flash platform! {desktop, mobile, touch screen…}


Zinc 3 is out!
January 31, 2008, 5:19 pm
Filed under: Flash, Flex | Tags: , , , , ,

I’ve just seen new MDM site where you can find the new release of Zinc!

I download it and I want to try in next few weeks, I hope to great new features and new performance.

You can find more information in Zinc page, take a look and stay tuned to read new Zinc 3 experiences!



Flex 3 is coming and also a lots of new books!
January 31, 2008, 12:46 am
Filed under: Flex | Tags: , , ,

Yes, Flex 3 is coming, we don’t know when, but there are pre-release conference around Europe, so I think it will come next few months.
Today I ask to myself: “Which books are coming on Flex 3?!”.
So I go to amazon and I make a search about Flex 3 books.
I find some interesting results, my favouorite are:

I put them in my wish list!

Flex is growing up so much and there is a big interest around this new world, I think that 2008 become Flex & AIR year!
Or almost I try to do that.



new ribbit API Beta 2
January 16, 2008, 9:59 am
Filed under: Flex, Resource | Tags: , , ,

Ribbit team has just released new API (BETA 2) with new features and better performance!

In Ribbit blog, Mr. Freedman said:
“- There are more than 30 new methods and events, as well as significant changes for improving existing methods. Methods for loading messages have been modified and now support a more sophisticated ‘tagging’ model. Virtually none of the calling methods and events have been changed.
- Key performance enhancements include firewall compatibility, better voice performance and improved calling stability. There is a new set of methods for managing account information through the API, including recording and saving your Voicemail greeting, changing password and uploading a user photo.”

And also:
“- New features on the developer site, to be announced later this week, will include the ability to share your Ribbit applications and projects with other developers. Developers, especially those coding apps for the contest, will benefit from having others in the community evaluate and give feedback on their ongoing projects.”

When I tried it I was shock for the performance but if they come better…WOW, what amazing tool!
For now Europe developers could only try it with skype or with others developers that are involved in this project… I want Europe calls, please!
I suggest to take a look at this project if you haven’t done it yet.



MacWorld but also developer.apple.com
January 15, 2008, 10:02 pm
Filed under: Apple, General, Mobile | Tags: , , , , ,

I love Apple so much!

This period is so interesting for MACWORLD and this year I’m so excite to view new iTV, new macbook AIR, new firmware upgrade for iPod Touch (finally I could see emails in my iPod Touch) and new services like rent video! That’s cool.

But also, I suggest to take a look at developer.apple.com, in particular in iPhone section, you must register for FREE and you’ll have a lots of materials about development on iPhone and so on.

There you can also submit your iPhone application and put in apple site. New opportunities ae growing up.
In 2008, I think that we’ll have a lots of changes from AIR to new Macbook AIR (everything we call AIR in 2008, it’s funny!).
I love Apple, I love AIR… and I love 2008!



My first steps with RIBBIT API
January 8, 2008, 12:40 pm
Filed under: AIR, Flex, Resource | Tags: , , ,

Today I spent an hour to take a look at Ribbit api and to start a first flex example with them.
For now you make a call to USA phone numbers only, in fact when you enter your Ribbit profile, you receive a USA number to use for test.
So I use Skype to make a call to my Ribbit number.
Example is very easy but with this few code you can receive and  make call to USA number (Europe number  are available  in mid 2008 probably).

After registrarion and approval from Ribbit team you can download SWC from Ribbit site that you add in your Flex application.

First of all you must create a Ribbit istance and a CallObject:

 private var myRibbit:RibbitRequest = new RibbitRequest();  private var ribbitObj:CallObject; 

Then you add listner to know when you are logged in Ribbit server, when you are making a call and when you are receiving a call.

 myRibbit.addEventListener(RibbitResponseEvent.LOGGED_IN, handleLoggedIn);
 myRibbit.addEventListener(RibbitResponseEvent.RIBBIT_SERVER_CONNECTED, handleRibbitServerConnected);
 myRibbit.addEventListener(RibbitResponseEvent.CALL_CONNECTED, handleCallActive);
 myRibbit.addEventListener(RibbitResponseEvent.INCOMING_CALL, handleCallIncoming);

So you login with:

myRibbit.login(”user”, “psw”, “devID”, “appID”);

All data that you put in login method you can find in your Ribbit profile.

Then you create  function  that you define in Ribbit object listner:

private function handleCallIncoming(e:RibbitResponseEvent):void{                       receiveBtn.enabled = true;                       ribbitObj = new CallObject();      ribbitObj = e.data as CallObject;                  }              private function handleCallActive(e:RibbitResponseEvent):void{                 trace(”call active man!”)              }              private function handleLoggedIn(e:RibbitResponseEvent):void{                   trace(”you are logged in”)              }              private function handleRibbitServerConnected(e:RibbitResponseEvent):void{ 
    trace(”server ok”)                      makeBtn.enabled = true;              }

So now we only put in our flex project 2 buttons, one to receive a call and another one to make a call to a specific USA number.

<mx:VBox>
    <mx:Button id=”makeBtn” label=”make call” click=”{myRibbit.makeCall(’USAPhone’)}” enabled=”false” />
    <mx:Button id=”receiveBtn” label=”receive call” click=”{myRibbit.answerCall(ribbitObj)}” enabled=”false” />
</mx:VBox>  

Very easy to use and so powerfull API!

I remember to all that Ribbit team launch a phone contest, more information in Ribbit site

Enjoy!



Flash Lite 3: load external data

This morning I talk with Fabio, a friend of mine, and he asks me if I’ve ever loaded an FLV file in Flash Lite 3 from web.

I don’t start to use FL3 since this morning because there aren’t enable devices and also I think that we could use it only in the end of 2008 to have some devices in the market with it.
In Flash Lite 3, when you want to load web data (images, video or anything else), you MUST set, in Publish Settings, network access only.
When I worked with Flash Lite 2 we don’t need to set network access to load external data.
So for example in Flash Lite 2 we load an external 3gp video (there isn’t FLV support in FL2) we write:
//video_vd is an istance of video object that is in library 
video_vd.play(”http://www.mart3.co.uk/video.3gp”);
in Flash Lite 3 we use NetConnection class:
var nc:NetConnection = new NetConnection;
nc.connect(null);
var ns:NetStream = new NetStream(nc);
ns.play(”http://www.mart3.co.uk/flvfl3/phone.flv”)
video_vd.attachVideo(ns); 

A big THANK YOU to Alessandro!Update: Talking with Scott I found a recent post of Nick Gerig about security model of Flash Lite 3 that explains well the problem.