Archive for January, 2009

Flasher Magazine issue 2 now live

January 31st 2009 Posted to Interviews, Video
Despite being sick with the flu, I finally managed to get issue 2 done tonight. This one contains a great interview with Doug McCune about Flex and then we go over to a local gun range to bust some caps. Next I talk to Phillip Kerman about everything from his YouTube videos to his opinions on what Adobe has been up to. I attended the Macworld expo this year and shot a little bit of footage which is included in this issue. Finally I ask Flash video expert Robert Reinhardt some of the most frequently asked questions about Flash video. Go on over and watch this issue and let me know what you think. If you would prefer to download the file for offline viewing you can download the MP4. You can also subscribe to this podcast via iTunes.

Hope you enjoy it!
Lee

Comments(42)

First dead drop has been found

January 28th 2009 Posted to General

Amazingly it was retrieved around 2:30am. I didn’t think anyone would attempt it in the dead of night. I received an email with the code word so it is legit. They sent the following photo to me. Looks like they left a note for others in case they get there. The next drop will have to be a little more challenging :-) .

Stay tuned for the next drop,
Lee

Comments(30)

CS4 Master Collection dead drop

January 27th 2009 Posted to General

This is your chance to get a free copy of CS4 Master Collection which is valued at over $2500. I have long been a fan of spy movies and the various aspects of tradecraft that intelligence agencies use. With that being said I have created a dead drop which now contains the software. Watch the video below to get all the clues you’ll need to find the drop. This one is all about who wants it the most. Now obviously this will only be applicable to people who live relatively close to the area. But I would drive a few hours in order to get this if I wasn’t already working for Adobe. There are instructions in the drop about how to contact me. As soon as the software has been picked and verified I will notify you here. Now as you know, I travel quite a bit and I plan to do this in each city I visit, if possible. This software can be installed on up to 3 machines so you can team up to make things easier if you want. Also, the version in the drop is for Mac. If you are a PC person you can either sell it or send it back to me to swap. But the shrink wrap must be intact for that exchange. Be safe and enjoy the view.

As a side note, I know that there is a hobby called geocaching but that is not really what I’m doing here. There are a bunch of silly rules to that hobby and is more about socializing with fellow trackers. This is all about a one time drop and there are no rules.

Lee

Comments(112)

Introduction to Flex tutorial (part 1)

January 26th 2009 Posted to Actionscript 3, Flex, Tutorials, Video
I just uploaded a new tutorial that explains the basics of using the Flex framework. It highlights certain features that don’t exist in Flash like automatic layout and data binding. In the tutorial we build a simple Twitter search application. In part 2 we will take this application and add some more functionality as well as skin it. If you want to be a Flash polymath you have to learn Flex. Plus it will make you much more marketable to employers.

Update: I asked Kevin Hoyt to take a look at this to see if I was doing things according to Flex best practices. He reminded me that the HTML wrapper includes all the code to handle the browser back button and history management. It isn’t simple the “crappy embed code”.

Lee

Comments(44)

New tutorial on 3D Flash video without code

January 23rd 2009 Posted to 3D, Actionscript 3, Flash CS4, Tutorials, Video
I just uploaded a new tutorial that shows you how to create a cool 3D video piece without using any ActionScript at all. These types of things are simple for experienced AS3 developers but, up until Flash CS4, designers have been left out the fun. This tutorial starts in Photoshop where we tweak an image of a plasma TV. Then inside of Flash we use the new 3D tools to position a video component so that it plays external video files on the TV. A simple, yet cool effect.

Note: In the tutorial I position the video component using a lot of trial and error. If anyone knows of a better way please let us know in the comments.

Lee

Comments(28)

Got a complaint about Flash CS4?

January 22nd 2009 Posted to Flash CS4
Overall Flash CS4 is an awesome release that I have been using daily for several months with no major issues. But I have heard a slew of complaints from other people during my travels as well as on Twitter. Richard Galvan who is the PM for Flash has written a post on his blog asking for feedback. So please go and make a comment if you have been having ANY issues with the tool. Don’t complain to me about stuff unless you have commented there first since that is the place where the Flash team will see it.

Lee

Comments(150)

Want to use my code in commercial projects?

January 13th 2009 Posted to General, Tutorials

This blog post is long overdue. I am constantly getting emails from folks wondering if they can use the code from my tutorials at gotoAndLearn as well as from the examples that I sometimes post here in their own commercial projects. The answer is absolutely yes. You can use my code for anything you want and you don’t even need to provide attribution. Basically you can take my code and tell your boss that you wrote it if you want. Now having said that, there are some things you should keep in mind:

Applies only to my code
Many times in my tutorials I include code from outside sources like Papervision3D and Tweener. You need to be sure that you are adhering to the licenses for these outside code sources when using them for your own work. Luckily most everything I use also has similar open licensing.
Doesn’t apply to images and artwork
In a lot of tutorials I simply pull images from Flickr or Google images for the examples. You do not have any rights to use these images in commercial projects. Now if it is some of my own artwork or one of my personal photos that I use in the tutorial then you can use that type of stuff anyway you want.
My code is not always good
A lot of my code is what I like to call demo quality. Remember that I’m often trying to teach a complex topic in under thirty minutes so I don’t exactly follow a lot of best practices when it comes to ActionScript development. To be honest though, even when I did production projects, my code would be short and nasty. So to sum this up, look for ways to improve my code if it will be used on a real project.
Don’t be a scumbag
On more than one occasion I have seen my tutorial files being sold on sites like FlashDen and iStockPhoto. The disgusting part is that these douche bags don’t even take the time to modify the artwork or images at all. So they’re actually selling things that they don’t have the rights for. Even worse are the assheads who sell my tutorial video files on CD-ROM. I hope we get to meet in person someday so I can break your arm.

So feel free to use my code for whatever you like. What would be nice is that when your career takes off you come back and share some of your code with the community. This openness is what makes our community the best in the world.

Lee

Comments(52)

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