Flashforward 2008 Behind the Scenes Highlight video
In addition to presenting on Day 1, I took some Flip video from in front of, behind and on the stage at Flashforward 2008. The video features some key speakers and characters at the conference, including Keith Peters presenting, Grant Skinner presenting, Beau Amber leading a couch session, a bit of me presenting Ribbit, Phillip Kerman going crazy on stage, and finally, Miha Pogacnik playing the flash fiddle.
Fun times. Enjoy! If you attended, please comment with your thoughts on the conference and/or my presentation.
Time to Flashforward 2008
Wow, this is as excited as I’ve ever been for a conference. After the little ‘pep’ talk at our Speaker dinner, and the clear focus on PASSION, I looked around the room and realized how significant and unique the collection of presenters really was. I’ve retooled my presentation slightly to better reflect the uniqueness of the Ribbit API and why I’m so excited about it. The talk is quite small — only 20 minutes — but the surrounding format sounds great. I talked with some of the other speakers and they’ve got some great things lined up as well. I think all those attending are really in for a treat.
Although I did not check out the conference venue, Keith told me it was quite nice. It will be refreshing to speak in an auditorium setting as opposed to the traditional conference/classroom venue.
Here is a photo of the auditorium, the Nob Hill Masonic Center in San Francisco.
Those of you coming… I look forward to seeing you there.
An ActionScript storm front forming over Bay area
This week is going to be a perfect storm for Flash and Flex developers in the Bay area. We’ve got two conferences converging. 360Flex San Jose officially started today and runs until Wednesday, August 20th. On that same day, Flashforward (under new management) starts in San Francisco and runs through Friday, August 22nd. With all the Flash/Flex conferences around these days, I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often.
It’s going to be a very busy week for me. Yesterday (Sunday) we gave a full day’s worth of Ribbit at our hands-on Ribbit Spawn session. It was part of ‘day 0′ of 360Flex Sunday, full day training class. I’ll be here at 360Flex (sitting in Kevin Fauth’s session now) today and tomorrow. I’m particularly interested in attending sessions in the Custom Components track. Lots of good stuff to see.
On Wednesday, I take the stage at 2:00 up at Flashforward. It will be my first time presenting at Flashforward and I’m going to open the presentation with a bang. Should be a lot of fun. Hopefully my preparation won’t overlap any of the other great sessions being offered that day. On day 2 of Flashforward, Thursday, I’ll be doing a hands-on session at lunchtime. I’m even more excited about this at it gives me a chance to get code in the hands of developers.
For me, the best part of these conferences is seeing a lot of friends that will be visiting the area. With all the networking events (parties) and dinners, it will be great to catch up with everyone and see what everyone’s got going on.
360Flex is sold out, and I’m sure Flashforward is close — if not there already. If you are attending, come see me.
Flashforward >> Wednesday, August 20 >> 2:00 >> Bringing Voice and Messaging to Flash
Flashforward >> Thursday, August 21 >> 12:00 >> Building Ribbit Applications
ActionScript Olympic Race, featuring Math.random
Watching the Olympics, I thought it would be cool to simulate a race with ActionScript. Below is my first version of the ActionScript Olympic Race, where each colored circle has an equal chance at winning. The script features a Math.random() based algorithm that calculates the distance each circle will move as a Timer instance runs. Once a circle (a tie is possible) passes the finish line, the race ends, and that circle gets a notch in the win column.
See how many races it takes for each circle to have at least one win!
I’m hoping to polish this up before the actual Olympics end, maybe adding country flags and allowing you to give a country an edge. Suggestions are welcome and appreciated!
A case against eBay to sustain the middle man
On a recent flight, I overheard an incredible conversation about how one large vendor not only prevents its dealers from selling on eBay but actually penalizes them for doing so. It got me thinking about the value of the middle man and how it may be preserved.
The death of the small town or regional storefront has been occurring for decades. The introduction of ‘big box’ stores like Walmart, Target and Home Depot have been giving consumers better prices and more choices than the local hardware store on the corner. While one can argue that those bigger stores can’t compete with knowledge and service like smaller stores, consumer behavior seems to indicate that people care less and less about what to buy vs what’s the best buy.
My dad and family run a smaller regional store, one that my grandfather started over 60 years ago. They’ve been able to compete price-wise by teaming up with other stores and buying their merchandise collectively. This means that vendors sell volume indirectly to them in similar numbers compared to larger chains, thus keeping their cost low and, in turn, allowing them to compete in price. And instead of hiring any twenty-something looking for any job to raise college money, retail stores like my dad’s employ career experts who know every single detail about the model AND can advise on the exact item that is perfect for you.
I would consider myself a frequent online consumer, usually opting to buy things not from a local store OR even a big box retailer. I buy online when I can, and as often as I can. I’m also a huge fan of eBay, leveraging the mass of buyers to re-sell almost every gadget I own after 3 years. On a recent flight, I overheard an incredible conversation about how one vendor not only prevents its dealers from selling on eBay but actually penalizes them for doing so.
The company makes high-end bicycles. They recognize the value of the local store for the fact that their market (consumers who buy their brand of bike) appreciate the unique fit and performance of their product and understand why they cost more than other brands. For this and a few other factors, they work very hard to preserve the middle man by refusing to sell directly to the consumer.
If they or their re-sellers start selling on eBay it would create a marketplace where anyone could use the remaining re-seller as nothing more than a stop to try out the bike, only to then buy online for a more competitive price. This would lead to re-sellers losing sales and drive them out of business. Without enough local retailers stocking this brand of bike, the company would no longer be able to manufacturer nor justify a higher quality and costly bike since fewer people would be able to experience the quality first hand.
I think there are many products that this concern does not apply to. Gadgets, for one, are things that don’t necessarily need to be experienced first hand. MP3 players and camcorders have a similar feel, and we seem to trust blogs and review sites to report on sound and visual quality. But a bike, clothes, and anything that we really need to experience for ourselves may always need a middle man.
Today marks my 10th year of Flash
Today, this very day, represents a decade of me working (drawing, animating, tinkering and coding) with Flash. It was on August 8, 1998 that I compiled my first swf with an educational version of Flash 2. I got the software at the BU Bookstore (a.k.a. Barnes & Noble) in Kenmore Square, Boston. Yes, the very building that the great Citgo sign sits upon.
How do I know/remember the exact date? For some reason, I’ve kept the swf all these years — not the fla — with a created date of 08/08/98 on it. So here, in honor of my 10 years of Flash, is the first swf I ever made…
I’ll be speaking at Flash on Tap in October about my first 10 years of Flash. I can’t wait. Here is the title and description of this very special presentation:
Session Title:
Thriving on Flash, my first 10 years
Session Description:
A decade ago, I compiled my first swf using an educational version of Macromedia Flash 2. As a film student and aspiring web developer, I saw Flash as the ultimate form of expression and interaction. 10 years later, I’m still doing it — making a pretty good living and enjoying the technology and community more than ever. I’d like to share with you my journey, from my ’skip intro’ days to creating my first award-winning app. From fighting for Flash adoption at huge companies, to launching the most visible Flex app in Yahoo! Maps. I’ll cover the challenges and moves I’ve made throughout my career, reveal many significant projects, and discuss why I feel deploying developer APIs like Ribbit (developer.ribbit.com) keeps me learning, innovative and coding strong.
I hope to see you there. Sign up now!
They are on to us; movie quotes on shirts
What used to be not-so-private jokes between movie fans now seems to be public knowledge. I have drawn great humor in the past from blurting out random movie quotes in order to generate laughs from my closest and rather cinema-sophisticated friends. My ability to pull out the most obscure, yet somewhat notable movie quote earned me a diagnosis of ‘movie Tourette syndrome’ from my wife. I am proud of that.
The growing (despite what they say) economy and casual work environment has fostered a generation where wearing t-shirts has become the norm. We’re not talking typical gym-class shirts, but rather very expressive garmets featuring vibrant, eye-catching expressions. The novelty t-shirt ranges in color, fabric and lets the wearer generate a laugh by exposing a colorful, sometimes even off-color depiction to their friends and co-workers. The most abundant form of ‘expression’ on these shirts seems to center around movie quotes and references.
And so I find myself feeling a bit torn between “I’ve really got to buy one” to “our secret is out” when I see t-shirts featuring some of my favorite movie quotes.
Like this gem from Billy Madison…
Or this one from Anchorman…
And this one from Back to the Future which I actually want to get…
Lastly, another one from Back to the Future which I still can’t believe exists (seriously, how is this a shirt?)…
There are hundreds out there. If you’ve got a favorite one out there, let me know. I think I need to point out that most of these shirts sell for around $20, which is pretty pricey. I suppose if your work culture reflects it, you might as well wear something that makes others smile.
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