To me the whole Flash vs HTML5 issue is amazing. Full disclosure: I develop Flash/Flex and other web applications on my Mac. I don’t have an iPhone (due to AT&T not Apple) and I don’t have an iPad (can’t see a real use for me yet to justify the $).

As a developer, I’ve often had to determine what the best tool is for the project at hand. I don’t recall any tools that were the best at everything. I like developing in Flash/Flex and I’m sure I would enjoy developing in HTML5 as well. Regardless of the improvements in each that will happen, there will probably always be a reason why one is better than the other for some specific task. To try to always use the same tool for every application would be like trying to use a hammer to put in a screw because I only have (or like) a hammer. It might be successful, but it’s not probably not the best choice and there may be problems down the line.

As a consumer, I would simply not want to be limited to what I can do on my device. This would be true for a PC, Mac, iPhone, Android device, Wii, or whatever. Even if HTML5 is the absolute wonderful tool that some seem to think it is, the fact is that not all content is available today via HTML5. In today’s world, to have access to all content, I need HTML5 and Flash. While this may not be the case tomorrow, I happen to live in today. Personally, I would be willing to live with glitches (assuming they would exist) with Flash on the iPhone or iPad for the content that requires it rather than what I would have now (if I had either) which is nothing.

I don’t see why it can’t be my choice. I also don’t get why Flash and HTML5 are an either/or item in some peoples minds. Would the world come to an end if they are both successful?

On another note, I do think it’s rather poor taste for Apple to be stabbing Adobe in the back. Apple became as successful as they did to get to the point where they could come up with an iPhone and iPad because of their success with the Mac. Without Adobe’s long-standing commitment of developing their great software for the Mac, I don’t think the Mac would have made it. Years ago I did an evaluation of Mac vs. PC for an advertising department. My boss was very pro PC. One of the main reasons, I recommended a Mac solution over the PC was because of Adobe software, specifically Adobe PageMaker. At the time, a new release came out on the Mac before on the PC. I pretty sure I’m not the only one that went with the Mac because of Adobe software. How soon Apple forgets.

If there are legitimate problems with Flash on the iPhone or iPad, why doesn’t Apple work with Adobe to solve the problems. What a concept!

The other item that I found entertaining was Apple’s comments on how closed Flash is. Even though I use Adobe’s tools (Flash Professional and Flash Builder) to develop Flash applications, I’ve always known about open source tools that can create SWF files. I was glad to see this article that has some examples. I also think this video on using Flash on a touch device without rewriting the app is great.

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I think the figures say it extremely well. Although not show here, the price difference is amazing also (Snow Leopard is $29).  I love the custom install.  Translation: start over and lose ALL settings and programs.

Windows 7 upgrade path chart

Mac OS X upgrade path chart

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I watched the online streaming and live feeds with presentation pictures and comments of the new Mac (hardware and Snow Leopard) today from Apple’s WWDC in San Francisco this morning. I probably only got to see about half of the iPhone section. From what I saw, there was obvious less enthusiasm about the iPhone new features than the Mac hardware and software changes (which, by the way, look very cool and I look forward to Snow Leopard on my 2 Macs). To be fair, I didn’t watch the part about the 3GS version and the prices.

However, what I did notice was the glaring omission in new features: a quality network for the iPhone in the U.S. Unfortunately, Apple continues to partner with AT&T in the U.S. While other carriers would have the new support for MMS in a little over a week, AT&T won’t have it until the end of the summer (let’s all hold our breath). When the tethering feature was announced, AT&T was not even mentioned which was heard very clearly by those attending. Until Apple adds the new feature of un-tethering itself from AT&T or AT&T gets their act together and provides a quality network for the iPhone, I’m not getting one. I’m not sure which is more likely to happen, but I’m guessing it will be Apple that makes the first move.

I was already hesitant to get an iPhone because of the experience my good friend and neighbor has with the iPhone. When he needed a new laptop last year, he converted to the Mac. I’d been touting Mac for a couple of years and influenced by the fact that I’m his tech support, he took the plunge and he is really happen he did. At the same, he time decided to switch to the iPhone. While he loves the features and usability of the iPhone and it’s interaction with his Mac, he has been very unhappy with the plethora of dropped calls. It’s not unusual that our phone conversations have to be restarted one or more times due to his iPhone disconnecting.

What makes this even more frustrating is that it happens probably most frequently when he’s at home and not moving around when he’s on the call. His complaints to AT&T have fallen on deaf ears. He was informed that he signed a contract that had a place on the form indicating only “moderate” coverage in our area. I guess I have a different perspective of moderate coverage. They say moderate, I say crappy. Since I live 7 houses away from him, I also fall into the crappy–sorry moderate–coverage area. This was confirmed by looking at AT&T’s coverage map for my area. Just so you know, I don’t live in a rural area or in any kind of metropolitan fringe area. I live in Sacramento in a very populated area pretty close to I-80 and probably about 1.5 miles from a large AT&T office. ( The AT&T office just happens to be on the edge of the “good” coverage area.)

Another item of note regarding my friend’s iPhone AT&T disappointment was AT&T hinting to him that they would sometime soon have an improvement to their network to better support the iPhone. With the information presented, and missing, from today’s WWDC keynote speech about the iPhone, that doesn’t seem very likely.

With crappy coverage, behind the curve with iPhone features such as MMS and possbily never tethering support and who knows whatever other features that Apple develops for the iPhone that AT&T will take forever or may never support, don’t expect to see me with an iPhone anytime soon.

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I have created a tool tip class in Actionscript 3 that is reusable and I think it is helpful for anyone wanting a pop-up for additional information. This is what lead up to that happening.

I just started learning Flash a couple of weeks ago. I decided that I wanted a little more pizazz in my photo pages on my web site. I had originally created the pages using Ajax and some Javascript which I think had a pretty nice look.

My earlier incarnations of photo pages used frames to contain the albums, thumbnails, and the photo. Using Ajax, I was able to get the flexibility without using frames. I also created a zoom in feature with Javascript. I had thought about using Flash originally, but at the time I thought I would have to build in all of the photos into the Flash application and I wanted something that would be dynamic. When I added a picture to my portfolio or photos pages, I didn’t want to have to update Flash. In addition to the work I thought I would have to do, my HTML pages (served by PHP) used the same code with a different query string to serve up either the portfolio or the photos pages. I thought I would have to create two different Flash files. The other minor issue was at the time, I didn’t have Flash.

A couple of things changed so that I decided to change my photo pages to use Flash. I found out that Adobe had a special so that I could upgrade my CS3 design standard to CS4 design premium for a little more that just upgrading to CS4. The upgrade to premium added Flash to the suite (as well as other applications). The second thing was that I found out that Flash could read a XML file and dynamically load the images—somewhat similar to how I was using Ajax to load my albums when selected.

Thus started my Flash and Actionscript 3 adventure. I have fallen in love with Flash because of what it can do and I know I’ve only scratched the surface. I really enjoy the power of Actionscript 3 and the ease of use of Flash CS4. The integration with the rest of CS4 is also very nice. I was extremely pleased with so much information and examples of how to accomplish different functions in Flash. It’s amazing the availability of tutorials. One amazing site is http://gotoandlearn.com. In my project, I learned from several tutorials on the site including the information about Pixel Bender, the 3D picture Carousel, XML, and tool tips. I also find many other sources of useful information and tutorials. Since I am using Actionscript 3 and particular using a Document Class, some code I had to adapt, but it was still extremely helpful.

I am continuing to learn many aspects of Flash and Actionscript for both fun and to be able to add to my skills to improve my hireability. I am also considering Flex Builder to code Actionscript, but I’m still not sure of all of the benefits and spending the money.

So after all that, back to my first reusable Actionscript 3 class. It’s a tool tip that is created dynamically based on the text (including HTML formatting) and the requested width. It has several options for customization including background color, line style, corner radius, pointer location (side and position), and pointer size. The text can be formatted using the TextFormat class or the StyleSheet. The text can be set using a text or htmlText property. It needs Flash Player 9 or later. I am open to suggestions for additional features or information regarding problems found. More information, documentation, a demo, and the download is available here. You can see it in use here. Hover the mouse over the blue information icon. I hope you find it useful.

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While I have been working on designing my new site to showcase my web design and development skills as well as my photography, I have given a lot of thought on what to include on the site. This is in addition to how I want to design the layout, the graphics, look-and-feel, etc. The main reason for the new site was to be able to get a job by demonstrating my skills both in the design and implementation of the site itself as well as the content on the site. In other words, the site is an online resume.

Both before and during this process, I’ve read stories regarding people losing out on job opportunities because of what was on their own site, Facebook, Twitter, or wherever. Others, such as Michael Phelps, have gotten into trouble from what was posted on the web by others. So how do you decide what to put on your site? How do you determine if the information that you want to include will help get you the job or prevent you from getting the job?

For example, when I had some friends review my new site design, it was recommended that I take off my Twitter feed from the front page in case I were to post something on Twitter that might not be politically correct (my words—not hers). While I try not to be inappropriate on my Twitter posts, I decided to remove the Twitter feed. (After all, why ask for recommendations from people you respect if you are not going to listen to them?)

After a lot of consideration, I’ve decided to fall back to my normal philosophy about deciding what to include on the site. As a rule, I will not say something behind someone’s back or, in this case, on the web that I would not be willing to say to their face. This isn’t to say that I never say anything that gets me into trouble, but I think it serves me well most of the time.

Hopefully, I’ve been successful in deciding what to include and how to present it. The new site is in it’s infancy and will continue to evolve as I think of new things to include and possibly learn new techniques on how to do them.

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