I have been using the mxmlc and compc compilers a bunch this week (mxmlc and compc are ActionScript 3 / Flex 2 command line compilers included with the Free Flex 2 SDK). Whenever I start to use a command line compiler it can take me a while to figure out all of the correct arguments I need to pass it, but once I figure it out, it is pretty simple to use, as I just reuse a lot of the same args.

Woah! Just noticed that the FlashForward conference has been producing a podcast. It looks like they have done about 10 thus far, and most of them consist of Lynda Weinman talking with some of the top Flash developers and designers.

Interviews so far include:

• Branden Hall
• James Patterson
• Robert Rheinhardt
• Chapman Brotherrs of homestarrunner.com
• Craig Swann

This is definitely one to keep an eye (ear?) on.

You can find more information on the podcasts, as well as how to subscribe to them on the FlashForward blog.

Well, it looks like we are finally going to do a new round of development on MXNA. We already have a long list of fixes and changes we are planning on doing (based on user feedback). We have some cool ideas, but before we get started, we want to hear from you.

So, what new features or changes to you want added to MXNA?

Post your requests in the comments.

CNet has posted a “High Impact” article about Apollo. It is based on an interview with Kevin Lynch, and discusses our goals around Apollo.

From the article:

Apollo is designed to give developers a way to create applications that can render Flash animations as well as HTML and Acrobat files (PDF). That approach preserves the benefits of the Web but allows room for programs that can’t be included now, Lynch said.

The Adobe Consulting team has been busy over at their blog this week. Not only have they updated their super useful Flex Style explorer, but they also released a CSS style sheet that will make your Flex application look a lot like a Mac app.

• Flex Style Explorer for Flex 2
• Mac OS-X Style for Flex 2

Both require Flex 2 / Flash Player 9 Beta 3, which you can grab from labs.

You can find more info on styling Flex apps using CSS on livedocs.

I just posted this week’s podcast

This weeks podcast discusses:

• Flex beta 3 Release
• Beta 2 to Beta 3 Changes
• Implications of early access to betas
• Beta 2 to Beta 3 Application compatibility
• Flash Player 9 Beta Install Issues
• Flash Player 9 Performance
• Performance of Release Player Builds verses Debug Player Builds
• Commodore 64 Emulator
• Creating ActionScript based components for Flex 2
• Animated Drag Tile Component from Ely Greenfield
• Blog of the Week
• Flex Style Manager
• Styling Applications within Flex
• Mac OS-X like style for Flex 2.0
• Apollo at FlashForward Austin
• Ajax Experience Conference

Here are the links mentioned in the podcast:

Well, as you have probably seen from the 50 million posts on MXNA about it, last night we posted the latest beta of Flex 2 / Flash Player 9 to labs. This beta drop includes the following:

• Flash Player 9 (the Player formerly known as Flash Player 8.5)
• Flex Builder 2.0
• Flex SDK 2.0 (includes Flex Framework and command-line compiler for Mac, Windows, Linux, etc…)
• Flex Charting Components
• Flex Builder 2.0

You can find more information on everything in this release on the labs wiki.

In addition to new beta builds of Flash Player 9, Flex Builder 2, and Flex 2, we have also posted updated versions of the open source ActionScript 3 libraries to labs.

These libraries include a number of changes:

• Updated to work with beta 3
• Some API renaming (mostly in corelibs : com.adobe.utils)
• Removed some redundant APIs (mostly in com.adobe.utils)
• Fixed bug where events where not being documented in docs

In regards to removing some APIs. We removed a couple of APIs that had equivalent APIs in the Player of Flex Framework. So, if you can’t find an API you were using, just check the Player and Framework docs.

Darron Schall and Claus Wahlers have been working on a Commodore 64 emulator written in ActionScript 3 (and targeting Flash Player 9).

Darron just posted that they have actually gotten a boot screen working, which is a pretty significant milestone. As Darron noted in his post:

I can’t stress enough how important this initial boot screen is. Getting this screen in place means the basic hardware is emulated and should mean smoother sailing from here on out.

Just a quick fyi, but the subversion repository for labs has changed from:

labs.macromedia.com

to

labs.adobe.com

I have updated the source info page with the new domain.