PaperWorld3D Open source is out!

PaperWorld3D is a mix of two open source project which is PaperVision3D on the frontend and Red 5 on the backend. It is released by the guys behind Influxis and Red5Server who is Trevor Burton and John Grden. The whole idea is to create quickly a 3D Massively Multiplayer Online Game for the Adobe Flash 9 player. The project works with modules and xml for configuration. It also have a platform for tracking and managing players and their avatars. The whole thing works on UDP protocol so the server is always right on the pace for all the players who's logged on the server session. There's already a bunch of stuff in the libraries that your can extend and if you have done a bit of PV3D you will get the grips quickly. The project is on GNU Lesser General Public License as an open source project, there is really no limit to where this will go. Again, the experience people have gain with Second Life will evolve even more in the world of advertising and probably new business opportunities or virtual economies will emerge.

On the other hand Flash In The Can - Toronto 2008 is coming up real soon and sorry for the lack of post. March, the month of madness and Sparta kick is done now lets chill until the end of summer!

The Montreal Adobe User Group is coming to Second Life

Yep, we met in person, we met over Adobe Connect, we met over FaceBook and now we are planing our first meeting in Second Life in collaboration with College Inter-Dec and ilasallecampus.

Stay tuned and spread the word!

Note: the URL for ilasallecampus is:

http://www.ilasallecampus.com/

 

New tutorials sections added - André Loiselle contributed 9 tutorials

André Loiselle, coordinator for the 2D-3D Imagery programs in Inter-Dec college just contributed 9 tutorials about photoshop and Fireworks to our new tutorials section. 

This is a milestone for the Montreal Adobe User Group as we start creating content and sharing with members these awesome tutorials completely free. I want to thank André along with College Inter-Dec for their crucial help to the MAUG growth.

The tutorials are being hosted by our new sponsor Virtual Paper a leading virtual publication service and partner of LordAlex Works distributing their services.

Expect more tutorials coming soon.

I had the opportunity to take a hand on a book last time we did the MAUG conference in Montreal and one of my responsabilities was to give a review of that book because it was generously given freely to LordAlex by friendsofed publishing company so let's start !

The overall structure of the book is well done by the team because it's a step by step evolution.

Chapter 1:

The first chapter show us what we are in and what we should understand. We can rename that chapter Chapter 1 : What we need to understand.

Chapter 2:

From chapter 2 and so on we are diving into the subject fastly enough to begin to write our first Flex application. Everything is well done by example. But this book is not for the beginners because you must have basic foundations on what is a web application and in what circumstances we need to use that kind of technology. If you are a beginner you won't understand the brief explications of the concepts that we find in.

Great tutorial on Events system with AS3 and also the binding properties that we can use everywhere in a application. It is also important to mention that there's a lot visual references to situate our actions in the user interface of Flex Builder.

Chapter 3:

This is where the fun begins because here we learn how to customize the basic controls that are provided by the AS3 framework so that we can apply Object Oriented Programming concepts to extend their functionalities.

Chapter 4:

In this chapter user interaction is at the honor. In every application with need the feedback of the user because if it's not so then there is no purpose to develop application. We see three kinds of communication mode with the user : Simple alerts like message box, popup windows to block the user interface until the user respond to a question and finally forms like HTML forms with validations and regular expression.

Chapter 5:

In that section they teach how to interact with the browser from Flex, sending variables from HTML directly to the SWF, communication from client side Javascript and the SWF with ActionScript.

Chapter 6:

A web application without a data source is useless so that chapter introduce us the abilities of Flex to interact with a broad range of external data sources like text files, binary files, requests from a server side pages, XML documents and Web services. It explains how to use the HTTPService, URLLoader classes and also how to work with LifeCycle Data Services.

Chapter 7 & 8:

The XML language is at the honour in theses chapters. You have a great introduction to what is XML and why we use it. Great explanations on how we use inline XML with MXML and with external XML file. XML is a must with today technologies in web driven applications and every one should know how to use it.

Chapter 9:

Microsoft first introduced us his .NET framework with new kind of controls that can take results from a database and parse the results directly to the output in a web page. It was the introduction of a new way to display data directly from a data source. That's what we call data binding and Flex comes with native controls like ComboBox, List, HorizontalList, TileList, Repeater, DataGrid, Tree ... that allow you to use data binding to facilitate the display of information in an easy way.

Chapter 10:

Chassing bugs is the worst activity that can practice a programmer unless he's an entomologist :)
Flex is armed with great features to fight the bugs ... everything you need to know to use the arsenal is accessible in this chapter to debug an ActionScript application.

Chapter 11 to 16:

They include real case studies with XML, ASP.NET, PHP and LifeCycle


CONCLUSION

I think that Sas Jacobs and Koen De Weggheleire did an awesome job writting that treasure chest of informations. Well written and great explanations it is very easy to understand how magnificent is the Flex framework with ActionScript 3.0.

I recommend it to every programmers who want to discover or switch their skills from another programming language.

Enjoy the book !

Erguder Bekrek @lias A.I.R.

Interactivy kick ass!

After reading that Flex 4 is in active development I was thinking about what would be the ultimate way for me to communicate and get in touch with others easily. Since PostScript printing the digital imagery has come a long way but still lacks of its solid state. Motion Imagery and creative sounds have led us a little closer to our sense but still there was no direct contact. Keyboard and mouse are the first two true soldiers that fights for inputting data in on a wide range and at any time pretty much for free. But they will soon disappear to. Quicker ways to get in touch with people at anytime evolve and grows very fast in the mobile world. Inputs are getting closer to us and totally flirt with our everyday lives. There is so many ways to interact with data now that it’s hard to fail when you take a little care of your users. Communication with our family and friends will benefit from it as a beacon and will get in our everyday life as well to share and save our history forever. All those things are great and even more when you have a bunch of tool to help you out with it. Being in a multiuser 3D online environment from almost anywhere or device will put the bar even higher. Definitely interactivity is here to stay and I hope you feel the same too. Next time we will talk 3D.

links:
We are going to see more of those in the future and some techniques are still evolving. A good reason to believe in all in one while everything becomes one.

markval joins the MAUG!

Hi Flashing Montrealers! I am happy to join the Montreal Adobe User Group. Woohhoo! I will take this opportunity to Blog a lot more, give more tips and of course build some new tutorials. For the few followers that I still have due to the lack of blogging in the last 2 years I will make sure to serve the same quality of post but now... once a week! Like Chris Anderson, it’s always better to publish everything. It will maybe help a lot of people or just a few but in the end it’s the happy user that counts.

To make a long story short I have been using Adobe's product for more than 10 years and have been using Flash on a daily basis for 9. I use Softimage and AfterEffect on a regular dose and have encountered LOADS and LOADS of challenge in Developing Interactivity, Motion Design, Mobile Phones, Web Banners and much more. I currently work for a advertising agency in our beloved Montreal. I will cover the widest range possible of subjects that touches Interactivity and Adobe's products. On this, see you next week!

Announcing Flex for Designers Blog

Hello friends,

I just wanted to announce Flex4Designers blog. I decide to open a new blog to support my recent book Flex Foundation for Designers and also to discuss Flex design issues exclusively.

At the moment is a barebones wordpress blog and there is not much content, but expect a quick update shortly.

Cheers.

+LA

Flex 3 and AIR 1.0 are now available!

Flex 3 and AIR 1.0 are now available for download. One can upgrade to the standard version for only 99$ or get the PRO version with charting and testing tools for $299

I recommend the PRO version only for the memory profilers tools in the long run is better investement.

Among other things these are the improvements over version 2:

• Full support for Adobe AIR makes it easy to create RIAs for the desktop
  
• New integration with Adobe Creative Suite™ 3 helps designers and developers to work together more efficiently
  
• New and enhanced data visualization features, including the new advanced datagrid, enable even richer presentation of business data
  
• New memory and performance profilers make it easy to optimize your application
  

I am really excited about seeing Flex 3 ready and out there, this launch is very significant because it officially makes the desktop available for everyone working on the platform.

So, go download and enjoy!

Our forums have a new design!

So I have been working on my spare time to bring a new face to the forum, please feel free to send any comments of if you wish to enhance some of the designs of graphics drop me a line in the comments I will email you the forums assets.

More to come real soon, I've been working on a job board and a new face for the blog as well, which I will be rolling out soon.

Enjoy!

+LA 

Montreal Flex/AIR Prerelease Tour Post-mortem

First I want to thank everyone who attended the meeting, we had a real blast, despite the fact that Mike Potter was not able to make it. So thank you for your support while I attempted to deliver the message, I know some of you really wanted to see a pro like Mike giving the lecture but I am sure we will have him at some point in the future and he sent his sincere apologies to everyone.

We had a turn over of 54 people, from which 2 more will be joining the MAUG committee, 2 more will be blogging on the MAUG site and 6 will be writing book reviews for the MAUG site.

We managed to get everyone walking away with something, we gave away 20 long sleeve shirts, 10 brand new books from Friends of ED that just came out printing, 1 spanking iPod nano 4GB (grey) , 1 Flex 3 commercial license, 1 Premium CS3 License,  5 unique Flex backpacks 6 cool mugs and plenty of free pizza and soft drinks for everyone. 

Lots of conversations going tonight, awesome networking, we actually extended the meeting 1 full hour as people were networking hard, we even had a company stepping up looking for developers so I think some people got out of the meeting with brand new gig's as well.

So all and all i think this meeting was real success for everyone. Thanks again to College Inter-Dec for lending their auditorium.

Stay tuned for our next meeting!

Adobe Flex and Adobe AIR Pre-Release Tour in Montreal (Update)

Hello folks, unfortunately for reasons beyond his control Mike Potter won't be able to make it to Montreal, so Adobe has kindly ask me to replace him tomorrow.

Mike has sent me his presentation files and I will replace him tomorrow, other than that the schedule stay the same. Mike Potter has expressed his sincere apologies and perhaps we will have him some other time soon.

See you all there.

Kind  regards.

+LA

Flex and AIR Pre-release Tour with Adobe’s Mike Potter (Montreal February 7th, 2008)

Flex 3 and AIR are getting close to launch and in preparation, Mike Potter from the Adobe Flex/AIR product team is traveling to select cities to show off the great new features and help prepare us for this exciting launch.

 

Flex 3 is a feature-packed release, adding new UI components like the advanced datagrid and improved CSS capabilities; powerful tooling additions like refactoring; and extensive testing tools including memory and performance profiling, plus the addition of the automated testing framework to Flex Builder.

 

Adobe AIR is game-changing in so many ways, extending rich applications to the desktop, enabling access to the local file system, system tray, notifications and much more. Now you can write desktop applications using the same skills that you’ve been already using to create great web apps including both Flex and AJAX.

 

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to see and hear about this highly anticipated release of Flex 3 and AIR during this special pre-release tour.  Plus, in addition to giving away some one of a kind Flex/AIR branded schwag, we will also be raffling off a copy of Flex Builder 3 Professional (pending availability) and a full commercial copy of CS3 Web Premium at this event!

Mike Potter Bio:

Mike has been developing Web sites and Web applications for more than eight years. He has extensive experience with PHP, having created the Web site for the largest amateur sporting organization in Canada, the Canadian Curling Association. After developing that site, he went to work for OEone, where he helped build a Linux based desktop that ran inside the Mozilla Web browser and ran the Mozilla Calendar Project. Mike joined Adobe in 2005 and is now working on the Flex team as a senior developer marketing manager. Mike has spoken at numerous conferences and user groups throughout the world, including MAX North America, MAX Europe, the Zend PHP Conference, and PHP Tek.

When: February 7th, 2008

Where:

Collège Inter-Dec (Near Metro Atwater)
2000 Sainte-Catherine Street West
Montréal, (Québec)
H3H 2T2

MAP: Click here to open map.

URL: http://www.montrealadobeusrgroup.com

ADMISSION: Free.

Time: 6:30 PM

Join the Montreal Adobe User Group for this "can't miss" meeting!

Adobe's RIA technologies enable you to rapidly build and deploy the most engaging applications across browsers and on the desktop. The Montreal Adobe User Group is hosting a special live event to share exciting new information on Adobe's platform tools and technologies for building RIAs. You'll see an exclusive user group video presentation by Adobe Chief Software Architect, Kevin Lynch, hear some important product news, plus get your hands on some exclusive schwag and other giveaways. 

Be part of the fun and excitement and join the rest of the Adobe developer community by participating in this very special event.

When: Thursday, February 7th, 2008

MEETING LOCATION:

Collège Inter-Dec (Near Metro Atwater)
2000 Sainte-Catherine Street West
Montréal, (Québec)
H3H 2T2

MAP: Click here to open map.

URL: http://www.montrealadobeusrgroup.com

ADMISSION INFO: Free.

Time: 6:30 PM

Stay in tune for more details shortly!

Flex and AIR User Group Pre-release Tour

Flex 3 and AIR are getting close to launch and in preparation, the Adobe
Platform Evangelist team is traveling to select cities to show off the
great new features and some brand new demos.

Flex 3 is a feature-packed release, adding new UI components like the
advanced datagrid and improved CSS capabilities; powerful tooling
additions like refactoring; and extensive testing tools including memory
and performance profiling, plus the addition of the automated testing
framework to Flex Builder. 

Adobe AIR is game-changing in so many ways, extending rich applications
to the desktop, enabling access to the local file system, system tray,
notifications and much more. Now you can write desktop applications
using the same skills that you've been already using to create great web
apps including both Flex and AJAX. 

Don't miss out on the opportunity to see and hear about this highly
anticipated release of Flex 3 and AIR during this special pre-release
tour.  Plus, in addition to giving away some one of a kind Flex/AIR
branded schwag, we will also be raffling off a copy of Flex Builder 3
Professional (pending availability) and a full commercial copy of CS3
Web Premium at this event!

Check out the comprehensive listing of dates at flex.org/tour to see if
the tour is coming to your city!