nick velloff

Several people have requested that I release the demo source for the debug Flex application I built. I have been very hesitant to release it because it was essentially a very rough prototype meant only to test the xiff library I ported to AS3. It was not really meant as a tutorial, especially since it is not documented, commented and there really was very little thought put into structure. I simply have not had time to clean it up at all.

It has been quite a while since I have posted much on XIFF. This is not at all to do with a lack of interest, mostly a lack of extra time.

Just go to the same location as the demo, right-click and view source.
http://velloff.com/XIFF_AS3/XIFF_AS3_GUI.html

Good luck, and please post examples of what you come up with!

As promised in my presentation at Adobe Max 2007 in Chicago, I am posting all the examples and source code.

Using Flash and Flex Together

• Learn how to effectively use Flash and Flex together in applications from a designer’s perspective.
• Implement designs typically created in Flash and Photoshop.
• “Make or break” points that determine if you are doing something in Flex you should probably do in Flash instead, and vice versa.
• Integration features provided by Flash CS3 Professional and Flex Builder

These photos show you what a Flex application can look like using the new Flash Component Kit. Below the images is a link to the live example. Please note this is a “down and dirty” example created to show the possibilities, and has very limited functionality.

Click on the top left button to see the Flash component expand. These are buttons in a Flex VBox.Notice how the buttons below properly shift to maintain the correct spacing.

Click play on the audio player to see this Flash component work properly in Flex.

This example shows a Flash container used to contain a Flex DataGrid component. Click on the top right to open the “Cart”.

This video player was created in Flash and used in the Flex application. It is using the Flash FLVPlayback component within Flex. Click on the little “Plus button” to open the video player.

Click here to see the live example…

Here are some individual examples of the various features of the Flash Component Kit. I have included all of the source code. The Flex project includes all of the example FLAs and MXML code.

1. Download the MaxPresentation Flex project archive.
2. Import the zip archive as a “Flex Project”. It will unzip and take it from there.
   
3. To use the included FLA examples, you will need to change the classpath in the FLA to the local source (src) directory of the Flex project Some of the FLAs use externaclasses that are within this folder, and the directory will be incorrect. Be sure to delete the old classpath (points to the src dir on my machine).
4. Update the classpath in the project properties to add your Flash CS3 ActionScript 3.0 Classes…only do this if you want to edit the Classes in Flex that are for the FLAs.
5. Download the presentation PDF.
6. Get the latest Adobe documentation.

Here are the published examples:

1. Stateless Check Box Example
2. Stateful Check Box Example
3. Flash Video Player used as Flex Component Example
4. Example of Resizing a Flash component from Flex (Just make the window small to see the Flash component react)
5. Example of dispatching a custom event from Flash to Flex (Drag the icon into the folder to see Flex receive the Flash component’s event)
6. Example of using View States in a Flash component triggered by Flex (and used as a Flex component skin. Its a skinned Flex CheckBox Component)
7. Example of Focus Management from Flash to Flex (Click on the content to give focus to the Flex application and tab from Flex to Flash)
8. Example of triggering a Flex Tool Tip from within a Flash Component
9. Example of the usage of a Bounding Box in a Flash Component
10. Example of using a Flash Component as a Flex Container (ie. Panel component)

Learn how to effectively use Flash and Flex together in applications from a designer's perspective. We'll discuss the main techniques for implementing designs typically created in Flash and Photoshop. We'll also explain "make or break" points that determine if you are doing something in Flex you should probably do in Flash instead, and vice versa. Finally, we'll introduce some of the integration features provided by Flash CS3 Professional and Flex Builder 3.

Come see my talk on some of the new features introduced with Flash CS3 and Flex Builder 3 (beta). We now have a way to use Flash content in Flex as a standard Flex component. This is pretty exciting, and something sorely missed in Flex thus far. 

I will have some pretty cool demos and show some of the new capabilities. Hope to see you there.  

I patched the AS3 XIFF library to fix some minor issues connecting to ejabberd.
You can check out the latest revision at the Ignite Realtime repository.

If you have a server up and running, test the little GUI here.

The GUI now connects to Openfire. It is free, and it is cool.  Have fun!

Things have been super busy these days. I finally got a spare minute and grabbed the latest build of  Papervision3D. I decided to spend a couple hours playing around with it. There’s lots of buzz around the impressive new 3D engine.

In case you haven't run across it yet, Papervision3D is a 3d rendering engine for Flash. It has been ported (in alpha currently) to AS3 to take advantage of the AVM2 performance increases. It features linear texture mapping, optimized for rendering speed and quality. It can load Collada scenes you export from Maya, Max and Blender. It looks like there are some big brains on this one and I am excited to see how development progresses.

The first most obvious use is a new level of flash gaming. The bar is REALLY going to be raised in this arena. The less obvious use is this can really allow people to showcase products and display data in more intuitive and engaging ways.

You often get to see good technology surface and some impressive demos developed… but rarely does something so quickly get integrated into mainstream projects. Coming from the agency side of things, I know of projects already being developed for major brands using this technology; and that is great. 

Things just keep getting more exciting in this space.

Check out this Papervision 3D demo that shows some cool potential to queue up multiple videos without crushing the processor. 

Interactive talent? Where are you? Are you hiding?

Even if an agency can lure you into "shop hopping," there is still too much work and (contrary to a certain belief system) there are not 80 hours in a day. Faced with the fact that everyone wants a viral web ad,guerrilla micro site,rich internet application, anything in Flash/Flex or "what is that new Papervision3D thing….I want it!," how does an agency just get work done?

Strategy: Try to get anyone who has the word "Flash" and/or "Creative" in their title to move to my shop.

I picked up my new Creativity Magazine today to see a full page advertisment by R/GA trying to find implement just that strategy. The objective of the ad is for Creatives to realize how stifled and "stuck" they are at their current agency and see their eye-opening future at R/GA. Here's the final well-written line. 

"How much of this will James take, churning out more and more obvious solutions for the same lateral channels? He does really have it in him to think big, but folks of sanity need to be moved into action by moments of fear. If, for you to step out onto a ledge is impossible, then be a friend of the cold and lonely side of creativity. James is blissful. Has anyone really gone blind by staring into the sun?"

In keeping on the this topic, we heard about another interesting hiring strategy. Word is that CP+B put packets on the seats of chairs at OMMA Hollywood a few weeks ago. The packets were clever little kits to assist you in

a) tendering your resignation at your current shop and

b) to move over to work at their shop.

Although not as fun or creative, this reminds me a bit of the way lawyers are recruited - late night calls to the offices in hopes of discovering disgruntled employees putting in late hours.

More on the "crisis"  

AKQA NY Needs Developers
Developer Shortage slows web development
Digital Talent Dearth Breeds Crisis
Flash Developers Needed*

*Interesting update to this last link. 

I still agree that even though there is a STRONG need for talent - salaries are not as inflated as speculated in this article. In the January 2007 edition of Entrepreneur yesterday, that the overall salary increase has only been 4%-5%+. However,the article pointed out that key management/talent is being recruited with stronger salary and bonus options. It is difficult to keep employees who are jumping around and most likely a $20K raise is not going to provide the retention you are expecting. So if you are looking for a new "Director of Technology" or "Creative Director",  stock options, moving expenses, housing allowances, 20 - 30% salary increases and even a $50K promised year-end bonus are all things that I have heard being incorporated into packages. Wait til online advertising accounts for more than 17% of the overall ad spend! Better start getting some advanced (and real) development classes into those interactive College programs!

One last note. I don't mind last minute contract projects or those that have less "details" than anticipated. It's ok even if we haven't worked together on a previous venture. However….
(Posted by Lindsey)

A friend of mine and colleague, Jon Reiling sent over this useful Mac widget he recently created.  It gives you a convenient way to view Adobe .flv video files right on your desktop. Jon, who I know as Bob, is cool, so download this.

Yes, that's Bob in the video talking to an astronaut.  

About FLVPlayer
Simply begin dragging your file, activate the Dashboard, drop the video and watch it go! Basic video functions are included, as well as analysis of size and frames per second 

Check it out for yourself.

If any one is working on a "web 2.0" start-up or trying to find some information on the metrics/monetization for social technology right now…take a peak at my start-ups' blog. Although, I am pretty clueless to the assumptions behind generating ROI and the values assigned to users, the team assembled here gets it. I am particularly interested and excited about how they are creating a plan to do so for a very robust rich internet application. I know they are not revealing too much publicly at this time (only to potential investors), but expect to see some great things coming from Lymabean in 2007. 

Media Modeling and Metrics

Stay in the loop by registering for updates 

I was introduced to this product today by Robert Hoekman, Jr. I am amazed that I have never stumbled upon it.  For independent contractors, invoicing can be a nightmare and a pain. Creative brains just don't think about administration. Not to mention, most contractors are freelancing so I'm sure dealing with administrative parts of a project are not what they would like to be doing during "off" time. 

Now I join those who have found the solution. 

Blinksale is a subscription based web-application for money management online. It is the IDEAL tool for contractors who know the headaches associated with Quicken and MS Money. I own those, but maybe used them for a day - too many features that I just don't need.  

Highlights 

• Simple registration that was clean and enjoyable (almost)

• Intuitive invoice creation

• Clean , attractive CSS invoice layouts

• I created an invoice and have a client record for my next invoices in - 3 minutes. Yup, 3 minutes.Then I was able to sync the due date with iCal.

I am impressed with the invoice delivery system. I like the idea for the link back to Blinksale to organize and encourage others to learn about the product. Viral at its best - for direct use to targeted people who would be interested in using the product. 

I'm looking forward to seeing how payments are tracked and this assists during tax season. I even may peek into the API a bit that they have made available - it's always nice to tie in great products where you can.  

Blinksale is free to use if you send three or fewer invoices a month. Paid plans range from $12 to $49 a month, depending on the number of invoices you plan to send out. The paid plans allow for customized templates (using CSS), more users, more invoices, more clients, etc.