Event Details:

• Date: Saturday July 24, 2010 from 10am - 4:30pm
• Location: Sabre - 3150 Sabre Drive B1-157, Southlake, TX 76092
• Cost: $99 (+Eventbrite fee) - includes lunch

Register here for the Intro to ActionScript 3 Workshop

A few months ago I taught my first Flash class as part of the Big Design Workshop series. We had a great turnout (60+ attendees) and overall the response was very positive with the overwhelming majority asking about a follow up class to cover ActionScript* 3. Since my first class was an introduction to the Flash Platform (or more accurately Flash CS4) I though an Introduction to ActionScript 3 would be the logical focus of my next workshop.

As you already know, Flash is an extremely powerful graphics tool.  You can create dynamic, interactive animated content for everything from basic animations to entire web sites.  Flash provides developers and designers with greater control over the display of their works than would otherwise be possible.

The real power of the Flash Platform, however, comes when you are able to add interactivity to your content using ActionScript. You don’t need to be a hard core programmer, or have a desire to become a coder to take advantage of ActionScript. If you want to take your Flash projects to the next level, having even a basic understanding of how to use ActionScript is a must.

This workshop is for beginner to intermediate users of Flash who want to extend their knowledge beyond the drawing tools Flash has to offer. You should be somewhat familiar with the basic constructs of Flash (e.g. what a MovieClip is, how to create a symbol, and how to create a motion tween).  Bring your laptop to get some hands-on experience with ActionScript.  You can download Flash before the workshop or you can do it at the first break.  You are guaranteed to walk away with a good foundation on ActionScript programming with real examples, tips and tricks, and hand-on exercises.

What will you learn?

In this workshop, you will:

• Obtain an overview of ActionScript 3.0 and some of the different tools used to code for the Flash player
• Learn the Fundamentals of programming using ActionScript
• Perform hands-on exercises to learn how to:
  • Control your movies timeline (animation, looping, etc..)
  • Add interaction to your projects (rollovers, transitions, etc..)
  • Accessing external assets using code (load images, sound, text, etc..)

Who should attend?

This workshop is primarily for beginner and intermediate users of Flash. This workshop is ideal for students, teachers, designers, and developers who want to learn more about the programming side of Flash.  Dave will be sharing tips and tricks on Flash throughout the workshop.

Cost of the Workshop?

The workshop price is $99 (plus EventBrite fees), which is a great bargain.  The price includes a pizza lunch, drinks, trial versions of software, and additional swag.  DFW-UPA and LV Graphics Studios will be sponsoring the pizza lunch and drinks.

Workshop Details

The location of Flash Boot Camp will be at Sabre in Building B (Room B1-157), which is the building on the right .  Your day basically looks like this:

TIME                                 DESCRIPTION

10am – 11am                     ActionScript Overview
11am – 12pm                     ActionScript Programming Fundamentals (Hands-on Exercises)
12pm – 1pm                       Lunch Break
1pm – 2:30pm                    ActionScript Programming Fundamentals cont… (Hands-on Exercises)
2:30 – 3pm                         PM Break
3pm – 4:30pm                    Hands-on Exercises

Register here for the Intro to ActionScript 3 Workshop

*Adobe, the Adobe logo, Adobe AIR, ActionScript, Flash, Flash Lite, Flex, Flex Builder, MXML, and Pixel Bender are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

There are already a bunch of posts and commentary on the Apple SDK update prohibiting applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool, so I wont go into all the details. However I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut (as anyone who knows me can attest) and therefore this being my blog, aptly titled 'Just Another RANT'... I feel like a ranting a bit.

While his latest news from Apple isn't a huge surprise it does broaden the scope of exclusion a bit which now lumps in more than just Flash developers. Now, I am not a .net, C#, Unity or Java developer, I am a Flash developer (I am speaking from that perspective), this recent limitation now makes us all part of the same group that Apple is targeting to exclude.

I will say that what I find most distasteful about all of this is two fold. First, it's obviously no accident that the announcement was scheduled to put Adobe in the worst spot possible with their CS5 launch only days away. If there was any thoughts that this was pure business and nothing personal, I think this speaks volumes to the contrary. Secondly, this whole issue is so chicken sh*t. Steve can say he wont allow Flash on the iHardware because of performance or 'bugginess' of the player (to which I have not experience, and if it were as buggy as Apple fan-boys proclaim I would have abandoned the platform long ago). Grow some balls Steve and show some respect for the people you are supposedly 'protecting from the Flash predator looking to harm your device' and just say what everyone really knows. This has absolutely nothing to do with the player performance, and everything to do with Apple's pocketbook. I get that, I don't like that I cant view Flash on my phone but the guys with phones around me can, but I can understand a business model. Just don't feed me some bullsh*t that it's for MY best interests.

Business models aside though, this latest move is all about Steve acting like the 4 year old in a sandbox who says your gonna play with the toys the way I want or I'm going to take my toys and go home. Allowing other languages to compile to apps that run on the iPhone doesn't infringe on the app store, in fact I think it opens the store up for more people to participate (I know many will want to debate this statement, and try and attribute it to quality control, etc... but I'm not buyin!)

As soon as it gets to the point where Android and others have apps that users don't have on Apple, or when people really do migrate to web delivered apps instead of installed apps, then the glaring Flash hole for Apple will have a much bigger spotlight on it. When people sitting right next to each other with different devices (whether that be phones, or tablets) and one can go and do more on the web then the other, the inferiority complex will set in.

Apple has been down this road before and apparently didn't learn anything from the Mac/Windows war 20+ years ago. Jobs can keep building those walls around his empire and soon enough it will be impossible to tell the difference between developers they are trying to keep out and the users they are trying to keep/attract. Apple will have that perfectly closed system they've always dreamed of.  Then maybe Steve Jobs can change his name to Roger Waters (both guilty of spitting in the face of those who pay their bills).

Comments disabled as I’m not interested in hearing from the Cupertino Comment SPAM bots.
(borrowed from Lee Brimelow)

I really believe that Inspiration is Zen. What I mean by that is you have to be willing - the level of inspiration something gives depends on your state of mind at the moment. The timing must be right - whats inspiring today, may not be tomorrow and vise versa. It cant always be explained. Inspiration to me is one of those odd things that isn't always easy to put into words. What's inspiring is different for everyone. However I do believe that many people really confuse appreciation with inspiration. Just because you find something cool, does not make it inspiring. In order for something to be inspiring, it should be also motivating. Without motivation its just appreciation not inspiration. Now I dont mean motivating in the "motivational speaker" sense, but it should make you want to do something. Seeing something that makes you go "WOW!" is one thing, seeing something that makes you go "WOW! I wanna do THAT!!!"... is what I think defines inspiration.

I think there are two types or way to get inspired. "Active Inspiration" - where you need to get an idea for a specific project and you actively go looking for a spark or idea to put you on your path. The other type/way is "Passive Inspiration" - where you accidentally get inspired and motivated to want to do something. That's not to say the two ways are mutually exclusive. In fact often times I will actively be looking for that spark, when I stumble across something that sparks a new idea for a different project.

I try and surround myself with opportunities to be inspired at all times. I realize that statement sounds a tad confusing so I'll explain what I mean. While I may not always be "actively" looking for inspiration, I do actively position myself to be passively inspired. Whether its wallpapering my office with imagery that is visually stimulating, setting my Netvibes page to push feeds from places I am routinely inspired by, covering my body in artwork (tattoos), or even just something as simple as having an old car and custom motorcycle in the garage. I find myself inspired by all of that content all the time. The craftsmanship of the car/bike, the lighting/colors/composition of the painting on my wall, the links to artwork Netvibes is feeding me, the ink in my skin that creates such amazing imagery... they are all things that motivate me in different ways to want to be a better artist.

One thing I didnt mention, is that I don't really view websites as inspiration for me anymore. While I am truly in awe of the work many studios like AgencyNet, Big Spaceship, 2Advanced, NorthKindom, etc... put out, I dont guess I find them inspiring anymore because I am too caught up in the technical complexities of the projects too find them truly inspiring. I dont mean that to be a slight on any website or web project, its just that I am too close to that industry to look at any of it objectively anymore. In fact I find myself getting so caught up in the "how'd they do that?" question that often times it can be demotivating, no matter how cool I think it is.

So what do I find truly inspiring? I really find myself drawn to more traditional artwork. Granted my definition of "traditional" may be different that some if not most. To me tattoo art is amazing and truly inspiring. The fact that a true tattoo artist can display their art on a canvas that for all intents and purposes gives you one shot to get it right is something I find very inspiring. I dont want to be a tattoo artist by any means, but what inspires me is that if an amazing artist like Horyoshi III can manage to put such beautiful artwork on skin using a stick... inspires me to be a better artist with all of the tools I have at my disposal.

I'd love to hear what anyone else does for inspiration or any feedback you have on my take on the subject. I'll leave you with links to a few links I get inspired by...

Design Flavr - Inspiration Blog / Community
Typography and Lettering - Flickr Group
RatRods - Flickr Group
Generator.x - Flickr Group
Shawn Barber - Badass painter/Tattoo Artist
Worth1000 - Photoshop Greatness
Sketch Theatre - Video's / Speed Painting
Mr. Cartoon - Amazing Artist
Queenpin Deluxe - Awesome Pinup artist
... I could go on forever but this is a small taste of the current crop of greatness... until it all changes tomorrow

Well I'm not about to go through that hell to get CS3 to run, so I try a few "less invasive" solutions found on the forums. I removed some file associations, and ran the CS3 clean up script again, rebooted. Dragged the files from the DVD to my desktop, created a new user profile and tried again from the new profile. And it appears to be installing... oohhh spoke to soon, I get this lovely error message.

Again WTF?? Looking at the error it cant find a file from the Flash CS3 installer I downloaded for the trial. But I'm installing the whole suite, with all the files on it, why does it need the installer from the trial? And besides that I'm not even trying to reinstall Flash since its already installed? Argh! So I run the setup again only this time I choose the option to completely uninstall all CS3 installs. Then I wait an hour for the uninstall to complete (again WTF??). Once its uninstalled I reboot, run the CS3 clean up script again (choosing option 1) and run it over and over again until it cant find anything else to clean (took 3 rounds this time) -- (as a side note, in order to run the CS3 cleanup script you will need to have the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility installed). Now I begin the install process again (from the desktop). This time though I try running the install from my main profile, and it seems to be working. It takes about 30 minutes and then right when I think I'm home free I get this lovely error.

Crap! So I uninstall...again...and switch to my other profile and try installing from there, only this time I choose just to install Flash CS3 and see how it goes (I don't want to waste another hour and a half if it doesn't work). It runs through the install and I get the error again. This time I figure I'll try and open Flash, maybe I don't need the shared components that didn't install. Yeah... nice try buddy. I get this Helpful message. This has to be the most stupid error I've gotten yet. It hasn't once asked me for my serial number, it doesn't give me the option to input my serial number. This sucks!

About this time I've had it, and I call Adobe tech support back and explain my problem. Now, if theres a silver lining in this story at all it has to be that Adobe's tech support staff are very cool, very helpful, and actually have answers (you can tell they never worked for Dell). "Jeff" at Adobe informs me that I should uninstall CS3 AND CS2 and try again. He also fills me in that the CS3 cleanup script has two more levels of cleanup (levels 3 and 4) that don't appear in the options. I assume this is because of what its about to do. Level 3 will remove/cleanup not just CS3 remnants left on your system after uninstall, but those left by the CS2 uninstall as well. Level for will do this for ALL Adobe products. So he suggested I try removing CS2 and CS3 first, clean with level 3 (run it as many times as needed until no more files are found). Then try installing CS3 again. If that doesn't work then uninstall all Adobe products, clean with level 4, and try the reinstall. I've spent waaay to much time on this already so I say screw it and uninstall all Adobe apps, CS2, Flex Builder, After Effects, and for good measure I uninstall my Macromedia products as well (Studio 8 and Homesite). Run the clean up script on level 4 (twice). Reboot and reinstall CS3.

And it worked! WOW I actually got to the registration screen and everything. Opened all apps and they work. But what a horrible experience. Now I get to reinstall After Effects and my plug-ins (oh joy), and Flex Builder and Homesite. I forsee Friends of Ed creating a book series, "Foundation Adobe CS3 Installation", Amazon cross selling people who buy the software with something like "Customers who purchased Adobe CS3, also bought 100 capsule bottles of Excedrin, Pepsid AC, and a book titled "How to find a job when you've been fired for missing a deadline because you were installing Adobe CS3".

Adobe: This is unacceptable. You can't screw up the install process like this. The conflicts are with YOUR OWN SOFTWARE! Your betas and trials should not conflict with the installation of the product suites. I should not loose 3 full days of productivity to install software. The installation process should be the easy part. This may be the biggest software launch in your history, but its also the worst software experience in history. You may have given sold us some cool tools to use, but made it an absolute pain in the ass to have the opportunity to use them. I really, REALLY, hope that this is not a sign of whats to come with future Adobe software releases. Maybe this was like a software hazing ritual, only I didn't have to light any body parts on fire or drink until I puked (although both of those options sound less painful then this experience has been). And I'll say this, I was hesitant to upgrade my software at home because of the inflated pricing and forced bundling (I own Photoshop CS2, Studio 8, and After Effects 7 Pro, and it still costs $1100+ to upgrade??? WTF??) but after this I can say it will be a while IF I do.

Having said all that, I have to say thank you to Adobe tech support, who I'm sure is getting worn out with calls and deserve a raise for all of the overtime they're gonna have to put in on this. The Adobe installer team (assuming they aren't in protective custody) should be buying the tech support team breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks, condos... for the next few years for completely screwing up the most basic part of using software. Thanks Adobe!

Note: I did all of this by copying the install files to my harddrive first, installing from the DVD did not work...at all...ever.

First, I have to comment on the death threats directed at Kathy Sierra. This gets a big huge WTF??? Granted, I only just recently came across her work when I read "Don't ask employees to be passionate about the company!", which I thought was pure genius, I was an instant fan. What in the hell would possess someone, or drive them to the point of threatening her for what she puts on her blog?? If you don't like what she has to say or don't follow her way of thinking, guess what moron you can close your browser?! navigate somewhere else. The people making these threats are faceless cowards who have no business conversing with society.

Second, on a much lighter note, Aral Balkan has announced the SWX format for Flash Data exchange. Personally I think its great! Not sure if I'll use it, who knows, but I think anything that offers a way for more people to use Flash the better . And while I think Patrick Mineault makes some good points, I have to agree with Aral in that not everyone developing in Flash is ready for remoting and XML parsing (although I will say I wish they all were). The use of Flash is growing in leaps and bounds, which also means a ton of inexperienced people will be building flash apps (dare I say the wrong way?). From my perspective, SWX becomes just another option to separate the content from the presentation, allowing for a more maintainable app. And from where I sit, options are never a bad thing. How valid this option really is, only time can tell. As Aral mentioned, SWX is still in its infancy, lets wait and see if it becomes a drain on society or a boost, before we completely disregard it as a valid solution to a problem.

And last, Adobe announces CS3. I'm not quite sure where to start with this one. I think Adobe has done a tremendous job with the software. The enhancements and new products are truly awe inspiring. Having said that, I have to say I'm really disappointed in the pricing strategy. Maybe I'm way of base here but Adobe doesn't seem to give much any credit to those who own multiples of their products. For example, I own copies of Macromedia Studio 8 Professional, Flex Builder 2, Contribute 3, After Effects 7 and Photoshop CS2. For me to upgrade to the Production Studio Premium costs $1199. However if I had only Flash Basic I could upgrade to Production Studio Premium for the same price. So someone that has spend thousands on software has the same barrier of entry as someone who spent a couple hundred. Doesn't that seem wrong (at lest for the guy who spent thousands)? So what will likely happen for me is I will upgrade to Photoshop CS3 Extended and upgrade to Flash CS3 individually, or possibly upgrade to the Web Premium suite and continue to use AE7, and rather than switch to Sound Booth, Illustrator,and Encore, I'll continue to use my copies of Acid/SoundForge, Corel Draw, and Nero. So much for converting me to all Adobe products, great job Adobe Marketing team I think you all screwed the pooch on this one.