You can see the presentation demo of Adobe Flash CS4 here: http://tv.adobe.com/vi+f1556v1685

But if you’re too lazy, I’ve done a run through of the features.

Features of Flash CS4:

• Object-based animation - Adobe’s new animation model, a.k.a ‘new motion feature’. Basically you can right click something and add motion tween. Not too exciting.
• 3d trasformation - new 3d capabilities in Flash CS4. Can go from a simple tween animation, grab the 3d transform tool and ‘rotate’ the graphic around a y, x and z axis. It just looks like doing fancy skewing on the object and animates in, however I’m sure the code side of things will be a lot more poweful.
• Motion editor - there is a new ‘motion view’ that has individual control for every property that is animated, much the same way that is done in the timeline in programs such as 3d max. This is going to be an awesome feature. It is about time that Flash let you edit the curves of animations and tweening in a simple way, I’m looking forward to this feature.
• Bones tool - actually inverse kinematics, lets you ‘tie together’ differen objects. You create ‘bones’ through simples to link them together, allowing you to animate objects, gives them movement constraits etc. The ‘bones tool’ is supported in runtime, so on the front end of the Flash website the objects with bones will still be able to be manipulated. This is an okay feature, might be hand for frame-by-frame animations; you won’t have to have isolate different objects in groups within groups within groups to create animations anymore. This will probably also have some exciting impacts on Flash games.
• Motion presets - can save and apply different animations to objects. Flash will set up the key frames for the animation on that object. I think this feature could be useful, at least saving time by not having to recreate animation styles manually.
• Deco tool - the ‘deco tool’ allows you to create patterns from Flash objects in a grid or symetrically around an axis. This is going to make so many things so much easier. One of the hardest things to do in Flash as far as illustration goes is create good looking textures. Duplicating symbols and having the manually rotate and position them is very time consuming. I’m looking forward to the deco tool.
• Spray brush tool - lets you select a symbol from the library and apply random scale and rotation to it. Works in the same way as brushes do in photoshop. Once again, this is going to be a valuable addition for illustrators/animators.
• H.264 video support - the import > video has been enhanced. It allows you to add videos that have been compressed in the H.264 into Flash without having to recompress the video as flv files.
• Adobe AIR Authoring - lets you deploy Flash as desktop applications. Lets you take any existing applications from Flash into Adobe AIR. In the Publish Settings you can export as Air 1.0 instead of Flash Player 10. Lets you run Flash as you would for a desktop application, gives you options for other features. I’ve used AIR already, and it’s pretty cool.

If you’re an animator or illustrator, there are loads of new stuff for you to play with, but they haven’t really announced anything for the programming side of Flash yet. There are some nice features, but as it is, I don’t think CS4 is worth the upgrade.

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Check out this neat little feature:

“By keeping each tab in an isolated “sandbox”, we were able to prevent one tab from crashing another and provide improved protection from rogue sites.”

what a great idea:)

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Google has released their new web browser (Chrome) out into the wild.

You can download it from here: http://www.google.com/chrome

My impressions so far:

• It ‘feels’ a lot quicker than the other browsers I normally use
• I like the ‘tab’ metaphore it uses for all the browser functions, I think it keeps your display neat and it just makes sense. Things such as your downloads list and history appear in a new tab, rather than a panel that pops over the browser
• Chrome is definately not a finished product. It tends to hang on some pages, and doesn’t load everything

So far I don’t think Google Chrome will replace anything I’m currently using, but it’s definately going to be something to watch.

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Adobe have just announced that they’ll be announcing the Adobe Creative Suite 4 on the 23rd of September.

http://adobe.istreamplanet.com/

This does not meant that they are releasing CS4 on that date, it just means that they are announcing that they are going to release CS4. Why they need to announce that they are announcing something I’ll never know.
It’s just confusing.

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Generation V

Generation Virtual (also known as Generation V) is not defined by age — or gender, social demographic or geography — but is based on demonstrated achievement, accomplishments and an increasing preference for the use of digital media channels to discover information, build knowledge and share insights.

Generation V is the recognition that general behaviour, attitudes and interests are starting to blend together in an online environment.

Gartner has identified four levels of engagement within Generation V, addressing both the extent to which customers will engage with other customers, as well as the level of engagement needed from businesses to enable the community. The four levels of engagement include: creators, contributors, opportunists, and lurkers.

· Up to 3 percent of individuals will be creators
providing original content and can be advocates that promote your product and services.

· Between 3 percent and 10 percent of individuals will be contributors
essentially followers, who add to the conversation, but don’t initiate it. They can recommend products and services as customers move through a buying process, looking for purchasing advice.

· Between 10 percent and 20 percent of individuals will be opportunists
who can further contributions regarding purchasing decisions. Opportunists can “add value” to a conversation that’s taking place, while walking through a considered purchase.

· Approximately 80 percent of individuals will be lurkers
(and all users start as such), essentially spectators, who reap the rewards of online community input, but only absorb what is being communicated. However, they can implicitly contribute and validate indirectly reporting the value from the rest of the community.

Gartner Says Enterprises Must Create Separate Marketing Strategies for Generation Virtual Retrieved on Friday, 15 August 2008 from http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=721008

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I spent ages trying to figure out how to output the xml for a link’s href (i.e. <a href=”">) by trying to escape the double quotes of the href. For example:

<a href=\”<xsl:value-of select=”@url”/>\”><xsl:value-of select=”@url”/></a>

But that didn’t work.

Ended up to be a simple solution as it always is.

Assuming we have an xml file that has a node with the attribute “url”:

<a><xsl:attribute name=”href”><xsl:value-of select=”@url”/></xsl:attribute>My Link</a>

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Windows and Mac

1. To add a ringtone to your iPhone, using Windows Explorer or Finder just duplicate and rename any AAC file with a “M4R” extension, then double-click on it. This file will be added to your iTunes library automatically. (Some are reporting a size limit for the music file, so if you have trouble, using a smaller file may help)

2. Now, click on your iPhone in iTunes, and go to the ringtone section. You should now see your new ringtone. If you want to be sure about the sync, feel free to click “selected ringtones” and check off the file explicitly, though this shouldn’t be required.

3. Now SYNC your phone. You’re Done!

Mac Notes

You have to make sure the actual extension is changed. The easiest way to make sure you are changing the extension is to use Command-I to “Get Info” on the file in Finder. Then change the extension in the “Name & Extension” field to “M4R”. Finder may ask you if you are sure you want to change the extension. Once you double click, the file should show up in the Ringtone area in iTunes.

Windows Notes

Again, you need to make sure the actual extension is changed.

Opens My Computer, Then goes to Tools-Folder Options-View

UNCHECK “Hide extensions for known file types” once this is done you can simply rename the file with a new extension of M4R which then changes the Icon to say RING.

(Thanks Michael)

General Notes

- 3.1 MB in file size is the largest I can successfully transfer (so far) and have it work properly as a ringtone. - Sobe
- Some people have had trouble deleting the ringtones once they are on their iPhone.
- if you have previously installed Ringtones with iToner, iPhoneRingToneMaker etc… then you will lose those ringtones if you upgrade to iTunes 7.4. A fix for iToner is coming.
- For those having trouble, there are two more step-by-step tutorials posted here and here. Another tutorial with photos.

Update: iTunes 7.4.1 seems to break this simple technique, but Joe Maller posted another simple workaround that may work.

Source: http://www.macrumors.com/iphone/2007/09/07/free-custom-ringtones-in-itunes-7-4/

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I have been having an ongoing issue where the Optus 3G service would only come on very rarely. Maybe on average 1 hour per day. The rest of the time the iphone would fall back to standard slow 2G GSM (GPRS) coverage, even though I am near the 3G tower.

So I went into the Optus shop and showed them, no 3G service. Their demo iphone also had no 3G service, even though all the other 3G phones (non-iphone) had plenty of 3G service.

A quick call to tech support solved the issue. Turn Airplane mode on, then back off again. Success, the 3G symbol now appears and internet is now fast again.

There appears to be a bug in the 3G part of the iphone and turning on/off airplane mode effectively reboots the 3G subsystem.”

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Second Life, get a life. Google Lively is the new virtual world created by the world’s largest search engine.

Google Lively is billed as a “chat experience” using avatars. Google says, “You’re about to embark on a chat experience in which you can communicate and express yourself using avatars in your very own space. Choose an avatar and use it to make friends and chat. Create rooms, decorate them to your liking, and make sure to invite your friends over.”

Here’s how it works:

Choose a Google Lively room

* From the Room List, click the title of the room you’d like to visit first.
* Use the tabs at the top of the page to sort rooms by most popular, most visitors, or newest.
* Once you’ve added friends or created a room, the My Rooms and Friends’ Rooms tabs will also be handy.

Choose your Google Lively avatar

1. Click My Avatar on the right sidebar.
2. Click the avatar you like and choose Select Avatar (your avatar changes instantly).
3. Once you’ve chosen the one you want, click the X to hide the menu.

Change your Google Lively avatar’s clothing

To change your outfit, check out the styles available in the wardrobe picker. Here’s how:

1. Click My Wardrobe on the right sidebar to open your wardrobe.
2. Browse or search the options in your wardrobe inventory and select items to wear. When you double-click an item, it’ll appear on your avatar instantly. You don’t have to close the window to find out if you like the look.

If you don’t like how something looks on your avatar, go back to your wardrobe, left-click on the item, and choose Remove Item.

If you want more wardrobe options, add new stuff to your inventory by o quickly change your entire outfit, click my avatar and choose I’m Feeling Lucky . You’ll see the new duds on your avatar instantly.

Create your own Google Lively room

1. Click new room and choose Create New Room to start the process.
2. Look over each tab and choose what you want your room to look like, the permissions you want to grant visitors, and whether you’d like to play music in your room.

Source: http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/080708-181651

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With Google Lively, you can create avatars, customize chat rooms and chat with your friends….check it out.

http://www.lively.com/html/landing.html

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