover. Inspire.

Cheers,

Ted :)

2007 Flex Sticker Design Contest

DIGG IT! 4 Comments Published Thursday, August 16, 2007 at 11:36 AM .

Having made 2 sets of stickers for Flex and having exhausted my supply (50,000 in total), I need to make new stickers for MAX and beyond. I am putting on a design contest for the next round of Flex stickers which will end on September 1.

RULES:

1. Matt Chotin, Ted Patrick, and James Ward will pick the winner, simple as that.
2. You can be located anywhere on the planet.
3. Winner gets sticker credit, a reel of stickers, and a license of Flex Builder 3!
4. 1.5 X 1.5 Rounded Corner Square or Circle on clear or white (your call)
5. Stickers will be handed out in mass at Flex Meet the Team session at MAX Chicago, Barcelona, and Japan!

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Email a 1.5X1.5 PNG @ 300DPI to ted@adobe.com
2. 1.5 @ 300dpi PNG TEMPLATE

THIS CONTEST IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH ADOBE SYSTEMS INCORPORATED AND IS 100% MANAGED BY TED PATRICK AND THE ONFLEX.ORG WEBSITE INDEPENDENTLY TO AVOID HASSLE, KEEP THINGS SIMPLE AND SUPPORT FUN IN THE FLEX COMMUNITY.

May the best sticker design win.

Ted, Matt, James!

MAX 2007 Europe Speaker List (NEW)

DIGG IT! 3 Comments Published Monday, August 13, 2007 at 10:44 AM .

There are a ton of great speakers at MAX Europe but many are not listed on the MAX Europe site. We are fixing this but I wanted to post the full list here. All of these speakers will be at MAX Europe in Barcelona in Oct.

Peter Elst
Stephanie Sullivan
Carlos Ulloa
Rick Treitman
Joe Berkovitz
Mario Klingerman
Grant Skinner
Erik Natzke
Kevin Schmidt
Aral Balkan
Stefan Richter
Sven Claar
Simon Slooten
Marco Casario
Owen van Dijk
Raf Hofmans
Peter Elst
Carlos Rovira
Xavi Beumala
Sheila Dahlgren
Priscilla Lawrence
Charlton Barreto
Matt Boles
Lori DeFurio
Mike Downey
Ben Forta
Kevin Hoyt
Jason Levine
Michael Moore
Duane Nickull
Ted Patrick
Bill Perry
Greg Rewis
Christoph Rooms
Steven Webster
Jeremy Clark
Daniel Dura
Rick Reitmaier
Dave Nelson
Lucas Adamski
Leo Schuman
Serge Jespers
Marcus Lynch
Jimmy Barens
Michael Chaize
Yurdanur Maranagoz
Matt Chotin
Matt Morgan-May
Enrique Duvos
Steve Burnard
Tom Lane
Kevin Towes
Karl Soule
John Shuman

This will be a really great event and I look forward to seeing you in Barcelona at our first MAX 2007 Europe event. Having worked with Sabina on MAX Europe all last week it will be a great event and the best speakers are decending on Europe.

Register TODAY for "Early Bird" pricing for MAX 2007 Europe!

See you in Barcelona!
Adobe MAX 2007 Europe. Connect. Discover. Inspire.

Ted :)

MAX 2007 EARLY BIRD ENDS TODAY AT 11:59PM

DIGG IT! 1 Comments Published Friday, August 10, 2007 at 10:25 AM .

The title says it all.

REGISTER NOW for MAX 2007 CHICAGO

See you at Adobe MAX 2007. Connect. Discover. Inspire.

Ted :)

Flex Directory, SEO, and Flex - Part 2

DIGG IT! 7 Comments Published at 8:55 AM .

It worked! Google's spiders picked up the schema changed in the Flex Directory and have modified the listing. Additionally the Directory can now be found under a much larger search pool of keywords. It is also interesting to note how fast this has occurred given the use of the sitemap.xml api.

The next problem to solve is to expose the XML in a format where the contents make the search engine listings to expand the search results. If you type in a company listed and "Flex" ideally this listing will occur, say "Farata Flex". This will involve changing the Flex application to match the new schema within the XML. The cool part is that plain XHTML can have a stylesheet so it is a valid technique for presenting raw data yet providing a much better UI to end users.

I got some 38 new listings to add to the Flex Directory. My apologies on the delay in getting these new ones listed. I am looking at building a new system that is federated for listing companies in the Flex Directory and this will include a larger range of listing options. Ideally companies will be able to list screen shots, quotes, better contact information, and maps in the directory when things are enabled. Plus then companies can update their listing independently by changing the XML document on their server which the Flex Directory aggregates. Think RSS but with directory content.

More to come!

Ted :)

MAX 2007 - Rick Smith this one is on us!

DIGG IT! 6 Comments Published Thursday, August 09, 2007 at 7:04 AM .

Rick Smith, Congratulations on your upcoming arrival. On behalf of the Adobe MAX 2007 team, I would like to provide you a complimentary pass to Adobe MAX 2007. EARLY BIRD PRICING ENDS ON AUG. 10 MIDNIGHT!!! Our team is currently meeting in Chicago as I type this and we voted to hold a pass for you. This year MAX is focused on the community and will be the best one yet!

Question: Will you name your newborn MAX?

Adobe MAX 2007. Connect. Discover. Inspire.

Regards,

Ted :)

MAX 2007 CHICAGO - EARLY BIRD ENDS "THIS FRIDAY", AUG. 10TH

DIGG IT! 3 Comments Published Wednesday, August 08, 2007 at 5:34 AM .

Early bird pricing ENDS (REALLY REALLY ENDS) this Friday August 10th, REGISTER NOW. Every year we reach this point in registration and many miss the date and end up paying more for MAX. Register for MAX 2007 Chicago today.

I am in Chicago this week with the MAX team making arrangements for Adobe MAX 2007 Chicago. The venue is really great and I took some photos of the site yesterday. McCormick Place East is brand new and MAX is one of the first conferences in this new facility. To say it isn't HUGE would be an understatement. Compared to any of the venues we have had MAX in, this is easily the biggest.

Here are some photos:

Entrance - Register for MAX Chicago

MAX Store + Registration - Register for MAX Chicago

View from Hyatt Regency Hotel - Register for MAX Chicago

Escalator to Keynote & Expo - Register for MAX Chicago

Main Hallway - Register for MAX Chicago

Top Secret Event Space (HUGE) - Register for MAX Chicago

Keynote and Expo areas (will be divided) - Register for MAX Chicago

Outside Keynote & Expo - Register for MAX Chicago

Food and Drinks go here - Register for MAX Chicago

"Inspire #1" Session Room (holds 400) - Register for MAX Chicago

Meet the Team, Birds Of a Feather, and "Inspire" Area - Register for MAX Chicago

Skyway to Hyatt McCormick Hotel - Register for MAX Chicago

Hyatt McCormick Hotel - Register for MAX Chicago

Meet the Team, Birds Of a Feather, and "Inspire" Area - Register for MAX Chicago

In a nutshell, MAX Chicago will be a seriously cool event. The venue at McCormick is amazing and the plan looks rock solid. Make sure to register today, we will not be extending the Early Bird Pricing beyond Friday Aug 10th.

Adobe MAX 2007. Connect. Discover. Inspire.

Ted :)

Flex Directory, SEO, and Flex

DIGG IT! 6 Comments Published Tuesday, August 07, 2007 at 6:02 AM .

I did some modifications to the Flex Directory for SEO optimization based on Josh Tynjala's article. One of the issues of search engines indexing XML documents is the only schema they understand is html. This legacy is a blessing and a curse for structured data. HTML can be XML compliant but the reverse is not always true.

The Flex Directory is a "Model First" approach to RIA. The model (raw data) arrives before the presentation layer or "view" of the application. What is interesting is that spiders are looking for the model not the view of an application. Spiders do not care what an application looks like, they are interested in the data on the page, not the surrounding markup. Right now the directory model just contains information about the company listings but over time I will be moving all data in the Flex Directory over to the XML format including the strings within the application. To expose this data to SEO, it makes sense to support the html schema in parts of the XML document allowing spiders to process the data into the search engine listings without issue.

Here are some changes I made to the Flex Directory for SEO:

1. Added sitemap.xml file
2. Added robots.txt file
3. Changed root element from "directory" to "html"
4. Added header element and inner title element
5. Added meta "description" and "keyword" elements

I didn't include a body (yet) as I want to see how this document is processed in the search results over time. I will be tweaking things ongoing to try to get the number 1 spot on the search engines for the Flex Directory. What will be interesting is to see if the spiders ignore the xml-stylesheet and process the document as html. If that is the case, then the results page on both Yahoo and Google should change.

Special thanks to Josh Tynjala for his article on SEO and RIA. The article is a great read and he dissected the Flex Directory in the article. I took some ideas from his post and this influenced the changes to the directory as noted above.

Thanks Josh, great post!

Regards,

Ted :)

MAX 2007 "Inspire" Session - Building software people use with Flash and Flex by Chafic Kazoun

DIGG IT! 1 Comments Published Monday, August 06, 2007 at 6:02 AM .

Chafic Kazoun has built two successful business leveraging Flash/Flex, co-authored the leading book on Flex at O'Reilly and will be talking about "making software people use" everyday. Chafic has been focused on making products with Flash and Flex and his perspective is very unique. Having know Chafic since 2003, he has been incredibly influential on the evolution of Flash and Flex. I am delighted to see him join us at the "Inspire" sessions at MAX 2007 in Chicago.

One of the biggest challenges in software is user adoption. Building software in some ways is easy, actually developing software people use is a challenge. In this session Chafic will review the history of Atellis products where Flash and Flex played a key part in driving user adoption, including SimCenter, a product responsible for testing 25% of medical students in the nation, and SimCube a product just launched that is already revolutionizing student learning.

Chafic thanks for helping us change MAX 2007!
Adobe MAX 2007. Connect. Discover. Inspire.

Ted :)

360|Flex Seattle - August 13-15, 2007

DIGG IT! 1 Comments Published Friday, August 03, 2007 at 8:00 AM .

I am giving the keynote on Aug. 13 at 360|Flex and I could not be more excited about the event. Tom and John have done a great job and part 2 of 360|Flex is sure to be a hit. If you have not registered for 360|Flex, JUST DO IT! 360|Flex is the only place 100% dedicated to Flex, the last event was world class, and Seattle will be ideal.

Also given my role at Adobe MAX 2007, I am bringing discount codes for all attendees at 360|Flex to make attending BOTH conferences easier.

See you at 360|Flex Seattle and MAX 2007 Chicago!

Regards,

Ted :)

MAX 2007 "Inspire" Session - Making Buzzword by Rick Treitman, David Coletta and Robby Shaver

DIGG IT! 3 Comments Published Thursday, August 02, 2007 at 8:17 AM .

I met the Buzzword team in June of 2006 and even working on Flex 2 Beta 2, Buzzword was impressive. This week the team released preview 4 of Buzzword and it keeps getting better and better. Word from the team is that the next build will have an inline spellchecker...but you didn't hear that from me. The Buzzword team will be speaking at "Inspire" at MAX 2007 in Chicago and Barcelona.

The Buzzword team is an amazing group. They are all crack C/C++ developers with a wealth of knowledge on building seriously great applications. Collectively the team has some 100+ years experience building document editors, simply put they are the best of the best. To see what they have built using Adobe Flex 2 and ActionScript 3, will leave any developer impressed but it isn't about the technology. Buzzword is a great application and the experience in using the service is what will make this a killer application. I am looking forward to seeing their session at MAX 2007, you should not miss it.

Rick, David, and Robby, thanks for helping us change MAX 2007!
Adobe MAX 2007. Connect. Discover. Inspire.

Go Buzzword Go!

Ted :)

FlexCamp Thanks and Desperately Seeking Flex...

DIGG IT! 4 Comments Published Wednesday, August 01, 2007 at 5:51 PM .

I want to give a very very public thanks to Mike Potter, Lisa Ferguson, and the countless others that made FlexCamp an amazing event. Mike Potter worked very hard making the event great and for a first time event, FlexCamp was a 10 in my book. I really had a blast and we need to do more of these events as they are so good for the community. It was great to catch up with so many Flex developers in the area and great to see a full house for the event.

During FlexCamp there was a recruiter stationed outside of 601 Townsend handing out job fliers to everyone entering the building. Here is an image of the flier, if your interested in working on Flex at a start-up this gig looks tempting!

VC's handing out fliers at an Adobe event, wow have things changed! :)

Thanks!

Ted :)

Ted Patrick - Demos & MAX @ Adobe Systems

Note: This is the personal blog of Ted Patrick. The opinions and statements voiced here are my own.