Our buddies over at ColdBox have launched a contest giving you the chance to win a cool Kindle Fire and an iPod nano! This contest is available to all existing and new ColdFusion users.
The upcoming version 4.6 of Data Services includes an HTML5 / JavaScript client SDK, and this post contains useful links to presentations on the subject.
As introduced by Kevin Lynch at MAX 2011 in Los Angeles, Digital Publishing Suite Single Edition provides small to midsize design studios and freelance designers an intuitive way to deliver brochures, catalogs, portfolios, training materials, and books to the iPad, without having to rely on the services of a developer. Digital Publishing Suite Single Edition is now available for purchase.
Last month we hosted a series of Back From MAX events in Europe, and we're doing the same next week in Beijing with After MAX China. I'll be presenting the opening keynote, and other presenters include Mark Anders (who introduced Edge at MAX) and local Adobe evangelists. Registration is now open.
Two ColdFusion positions, one in CA and one in the UK:
- Unnamed company (El Segundo, CA) is looking for a senior ColdFusion developer. Requirements include at least 5 years of development experience, strong SQL Server skills, and solid OOP skills. Contact recruiter Danny Interiano.
- Unnamed company (Leeds, UK) is looking for a ColdFusion developer. Requirements include at least 2 years of ColdFusion experience (including use of CFCs), object oriented design, as well as experience with SQL and JavaScript. Contact recruiter Danny Interiano.
Adobe is in the midst of a fundamental transformation. We are transforming from software in boxes to solutions in the cloud, and to a world of touch interfaces on devices, and social connections everywhere. This is a time of both innovation and change for Adobe and for the Adobe community. And this article on ADC explains Adobe's strategic transformation and the Flash Platform, and summarizes the recent announcements.
Andrew Shorten and Deepa Subramaniam have updated their previously mentioned Flex FAQ with specifics about the open source plans, Adobe's future investment, and more.
Remember those Touch Apps that Kevin Lynch showed off at MAX? Photoshop Touch, Proto, Ideas, Debut, Collage, and Kuler are all now available for Android! (Ideas has been available for iOS for a while, and all of the apps will be coming to iOS).
Back when the tarmac delay rule went into effect I predicted that this rule would fall victim to the Law of Unintended Consequences and that airlines will do the only thing they can do, they'll cancel flights earlier or more often (that copied and pasted from an April 2010 blog post).
And so I was not in the least bit surprised to see the report from the US Government Accountability Office proclaim that our analysis has shown that the rule appears to be associated with an increased number of cancellations for thousands of additional passengers - far more than DOT initially predicted - including some who might not have experienced a tarmac delay.
I know I shouldn't say "I told you so", but ...
Continuing the stream of Flash related posts by Adobe colleagues, Mike Chambers has just weighed in on Flash Professional and the Future.
Continuing the Flash coverage, Pritham Shetty, Adobe's Vice President for Video Solutions, has posted notes on Adobe Flash for Premium Video.
Flash has always had an interestingly evolving job. It wasn't that long ago when if your web site needed a cool drop down menu you'd use Flash, until HTML and web browser improvements made that unnecessary. And it wasn't that long ago that developers who wanted pop-up calendars or controls in our web forms used Flash, until DHTML made that just as unnecessary. Then Flash powered the in-browser video revolution, and Flash remains the dominant web browser video player, but now there are alternatives there as well. Even transitions and visual effects, once exclusively the realm of Flash, now have alternatives.
You see, Flash's job has always been to pick up where the browser left off, with the understanding that the line between them was a grey and moving one. As HTML and web browsers have evolved and improved, Flash gets to back-off from specific use cases, handing them off to the web browser itself, and thereby freeing itself up to tackle the next challenge.
Or another way to look at it is this, Flash exists because browsers didn't do enough, and as they do more Flash willingly cedes responsibilities to the browser.
Where things get interesting is on devices. Unlike on desktops, where older browsers still reign supreme and where browser innovation has faced slower adoption, device browsers are actually really good and really current. The fact that there are fewer browsers and better browsers, ones that support HTML5 innovation and standards and specifications, in many ways makes Flash far less critical for an optimum web browsing experience. That coupled with the fact that Flash is excluded from the browser on many devices means that web developers already need to code for a non-Flash experience, and that then makes Flash even less compelling for in-browser uses on devices.
Which is why we announced today that we will no longer continue to develop Flash Player in the browser on mobile devices. For in-browser experiences on devices, browsers can finally do what they really should do, and we have HTML5 to thank for that. So that's where we are doubling down, and we're hard at work on making HTML5 better (as we showed at MAX) as well as on tooling to support HTML5 development.
But just to be clear, this announcement pertains to the browser plug-in on mobile devices only.
The Flash browser plug-in on the desktop remains important and viable and even critical for many use cases, and we've publicly committed to adding value and features and functionality to better address just these use cases, primarily gaming and video. (And at the same time we're aggressively driving in-browser HTML5 enhancements, including web motion and interaction design, another area where Flash used to be the only game in town).
Similarly, Flash based apps on mobile devices remain highly compelling, and AIR thus remains a great way to use Flash to build apps for Android, iOS, and RIM PlayBook. And with the recently released support for native extensions, the scope of what is possible in Flash based app has grown incredibly.
So, yes, in-browser Flash on mobile devices is reaching the end of the line. Flash on desktops continues to deliver in ways the browser can't (yet). Flash is one way to build apps, and HTML5 (using PhoneGap) is another. You, as a developer, have options.
While the delivery mechanism changes as technology and platforms change, our commitment to providing the right tools and services does not. Our job has always been to empower developers and designers to create the most engaging and compelling experiences. That's one thing that does not change at all.
Lee Brimelow has shared his own thoughts on Flash to Focus on Apps for Mobile (and his thoughts are similar to my own, which I'll be sharing shortly).
Our new designer-oriented visual HTML authoring tool, Muse, has been downloaded by more than 330,000 designers since it debuted less than three months ago. And now Adobe Muse Beta 4 has been released, with more than 40 product enhancements and bug fixes, and with support for five additional languages (French, German, Spanish, Swedish, and Dutch).
Here's a ColdFusion position in IL:
- Luxury travel company (Downers Grove, IL) is looking for an experienced ColdFusion developer. Requirements include SQL, some IIS administration, Ajax and JavaScript. Knowledge of CommonSpot CMS a plus. Details posted online.
