I am going to be updating the links and resources on the left side of my weblog. If you know of a Flash weblog which is not linked, or is linked incorrectly, then post the URL in the comments. I try to only list sites which are updated frequently or have useful info, so please keep that in mind.
Also, I have been considering adding a section for international weblogs about Flash, so if you know of any, post them in the comments along with the language that are in.
I was thinking about easier ways that I might be able to keep my resource links up to date and fresh, and I realized that it might be useful to have them stored in a single place and in a standardized format. Kind of an RSS of resource links.
So what do people think about coming up with an XML format that describes and lists online resources?
So, in the case of Flash Weblogs, there could be one XML source which listed all of the Flash Weblogs, and information about them (URL, description, language, xml feed url, etc…).
Mike Williams, the Flash product manager for Macromedia, has set up his own weblog. He is aiming to use it to initiate discussion on Flash and its future.
You can view his weblog at:
http://www.macromedia.com/go/blogs_mwilliams
Mike is in charge of driving the development and progress of Flash MX. He is THE man to speak to about Flash and the direction you would like it to move toward in the future.
Expect lots of good things from the weblog.
As you can see, my weblog has a new server, url, and most noticeably, a new look. Thanks to Josh Dura who put together this kick ass design for my site.
When linking to the main page of this site, please use this URL:
The domain name will probably change soon, and that URL will always redirect to the current site.
So why a new server and blogging tool? The main reason I moved is that by using MovableType on my own server, I have complete control over virtually everything. For example, I am deploying the pages as ColdFusion templates, which will allow us to do some pretty cool stuff. I will also be able to install Flash Communication Server and use Flash Remoting.
Tom Muck has posted some concerns about malicious developers potentially hijacking a Flash Remoting adaptor and using it to call external web services without permission (essentially stealing resources and bandwidth from the server). The problem arises because there is no way to configure Flash Remoting to deny / authenticate requests for web service proxying.
Taken a step further, this could be perceived as a potential security issue, if Flash Remoting was installed on a server that was publicly accessible and at the same time had access inside the firewall. A malicious user could proxy a web service request to Flash Remoting that attempted to connect to a web service inside the firewall, thus bypassing the firewall.
We just released a press release announcing that we have acquired Presedia.
From the press release:
Presedia Express enables non-technical professionals to use existing office productivity tools like Microsoft PowerPoint, annotate their presentations with audio, and combine these two elements into a streaming Macromedia Flash application delivered via a hosted or licensed solution.
You can read the entire press release and find more information here.
Presedia makes a tool that allows users to convert powerpoint slides into Flash applications / slides. Pretty cool. Now you can take advantages of the cross platform availability and ubiquity of the Flash player to ensure that all users can view your presentations and slides.
Thanks to everyone who offered their services as a designer in response to my request. The position has been filled and you should see the results of the work in the coming days (it is pretty sweet).
Also, there will be some changes with my weblog in the coming weeks, possibly including a new URL. If you link to my weblog, please use this URL:
as that will always point to my weblog, even it it moves.
The new Flash Player penetration stats are in (from December). The Flash Player 6 has 72% penetration. That is a 19% increase from just 3 months ago.
The reports on the website should be updated early next week.
Robert Penner has put up a massive review of Colin Moock’s forthcoming ActionScript tome :
ActionScript for Flash MX : The Definitive Guide.
You can read the review here.
I haven’t gotten a copy of this, but cannot wait to begin to dig into it.
[via greg burch]
Apple announced yesterday that it is releasing a new browser named Safari. The browser has support for the Flash player (it uses the existing player already on the system). However, as some people have pointed out there are some significant issues with Flash playback within the browser. Since the Safari browser is currently in beta, this is to be expected.
We are working very closely with Apple and the Safari team to ensure that these issues are taken care of prior to the final release. If you discover any issues with Flash playback within Safari, please submit them to us using the Flash Player wish list form, and also make sure to submit them to Apple using the built in bug reporting feature (click on the little bug at the top right of the browser).
