Learn ActionScript 3.0 using Flash Professional CS4
In the summer it’s usually a little quieter at work so why not use this quiet time to learn something new? ActionScript 3.0 for instance. Doug Winnie, Adobe’s group manager for designer/developer workflows, just started a new series on Adobe TV titled: “ActionScript 1:1″.
ActionScript 1:1 is a free training resource that combines video tutorials, documentation and sample files to teach you the basics of ActionScript 3.0 using Flash Professional CS4. The course is specifically designed for Flash designers and animators who want to add some custom interaction using ActionScript 3.0 but need a little bit of help getting started. Doug starts off with the very basics and then gradually explains more ActionScript that will make your designs and animations interactive and dynamic. He makes it very easy to understand and I’m sure you’ll be coding ActionScript 3.0 in no time.
ActionScript 1:1 is available on Adobe, through RSS and on iTunes. See Doug’s blog for the links to the videos and the sample projects.
Flash on!
Getting to Adobe MAX 2009 on a budget. Get a $400 discount!
Can you believe that Adobe MAX 2009 is only 10 weeks away!? Now would be a perfect time to start planning your trip. Since we are still stuck in these grim economic times, I thought it was a good idea to give you some tips on how and where to find the best prices for your MAX tickets, flights and hotels.
MAX TICKETS
If you get your MAX ticket before August 31st, you can benefit from the early bird pricing. A full conference ticket will cost you $1295 or €907. That’s a $200 discount on the regular pricing! That includes lunch on all conference days, access to all keynotes and evening events and access to all breakout sessions and labs. Traveling alone is no fun so there’s also a group discount. If you travel in a group of three or more, your registration price per pass is only $1095 or €767.
If you’re in the US, you can get $400 off the regular price when you purchase one of the listed products from the Adobe Store. This offer is only valid in the US but for you, my regular blog reader, I can do something special. If you’re not in the US, you can use promo code EMA931(restrictions apply*) to get a $400 discount on the regular pricing. Your MAX ticket will then cost $1095 or €767. Register here!
FLIGHTS
Finding an affordable flight is all about timing. If you book your flight well in advance, the flight will be cheaper. Generally if you also include a weekend stay, the price of your flight gets a lot cheaper. In case of MAX, I would suggest flying over on Friday October 2nd. Spending the extra days in the hotel is in most cases cheaper than the extra cost on the flight. Also check with your local travel agent. They may have a promotion for a certain airline. And also shop around! I’ve just checked some routes from Europe to Los Angeles and you can get a flight today for as little as €350. Which reminds me that I should probably book my flight as well ;-)
HOTEL
There are a ton of motels and hotels in the greater Los Angeles area and if you’re not picky, you can even find a place to stay for as little as €14 a night. There really is a lot of choice in LA and I’m sure you can easily find a place to stay in your budget range. You can find a decent hotel starting at €50/$70 a night. For hotels near the venue, check out this Google Maps link. If you don’t mind a little drive in the morning, you should also check hotels a little further away from the venue. But beware that LA traffic can be brutal in the morning and evenings.
CAR RENTAL
Renting a car is not a bad idea. Los Angeles is huge and public transportation can be a bit challenging. If you are going to rent a car, make sure you shop around! Compare the prices from different companies and also check with your local travel agent. They usually have even better prices than what you can get online.
If you do rent a car, make sure you also do some sightseeing. Meet up with some of your friends and colleagues to share the milage and do a little road-trip. I can really recommend going to Santa Monica and/or Venice beach.
If you want to do some shopping for some cool attire, head on down to Melrose Avenue (between Fairfax and La Brea). If you’re done shopping, get yourself a cookies and cream milkshake at Johnny Rockets on the corner of Melrose and Gardner. Make sure you sit outside so you can watch the people walk by and maybe you’ll even spot a celeb ;-)
I can also recommend doing some shopping at Farmers Market. Whether you want to shop for some fresh fruit, hot sauce, get some goodies at an Apple store or get a new Taschen book, Farmers Market has it all.
If this is your first time in LA, you have to walk Hollywood Boulevard and get a photo of your favorite celeb’s star on the walk of fame. But know that that will only keep you busy for about half an hour.
WHERE TO FIND THE BEST DEALS
I’ve recently discovered Momondo.com. This Danish startup finds the best travel deals for you and displays them in a nice uncluttered interface. Not sure if this is the cheapest flight available for that period? Then click on the price calendar to see if there are any cheaper flights. It will also find the best deals for hotels and car rentals. I’ve already mentioned it before in this post but also check with your local travel agent. You never know if they have a promotion for LA if you don’t ask.
DISCLAIMER: Please note that Euro pricing is provided for information only. Exchange rates calculated with Google on July 28th 2009. Also read Google’s disclaimer.
* Offer good for new Adobe MAX 2009 registrants only. Offer good for Adobe MAX 2009 full conference pass registration only. Offer cannot be combined with any other offer, package or registration code. Offer expires at 11:59pm PST on October 4, 2009. Offer is not transferable and valid only for intended recipient. Void where prohibited. Terms and conditions for Adobe MAX registrations will also apply.
OT Rant: SMS games: How can this be legal…?
<RANT>When I tuned in to watch the news just now, I happened to catch a commercial for yet another SMS game. “Win a free Nintendo Wii!”, the commercial screamed.
Let’s see how free “free” actually is…
First of all, most of these games are subscription based (even though they only print that in unreadable text) and so is this one. €6 per week. In almost transparent tiny letters, the commercial says that this game ends on December 31st (their website does not mention the end date). So if I enter the game today, that still leaves me about 25 weeks. The subscription alone will cost you €150.
But that’s not all! You also have to answer a bunch of questions to actually get a chance at winning the console. Each question costs you an additional €1,5 (on top of the actual cost of the SMS)! The commercial doesn’t say anything about how many questions you get. Out of curiosity, I visited the advertised (although also in tiny almost unreadable letters) website and found that there are 15 questions per week! That’s an additional €22,5 per week adding up to a grand total of €712,5. And that only gives you a chance to win the console! You can almost buy 3 Wii consoles for that price…
This is just one example. There are dozens if not hundreds of other examples like this one. Is it just me or is this a very obvious rip off? Some of you will probably think that no one falls for an obvious scam like this. However, if you switch on any music television station, you see commercials like this every 10 minutes or so. Since these commercials also cost money, it’s obvious that people DO fall for this… So… Let me ask this… How can this be legal?</RANT>
Next stop: Bangalore, India
I’m extremely excited about my next trip: Bangalore, India. It’s one of those places I really only know from hearing about it. India has rapidly become a key player in the world’s IT industry and I’m really looking forward to meeting the local developer community. I’ve been told by our local team in Bangalore that many developers in the area read my blog. I was really surprised when I confirmed that in my stats. My blog actually gets more visitors from India than from France or The Netherlands! And I live in Belgium! I just couldn’t believe it but I’m really happy with that.
So… Since there are so many of you reading this, this invitation is very appropriate. If you are in the Bangalore area on August 4th, I would love to meet you at Adobe’s Devsummit. We have an exciting day scheduled for you and we’ll cover everything from Flash Builder 4 to Flash Catalyst to ColdFusion to mobile and more.
Since I’m in India all week, I’ll also visit some customers, visit the Flex user group in Pune, speak at the Bangalore University and meet our developers and engineers working on Flex and ColdFusion.
Hope to see you there!
Open at Adobe
What is “open”? It’s a question I’ve been asking for quite a while now and I can’t seem to find a definitive answer.
Dave McAllister (Adobe’s Open Standards Evangelist) actually sums it up nicely: “Open is the currently most misused word in the IT space,” he says. “Open really comes down and says it’s accessible, extensible and can be freely used by anyone. Most companies define open as a single dimensional aspect. For Adobe it’s all aspects of communications and technologies. For us, those are open source, standards and community.”
Check out this video to learn more about the open initiatives at Adobe and just how open the Flash Platform really is.
Today we also released the Open Source Media Framework (formerly known as Strobe) and the Text Layout Framework on our Open Source website.
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