Meet your Match: Macromedia Studio 8

With the upcoming launch of Macromedia Studio 8, they have designed this very cool site to show off some of the new Flash 8 features.

http://www.macromedia.com/software/studio/experience/

The new Dreamweaver and Fireworks programs have some great reasons to upgrade to the latest versions as well. With a pre-order upgrade price of $399, this is definitely on my wish list for the near future.

Do you appreciate great architecture?

If you do, you will definitely want to pay a visit to Galinsky

They have a collection of some of the most beautiful modern buildings, as well as directions on how to experience them!

I found this link via http://www.zo-d.com/blog/ as I was browsing for some tips.

sometimes it's nice to start your day in a happy way

and what better way than the Great News Network!

http://www.greatnewsnetwork.org/happy-news.php

All the good news, all the good time.

Are you fed up with Spam?

I bet you're not as fed up with it as my friend Matt St. Amand!

Check it out.

Great post, Matt. I couldn't agree more!

the mac goes back

Just a mere 17 days after purchasing my new Mac Mini, I'm returning it today for several reasons, but the largest being that Apple has just upgraded what you get for $599!

Apple Store

You can now get built in wireless($130) and bluetooth($??) capabilities as well as double the RAM($80)!

On top of all that - I'll get the Tiger OS, which will save me another $130. That's a lot of savings!

CompUSA in Ann Arbor is still selling the old versions of the Mac, and they come loaded with Panther. Buyer beware - because Apple used to have a "Up-To-Date" program that would allow you to purchase an older system and then upgrade the version of the OS for $10 - $20, however that offer ended on July 22nd. I think it is completely horrible that CompUSA is still selling the old versions and that you can't upgrade the software at a discount. I plan on sending a message to CompUSA corporate and Apple regarding the situation.

Luckily - I am within the 21 day return policy. However, because I paid CASH - I get to wait 10 business days for CompUSA to get me a refund check.

-- update: I just got back from CompUSA and I got three different answers back from three different people regarding how quickly I would get my refund. The first said two weeks, the second said within 7 days, the third said four weeks. Let the waiting begin.

no cube talk!

I sit on the outskirts of a 70+ rep product support department. I'm used to working in an above average, noisy environment. I have a new pet peeve...

Why is it that people feel the need to converse (out loud) with a person that is two cubes away from them for long periods of time? I'm not talking about just a "hey, I need this..." or even a "hey, how's it going..." - I'm talking about

U1: hey, I think I drove by your house last night...
U2: yeah..
U1: there were no lights on...
U2: i was out...
U1: you're lawn is looking great though... what are you using to keep it so green? One time while applying weed and feed I felt really sick... it was weird.
U2: Yeah, I've worked really hard on it this year...
U1: - so how come you weren't home... were you out?
U1: How's your new (b/f : g/f)?
U2: Awesome... they are SO cool.
U1: Cool - I had (food) for dinner last night. It was yummy.
U1: I went to bed around 1am. How about you?
U2: I was up so late partying... heheh
U1: Sometimes when I go to bed I giggle.
U2: You're weird.
U1: Sometimes I don't.
U1: I like the color yellow and wish I lived in a little pink house.
U1: Did you like the song "Pink Houses" - isn't it cool?
U1: Oooh - I got a call. Hello, (company name) support, can I have your phone number starting with area code, please?
U2: Gotcha!
U1: Hahahah... I can't believe you got me... you're SO funny.
U2: Ha! I'm good.
U1: So - what are you doing tonight?

... and it goes on - and on- and on!!! It never frickin ends! I've grown used to most things in the corporate environment, but this one is really starting to get to me.

I know, I know - headphones, right? A programmer's best friend.

Well - I've tried it and it works for a while... but when I take them off - the convo is still going strong.

Maybe I'll introduce the newbs to the office instant messaging app - as it's such a nice low decibal solution. =)

Trimming the fat - Adobe Reader

This is an oldie but a goodie!

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=11041

Shows you how to rename the plugins folder and then copy over only the basic ones needed. As the article states, you may need more depending on what you use Adobe Reader for and the type of PDF's you're working with - but this worked fine for me and it loads files so much faster!

XHTML2

Sure it's still a long way off ... but I found this interesting, so I thought I'd post about it.

While browsing on Pete Freitag's blog I found a link to this presentation on what to expect from the next version of the XHTML spec.

As I'm still working on getting the most out of XHTML + CSS in my sites this won't be of any particular use right now... but it's nice to see what lies ahead.

more with Mini

When deciding to purchase the Mac Mini I wondered if I should get the faster version (1.42Ghz) for the boost in processing power. I've read that the slower model (1.25Ghz) has a faster spinning HD. 5400 rpm on the slower model vs. 4200 rpm on the faster model.

If you're thinking about purchasing one - my suggestion to you is to still go with the 1.42Ghz model. The reason? Simple - the HD size. The 1.25Ghz model comes with a 40GB drive. The 1.42Ghz model comes with an 80GB drive. The real difference comes when you start up your machine for the first time and notice that the OS and the installed Applications take up over 15GB of space!!

I would have been very disappointed to get home and find out that I only had 25GB left on the 1.25Ghz model.

Food for thought - if you're thinking about purchasing.

First Day with Mac Mini : Initial Thoughts

As I rushed home on Monday evening with the purchase of the Mac Mini under my belt, I knew that I had purchased it for a specific reason and that reason was testing. I also knew that it was now 6pm and I would still have to set the computer up in a given location and begin the daunting task of trying to learn how to use OS X. Part of me was excited. Another part was frightened and didn't feel like doing a ton of work to setup and start using a new system.

I sat the cubed box that the Mini comes in off to the side of my regular sitting area in the living room and unwound a bit with some dinner and television. After dinner I ran downstairs and grabbed a network cable so that I could connect the new system to my router and configure it to use the internet. I hesitated slightly as I went to grab my Dell Flat Panel monitor from my parents room, just "knowing" that it would probably be a beast to get it working with the new Mac. I collected all the items I needed and gathered them around my recliner, opened two TV tables, one for my laptop PC and one for the shiny new Mac. It was time, and I was ready.

I reached for the Mac Mini box as eagerly as if it was christmas in July. As I opened it - the first thing I noticed was a very well designed box about the size of a CD case embossed in foam protection. The silver box with white Apple logo caught my eye right away and as I opened it I found that it contained all the software installation CD's for the operating system and applications that were loaded. "Very nice", I thought. I lifted the first layer of foam (in which the CD's were held) and there was the Mac Mini safely surrounded by another layer of foam protection. As I pulled it out I noticed that it also had a thin layer of plastic protection on the actual unit which I removed slowly and it revealed a pristine little machine. I could help but notice how well made this little computer seemed to be made. It weighed in at 2.9lbs, but was built like a rock. No rattling of moving components inside, just "strong". I looked back in the cubed box hoping that there was more for me to find, and there was! Under the layer of foam protection that held the Mini was yet another encasing that held the power supply and cabling as well as the DVI -> VGA adapter. "This is slick packaging", I thought again. You have to understand, I've bought many brand new computers and NOTHING even compares to the presentation quality that Apple put into the packaging of this system. It was impressive. Impressive enough that I'm writing about it! I wondered if as much time had been put into the keyboard packaging and design. It had. The Apple keyboard was also protected by foam on the two edges (not a big deal as most keyboards are), but also had the thin layer of plastic protection right on the hardware that needed to be peeled off revealing another perfectly crafted item. The keyboard is USB and had a nice plastic USB cover that protected the end of the cable from dust, etc. Again - these little things impressed me quite a bit. But there was more to come...

After unpacking the Mac Mini, I couldn't help but think about all the times that I'd heard the saying "it just works" when referring to Apple products. I quickly found the DVI -> VGA adapter and took a look at it. It was designed very well and simply instered into the DVI slot on the back of the Mini. It has nobs on the side that allow you to screw it down tight - these nobs are built right into the adapter and aren't like the kind that you'd find on PC adapters - yes the one's that end up getting stuck or unscrewing nuts from within your PCI / AGP cards because the threads seem to have seized somehow and the adapter is now part of the card. Anyone who's worked with computers a bit will know what I'm talking about. This was very cleverly and carefully designed on the side of the adaptor and designed to be extremely easy to use. I plugged the monitor cable into the DVI adaptor. I hooked up the PC based USB mouse and the new Apple keyboard. I plugged in the network cable too my router and found the power cable for the Mac Mini and plugged that in. Crossed my fingers and turned it on.

OS X welcomed me with open arms as the machine started with a wizard that walked me through registering for a new Apple account. No need to configure a network card - all was setup and working, it had already grabbed an address from my DHCP server and had already communicated information to Apple. Registration was a breeze and within 5 minutes I was greeted with the OS X desktop. "that's it?" - I was shocked at how easy it was to setup and the presentation of all the components. Basically Apple did a good job because they made it extremely easy for anyone to pop out a new system and get up and working with it in no time.

Now that the machine was working - I needed to get to work and complete some of the testing that had to do. But wait - I didn't even know how to install software on a Mac or launch an application. Good thing that the OS X interface is also VERY intuitive. Browsing around a little had me locate "Finder" - which when clicked on listed my home directories and Applications and much, much more. This was a good start. I then located System Preferences, from which I could configure certain parts of the system. Safari caught my eye - so I launched it. BAM - browsing the net I downloaded an application called TextWrangler which is a powerful text editor that I needed to install for my testing. To my surprise, once the download was done a window popped up telling me to drag an icon into my applications folder ( I knew where this was now.. .) and it would install the app, and it did. It mounted as a drive to my system and installed the software from there. Once finished with the installation, you can just eject the mount and move on. Again - the system just kept impressing me. I think some folks may be a bit shy when they find out that the OS X backend is Unix, but don't be... things couldn't be easier. What's nice about it - is that if you do have 'nix knowledge, you'll be able to use it in this new found land! I was able to find "terminal" and I felt right at home. It's like having a linux box with the world's best GUI. It was good - and I was happy.

I did quite a bit that night - found out how to work with Apache (preloaded) and upgrade the version of PHP that comes with OS X. Worked within, and installed applications. Browsed the web and setup email. Changed System Preferences and learned quite a bit about the desktop layout. This was all accomplished in a period of four hours.

Overall - my initial thoughts are very good when it comes to the Mac Mini, Apple and OS X. They've really managed to impress the heck out of me and who knows - if I grow to like it even more - there may just be a G5 in my future.

nadon goes mac

I made the leap yesterday, and have started an adventure in a new world called Macintosh.

I purchased a Mac Mini.

Weighing in at 2.9 lbs and costing me $680 ($599 for the Mac Mini and $30 for the keyboard) I figured that this was the perfect way to introduce myself to the world of OS X, while also filling a need I had for testing software on Mac.

I purchased from CompUSA in Ann Arbor. The experience was a good one, as there was an Apple Store rep there at CompUSA who was more than happy to take some time and answer any questions that I had. Some of those questions:

q: Can I use a VGA monitor?
a: YES! The Mac Mini comes with a DVI -> VGA adapter that allows PC users who already have a monitor available to them to connect that up to their Mac.

q: Do I have to buy a special keyboard and mouse?
a: NO. You can use any USB keyboard / mouse with the Mac. Even a two button w/ scroll mouse works just fine. If you buy the Apple keyboard you'll notice that it comes with an extra USB port on it, so you could just plug your mouse into that and that way you would have one USB port free on the Mini.

q: What about speakers?
a: The Mac Mini has a regular headphone jack that you can use with external speakers or with headphones. I also found out that it has a built in speaker as well.

q: I do quite a bit of media production. Creating music / movies on the PC using Sony's Vegas Video and Acid Pro 4.0. Is there similar software for the Mac?
a: YES. Mac is made for media production. The Mac Mini even comes with some software that will help you get started like iPhoto, GarageBand, iTunes, iDVD, and iMovie - which are all part of the iLife Suite.

q: Will Mac Mini be able to handle the heavy processor load for music / video creation and editing?
a: KINDA. Mac Mini was made to accomplish exactly what it did with me - get a PC user to check out the "other side" of the playground. It's not a "power" machine by any means. It has a laptop processor and comes with 256 MB ram installed. (can be upgraded very easily to 1GB for $114 through Crucial - thanks for the tip Kevin!) When doing music creation in GarageBand, for instance, you may notice a difference in speed if you're working with anything over 5 tracks. Also - although iLife comes with iDVD, you won't be able to burn DVD's unless you add in the Apple SuperDrive to the Mac Mini. These points didn't sway my decision too much as part of the goal of purchasing the Mac is to check out the software - and if I like it, upgrade to a G5 system later this year.

q: Networking? Does it support it?
a: YES. Mac Mini comes with a built in 10/100 network card, so you can just plug it into your hub/router and you're ready to go! You can also get the optional AirPort Express to give you wireless freedom.

q: Warranty?
a: 90 days - full. 1 year limited, with the option to buy Apple Care Protection for an additional $150.

q: Will it make me cool?
a: YES. As soon as you make the purchase you'll notice that people, starting with the clerk, will start treating you different. It will have nothing to do with you just spending $680. You'll have entered a secret club and should get your handbook with special Mac slang cheat sheets and instructions on how to do the Mac Mini handshake within a couple of weeks.

I think if I had signed up for Apple Care, they would have thrown in a decoder ring and lapel pin... but oh well.

With these questions answered I was prepared to make the leap... and I did.

Next post: First look and initial thoughts...

closer to the dark side...

I've been tossing around the idea of getting a Mac for quite a while now. Recently I have contracted for a project that will allow me to purchase it. Now it's time to figure out which kind to get and how heavily to invest my time in learning the OS. I'm familiar with Linux, so I'm assuming it won't be a huge leap to get things up and working but only time will tell.

At this point I'm thinking about picking up a MiniMac to "test the waters" and if I fall in love may purchase a laptop later this year.

The initial use of the Mac would be for testing purposes of a new beta product as well as setting up Apache / PHP for testing. I'm figuring that this may also become the computer that I'm able to record my music on... filling a double purpose.

Check out the system that I'm looking at here.

Having a GIANT in your corner

I swear - I really dig Mark Cuban and what he stands for...

Been reading the Grokster news lately and came across this article on ZDnet.uk and think that it's great that Mark will help this company out in the upcoming Supreme Court fight.

Most of the statements that he says are right on about the death of innovation due to companies like the RIAA or MGM just using all their resources to crush everyone cause nobody in the world has the wealth to be able to afford to stand up to them and fight a fair fight.

Other courts have already came to the conclusion that the companies that make the P2P software should not be held responsible for what people trade over them and now maybe this company will be able to stand and fight a bit longer.

Success = Hard Work and Determination

I've been reading quite a bit lately (actually - when don't I?) about being successful in business and I came across two very inspiring stories.

The first is a blog post from Mark Cuban, talking about how in business you only have to be successful once and that's reason enough to never give up trying. You can read it here.

The second is from Jeffrey Fox's book, "How To Make Big Money In Your Own Small Business", and talks about how some people think that success or being great at something always looks like it comes easy to that person. In particular Jeffrey talks about the baseball superstar, Ted Williams and how he was asked

"how come hitting a baseball came so easily to him. 'Simple,' answered Ted Williams. 'I take a thousand swings a day.' Ted Williams went to batting practice, to the locker room, to his kitchen, to his bedroom swinging real and imaginary bats. He took 1,000 swings a day. Ted's 1000 swings were probably 900 swings more than anyone else. And 1,000 swings a day is why hitting "came easy" to the great Ted Williams."

Installing Fusebox 3 Apps with CFMX7

Just a note, in case you are installing Fusebox 3 apps on a CFMX 7 server, you may need to edit the index.cfm file to change the variables.fuseboxVersion which is set to check if it is less than 700, to less than 800. This has been addressed in the Fusebox 3 core files by basically checking to see if it's version 4.0 (lt 450) or 4.5 (lt 500) and if not it forces the use of the latest core files for FB3 which would be fbx_fusebox30_cf50.cfm. (fbx_fusebox30_cf50_nix.cfm if using a Linux based system)

I found this out when I was trying to get the Wireframe Viewer/Editor ver. 3.9992 beta installed and all I would get was a blank screen when I brought up the index.cfm file.

Oh and while I'm speaking of it, the Wireframe Viewer/Editor can be found here and pretty much rocks my world. It can be used while sitting with a client to wireframe a site and gives the client the actual "click through" that some like to see. It will also help in a big way as you'll be able to layout the entire site with pages that should be included and the entry and exit points for each page - allowing you to give a certain level of sign off on what the client really wants right from the start!

Office 12 and XML Standards?!

There's a whole heap of stuff going on in the industry these days. Apple computers getting Intel chips, Adobe and Macromedia kissing, making up and proposing marriage.... and then I stumbled across an article about the next version of Microsoft Office that will use XML as the default standard for document formats.

You can read more about views on this here.

I love that MS is calling it "Microsoft Office XML Open Format"

I want my...
I want my...
I want my MOXOF please....

I'll be interested to see what other open formats they'll claim and then tack the M$ name on.

They'll probably start a new community - the Microsoft Open Source Community. Membership will only cost $129 and you'll get a *free* copy of XP!

Sarcastic comments aside, I am excited to see this happening as I'll be able to leverage content created with MS software much easier.

If you're interested in getting news regarding the next version of Office as it comes available, you can sign up here.

NADONweb: A new home

I've recently moved NADONweb over to a new web host. I'm excited about this as I'll actually be able to get some work done on it now. The new host has CF7 installed - so expect to see a bunch of the new ColdFusion features in use.

I'll also be posting more about the FLiP process as I prepare to get this site up and running.

Walmart adds custom CD service

Walmart.com added a custom CD service which allows you to build your own custom CD from over 400,000 songs. This is not a new idea. Other sites have been doing this for a long time, but this is the first time I've seen a major chain pick up the idea. The process seems to be pretty tight but there were a couple of interesting things that I found while browsing it. First - the top 100 songs seem to have repeated titles in it... that's kind of sloppy. Next - this may be a cheaper way to grab an artists album rather than purchasing it, especially if the album has less than 11 tracks. Walmart charges $4.62 for the first three tracks and an additional 88 cents per track from there on. An eleven track CD will cost you $11.66, this is sometimes much less than the full CD from an artist, of course you won't get the artwork or the pride of displaying the CD in your 1,000 CD rack. =)

More thoughts on the merger

I recently posted this message to our local Macromedia User Group, which I manage.

I've had some time to let the purchase sink in a bit. I spent the majority of yesterday evening going over all of the User Group Managers and Macromedia employee thoughts on the merger.

Overall - I'm taking a positive light on the change. This will expand the software offerings that are covered by our User Group and will allow some of the Macromedia products to be given more resources and make them even better than they already are now.

I'm keeping my eye on any changes that will happen with the User Group community - and I'm thinking it will only be good news. As of right now, and at least till end of year - we'll still be Macromedia focused and cover Macromedia focused topics at the meetings. If things change you'll all be the first to know.

If you haven't had a chance to read them yet, I'll point you to three blog entries that give me a better feel of what may happen in the near future as we progress.

Ben Forta - CF Evangelist
http://www.forta.com/blog/index.cfm?mode=e&entry=1596

Kevin Lynch - Chief Software Architect (Macromedia)
http://www.klynch.com/archives/000078.html

Mike Chambers - CF / Flash Developer Relations / Product Manager (Macromedia)
http://www.markme.com/mesh/archives/007504.cfm

Here is also an interesting article about Adobe GoLive vs. Dreamweaver - the reason I post this is because it's my belief that you can pretty much expect the best of both of these products in the next version that Adobe will release. Now that's good news!

http://www.digital-web.com/articles/battle_of_the_wysiwygs/

Have you seen my Cheese?

Well - I walked in to work today excited about the opportunities that lie ahead of me... and then caught the glance of an email that chilled me to the bone. "Adobe to aquire Macromedia..."

Can this be true?

Yes - it is true, and all the blogging community has already blogged the heck out of it.

Is it a good thing? I believe it will be great for the server product line. I believe that Flash and Dreamweaver will flourish in the environment and I believe that Freehand and Fireworks may have something to worry about.

Adobe is really the expert when it comes to video - and that's been an area that Macromedia has been making great strides in. Adobe's focus has not been video for the web, where as MM's focus has been just that and great experiences for mobile computing and the internet in general. I think the merger of these two powerhouses will have them dominating the video market on the web and off.

The tight ties with Apple will also make it very interesting for developing true cross-platform integration and abilities.

All in all - I was shocked by the announcement - but as it settles in I'm anxious to see what will come next.

The Macromedia Community is so loyal that I'm sure this change won't affect much.