Respect the Caps…
If you ever find yourself creating registration forms where you allow users to create their own username, please make sure that when the data is saved to the database, that you respect the caps! What do I mean? Well, for the past 3 years I’ve gone by the username iBrent. That’s a lower-case i and an uppercase B. As you can guess, my first name is Brent. Since I’m a tech junkie, and a closet Apple fan-boy, I added the i to give my name a techie feel.
Lately, when I’ve registered for a few new forums, or software beta’s, I’ve used my moniker, iBrent. Some of the registration forms end up ignoring the capitalization, and destroy my identity by changing it to ibrent, or even more absurd Ibrent! Forever will my username be spelled wrong on these forums.
So, just a suggestion to all you folks who work with registration forms, please, please, PLEASE, respect the captilization that people put in their usernames. After all it is their identity we’re talking about. =D
– iBrent
Unity 2.5 released for Windows !!
If you’ve had any interest in 3D game development, you may have heard of Unity. It allows you to create standalone and web-based 3D games, as well as producing content for the Wii, and the iPhone. Before today, the authoring environment was only for the Mac. Well, they just released version 2.5 for Windows!
It’s an exciting time to be a 3D game developer!
iBrent
I Passed!!
You’re looking at a newly Adobe Certified Expert! =D
I took the Adobe Flex 3 with AIR ACE exam this afternoon and passed with a score of 74% (you only need 67% to pass). As soon as the test results are sent to Adobe, I’ll be able to get that fancy logo added to my site. W00t!
Regarding my preparation for the test, the best thing I did, aside from my years of experience 
was to review the free documentation that comes with Flex. Basically I took the ACE exam guide, and highlighted all the terms that I needed to brush up on, and then I did a search through the Flex documentation, and read each chapter that discussed those terms (I downloaded the complete set of pdfs, and using the advanced search in Acrobat, I was able to search quickly through all the documents).
All in all I spent about 6 hours of studying, over the course of 3 days. I thought I had reviewed all the sections I needed to, until I got half-way through the test and hit the questions on accessing a local database in AIR. DOH! I forgot to review that, and sure enough, that was my worse section –> Interacting with data sources and servers 37% (oops). Luckily I did well enough on all the rest to pass the exam. Of course with only 50 questions, missing 13, gave me a 74%.
What a coincidence! I took the test on Friday the 13th, and I missed 13 questions. Who would have thought?
Anyway, I’m happy with the results, and I’m excited to get that logo on my site. Because as they say, it’s not what you know, it’s what people think you know, that matters.
But seriously, thanks for all the kind words of encouragement.
– iBrent
I’m gettin’ certified!
Ever since I learned about the Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) program back in the early 00’s, I’ve always wanted to get certified. I think it helps with getting new clients, to set yourself apart from the crowd with a certification next to your name. Some people argue that it’s unnecessary, and that experience and a good portfolio are the true test of a good developer. Well, I agree, but I also feel it’s important to show that you meet certain industry standards. The Adobe Certification exams are tried and true programs that give you more credibility. Besides, you get to put a cool new logo on your site. =D
Well, now I’ve officially scheduled my exam, and I’m going to get certified! I’m taking the Flex 3 with AIR exam, and I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes. I’ve noticed a lot of people blogging about it on the Adobe feeds lately, and I’m now more motivated than ever, so here I go. Wish me luck!
– iBrent
I twitted…
Excuse me. =D
Now you can follow me every time I toot. I mean twit. Or is it tweet?
Let the nerdery begin.
Captivate 4 + AIR = cool help system
So I got a copy of the new Adobe Captivate 4. Since video tutorials are my thing, I figured I should be aware of the tools of the trade. I’ve been using Camtasia on my PC, and iShowU on my Mac. Both of these are “Real-time” video capture programs, where they create video of everything you see and do. Captivate is a bit different. In addition to real-time video capture, it uses a system that takes screenshots and records the mouse clicks, keyboard input, and other interactions, and then produces an swf that relies on the Flash Player for distribution. (One new feature of C4 is the ability to export straight to .avi without using a swf to video converter).
The advantage of this mixture of screenshots, and real-time video, is a more interactive experience, as well as smaller file size. Since you are utilizing the Flash Player with Captivate, you can add all sorts of interactions. Camtasia has a number of similar functionality, though Captivate has the quiz and interaction part down to a science.
One gripe I’ve had with Adobe’s products has been their help systems. Since I own nearly the entire Adobe catalog, I’ve got help systems that range from your traditional CHM, to web based, and now with Captivate, they are using an AIR app. Each type of help has it’s advantages, and disadvantages. Currently with Flash CS4, I hate the fact that it loads in my browser, and doesn’t give me the ability to navigate like we did in Flash 8/CS3. I like the fact that we can use community contributed content in searching the help system, but there are times when I just want to go straight to the api, and find the class I need. Don’t make me wade through hundreds of blog posts in addition to the api documentation.
Anyway, I like the fact that Adobe is actually using it’s own technology to improve the help system. Go AIR! =D
iBrent
What is Flex?
I belong to a number of programming mailing lists, and occasionally I see people ask about Flex, and I figured I’d give my two cents worth of what I understand Flex to be. Recently on the Direct-L mailing list, a list for Adobe Director developers, this topic came up. Here’s the reply I gave to this question:
Hi,As a Flex developer, I thought I’d interject here and add to the discussion. I realize some people may have already covered these points, but I figured I’d explain it how I understand it.
There are a number of terms to understand when talking about Flex:
Actionscript 3
Flex SDK
Flex Builder 3
MXML
AIR
Actionscript 3 –> The latest programming language for interacting with the Flash Player. Flash CS3/CS4 create swfs that play in the Flash Player. The current Player can run swfs created in AS3 and is backwards compatible with Actionscript 2, and 1. As we know, Director can interact with AS 1, 2, and a limited set of AS 3 swfs.
Flex SDK –> http://opensource.adobe.com. The SDK includes command-line compilers to create swfs (currently running in Flash Player 9 or 10) and AIR files (that run on the desktop). This is free and opensource, and you can use any text editor to write your code. Flex includes a number of components – pre-built controls/layouts/interfaces to allow for fast prototyping of Rich Internet Applications or RIA’s. Flex is a framework. A set of classes that extend the current implementation of Actionscript 3. This additional set of classes is not currently supported in Director.
Flex Builder 3 –> http://www.adobe.com/flex. An Eclipse based IDE from Adobe that gives you a GUI for creating Flex applications that run on the web (swf) or desktop (AIR). This is a commercial product. It uses the Flex SDK to compile the code, and includes a powerful script editor, debugger, and additional memory profiling tools. Comes in two flavors, Standard and Pro.
MXML –> Markup language for use in creating Flex apps. It is a way to quickly layout visual elements using code. MXML is compiled down to Actionscript 3, which is compiled into the swf.
AIR –> http://www.adobe.com/air. Adobe Integrated Runtime. Think of it as a Flash Player for the desktop. It’s a separate download that is installed on the users machine, that can install and run .air files. Once the AIR runtime is installed, you can then install .air files to the users machines. These install just like any other desktop app, including a desktop shortcut, Dock/Taskbar icon, and the ability to uninstall using the OS’s uninstall mechanism. It runs on Linux, Windows, and Mac. In addition to the Flash Player functionality, you get additional API’s that allow you to interact with the users machine. This includes a built-in SQL database and an HTML renderer (WebKit). Flash CS3/CS4 and Flex both have the ability to generate .air files that play in the AIR runtime. In addition to Flash and Flex, you can create AIR apps with just HTML/Javascript. There is a plugin for Dreamweaver to create AIR apps, or you can use any text editor, along with the AIR SDK. So to clarify – YOU DON”T NEED TO USE FLEX OR FLASH to create AIR apps. You can do it with just HTML/Javascript/AJAX if you want. =D
Why Flex, why not just Flash? Flex is for developers. You don’t have a timeline to create animations with. You typically see it used in enterprise level apps. Since it uses Actionscript 3, you can easily integrate Flash produced animations, etc. They are two different tools that provide different approaches to creating content for the Flash Player, and AIR. I use both when creating my applications. I use Flash to create the skins/animations and Flex to create the interactions.
There is so much more to it than what I’ve explained, but hopefully you have a better sense of how they relate to each other. I do have a website where I cover a lot of Flash/Flex stuff –> http://www.tutorialsbyibrent.com
Regards,
iBrent
YouTube = marketing
With permission from Cartoonsmart.com, I’ve uploaded a short excerpt of the first hour in the Intro to Flex Builder tutorial series. Be sure to download the entire first hour here, to get a better view. Click here to see the YouTube excerpt.
YouTube is great for marketing, but doesn’t give the best compression when viewing text on the screen. Of course, I’m not so sure there’s a big market for nerdy programming tutorials either. 
iBrent
Coming soon to TBI
Here’s a short list of what’s in the works:
- Arcadem Pro part 1 and 2 –> Learn how to install and customize one of the best arcade scripts on the web.
- Actionscript 3.0 Part 2 –> Continuing the from part 1, I’ll explain the advantages of learning AS3, and review basics of programming.
- Mochiads integration –> See how to leverage Mochiads to generate income as a game developer. AS2 and AS3 code examples.
- Intro to Unity 3D –> Here I’ll introduce the best 3D game development suite in the world.
– iBrent
UMap and Flash CS4 part 2
I’ve been fiddling with the Jing embed player, and now I’ve got the second part of this tutorial posted here. In this tutorial I show you how to add markers to the map, as well as change the map provider.
Enjoy!
iBrent