tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77586260279264420772024-03-14T11:55:41.701-06:00A Better Experienceeveryone hates bad interfaces.RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-67096570785829795252011-07-02T15:32:00.002-06:002011-07-02T15:43:32.021-06:00Persisting typed singleton objects in Flex Mobile via PersistenceManagerI recently ran into a real mess when trying to persist a typed singleton object in a Flex Mobile application via the PersistenceManager class.<br /><br />DevGirl Holly Schinsky has a <a href="http://devgirl.org/2011/05/18/flex-4-5-mobile-data-handling/">great blog post on managing data in a Flex Mobile application</a>, and I was specifically using her instructions on persisting typed objects. The basics are this:<br /><br />1.) Register the class alias<br />flash.net.registerClassAlias("person",model.Person);<br /><br />2.) Get an instance of the PersistenceManager class<br />var persistenceManager : PersistenceManager = new PersistenceManager();<br /><br />3.) Save the object to be persisted<br />persistenceManager.setProperty("savedData", _personInstance);<br />persistenceManager.save();<br /><br />4.) Re-load the object at a later time<br />persistenceManager.getProperty("savedData");<br /><br />Everything works totally fine UNLESS the object you're persisting has a hidden internal class - a class who's scope is internal to the model object class itself. This is often the case for singleton classes in AS3 - since there's no way to make a private constructor <a href="http://gskinner.com/blog/archives/2006/07/as3_singletons.html">the best-practice for singletons in AS3</a> is to make the constructor take an instance of an internal class object so that no external classes can call the constructor.<br /><br />I suspect the error is during de-serialization - since the serializer can't make an instance of your singleton model's internal class, it can't make the model class itself at all, and de-serialization fails.<br /><br />For now I'm just removing the internal classes from my singleton. It means it's no longer really secure, but I'll take the easy data persistence and built-in serialization of the PersistenceManager over having to do the serializing/de-serializing myself.<br /><br />I suspect this would be an issue with any AMF serialization in Flash - I bet these types of locked singleton's can't be persisted across the client/server or to a regular LSO or anything like that either.RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-69865335134154693142011-04-14T21:09:00.002-06:002011-04-14T21:15:27.693-06:00Amazing client quoteRegarding EUI's work for Pearson recently, the product manager for our client said:<br /><br /><blockquote>“Each of you probably had your own reasons for getting into this business, but I'm sure the hope was improving people's lives. That's what you've done here, one student, one class, one non-missed exam at a time. That's something to be proud of.”</blockquote><br /><br />Wow, that's amazing feedback. It feels great to be a part of the EffectiveUI team when we get this sort of feedback. :)RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-64248364533519215762011-01-18T17:05:00.003-07:002011-01-18T17:08:18.006-07:00HTML5 Logo Background ImagesHTML5 got a new logo today. I spent a few minutes in illustrator and whipped up a few desktop backgrounds for HTML5 fans like myself.<br /><br />I'd like to add some other treatments, but this is all I had time for today.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTtzZ4s1KlfCjzEKgbTUXbMAzwAd-jr9dGnmlnqowzzhCnspR4nc_yp0FXL-KGCUg106JriLpDsWPope5Z1XyqTAkXOlR-ai0y-rPafoE5pHHo74IDNn-yEPr2UWDdp-pLLfNjerP3pw/s1600/html5_bg.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTtzZ4s1KlfCjzEKgbTUXbMAzwAd-jr9dGnmlnqowzzhCnspR4nc_yp0FXL-KGCUg106JriLpDsWPope5Z1XyqTAkXOlR-ai0y-rPafoE5pHHo74IDNn-yEPr2UWDdp-pLLfNjerP3pw/s400/html5_bg.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563681750106306754" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5HdkEEgkaD4maP5Depx1bCHS2r6FzDPn92S5Y7qHS3ZJqtohdiOX_25-K1YXyrbmubCqDXTjledsw8I5Gd8bp1CSZMVfWoQdg8OFQikyFyW3M2d020rOcDPZgDaRjYeUPmi3N_bjTw/s1600/html5_bg_no_icons.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5HdkEEgkaD4maP5Depx1bCHS2r6FzDPn92S5Y7qHS3ZJqtohdiOX_25-K1YXyrbmubCqDXTjledsw8I5Gd8bp1CSZMVfWoQdg8OFQikyFyW3M2d020rOcDPZgDaRjYeUPmi3N_bjTw/s400/html5_bg_no_icons.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563681876797655314" /></a>RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-58808649027363560572010-10-29T15:09:00.001-06:002010-10-29T15:11:08.394-06:00MAX Volume presentation is live<div>My presentation at MAX 2010 with <a href="http://www.twitter.com/juansanchez">Juan Sanchez</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/creativism">Leonard Souza</a> is up now on AdobeTV. We presented on MAX Volume - a multi-screen experience we built for the desktop and mobile phone using Adobe tools.</div><div><br /></div><object width="425" height="256"><param name="movie" value="http://images.tv.adobe.com/swf/player.swf"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="FlashVars" value="fileID=8262&context=648&embeded=true&environment=production"><embed src="http://images.tv.adobe.com/swf/player.swf" flashvars="fileID=8262&context=648&embeded=true&environment=production" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="256"></embed></object>RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-27073038382373633432010-09-20T09:33:00.004-06:002011-01-10T14:38:53.823-07:00Doug McCune Is Not DeadDoug McCune is not really dead, but I gave his eulogy this morning as part of a prank that<a href="http://blog.natebeck.net/"> Nate Beck</a> organized, produced and masterminded this morning at 360|Flex. Nate and Doug have had something of a prank war going in their sessions at 360|Flex over the past year and this was Nate's latest salvo, based on my <a href="http://insideria.com/2010/04/doug-mccune-1980-2010.html">April Fools Day post "RIP Doug McCune"</a> earlier this year.<div><br /></div><div>Here's the full text of the eulogy. It was immediately followed by this video that Nate posted to <a href="http://www.weheartdoug.org/">weheartdoug.org</a>, which was in turn followed by Doug himself, giving his part of the keynote here at 360 | Flex.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><div></div><blockquote><div>Friends and honored guests, members of the Flex community. I stand before you today to with a message of sadness. Our once merry and mirthful friend, Douglas Quincy McCune, passed away last week and so will be unable to give the keynote here this morning. I know that Doug was a good friend to many of you and an honored member of the Flex community, remembered for the fanciful (if occassionally inappropriate) titles he gave to his sessions and frequent exhibitionism. There is no doubt that Doug will be sorely missed this weekend.</div><div><br /></div><div>Though details of Doug's demise and the real reason for his passing are not available at his time, I would ask that we all honor his memory by thinking more about the happy times we had with him than the surely tragic and unfortunate events that surround his shuffling off of the mortal coil. For myself, the thing I remember most about Doug was the way he filled a room - how his presence permeated the place. Though I know Doug has passed on, in a weird six-sense sort of way I can still feel that presence, that warmth, that joy of his here with us know - as if he were sitting right in the front row.</div><div><br /></div><div>Many of you know that Doug and Nate Beck had a prank war going. It started when Nate threw rubber balls at Doug during a session. Doug retailiated by having a man dressed as marilyn monroe sing happy birthday to Nate in the middle of his session at the last 360 Flex. Nate Beck was planning a masterful rebuttal; an epic final stroke to end the war by escalating it so far that Doug couldn't possibly respond. He'd hired a troupe of dancers to can-can out during this very keynote. They were to be lead by Michael Labriola who, contrary to common misperception, is quite a nimble ballerina. But due to Doug's passing Nate immediately dropped the prank plans and focused all of his efforts on rallying the Flex community in memorial with Doug. He's prepared a short memorial video, which we will watch together now.</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote></blockquote><br /></div></blockquote><div></div></span></div><div><br /></div><br /><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/15122717?autoplay=0" width="500" height="350" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/15122717">We <3 Doug - In Memoriam</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user4772283">Nate Beck</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p>RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-83725402723800175422010-06-28T14:02:00.003-06:002010-06-30T12:18:29.996-06:00Installing new Flash Player in ChromeThe illustrious <a href="http://twitter.com/kevinsuttle">Kevin Suttle</a> turned me on to a fix for an issue I've been having with Flash Player and Google's Chrome browser, which is my favorite browser by far.<br /><br />My flash player debugger had simply stopped working in Chrome without warning. It turns out that Flash Player comes bundled as a plugin with Chrome now and you have to visit chrome://plugins to disable it. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The only way to install a new Flash Player version for Chrome is to disable the old one, shut down chrome, run the Flash Player installer, and then restart Chrome.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Yd8JEf1S7Ld24A3zK5z-BbXu2hpuNqnzHQddNCI0292hH98YlMPpQLYQC_zHck0fuzfN_2-cTDJw9n2iByiGqHOU6kIY3vM883InsZt-ITWfnUpZWHo266prCRAaUY7uuVWCUdnmpQ/s1600/Screen+shot+2010-06-28+at+1.20.10+PM.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Yd8JEf1S7Ld24A3zK5z-BbXu2hpuNqnzHQddNCI0292hH98YlMPpQLYQC_zHck0fuzfN_2-cTDJw9n2iByiGqHOU6kIY3vM883InsZt-ITWfnUpZWHo266prCRAaUY7uuVWCUdnmpQ/s400/Screen+shot+2010-06-28+at+1.20.10+PM.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487918140516028530" border="0" /></a><br /><br />When you're done, check out this <a href="http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/155/tn_15507.html">Flash Player version test page</a> from Adobe to make sure everything worked.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Vh89q-E-Oushm_ymGjQoUkTQeb8MccEqU-jS1AfjCeOup5jsmHopxDcmFmWrmblh0euSCXUfemzNWG14eFleKvYrlPkdARNf1Byd49IB7X2EglX8wnCttBpJG5oJyU-cGmdSEPkBbg/s1600/Screen+shot+2010-06-28+at+1.53.43+PM.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Vh89q-E-Oushm_ymGjQoUkTQeb8MccEqU-jS1AfjCeOup5jsmHopxDcmFmWrmblh0euSCXUfemzNWG14eFleKvYrlPkdARNf1Byd49IB7X2EglX8wnCttBpJG5oJyU-cGmdSEPkBbg/s400/Screen+shot+2010-06-28+at+1.53.43+PM.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487918029778642226" border="0" /></a>RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-88537519820153067712010-06-04T11:50:00.004-06:002010-06-04T12:02:16.790-06:00Making a site specific browser for Campfire using Fluid<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><u><br /></u></span></div>I tried making a site specific browser for Campfire today using Fluid. It was a bit painful at first, until I got a little help from my friends out on the internet.<div><br /></div><div>Step 1: Make the new fluid isntance. Grab the <a href="http://37signals.com/svn/posts/797-fluid-wrap-your-favorite-web-apps-in-their-own-browser">high-res image for Campfire from 37Signals here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Step 2: Add <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; ">*launchpad.37signals.com* to your list of allowed URLs for browsing (thanks <a href="http://stevesanderson.com/2010/01/19/fix-for-cant-use-fluid-with-campfire-anymore/">Steve Sanderson</a>)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 21px; font-size:15px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 21px; font-size:15px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 21px;font-size:15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; font-size: 16px; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUxCgtdXG0VJnwDNzRa0Ylj7TbJQE4PAnziV_MDYFlu-n-USofgB8ZWP_nQxMF9Jn-ZwO1IMwO7Nmk8CGlznYWGzsJeoGfP5bG7EI0KikBCZCGjv6x54uuh-FsLAxvGjhV1ZfgMXUanQ/s1600/Screen+shot+2010-06-04+at+11.51.37+AM.png"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUxCgtdXG0VJnwDNzRa0Ylj7TbJQE4PAnziV_MDYFlu-n-USofgB8ZWP_nQxMF9Jn-ZwO1IMwO7Nmk8CGlznYWGzsJeoGfP5bG7EI0KikBCZCGjv6x54uuh-FsLAxvGjhV1ZfgMXUanQ/s400/Screen+shot+2010-06-04+at+11.51.37+AM.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478978987339605778" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 298px; " /></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 21px;font-size:15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px; font-size: -webkit-xxx-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; font-size: 16px; ">Step 3: Add scripts to to do things like <a href="http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/22891">growl notifications when someone says your name</a>.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px; font-size: -webkit-xxx-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; font-size: 16px; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px; font-size: -webkit-xxx-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; font-size: 16px; ">Step 4: FUN</span></span></div>RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-90551843513181631322010-02-10T12:51:00.004-07:002010-02-10T12:55:55.769-07:00EffectiveUI book released<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://covers.oreilly.com/images/9780596154790/cat.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 219px;" src="http://covers.oreilly.com/images/9780596154790/cat.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a>The EffectiveUI book by various people here at EUI and published by O'Reilly was released to the wild yesterday. Here's the official statement we put out:<div><br /></div><div>"As the gap between the high-quality experiences users expect from software and the mediocre ones companies actually deliver continues to expand, there's no greater time to drive home the importance of building better UX for software.</div><div><br /></div><div>Delivering on UX potential involves more than just innovative ideas and technologies. Building software centered on UX quality requires that the design, engineering, staffing and business considerations — as well as the overall art of software project management and development — be centered on users' needs and grounded in the practical realities that underlie innovative developments.</div><div><br /></div><div>At EffectiveUI, we apply UX development and technology each day for custom Web, mobile and desktop applications. Over the years, we’ve learned through success and error what does and doesn’t work. Through these lessons, we have reached an approach that truly maximizes UX strategies for both the consumer and the developer. </div><div><br /></div><div>We are incredibly fortunate to have a new book published by O’Reilly Media that will help answer many outstanding questions, or questions not yet pondered, for those embarking on better UX. We only wish we’d had this book a few times throughout projects in the past.</div><div><br /></div><div>“Effective UI: The Art of Building Great User Experience in Software” is written as a complete roadmap of how to successfully develop groundbreaking software when the quality of the user experience is critical. The book will help:</div><div><ul><li>business and product managers trying to build and fund innovative products successfully.</li><li>software professionals who want to more easily advance the cause of better UX in their companies and with their clients.</li><li>anyone striving to advocate and deliver on the promise of higher quality software.</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div>“Effective UI: The Art of Building Great User Experience in Software” covers all aspects of how to create superior UX, from the initial concept to deployment. It also explores the business, project management, design, and engineering considerations that must work in tandem along the way. By presenting real UX projects that EffectiveUI undertook with National Geographic and Herff Jones, the book demonstrates how the principles discussed can be applied to overcome UX challenges and to meet UX opportunities.</div><div><br /></div><div>Authored by Jonathan Anderson and John McRee of EffectiveUI, in conjunction with Robb Wilson, “EffectiveUI” joins O’Reilly’s animal series of books and features a Rainbow Lorikeet on its cover. </div><div><br /></div><div>The book costs $44.99 and is available at major retailers such as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/">Amazon.com</a> (<a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/effectiveui">www.tinyurl.com/effectiveui</a>) and through O’Reilly Media at <a href="http://oreilly.com/">oreilly.com</a>. It is also <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/effective-ui/id352641160?mt=8">available on iTunes</a> for $4.99."</div>RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-63424367085148171322009-09-04T16:26:00.003-06:002009-09-15T13:21:41.294-06:00"Flash" package missing, code hinting lostEarlier today I started getting some ridiculous behavior out of Flex Builder. All code completion revolving around the Flash package, especially events, just quit. Then it started flagging the word "flash" itself as an error:<br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">1120: Access of undefined property flash.</span><br /><br />After a while hitting up the bug database and searching the googleverse I found <a href="https://bugs.adobe.com/jira/browse/FB-16703">this great tip from Garth Somerville</a> - make a new workspace.<br /><br />It's kind of a pain, but it worked!<br /><br />Update:<br />WHEN THIS FAILS: When this fails, as Andrew T pointed out in the comments, re-install the SDK<br /><br />AND WHEN THAT FAILS: Re-intsall Flex Builder. After re-building my workspace 5 times with no luck, reinstalling the SDK, and fighting with this for hours, I finally just scrapped all of that and re-installed Flex Builder. It all works fine now - old workspaces and all.RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-42259276382317853392009-05-14T11:25:00.002-06:002009-05-14T11:34:52.414-06:00CFUnited Speaker QuestionnaireRecently <a href="http://cfunited.com/2009/">CFUnited</a> sent out a speaker questionnaire. Since this whole thing was too long to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/rjowen">twitter</a>, I thought I'd share it with you, gentle reader, here on my weblog page.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Have you spoken at CFUnited in the past? What would you tell someone who hasn't been to CFUnited before?</span><br /><br />I have never, even once, spoken at CFUnited. Last year I was sworn to silence. I would tell someone, it's okay - you can get through this.<br /><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Why should people attend your session(s)?</span><br /><br />People should attend my session if they want to learn about what's new in Flex 4, or how they can use Flex to build some sweet UI's onto the hearty back-ends they're used to building in CF.<br /><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Do you have any projects in the works that you will be revealing at CFUnited?</span><br /><br />[mysterious]If I did, I most certainly wouldn't reveal them on the internet. You'll just have to come and see for yourself.[/mysterious]<br /><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Besides your topic, what other sessions are you looking forward to?</span><br /><br />I'm looking forward to Jun's session and David Tucker's session. They both know a lot about a lot of things, and I like learning things from people who know them.<br /><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">5. What are some of the hot topics you'd like to see at RoundTable discussions?</span><br /><br />I'd really enjoy listening to two gentlemen (or ladies) diplomatically argue the merits of the multi-party system of government favored in Europe compared to our rather intransigent tradition of only two.<br /><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">6. Where can people find you at CFUnited? (At the bar, networking, working, in your room, etc.)</span><br /><br />I will most likely be in the pool, trying to see how long I can hold my breath.<br /><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">7. What's the latest news with you? Has anything changed since last CFUnited?</span><br /><br />Well, Liz, I'm glad you asked. Last week we watched our friends' dog. It's a pretty nice dog, so it went well, generally, but it yipped a lot at night, and I'm a light sleeper, so that was a little rough. You know what, why don't we just catch up at the conference?<br /><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">8. What is unique about CFUnited?</span><br /> <br />It's the last great bastion of hope for a dying world in need of a hero. There are a few mediocre bastions around, but you won't find any other great ones. Especially not around WADC.<br /><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">9. When you are not working what do you like to do in your free time?</span><br /> <br />When I'm not working, I like reading, playing video games, and occasionally playing sports in my free time. When I'm working, I prefer to spend my free time playing scrabble over a nice glass of 2% milk.<br /><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">10. How do you feel about Law and Order?</span><br /><br />It is my firm belief that there are too many crime dramas on evening television, but of those crime dramas, Law and Order is pretty good, I guess.RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-46172179136048955202009-05-04T12:24:00.010-06:002009-05-04T12:34:18.315-06:00New offices - EUI Upstairs!Back in the summer of 2006, we (EffectiveUI) purchased a really big warehouse in down town Denver and moved in. In the early days we didn't have bathrooms or lights or conference rooms, and it was a real shack. That was quickly rectified, but as our numbers were still small we only built out the bottom floor of the building.<br /><br />Since then we've grown considerably and our space started to constrain us - we couldn't physically fit enough desks in the office to house our Denver crew. Late last year we got serious about finishing the upstairs of the office, and today is the glorious day in which we've finally moved upstairs. Our design, development and PM teams moved upstairs, while account management and sales (the noisy people) stayed on the ground floor. It's nice and quiet up here. :)<br /><br />Here are a few pictures, for anyone interested. It's still got a good industrial feel but is far nicer and more workable than the raw warehouse was.<br /><br />The view from my desk of our "developer pit" area:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAbYzJvnUsxccd9Eh0HUKOEkUgBuwuyUkOoY_aTxJfvwcvqDc6xWZGwT_3544dJGjjREhqCfybOH7SKkDR15CaBEMAIELNX3byuR4e8FObvkg5L8lbUBXt9yiq1zb7iEJgmgSFVSWuA/s1600-h/IMG_0370.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAbYzJvnUsxccd9Eh0HUKOEkUgBuwuyUkOoY_aTxJfvwcvqDc6xWZGwT_3544dJGjjREhqCfybOH7SKkDR15CaBEMAIELNX3byuR4e8FObvkg5L8lbUBXt9yiq1zb7iEJgmgSFVSWuA/s400/IMG_0370.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332037189157161538" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-GvPBLeNqeTKbPfH_r-yO_rLEqKiISVXSVxy0Z14uyn49Fdk7_jIK5ezp48mW_-O5dzO9dSLvTz28cJtApJdee4gUHmnnh8eAZOGYwyv-i74_foa2zX7UlLy-HzKgHJX_aN39OzPFGA/s1600-h/IMG_0371.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-GvPBLeNqeTKbPfH_r-yO_rLEqKiISVXSVxy0Z14uyn49Fdk7_jIK5ezp48mW_-O5dzO9dSLvTz28cJtApJdee4gUHmnnh8eAZOGYwyv-i74_foa2zX7UlLy-HzKgHJX_aN39OzPFGA/s400/IMG_0371.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332037237743666034" border="0" /></a><br />This is the designer "pit", separated by a half wall for us developers. The wall is there to make sense of the difference in floor height - not to keep them out (or us in (I think.))<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtd4uPQ4USGhyphenhyphenbXY9jmxGoIzi34io4iUJXpoJYY7gvX60UM5vIgTWeCNlkBltWQwAxg4exVxZFCU9w_Xgv_1HAP4aZgpDSzs14tMP33eyGSkuod08Bn7r2s-rThInk8OfF1UFl_hygFQ/s1600-h/IMG_0372.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtd4uPQ4USGhyphenhyphenbXY9jmxGoIzi34io4iUJXpoJYY7gvX60UM5vIgTWeCNlkBltWQwAxg4exVxZFCU9w_Xgv_1HAP4aZgpDSzs14tMP33eyGSkuod08Bn7r2s-rThInk8OfF1UFl_hygFQ/s400/IMG_0372.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332037862889481890" border="0" /></a><br />Front couches upstairs - a good place to take phone calls. :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8CkESQLyGf4-UtNM9iI4t4eh9wHTGo0fXoZDrtfIw-PT1HsIAHYzjZRyD3ICvaKmd53-2jj1gV6RnR8vYuei_w1dvuDnsGsXEcO14PgIbqFt4Ywd9jpZgk_oGCXjGQ12tRlY14WmOg/s1600-h/IMG_0373.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8CkESQLyGf4-UtNM9iI4t4eh9wHTGo0fXoZDrtfIw-PT1HsIAHYzjZRyD3ICvaKmd53-2jj1gV6RnR8vYuei_w1dvuDnsGsXEcO14PgIbqFt4Ywd9jpZgk_oGCXjGQ12tRlY14WmOg/s400/IMG_0373.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332037788607362738" border="0" /></a><br />The front stair case leading up to our new digs, with some of the art we're going to hang on the walls soon. I think Todd Hebenstreit made that one. All of the art we're using to decorate upstairs was done by EUI employees. I spray painted a smiley face myself, but it's not here. :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWsRpS0DrGOR90EO8jbzsvermqhlawEUjIULoej11c7kfE0uNqFir3qDu3lBc9FkApGrYfEHua1yuX_Fxq4PE9lZa75DPSgvIIMM53jZFo-t5uighQ7w3omkWyS8xQ6sDzT-Yb4ZEG6A/s1600-h/IMG_0374.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWsRpS0DrGOR90EO8jbzsvermqhlawEUjIULoej11c7kfE0uNqFir3qDu3lBc9FkApGrYfEHua1yuX_Fxq4PE9lZa75DPSgvIIMM53jZFo-t5uighQ7w3omkWyS8xQ6sDzT-Yb4ZEG6A/s400/IMG_0374.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332037705746445442" border="0" /></a><br />View of the pits from the staircase:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZKBnetcg39sxaFw2oldog08Dnir2Zk5E-96ygn1Tb0wiuEdkWHgck9MTJK7SPo3_nHwhSNS6nFn3ki46WwAbw1a9nYiM0ZC9lPCqZirDb3LkNZtVTvWAQ6qU2N7LTD9LKVjry4I39g/s1600-h/IMG_0376.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZKBnetcg39sxaFw2oldog08Dnir2Zk5E-96ygn1Tb0wiuEdkWHgck9MTJK7SPo3_nHwhSNS6nFn3ki46WwAbw1a9nYiM0ZC9lPCqZirDb3LkNZtVTvWAQ6qU2N7LTD9LKVjry4I39g/s400/IMG_0376.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332037581150936610" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPmnj1BhDrWpzJtP2TNAHdpvD9hmn4F8aZa_uGQTtldOm6gNxE_HfN1flco2EBOMEpFwoyhcvQUrEUwnrAU4dT3-dCYqaicIGYT3FPYc43Dfr-bVcUX5alTwgD2fkC7VUYc3LrDyvzYg/s1600-h/IMG_0377.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPmnj1BhDrWpzJtP2TNAHdpvD9hmn4F8aZa_uGQTtldOm6gNxE_HfN1flco2EBOMEpFwoyhcvQUrEUwnrAU4dT3-dCYqaicIGYT3FPYc43Dfr-bVcUX5alTwgD2fkC7VUYc3LrDyvzYg/s400/IMG_0377.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332037481918386178" border="0" /></a><br />We made Andy McIntosh sit with the designers to help him appreciate Flex Builder more:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguh74iE_SKTYCLdDTf7eVjOYKiCFn-k4MrEYEksSKPgl5PBFsHIX5mCUO7fZ65I9r47d6oXe8jskaKjc_4PMl4JUBVG_2nanL37GqFH5jJ-teBdS2YikuiNHfFUn3Wbi2BSwPA3XkDSA/s1600-h/IMG_0378.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguh74iE_SKTYCLdDTf7eVjOYKiCFn-k4MrEYEksSKPgl5PBFsHIX5mCUO7fZ65I9r47d6oXe8jskaKjc_4PMl4JUBVG_2nanL37GqFH5jJ-teBdS2YikuiNHfFUn3Wbi2BSwPA3XkDSA/s400/IMG_0378.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332037366427402418" border="0" /></a>RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-14123460116881489882009-04-20T10:36:00.003-06:002009-04-20T10:46:53.172-06:00Rocky Mountain Adobe Camp, June 22ndMark your calendars and get out your stimulus check: <a href="http://camp.rmaug.com/">Rocky Mountain Adobe camp</a> is on June 22nd. The camp will be at the chic Magnolia Hotel, smack dab in the middle of Denver. Expect an exciting day of <a href="http://camp.rmaug.com/sessions/flash">the Flash platform</a>, <a href="http://camp.rmaug.com/sessions/media/">Dynamic Media</a>, or <a href="http://denverflashcamp.com/sessions/elearning/">eLearning</a>, depending on your preference, hosted by the <a href="http://www.rmaug.com/">Rocky Mountain Adobe User Group</a>. Get all the latest news on <a href="http://twitter.com/adobecamp">Adobe Camp through twitter, here</a>.<br /><br />I'll be speaking there on Flash Catalyst and Flex 4 with <a href="http://www.scalenine.com/">Juan Sanchez</a>. Juan will provide the Flash Catalyst designer details and I'll be talking about the code. We'll look at how Flex 4 works along with some best practices (as far as we can tell) for integrating with Catalyst.<br /><br />There are some other great Flex / Flash platform talks planned, including an intro to Flex by Jun Heider, some more talk on Flash Catalyst from DEVELOPER <a href="http://adamflater.blogspot.com/">Adam Flater</a> (what does he know? :) ) and an in-depth talk on testing by Michael Labriola, who co-invented testing with Liebnitz (or Newton, depending on who you ask.)<br /><br />I'm pretty excited for the great day of the learning, and to have so many great minds descending on our city. If you're in Denver or ever wanted to visit this would be a great time to make the trip. Let us know on <a href="http://ww.twitter.com/rjowen">Twitter</a> or in the comments here if you're coming - I'm sure we'll take some time to tour the city after the conference.RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-78451624191512071082009-04-06T17:28:00.002-06:002009-04-06T17:34:11.261-06:00CF United Express Denver PresentationThis afternoon I gave a presentation on the Flex 3 Component Life-cycle at <a href="http://express.cfunited.com/go/denver/2009/topics">CF United Express in Denver</a>.<br /><br />We had a good group at the talk who did an amazing job of keeping up as we blazed through the material! We had to skip some things at the end, as this presentation was originally 80 minutes long (condensed to 60 for CF United Express) and because I was 10 minutes late (blame it on my calendar.)<br /><br />All in all it was really fun, and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to present.<br /><br />Here are the slides from that presentation:<br /><br /><br /><div style="width: 425px; text-align: left;" id="__ss_1256782"><a style="margin: 12px 0pt 3px; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; display: block; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/rjowen/component-life-cycle?type=powerpoint" title="Adobe Flex 3 Component Life Cycle">Adobe Flex 3 Component Life Cycle</a><object style="margin: 0px;" height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=componentlifecycle-090406182303-phpapp02&stripped_title=component-life-cycle"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=componentlifecycle-090406182303-phpapp02&stripped_title=component-life-cycle" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><div style="font-size: 11px; font-family: tahoma,arial; height: 26px; padding-top: 2px;">View more <a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/rjowen">rjowen</a>.<br /></div></div><br /><br />I'm going to be speaking in August at the full-blooded <a href="http://cfunited.com/">CF United event in Leesburg, VA</a>, on the how the Component Life-cycle and the rest of component development changes in Flex 4. If you're in the area or up for a good time, get yourself there and check it out!RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-28975464611940518582009-03-11T16:27:00.002-06:002009-03-11T16:29:45.514-06:00the new ipod shuffle and bad designThe new ipod shuffle interface is completely confusing and totally non-intuitive. Bring back the old one, with buttons that made sense and the ability to plug in any headphones I want. <br /><br />Engadget says it best:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/03/3-11-09ipodwar3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 513px; height: 536px;" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/03/3-11-09ipodwar3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-83895903185938512052009-01-23T15:28:00.002-07:002009-01-23T15:33:23.031-07:00Things I will never need1. More than one clock on my desktop<br />2. An analog clock on my computer or phone, anywhere<br />3. Small widgetized forms of old games (block breaker, that picture shuffle thing) I never enjoyed in their original form cluttering up my desktop<br />4. Cover flow for just about anything<br />5. Transparent or semi-transparent windows that lock themselves on top of other windowsRJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-50186544647247563172008-12-17T12:34:00.002-07:002008-12-17T12:34:52.267-07:00MAX slides posted to Slideshare, embedded hereSlides from my presentation at MAX titled "A Deep Dive Into the Flex 3 Framework" are available up on slideshare:<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="width:425px;text-align:left" id="__ss_853797"><a style="font:14px Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;display:block;margin:12px 0 3px 0;text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/rjowen/flex3-deep-dive-final-presentation?type=powerpoint" title="Flex3 Deep Dive Final">Flex3 Deep Dive Final</a><object style="margin:0px" width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=flex3deepdivefinal-1229531680374945-1&stripped_title=flex3-deep-dive-final-presentation"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=flex3deepdivefinal-1229531680374945-1&stripped_title=flex3-deep-dive-final-presentation" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><div style="font-size:11px;font-family:tahoma,arial;height:26px;padding-top:2px;">View SlideShare <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/rjowen/flex3-deep-dive-final-presentation?type=powerpoint" title="View Flex3 Deep Dive Final on SlideShare">presentation</a> or <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/upload?type=powerpoint">Upload</a> your own. (tags: <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://slideshare.net/tag/flex">flex</a> <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://slideshare.net/tag/adobe">adobe</a>)</div></div><br /><div>We got great reception and generally good reviews for this presentation, but some people were underwhelmed. Some thought that the "deep dive" didn't dive quite as deeply as they would have liked, and others thought the title was misleading. I agree with you on both accounts. :)</div><div><br /></div><div>Matt Chotin actually picked the title and by the time we put the talk together it was too late to change it. A better title might have been "Flex 3 Junk Drawer: something things you never knew about classes you use all the time."</div><div><br /></div><div>Balancing the depth of a talk like this is difficult. We needed to give some "intro" level discussion for people who are new to Flex, but we also wanted to dive "deep" into some topics people hadn't learned before. In the end, I really wish I would've had time to dive deeper into the style manager, but I thought Brad's presentation of Collections and Binding were both really good. It's difficult to go too deep into the SystemManager, since it's not a class many people interact with. I was hoping that information on how it works (particularly the section on the structure of the Flex-produced swf file) would be helpful all by itself, since it's a very interesting topic that most developers get away with never touching.</div><div><br /></div><div>In our section on Data Binding we mentioned a talk given by Michael Labriola at 360 Flex San Jose. Michael also has those slides on slideshare, but I thought it more appropriate to <a href="http://blogs.digitalprimates.net/codeslinger/index.cfm?mode=entry&entry=E183CFC3-FFF8-98FF-6D00B91ADAB60593">link you to his post on the Digital Primates</a> blog rather than embedding them myself. This is by far the best discussion I've ever heard on Binding, and I'd encourage every one, even those who consider themselves experts in Flex, to take a look.</div><div><br /></div><div>All in all, I thought the MAX talk went pretty well. 60 minutes is a pretty short time to co-present something as blended as this talk, and I think we provided value to our attendees. If you attended and have more feedback I'd love to hear it, or if you've just checked out the slides and have questions or feedback, please let me know. I want to know how to make these talks better! rj dot owen at effectiveui.com.</div>RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-51836397267551200602008-12-13T21:02:00.002-07:002008-12-13T21:06:20.880-07:00Keep It Simple, CNet<a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10120401-2.html?tag=mncol;txt">CNet's Don Reisinger completely misses the point</a>. It's specifically the LACK of all these additional features that makes Twitter popular. Same goes for <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10121446-2.html?tag=rtcol;newsNow">Facebook</a>. I don't WANT a social networking tool that specifically enables authors to upload their work. Have they ever seen a blog?RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-59674181903622891932008-12-05T23:39:00.004-07:002008-12-05T23:54:04.601-07:00Spore's DRM backfires, makes it most downloaded game of the year<a href="http://techdirt.com/articles/20081205/1533083035.shtml">TechDirt is reporting</a> that Spore's insanely draconian DRM, much the bane of every video-gamer interested in the game, has completely backfired and made the game the most downloaded (the hacked version) this year despite being out only a few months.<div><br /></div><div>When you look at the issue from a customer experience perspective, the DRM controversy is a no-brainer, and DRM loses. DRM provides absolutely no value to customers - only pain. Probably more than any other medium, video games are successful only when they create good and immersive experiences. Furthermore, gamers are probably one of the more passionate demographics out there - they know they know what a good gaming experience looks like, and they get passionately involved in them. </div><div><br /></div><div>Starting players off with a frustrating registration process and then subjecting them to the restraints of a silly DRM system is a pretty good recipe for pissing people off, and in this case EA's customers have made their frustration loudly known. Some paying customers have downloaded the hacked version to avoid the DRM, and a few and even <a href="http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080924/1831242364.shtml">filed a class action lawsuit</a> against EA. Sony had similar problems back when it <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Sony_BMG_CD_copy_protection_scandal">published music CD's with rootkits</a>, but they've since recanted - hopefully EA will see the benefit of good customer service and quit this sort of nonsense. </div><div><br /></div><div>Until they do, I won't be buying any EA games. Companies like EA (and on a larger scale, the entire entertainment industry) need to hear loud and clear that we won't put up with this. Every part of the user experience matters, and those that unnecessarily subject we-the-customers to this degree of frustration should be shunned like the plague.</div>RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-67525231061419252912008-12-03T10:24:00.003-07:002008-12-03T10:28:42.274-07:00WWII as an RTSThis is just about the funniest thing I've seen in a while - WWII as an RTS game:<div><br /></div><div><a href="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q83/BVIChester/hitlernoobs.gif">The animated version</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.scatteredthoughts.org/2005/09/30/world-war-ii-the-chat-log/">The chat log</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a sample:</div><div>...</div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; ">*Roosevelt has joined the game.*<br />*Stalin has joined the game.*<br />*deGaulle has joined the game.*<br />Roosevelt: hey sup<br />T0J0: y0<br />Stalin: hi<br />Churchill: hi<br />Hitler[AoE]: cool, i start with panzer tanks!<br />paTTon: lol more like panzy tanks<br />T0JO: lol<br />Roosevelt: o this fuckin sucks i got a depression!</span><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">And it goes on from there. :)</span></div><div><br /></div></div>RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-25895633964776164782008-11-20T16:27:00.002-07:002008-11-20T16:34:55.216-07:0010 reasons I hate CafePress<div>In no particular order....</div><div><br /></div>10. Their usage policies are vague and arbitrarily enforced. Campaign materials for both candidates were featured on the home page, but technically anything featuring the likeness of a celebrity is in violation.<div><br /></div><div>9. Their web interface is poorly designed, and requires far too many page refreshes for the world of web 2.0 to deal with.</div><div><br /></div><div>8. They don't let you see records of sales for periods less than 3 months.</div><div><br /></div><div>7. If you make less than $25 on your account, they never pay you</div><div><br /></div><div>6. There's no easy way to change the design on all of your products at once; you have to do it for each individually. Want to resize that image on the 20 different types of shirts you sell? Better block off an hour.</div><div><br /></div><div>5. The ability to design shirts is ridiculously constrained. You can upload small images that will be displayed in small areas on the front and back only.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. It's really expensive. $12 for a plain white t-shirt. You only get a percentage of your mark-up.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. Their customer service is frustrating. When one of your images gets blocked, you receive a completely un-informative form email informing you of the block without telling you why. It's up to you to guess and then reply with reasons they should turn your account back on.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. They require your social security number "for tax purposes" when it's likely they'll never send you a check.</div><div><br /></div><div>1. DesignAShirt.com and CustomInk.com are easier to remember. It's weak, but I needed a 10th.</div>RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-38489651416450397412008-11-11T14:29:00.001-07:002008-11-11T14:30:51.187-07:00Watch Scott Adam's draw DilbertA cool insight into the way technology has innovated drawing comics. Scott uses Photoshop and a really cool drawing touch screen.<div><br /></div><div>The video is on Amazon, who of course doesn't let me embed it. You have to visit the link so they can try to sell you the new Dilbert book. :)</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m3RDBXZLJ5QU57">http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m3RDBXZLJ5QU57</a><br /></div>RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-48657614167114718802008-11-07T10:06:00.005-07:002008-11-07T10:11:33.532-07:00Adobe ADC email FAILLike the rest of you in the Adobe Developer Community, I got this email this morning:<div><br /></div><div><!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:11pt"><blockquote>"Dear RJ,<br /><br />introNetworks has sent you an introMail regarding: IMPORTANT MESSAGE<br /><br />Please log in here <<span style="color:#0000FF;"><u><a href="http://adc.intronetworks.com">http://adc.intronetworks.com</a></u></span>> to retrieve your messages.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />The Adobe Developer Connection team"</blockquote></span></span><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px;">SPOILER ALERT: The special message was this:</span></div><div><div><br /></div><div></div><blockquote><div>IMPORTANT MESSAGE </div><div><br /></div><div>Please note that as of November 10, 2008 the Adobe Developer Connection introNetworks application will no longer be available. Be sure to copy any important content or contacts you want to save prior to that date.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you have any questions or concerns email Edward Sullivan at esulliva@adobe.com.</div></blockquote><div></div><div><br /></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px;">Why the hell did I have to log in to your system for that? Why couldn't you just email me that important message in the first place? There's nothing remotely important or secret about it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px;">Making people login, remember passwords, etc. unnecessarily is a huge user-experience FAIL. Most likely the reason you're canceling the ADC is that none of us have logged in since MAX last year.</span></div>RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-6891532902326837052008-10-21T17:33:00.003-06:002008-10-21T17:50:41.565-06:00MAX 2008 game: Rescue Princess Chotin!<div style="text-align: left;">Near the end of this past summer, our intern Scott had very little to do and wanted to learn some Actionscript. He'd been here all of four weeks, hired on to help do some last minute HR and pre-screen interview candidates. We came up with a project that had very few requirements:<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>1.) Make a game,</div><div>2.) featuring the FlexBot,</div><div>3.) that somehow involves Matt Chotin.</div><div><br /></div><div>Scott really exceeded our expectations. First, he de-compiled the root max.adobe.com swf to get a real animation of the FlexBot walking back and forth, which is no small task for someone with just about zero Flash experience going into the project. Then he coded up a simple game where the 'bot can shoot lightning (press "shift"), fight "bugs", and ultimately take on a deranged version of the PhotoShop Penguin who's taken "Princess" Matt Chotin hostage for undisclosed reasons.</div><div><br /></div><a href="http://labs.effectiveui.com/games/max/MAXGameDemo.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPa6hI9nciZnXVa0sZdZ2KsKnHVKmPeJ1QsiG3HMKLQmRqFErcJIkVTOtxkokMdyHfStNF4XsGn0iFZ7ys8HlLoZn6_pfMvfzpkRUm2ZsCdrHJeF1UQaxcyZzEUZV53unkAcmPZC3z_A/s400/Picture+12.png" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; " /></a><div>It's pretty great - click the image above to go give it a spin.<br /></div>RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-60725448045270673122008-09-17T17:35:00.005-06:002008-09-19T18:20:31.293-06:00Our 360 Flex Presentation is online!Here you go! <div><br /></div><div>Thanks to <a href="http://www.onflex.org/">Ted Patrick</a> for getting this up and posting it on his blog. I've been watching the 360 Flex RSS feed on Adobe Media Player for weeks now and never saw it, but Ted has it posted. Enjoy, and please give us your feedback!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><embed src="http://services.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/1596744118" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=1743188617&playerId=1596744118&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://console.brightcove.com/services/amfgateway&servicesURL=http://services.brightcove.com/services&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&domain=embed&autoStart=false&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="486" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I've posted the slides<a href="http://www.slideshare.net/rjowen/adobe-flex-component-lifecycle-presentation/"> on SlideShare here</a>. Email me at rj {dot} owen at effecitveui.com if you want the originals to use for yourself. Please feel free to use these at user groups, conferences, or to impress attractive members of the opposite sex.</div>RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758626027926442077.post-58306625598928718202008-09-13T02:36:00.004-06:002008-09-13T02:45:08.658-06:00Microsoft Surface in the houseI'm happy to announce today that our embargo on surface blogging has been dropped, and I can announce that we upgraded our standard coffee table to a Microsoft Surface about two months ago and have started developing some basic applications for it.<div><br /></div><div>The surface comes loaded with some pretty basic applications to start - a small keyboard, some applications to demo its ability to display, resize, and manipulate photos, four-way pong, a few basic test apps showing the types of information it can process, and a water simulation that ripples when touched.</div><div><br /></div><div>My reactions thus far have been pretty mixed. On the one hand, nothing about the surface feels sleek, elegant, or in any way portable - it's huge and heavy - but it's alpha technology at this point and meant to be a table, so all of that should be forgiven. It uses a camera to detect multi-touch (as opposed to pressure or heat in other devices), which has some real benefits: it's able to detect and react to many objects other than the human hand. While the test applications aren't anything very impressive, they're fun and so intuitive that the technology is invisible, and that's what good user experience is all about.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another thing that's worth mentioning is how helpful Microsoft has been in learning to program for the Surface. We identified a few employees really interested in doing R&D work on the surface, and Microsoft did a lot to bring them up to speed, including conducting a special training session for them in Redmond. Say what you will about office or Windows - Microsoft knows how to treat developers.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm pretty excited to see what our team comes up with for the surface. Interfaces like this are going to be everywhere in the not-too-distant future, and it's exciting to be working with some of that technology now.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you're in Denver and interested, stop by our office sometime and check it out.</div>RJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02716003236306728379noreply@blogger.com4