Archive for Tech
March 3, 2008 at 11:59 am · Filed under FITC, PHP, Tech, Web Apps
Created by the guys (or Pirates, as they prefer to be called) over at Substance, Logobama lets you upload a photo to create a custom Barack Obama logo in sizes to fit user icons for Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, Digg, LinkedIn, Flickr, and others.
This is a great example of how to use various services, such as Flickr, to fit your simple mashup needs -- just like David and Shaun spoke about at FITC Hollywood a few months ago. Great idea, fellas!
December 9, 2007 at 7:31 pm · Filed under Apple, Tech
For a while now I have kept a list of small projects that I'd like to do when I have time. I call these "weekend projects" because they should take me no longer than a weekend to get them up and running. Last weekend I _finally_ got to knock one of those off the list: http://www.quicklookplugins.com.
QuickLook Plugins List is a directory of Quick Look Plugins for Apple’s OS X 10.5 Leopard. If you are unfamiliar with Quick Look in OS X 10.5, you can read more about it here. Basically, Quick Look in Mac OS X Leopard lets you play, view, and page through your files without opening them. And this new site aims to keep a directory of plugins that developers have written for this new technology, allowing you to use this feature with a much greater set of file types such as ZIP, XML, FLV and more.
This all started from a blog post Keith Peters did last month when he mentioned ColorXML which adds color formatting to XML files in Quick Look. I did some research and found several plugins, but they were all scattered around the internet on various blogs and forum postings. Hopefully this new site will help to avoid that scavenger hunt.
If you see that any are missing on the site, I encourage you to use the contact form and send them along. Also, you can help the site out by 'Digging' it on Digg.
Enjoy!
October 17, 2007 at 4:09 pm · Filed under Flash, Mobile Development, Tech
A few days ago I received an email that it was finally my turn to order a Chumby as part of the insider's launch, and today I placed my order.
What is a Chumby? It's a really small wi-fi networked computer that looks like an odd bedside alarm clock. It has a LCD touchscreen, is almost completely open source, can be extended/customized, and you can make Flash Lite 3 apps to run on it. The Flash Lite 3 was one of the big sellers for me - I'm excited to see what I can do with it, especially since I haven't spent much time developing with Flash Lite before. Oh, and it'll work perfectly with SWX!
Engadget has a nice hands-on post from a pre-production model with lots of photos, but here are some stats from the Chumby website:
Wi-fi connectivity • access to the free Chumby Network • 3.5" LCD color touchscreen • two external USB 2.0 full-speed ports • 350 MHz ARM processor • 64 MB SDRAM • 64 MB NAND flash ROM • stereo 2W speakers • headphone output • squeeze sensor • accelerometer (motion sensor) • leather casing • AC adapter included
I'll be sure to post more details and photos once it arrives.
July 25, 2007 at 11:03 am · Filed under Actionscript 3, Adobe, AIR (Apollo), PHP, Remoting, Tech, Web Apps
The more I code in AS3 the more I want to be able to use it as a server side programming language - mainly as a replacement for PHP. I might be missing something, but at first glance, I don't see any reasons this wouldn't be possible with a little effort from Adobe.
Let's look at the current manifestations of ECMAScript 4, the standard on which ActionScript 3 and the new version of JavaScript are based. There is Flash/Flex (SWF) with delivery to the web browser via a plug-in, JavaScript for direct interaction with the web browser, and AIR (Apollo) for desktop delivery. The only missing piece is server-side deployment, a fact of which I'd bet Adobe is well aware.
PHP is a great server-side language which I use very often, but every language has its own nuances, and switching continuously between PHP and AS3 often opens the door for several small bugs due to the syntactical differences.
As a framework for how much effort it would take to port AS3 for server-side usage, let's look at how PHP5 and AS3 compare on key web development factors. These core features are supported in both PHP5 and AS3:
- MySQL/database integration (PHP built-in, AS3 through classes)
- Open source and free
- Extendable (PHP through plugins, AS3 through classes)
- Large developer community
- Class-based development possible (Full OOP in AS3)
So with most of the features needed already included in AS3 or written by the community, why not take the extra step and port it to the server side? I'm sure Adobe doesn't want to sell Coldfusion 8 short, so there is that corporate hurdle. I could see it being integrated with Coldfusion in a similar manner that ActionScript can be included in MXML through the usage of a code/cdata block.
All said, nothing is stopping the community from developing an open source project based around this concept. A quick search of Google reveals that at least one other person is having similar thoughts.
Would you use AS3 if it was ported for server-side usage?
July 11, 2007 at 10:40 pm · Filed under AIR (Apollo), Design Inspiration, Flash, Personal, Tech
Tonight the UPS delivery man dropped off two Nabaztagtag wifi-enabled smart rabbits and an extra set of ears! Ever since I read Aral's post on his, I have been waiting for my order to arrive. If you haven't heard of these amazing devices, I highly suggest you check out their website to see all the cool features this little device can handle. Basically, the Nabaztagtag can play internet radio, send and receive messages to other 'tags, complete voice activated commands, tell you the weather, act as your alarm clock, and a whole world of other internet-enabled services.
I've only had a few hours to play with my new rabbit, but I have to say, this thing is at one of the highest levels of usability I have seen in awhile. The developers (Violet, out of France) went to great lengths to make sure the thing just works. Their website is extremely easy to use, and setup was a breeze once I found a small note with a bug fix for those with Apple's Airport wireless routers.
The best use I have found, however, is why I purchased two of the devices: you can "marry" two 'tags and then whenever you move the ears on one device, the ears will move in the exact same position on the second device. So the rabbit in the photos with the pink ears is for my girlfriend who is moving out of town this week. I thought the rabbits might be a cool way to keep in touch over the long distance, and "marrying" and sending messages between the two rabbits will allow for just that.
One other quick thing I should note is that there is a very large developer community surrounding these 'tags. There is a public API that is fairly well documented, and developers have made a ton of cool services available including NabAIR, an Adobe AIR application that allows you to control your (or someone else's) 'tag through a simple desktop application.
June 25, 2007 at 7:34 pm · Filed under Flash, Mobile Development, Tech
Chumby posted launch plans and final product features on their corporate blog yesterday, complete with an announcement that the device will be the first device to run Flash Lite 3.
The device will cost $180 fully-delivered, no fees or extra subscriptions, which I think is brilliant. Similar devices, such as the Nabaztag/tag Rabbit cost about the same, but require a $7/month service fee to do anything custom.
If anyone from Chumby reads this -- I'd love to be on the list mentioned in your blog for those who will get a chance to buy the initial release!
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