I'm sure someone once said, "A day at the beach is a day well spent". If they didn't, then I'm saying it now.
April 30, 2011
April 30, 2011 By 1 Comment
Introducing Project Edge
April 29, 2011 By 1 Comment
Last year at Max, there was ONE demo that rocked my world. In fact, it rocked my world so hard, I went on a mission to find Doug Winnie and pick his brain. I was singularly focused wandering the expo hall like a zombie asking everyone wearing a black shirt, “hey, have you seen Doug Winnie?”
It was code named, “Edge”. It’s described as, “an HTML5 animation and interactive design tool”.
Did you read what I just wrote? Stop for a minute. Go back and slowly let that sink in.
The company that owns Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, inDesign, After Effects, Flex, ColdFusion and a whole host of other visual design tools is developing a product that allows you to create interactivity and animation with web standards technologies like HTML5 and CSS3.
When I saw the demo in LA last year, I practically shit myself. I literally can’t wait for this product, and I want you to know, I didn’t use the word “literally” where I should’ve used the word, “figuratively”. No, I literally can’t wait for this product.
Watch Doug give you a couple of brief overviews:
“Why didn’t he release it earlier?”
April 27, 2011 By 2 Comments
Because he’s American, you fucking yutz. That’s why. He didn’t NEED to release it. You completely gloss over the fact that he not only releases the birth certificate, but simultaneously outs you for being the shallow racist that you are, by correctly stating that the non-issue was actually distracting people from the real problems the country faces.
But of course, rather than speak to the problems in America, or how we can begin to fix them, it’s much easier to tilt at windmills and preen for drooling idiots glued to Fox News who cling to some hope that the smart black man in the White House isn’t really who he says he is.
You should be ashamed.
UPDATE: Here’s a great one. Donald Trump, China basher extraordinaire, has a clothing line, called naturally, “The Donald J. Trump Signature Collection”. Of course, it’s manufactured in China. Because when you’re a racist idiot, might as well go all in, right?
Oh… cool.
April 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I just found out I paid off my car. I had thought it was coming up but I didn’t know that I had completely paid it off. I just called Capital One to check the balance, and the little automated voice told me that it was paid off and my title is being shipped in the next couple of weeks.
So, no credit card debt, no car payment, and no other obligations besides a mortgage payment (which is ridiculously low thanks to a timely refinance… we’re talking less than I paid in rent over 15 years ago).
I could theoretically live off of working at Toys R Us.
I wonder if they’re hiring?
My favorite new feature of Dreamweaver CS 5.5 is a one-two punch in the face.
April 22, 2011 By 2 Comments
I only briefly blogged about Dreamweaver CS5.5 the other day and embedded what I thought was a great video of Greg Rewis going through all the bells and whistles of the latest release. He’s got a great blog post on the subject, so I felt like the topic was being covered pretty well.
But I realized, dammit, I love this product so much that I’m gonna go ahead and toss my two cents out there regardless. I think over the next month or so I’m going to try and blog as much as I can about little features, tips, tricks, and particular things that I love about the app that maybe people who are new, or perhaps haven’t dug into it might not be aware of or maybe haven’t had an opportunity to use.
The first thing that I want to point out is what I call, a “one-two punch in the face”. This is the combination that just knocks me out.
I don’t even really need to start a discussion by saying things like, “hey, have you heard? Mobile is big now…” or, “have you seen these ‘smart phones’ that all the kids have these days?”. I think now, all we need to say is, “Mobile is here. Now”. For years and years people have been talking about it and I sat in on sessions at Max in the early part of the “aughts” that predicted this as, “just around the corner” but I don’t think any amount of hyperbole could be used today to describe the impact of mobile on workflows. It’s for this reason alone that I’m excited enough about Dreamweaver CS5.5 to make sure I got my pre-order in the day it was available.
With this release of Dreamweaver, Adobe has added two features that, I know at least for me, are game-changing. jQuery Mobile support, and PhoneGap. Let me be clear, too. It’s not just “support” for the PhoneGap framework. It’s the PhoneGap framework built right into Dreamweaver. We’re talking package your app for app stores and launch the emulators right from within Dreamweaver. Web developers can now call native APIs like notifications, camera, contacts, etc from PhoneGap now within Dreamweaver CS5.5! My friend, Scott Fegette over at Adobe has written an excellent overview piece on how this integration looks in the upcoming release. Check out this money quote:
For Android, the complex process of installing, configuring, and verifying the Android SDK has always been a bit of a chore. Dreamweaver CS5.5 takes all the pain out of this process by providing an “easy install” option, which will do all of the above for you in the background. Although the Apple iOS SDK tools are subject to a different licensing model (and only available on the Mac platform), once you’ve installed the Apple iOS SDK (or Xcode from the Mac App Store), you simply point Dreamweaver CS5.5 to the /Developer directory on your hard drive and you’re ready to go.
Now, I’m not even about to go down a road about how this “replaces app development”, or “now you don’t have to learn Objective C or Java for Android”. Nope. That’s not the case at all. I think those skills are still going to be needed, but what I do see is the ability to deliver mobile content to a wider audience of clients and customers without the barrier of a potentially costly endeavor. Look, I’ve got clients who don’t need a game. They might not need an overcomplicated app requiring a computer science degree. They’re clients who have an idea or a product they want to expose to the mobile space where a nicely wrapped HTML/CSS/jQuery mobile experience is perfectly acceptable. Both from a cost standpoint and a deliverable experience standpoint. I think there are plenty of opportunities worth exploring for a wide variety of clients who probably haven’t gotten into the app space precisely because of what I’ll call, “the app barrier”. Now, I think it’s safe to say that Adobe and Dreamweaver have significantly lowered that barrier and allowed me to provide tremendous value to clients.
For more information about all of this, you simply MUST go check out the Dreamweaver Channel over on Adobe TV.
Why I pre-ordered Adobe Creative Suite 5.5. Yes, pre-ordered.
April 19, 2011 By 1 Comment
I’ve never pre-ordered software before in my life. In fact, I’ve always given software a wide berth upon release, hoping for that eventual “0.01 update” that gets those inevitable kinks out of before I install it and jump in. So I guess I’ve always been a little conservative with regards to that type of stuff.
Not this time.
Take some time and watch Greg Rewis walk through the creation of an HTML5/CSS3 based workflow using Dreamweaver CS5.5. Watch how he creates documents for multiple screens. Watch how he uses Dreamweaver’s built-in webkit browser. Marvel in amazement.
I’m getting this sight unseen.
From Adobe TV:
Explore all of the new workflows for creating for the web and mobile devices. See how Creative Suite Web Premium 5.5 allow you to create and deliver standards-based websites apps and immersive digital experiences across desktops, smartphones, tablets, and televisions. Author content with HTML5, CSS3, and the JQuery mobile framework; target multiple platforms including Android™ operating systems, iOS, Blackberry RIM and Adobe AIR.
Cisco are a bunch of idiots.
April 13, 2011 By 2 Comments
So they’re sunsetting the Flip? I really hope someone buys Flip from Cisco and keeps the brand alive. I mean, I totally understand the thought process, because it does seem like cellphones have added features that make the Flip redundant, but I think they’re dead wrong.
1. Sometimes I don’t want to take my cellphone with me. Shooting video of a family outing, or an event is completely different from spontaneously using a camera phone to capture a moment. Case in point, would I have taken my phone into church to film my daughter’s baptism? Hell no (clever way to work in “hell” don’t you think?). I took a Flip, however, and it was easy and convenient to pass around to relatives. “Here, just push the red button and point it”.
2. Do you think I remotely have enough room on my cellphone to capture all the video I want? Again, hell no. I’ve got a nice little 8GB iPhone, and a Droid2 with 8GB of memory. How much of that do you think is taken up by apps, books, media, music? A lot, that’s how much. I actually LIKE having a dedicated camera that I can take with me on an outing or a family trip and use JUST for shooting video.
3. Why on earth would I use up my cell phone’s battery shooting video? Seriously, the thing barely lasts long enough with normal use, now I’m walking around all day shooting video with it?
There are probably a lot more uses that I’m overlooking, but the point remains. A small, convenient, dedicated video camera is a must-have. If Cisco ultimately decides to shutter Flip, and someone else doesn’t buy them, I’m either hunting for Flips on clearance on Amazon, or buying another brand when the Flip I currently have ultimately dies. Cisco really are a bunch of idiots.
My smart cover is stupid.
April 12, 2011 By 1 Comment
Anyone else having problems with this piece of shit?
I noticed over the last couple of weeks that it’s begun to slip a little. By that I mean, sometimes when I put it into my computer bag the cover slips a little and I hear the little “click” of it either waking up, or going to sleep, depending of course, which click it was. Sometimes it’ll click to wake up, then I’ll hear it in the bag clicking again… randomly.
I think I’m going to go get some kind of complete cover for it. Getting an iPad the day of release kinda limited me on the options I had in terms of covers, and when I say “limited” I mean, “the only fucking cover available was the smart cover”. So now that iPad2′s have been around for a month or two, maybe I can locate a nice, complete cover for the whole tablet.
I kinda wish I had my old, original iPad back… Maybe Ray will trade me…
