Category Archives: Rant

The media seriously needs to get their sh*t together

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I saw this poorly researched atrocity when it was first published the other day and immediately wrote CNN asking that they correct the numerous factual errors in the article. I have yet to hear back.

Unfortunately, tech reporters can get away with all sorts of lies and inaccuracies without doing any actual journalism. Honestly, reporters; we are experts, we are out here, we don’t bite, and we are happy to talk to you about our passion. Do some real reporting and stop writing whatever will get you the most traffic.

Here follows my response…

“Wallaby” is a tool for advertisers familiar with animating banner ads in Flash Professional, to be able to continue using that tool to produce ads compatible with iOS. Adobe is also working on other advanced tooling for HTML but this in no way is “caving” to anything. They have always built tools for HTML and continue to do so in innovative ways. Flash vs. Apple is simply a good way for tech authors to generate traffic because it presents opposition and drama.

I have been on the “Wallaby” prerelease for months and while the author presents the tool as being able to convert any Flash content to HTML, this is simply not true. It can convert the simplest of animation and that is all. You cannot use it to convert interactive elements, games, or full applications to HTML. It is not designed for that.

Adobe and Apple are not on the same page regarding Flash on iOS, but engineers from the Flash and Safari teams do work together on improving how everything works together, and the Flash Platform can be used to compile applications for iOS (just not apps that run in the web browser). The two companies have certainly not been at odds since the 1980s. That is ridiculous.

As for video serving companies like YouTube and Hulu; both have come out with statements to the effect that while they are experimenting with HTML native video, that they continue to use Flash to deliver video for the forseeable future because of the many benefits it offers. Many browser makers, such as Google and Opera, have joined the Open Screen Project and Google even bakes the Flash runtime into Chrome. The just released IE9 contains specific hooks for integrated GPU acceleration for the Flash Player runtime. While the tech reporters enjoy painting a picture of dying technology- the facts speak otherwise.

As far as Apple holding the largest portion of the smartphone market; this has recently shifted with Android being the dominating smartphone platform worldwide. It’s unfortunate that reporters cannot seem to do their research any longer before writing tech articles.

CNN: you can do better. C’mon.

Steve Jobs and Apple: Insane? Or Just Evil?

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At this point we’ve all seen the unfortunately worded, revised iPhone Developer Program License Agreement banning Flash, Java, Mono (and really any non-Apple-tooled) apps:

3.3.1 Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs. Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine, and only code written in C, C++, and Objective-C may compile and directly link against the Documented APIs (e.g., Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited).

A lot of insightful things have been written about this and I agree with much of what is being said. Flash developers are in an uproar and rightfully so. Longtime Apple users are switching back to Windows and looking to Android for their next mobile device. Open source advocates are horrified at what this means for computing in general. A lot more will be said before this is all over.

There are two items I’d like to submit to the discussion based upon my own experiences and observations:

1) The majority of Apple supporters have traditionally been users of Adobe software. Almost everyone I know at Adobe uses a MacBook Pro and carries around an iPhone. Adobe employees have consistently stated that they’d like to work with Apple to address any concerns over Flash and their iProducts. Apples recent actions are an affront to their traditional user base. What reason would there be for a company to turn against its foundation user base? Insanity.

2) While Adobe, Google, Mozilla, and various members of the Open Screen Project work to make Flash, browsers, and plugin architectures more integrated, stable and open; Apple remains within its own closed little bubble, refusing to play with anyone that doesn’t buy into their cleverly contrived App Store and now iAds (really!) ecosystem.

While the rest of the Web moves forward and tries to work together to improve things for everyone, Apple stands in the way with a closed system, elitist mentality, and insane policies.

Or are Mr. Jobs and Apple simply evil?

Really, Really Bad (damned irresponsible) Design Decisions

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Every once in awhile, I receive postcards and such from my undergraduate institution, Worcester State College. I hold a BA in Communications Media from this school and have no complaints about the degree or the classes I took while a student there. I do, however, die a little inside each time I see one of the horrid visual clusterf@#ks that always accompany these publications. Below is a good example of what I’m talking about:

WSC

Got this one when I arrived home this evening. So we have a horrible stitch-job of seemingly random people all crammed together in what might pass for a 10 year old child’s first Photoshop project. That’s something I’ve learned to live with. Not everyone can design well, some people can’t design at all. Some people have no business even contemplating design. No big deal, right? Let’s look a little closer:

WSCdetail

Wait a minute… the child… is that her name and a set of phone numbers taped to her chest? Oh yeah it is… wow. You can’t see it here as I’ve modified the image to remove the phone numbers- but sure as I sit here holding this abomination in my hands… you can read the numbers clear as day.

How does something like this get past the designer? How does it get past the approval process? How about the printer? No red flags anywhere along that chain, people??? Then they add the other girl staring directly into the name tag? Still nothing? How about now that I’ve drawn a green, glowing line-of-sight from her eyeball to the phone numbers? Ahhh… now someone might catch it.

Un-believable.

Runtime Armatures in Flash CS4

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I have such terrible luck with Runtime Armatures in Flash CS4. It’s really not funny anymore.

Most recently stumbled across the following compilation error (fatal warning?) when working with the “New Flash Component” feature of Flash Builder 4:

Midge

Warning: 5002: The main timeline’s frame scripts have been ignored because a compiled clip contains a definition for fl.livepreview.LivePreviewParent. To override the fl.livepreview.LivePreviewParent definition, place a custom class file within your classpath.

Obviously, Flash is generating code for the Runtime Armature which is conflicting with code for the Flash Component for use in Flash Builder. Ugh…

I’m working on some demos for my FITC presentation during the MAX unconference in October. This is by no means a show stopper but what an annoyance… Half the time when working with Runtime Armatures in CS4, Flash will just totally crash and burn. I have great luck with Armatures during authoring- the runtime stuff just always seems to bite me.

Bug filed:
http://bugs.adobe.com/jira/browse/FB-22221

UPDATE: I have confirmation that this is fixed in Flash CS5.

The Flash Platform???

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WTF? Wasn’t the “Flash Platform” christened back in the Macromedia days? I’ve been calling it that ever since Macromedia released their original declarative whitepaper in October 2005…

Realizing that Flash is a better name than Flex for a platform, Adobe is now referring to everything it does related to Flash (including the Flash Player, Adobe AIR, Flex developer tools, and Flash media servers) as the Flash Platform.

Picked up via Chuck Freedman.