Flash-MX: News

1) Remember to update your forum software.
2) Remember to make backups of your forums regularly instead of sporadically.

Luckily we only lost a week of posts after www.flashmx2004.com/forums was recently hacked. All the posts were gone one evening, but thank goodness we restored most of them after a day or two. And while we were at it, paid for the latest version of invision power boards (as opposed to continuing on with the freebie version).

Definitely worth it - the forums are much better now, and safer (well, as much as a forum can be). A few bugs are gone, the UI is a bit better.

So...
Back up your forum posts, update your forum software. And, the new version of invision is nice.

Anyway, on with helping people learn Flash!

//end of public service announcement.

Jen d.

Best Flash site I've seen in a looooong time. Check it out:

http://www.mailorderchickens.org/

Real sweet use of video and techniques to mimic and minimize that bandwidth. Absolutely hilarious to boot.

Although we've only had it for a couple days, I am absolutely LOVING the new Sony PSP. If the Sony PSP was a 10/10, I'd have to say that the Nintendo DS is probably a 3/10, (4 tops). Everything seems to be good on the PSP. Of course, that isn't saying that it couldn't be better... I find that the console is a little bit awkward for some games. For example, if you're playing Wipeout Pure, and trying to use the top triggers and the thumbstick and the X and O buttons, the console feels like it could just pop out of your hands at any moment. There were a few times that I felt like I was almost going to drop the PSP on the floor by mistake. Personally, I prefer the Nintendo DS's sliding volume control rather than the up and down buttons. I'm sure most people don't care, or disagree with my slider preference, but sometimes it is just nice to see how high the volume is before you turn on the console, or want to quickly change the volume without having to move your hand over and press some buttons until you get the perfect volume. But apart from those minor things, I have to say I am extremely happy.

Microsoft and Bungie announced today that they're releasing some new multiplayer maps for Halo 2. So if you're a diehard multiplayer person and may be willing to drop some of those hard earned dollars, read up!

You can check out the press release over at Xbox.com; Newsflash:
Halo 2 Multiplayer Maps in June! and sports this little quote (among other details and screenshots):

The retail version of the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack carries a suggested retail price of $19.99 (U.S.). More information about Halo 2 is available at http://www.halo2.com/.

If you want more info, head on over to Bungie's site and read their top story; Halo 2 Multiplayer Madness. Bungie offers the following handy bulleted list:

So the basic details for the new map release plan go like this:

• We're releasing a total of nine new multiplayer maps.


• All nine maps will eventually be available as Live downloads and as a normal boxed game disc - available at retail for $19.99 (US).


• The release on Live will be staggered, some paid, some free!


• The first two maps are free and coming in a few short weeks. (late April)


• The same day the 2 free maps are released, 2 additional maps will be available for purchase.


• The remaining 5 maps will be made available as a paid download on the same day the retail package goes on sale.


• The retail disc will contain extras, including a documentary, a cool project from our cinematic and animation team, every Halo 2 update released so far and possily one or two other little treats.


• By late summer, ALL the maps will be available for free.

Sorry about the long title or if this has already been blogged to death (didn't see it during a quick search of Fullasagoog), but I just noticed that Rockstar has released Beaterator, their online real-time music sequencer.

I only played with it briefly, and it can take up a fair bit of CPU to run, but it is pretty impressive! Sure, it isn't as good as say, Garageband, but it's free and online and built in Flash. Great work!

Check it out at beaterator.rockstargames.com.

Been busy lately, so here's a few entries from around the internet the past

Cute little lego version of Steve Jobs (of Apple fame):
PodBrix Minifig - Keynote [PodBrix via Gizmodo]

The XMLHttpRequest object is a handy dandy JavaScript object that offers a convenient way for webpages to get information from servers without refreshing themselves:
Guide to Using XMLHttpRequest [WebPasties via Gadgetopia]

Interesting article by Spaceship No Future (SNF) on how they replaced the Movable Type login system with their own custom solution:
Integrating custom authentication into Movable Type [Spaceship No Future via Six Apart]

Word on the street is that Bungie is hard at work on Halo 3 (no surprise there), but Kotaku is reporting that they're (Bungie/MS) apparently is targetting the Sony Playstation 3's release date.

Yeah, I found that funny too.

Halo 3 in the Works [Kotaku via Gizmodo]

OK, so Apple announced newer versions of the iPod mini and iPod photo yesterday, and although the mini's didn't include a color screen or bluetooth abilities like many speculated, they did include a moderate increase in storage space (4GB up to 6GB) and a massive increase in battery life (8 hours up to 18 hours). Other great news on the iPod mini front was that they lowered the price from $249 US to $199 for the 4GB model. But, what I did find curious, is that they also removed some of the bundled accessories, and force you to buy them separately now.

More info after the jump.

OK, not Flash related, unless you're into RIAs or ever need to use a database, but it would appear that Microsoft has lifted the lid on SQL Server 2005.

This may have already been blogged to death, but I just noticed the info on my Google News homepage. Microsoft is now offering four versions of SQL Server 2005, ranging from a free "Express" version, all the way up to their $13,500 (or $25,000 per processor) "Enterprise" version.

Check out the Microsoft site for all the details. You'll be glad you did. Or maybe you won't, what do I know?

SQL Server Home [Microsoft]
Expanding the SQL Server Product Line [Microsoft]
SQL Server 2005 Features Comparison [Microsoft]

Unfortunately, the story seems a lot more interesting than the actual pictures, but it appears that some enterprising fellow decided to drive from New York to San Francisco, and take photos every mile. Sounds like a great idea, albeit after about 6 days and 3,304 photos, I'm betting it wasn't oodles of fun in the end.

Matt began his roadside tableau in New York City, where he framed the Statue of Liberty and shot his first photo. Then he headed west to San Francisco on as straight a line as possible, a camera at his side clicking away at precise one-mile increments, for 3,304 miles.

And:

When Matt got to San Francisco and shot the Golden Gate Bridge at mile 3,304, he celebrated with a pizza and a beer. It was a Friday, six days after he left New York. He dismounted the camera, drove home, and was back in his office on Monday morning.

Check out his photos (in a not half-bad (or half good, I guess) Flash thing-a-ma-jig. Kodak also has a QuickTime movie of all 3304 stills in what must be the biggest slideshow ever.

Check out the photos and "Meet Matt", over at Kodak's site. The "Meet Matt" bit is actually a lot more interesting than the title suggests. It is more of a "How'd they do that" bit, explaining how he automated his SLR (yeah, it wasn't even a digital camera!) to take shots every mile.

Taken On The Road-American Mile Markers [Kodak via Lifehacker]

• Macromedia: new MX products in late summer (February 24, 2005 03:27 PM)
• Macromedia to include Flash technology in Samsung and Nokia cell phones (February 24, 2005 03:20 PM)
• In-product advertising, an open plea to Macromedia (February 18, 2005 10:47 AM)
• Google Toolbar 3 (beta) released (February 18, 2005 10:05 AM)
• TinyApps - a guide to very small software for your PC (or Mac or Palm) (February 17, 2005 09:40 PM)
• Leet-speek for Dummiez (February 17, 2005 09:23 PM)
• Microsoft recalls 14 million Xbox power cables (February 17, 2005 11:14 AM)
• Digital Web on the 4 best web design books (February 16, 2005 12:52 AM)
• Rock and/or Roll font collection (February 15, 2005 06:01 PM)
• Microsoft to release IE7 in summer 05 (February 15, 2005 01:49 PM)