December 17th, 2008 at 01:08pm
Under Air
For all those that don’t know what Adobe Air is Adobe Air is a cross-platform desktop runtime which allows web developers to seamlessly build and deploy Rich Internet Applications (RIA’s) and web applications to the desktop. Bit of a mouthful but there you have it. It was previously known by the codename “Apollo” during its developmental phase. A great thing about Adobe Air is it lets developers build applications without learning any new technologies; Developers can start building Air apps using existing and famous web technologies like JavaScript, HTML, Flex, Action script and Flash.
Adobe AIR can be thought of as a platform to interact with web application in a manner similar to desktop apps. So you might ask, “Don’t Browsers already do that”! The right answer would be yes, we can interact with web apps within a browser too but Adobe Air is solving certain problems which browsers are or will not be able to. First and foremost, with Adobe Air it is easier to interact with Operating System as browsers all come under web security model (where a web application is not allowed to interact with OS due to the threat of virus and worms), applications that run in a browser often do not support interactions with an operating system which most people expect from applications like dragging and dropping files inside an application or interacting with other installed applications on a user’s machine. Adobe Air is also solving a problem of conflicting User Interface which is common with web apps on the browser; almost all web apps on the browser have their own interface which conflicts with the user interface of the browser, the most common problem is that of a back button which makes sense for a webpage but is totally useless for a Rich Internet Application. Adobe Air solves the problem of conflicting UI by making sure all the apps follow the UI which is similar looking to that of Adobe Air and following the guidelines while developing the apps. Other major problem which Adobe Air is solving is that of browser incompatibilities which most of the Web Developers face. An applications working fine in Firefox does not work fine in Internet Explorer and the one working fine in Internet Explorer does not work fine in Safari. So with Adobe Air, developers can spend more time building features of the web apps rather than rectifying the incompatibilities of the Web Browsers. These are some of the major problems of browsers which Adobe Air is solving for the developers and the users of web apps.
Adobe Air is a great platform which is targeted at web developers who used to find it hard to build desktop applications. Adobe Air should not be confused with general desktop runtimes; it is a platform to port web apps and RIA’s to be deployed to the desktop by using web technology. Adobe Air is a promising technology which is a boon for developers and users alike. It is also facing stiff competition from Microsoft’s Silverlight and Appcelerator’s Titanium which seem to be catching up with Adobe Air.
By admin
October 1st, 2007 at 08:45am
Under Fireworks
Many of you out there probably own your copy of Macromedia Flash 8 which is well known for allowing the user to create animations with many different options and loads of other parts which are customizable to allow you the user the most freedom and comfort so that you can work on your animations with ease instead of going through hundreds of annoying presets that are present in many other animating programs. Now, I am also sure that there are many animators out there who use Flash 8 that are very artistic and can’t seem to be able to create a nice piece of artwork for their animation using the tools present in Flash 8. Well Macromedia fixed this problem by releasing Macromedia Fireworks which has grown a d grown since its release, I am going to tell you why I think this program has grown so much in popularity and why it has a bright future as a program.
Now we all know that Flash 8 gives us the basic tools and brushes to create a fairly decent looking animation but there are some very artistic animators out there that feel that Flash 8 does not meet their standards, people want to create something good looking using a variety of tools that allow them to expand their horizons in terms of being artistic. Sure, Flash 8 is great for your standard animator, but then again what about the others who want to take their animations further?
Macromedia Fireworks has allowed these animators to create fine looking animations using well designed art, and this high quality level of art can be achieved using the various tools available on Macromedia Fireworks, this program allows you to do so much by using the different tools. Yeah sure we could use another program to create our art and then import it into Flash 8, but the best part of Fireworks is that it allows you to open its files using Flash and giving you an easier ride when it comes to designing an animation, at the end of the day you don’t want to be messing about exporting various files and then importing them into Flash, it takes too much time and animators nowadays like things to be easy and quick so that they can make their work look as good as possible.
But it is not just this one feature that makes Fireworks so great, it is the fact that Fireworks is a separate program that makes it so good. People like to be able to work on things one at a time, if all these tools were present in Flash 8 I am sure that people would eventually get sick of their workspace being crowded and not organised, it can be very difficult to work on everything using just the one application. So when you want to create good looking animations you can leave Flash 8 for the animating itself and use Fireworks to design everything you need for the animation. This then keeps the art and the animation separate which is good because if you mess up your animation and accidentally save you don’t want to have lost all that work that you put in to make the art. Many people would beg to differ with me, sure if Fireworks had its features put into Flash it would make a good program but at the end of the day it can be very difficult working in a crowded workspace. Keep things separate and that way you will be happier, if Flash happens to crash or go wrong at least you know that your work is still stored as a Fireworks file that you can easily open up again, instead of knowing that all the work you have created has been lost.
But why has Fireworks grown so much in popularity alongside Flash 8? Well the truth is that Fireworks has succeeding in what Macromedia hoped to achieve, many people speculated that Flash did not have enough tools for designing the artwork for animations and action script based games. People expected to see some major upgrades put into Flash to make it a better program. But Macromedia went the opposite way and did some thinking. They then decided to release a program that was made for the sole purpose of creating artwork and graphics. This allowed users to create good looking art as well as good looking art for animations and games. Fireworks opened up so many possibilities by making Fireworks, you have to realise that if the features of Fireworks were put into Flash as an upgrade it would have been a disappointing upgrade. The reason being for this is because this program allows people to create artwork and graphics in general, let’s face the facts, not every artist is an animator, there are those out there who are looking to create high quality graphics in general, not for animations or games. If this was released in a Flash upgrade it would have been disappointing to see such potential tools and options go to waste when there are people other than animators out there. But Macromedia made the right choice and thought ahead about what they created and this has allowed the program to become completely unique. It is not seen as just a program to use to make graphics for your animations in Flash, it is also seen as a program that allows the user to create graphics in general. And with the tools and options being stretched further and further with every upgrade it is obvious that Fireworks will only continue to get better and better as it progresses. Its integration with Flash still continues to make it easier for animators but Macromedia have not forgotten about those who desire not to animate or make games, the updates and upgrades bring more opportunities for both parties.
Macromedia Fireworks has developed so much since its release and I believe that with so much popularity and demand by such a huge community that this program will continue to grow and grow.
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September 15th, 2007 at 08:43am
Under Captivate
Macromedia Captivate has changed the way we screen capture, its many features has allowed users across the world to create tutorials, demonstrations and much more screen captured videos. This program is different compared to your standard screen capturing program. Most screen capturing programs do not create a very good quality video and this can be frustrating when you want a high quality demonstration to show others. Macromedia Captivate has a variety of settings in which you can tweak to your liking. But how has Macromedia Captivate changed the way we think about demonstrations and tutorials? There are millions upon millions of tutorials and guides out there that have been created using Macromedia Captivate and it just shows that it is one of the most popular screen capturing programs out there, it does the job smoothly and quickly. Online guides for it has even made its way to internet poker sites, further underscoring the extent
of its reach.
But why is Captivate the best among other screen capturing programs? What does it allow us to do that other screen capturing programs don’t? Carry on reading and you will find out what makes this program so much better to use.
Tutorials online used to be very difficult to put across, say you where doing a tutorial that goes over the basics of Microsoft Paint, you would have to have written out a fully scripted tutorial in detail with screenshots to explain your actions. Let’s face it though, words can easily be interpreted differently by different people and this can make the tutorial a bit inaccurate. Tutorials used to be so hard to write up but ever since the introduction of screen capturing programs we have seen an improvement in the production of tutorials. With new screen capturing programs available we were able to capture what we were doing onscreen and view it in a video file after exporting. But this just didn’t cut it, a lot of the first released programs were very dull and had low resolution export settings which meant that the video may be quite difficult to view at times. However this is all different in Macromedia Captivate, they once again jumped a barrier and managed to create a very impressive program which gave you the user the most open ended screen capturing program. They allowed you to export in a high resolution that allowed you to upload detailed video tutorials. This has allowed more and more tutorials to be released and it has even allowed businesses to grow from it by making in depth onscreen tutorials which can then be sold online. Lynda.com are a fine example of this, they have a huge archive of video tutorials on various pieces of software and programs which are available at a good price so that you can get the most out of your programs. You still see written tutorials alongside screenshots today but they are not as common, this just shows that the popularity with screen capturing software has grown tremendously.
Captivate was and still is a program in which people use it to make video tutorials but there are also video demonstrations that are made to demonstrate new programs or software. This has been able to develop nicely since the introduction of Macromedia Captivate. Before the introduction of the program small companies as well as big companies may struggle to demonstrate the programs and software they have on sale simply because they could not capture the screen, this became quite irritating because it made the products harder to sell. The reason being that the companies were unable to produce a high quality screen capture that would demonstrate the power and potential of the program they were trying to sell. At the end of the day people want to see what they are buying and we live in a world where people want things done quickly. The only way to properly advertise a program was to give details of what it could do with some screenshots and that is quite unattractive and you also have to consider that the only way to see the programs in action was to go round to a friends or actually go to a store to see if you could try it in store. When Macromedia Captivate came there was a big change in the market because it did allow companies to create video demonstrations for the consumers to view, these were maybe put on the company website or advertised on TV, but it all demonstrated the power of Captivate. Though the companies could make a screen capture of their products they could not get a responsive and reliable export file which would in turn be put on to the website. Many programs offer a really good screen capture but the export process is what brings down the product. Macromedia on the other hand beat other companies to the punch and managed to create what the consumers wanted, a fully functional and fully customizable program in which the user could tweak the settings to get their desired output result.
Captivate above all other screen capturing programs gives you the most options and settings to tweak and work around and optimize to give you the best results. People didn’t want a program in which it told the consumer what it was going to do, we the consumers wanted to tell the program how we wanted it to act and respond. Too many screen capturing programs come with a set of really dull presets which we are unable to tweak to our liking which is a shame because there are some great screen capturing programs out there that could be made so much better if they gave the user as much open-endedness as possible with the program. People like to be able to play with things and tweak them to their likings, people don’t like being told what to do either in some cases and Macromedia have jumped a step ahead and managed to create a program which gives the user the most possible options and outcomes. Captivate has changed the way we think about screen capturing, it is a wonderful program that is constantly improving and i can expect to see it get even better over the coming years.
By admin
September 3rd, 2007 at 08:43am
Under Dreamweaver
Macromedia Dreamweaver is well know for allowing users to create and build websites using all the different available tools and options that the program has to offer. But how has Dreamweaver changed the online community? Websites were hard to make before the introduction of such programs and it was foreseen that Macromedia would do well with such a program judging by its history of program and software making. When Dreamweaver was released there was an increase in what people could do, people were finally able to create websites with a user-friendly interface which allowed the user to customize the workspace to allow them to feel comfortable whilst designing.
Well before Dreamweaver was released people could learn some of the various programming languages such as HTML and PHP but to actually use their knowledge and design a website was quite a task for some of them considering that there was not a very reputable program out there that would allow the users to create what they desired. But Macromedia changed all this when releasing Dreamweaver. When Dreamweaver was released it allowed users to build on what they had learnt, but at the end of the day Dreamweaver is not just for those who understand some of the various programming languages, it also allowed new users to understand how to work in such languages so that they too could create a website.
Dreamweaver was the best above other website design programs and this is why it grew in popularity across the internet, many companies will use the program to create company websites, it is now one of the most used website design programs in the world. The reason it has grown so much is because it lived up to its name, I am sure that when it was first released that many were sceptical of its features but when it was released many people were shocked to find that it was the real deal. This program allowed users to easily create websites and what’s even better is that because this program is made by Macromedia you can import Flash and Fireworks files and work with them and integrate them into your website. This was great because it would allow the design of Flash websites and would also allow high quality graphics to be designed in Fireworks and then transferred into Dreamweaver for use.
Not only did Dreamweaver allow users to create websites but it also allowed them to create stylish looking websites by allowing easy importation of Flash and Fireworks files. It is no wonder that the amount of Flash-based sites has risen over the years since its release. Dreamweaver is a great program and as more updates are released we keep seeing new features being added which shows that the program has great potential to build and build giving the user even more to do with their program. I am confident in saying that Macromedia has created a top notch program that I am sure will continue to succeed as long as the upgrades continue to be presented.
By admin
August 15th, 2007 at 08:42am
Under Macromedia
Macromedia is an ever expanding company which recently joined Adobe to expand its horizons even more. Macromedia is well known for making great products which enable you the user to explore your creativity and expand your horizons as a designer/creator. What’s best about Macromedia is that they make a program with a primary use such as Flash which has the primary use of being able to animate, but they also bundle in a lot of other great features which make the program even better and more attractive to the user. It is great when you first buy a program and use presets to help you around but a lot of programs will only have these presets. Macromedia however allows you to customize what you do and it lets you explore your creativity by allowing you to customize almost every aspect of your project. Although the programs made by Macromedia may sound very complicated due to the added features which allow you to broaden your horizons, you would be wrong to think this because these programs are really simple to use and the simplicity only makes the Macromedia brand more popular, people nowadays like things to be simple and easy to use and when the users are given this simplistic interface they are all the more likely to buy products from the same brand.
With the rise in popularity in the Macromedia products it was only better that Macromedia joined Adobe. Adobe are well known for making Photoshop which is a program which allows you to edit and create images using very sophisticated tools which just like those of Macromedia can make the possibilities so open ended that you could make almost anything out of nothing. With two such great companies making such high quality products it seemed pointless to fight a war between the two over who was better, instead they joined forces to create some of the best designed programs ever made. Whilst Macromedia was well known for the technicality of its programs it was only natural that Adobe would make the Macromedia products even better. Adobe also created programs which had style to them, you could create the most ideal workspace and customize it to make it suitable to what you needed and since the two companies merged they have incorporated this feature into all the programs which were once made just by Macromedia. This is excellent because it gives you the use the best possible way to improve the way you design things and it makes it a lot easier, tasks can be so much easier when you can edit your workspace to how you like it.
So if you are looking for some programs that offer high quality standards then you will want to check out the later versions of the programs that were once made just by Macromedia but now Adobe also. There is such a huge selection of programs which open up so many possibilities you will find that you are happy with your purchase.
By admin
July 17th, 2007 at 08:42am
Under Captivate
Macromedia Captivate is a great program for creating interactive demonstrations/simulations as well as software demonstrations to create an insight into the latest programs, but how does it do this? Many third party applications that are free to download will claim to be the best screen capturing program, but Macromedia Captivate is a screen capturing program in which you can add interactivity to it to allow the user to interact and see why the latest program or software is so good, though you may not want to use it to screen capture a software/program demonstration, you can also use its screen capturing capabilities to record game play of a game for a game demonstration, what is better about this program is that the quality of these video recordings are when finalised and exported, they are clear and easy to view thus giving the viewer a good quality, easy to watch demonstration. This high quality also makes the demonstration look a bit more professional.
Even though this program is designed primarily for screen capturing you will find that it also has many more features which only make the program better. You can convert PowerPoint files to Flash with Captivate as well as being able to create tests and assessments. You can also do a voice-over narration, menu/navigation development and you can also edit audio as well as incorporate animated text. Like many Macromedia programs you can expect to have a main feature and a lot of extra features which really add to your screen capturing experience.
I think that Macromedia Captivate is one of the best screen capturing programs I have ever come across, it is easy to use and I have found that I can improve my demonstrations by using some of the tools that are built into the program. This program is so open ended that I am yet to find myself bored when using this program, the finished product is of such high quality also when exporting the demonstration as a video or flash file. You will find that the only problem with this program is when you are exporting the actual video file, if you have taken a long screen capture for a long demonstration then you will find that the higher you set the quality the longer it will take to export the video file, but this is common in most programs and is not a big issue, we can just do something else whilst waiting. And when you pay for such a good piece of software you can expect the final results to be well worth the wait.
So if you have had a change of mind from reading this review I do hope that you buy a copy of Macromedia Captivate because I think it is an excellent program with excellent performance and I guarantee that you will find something to like about this program with so many features to try when editing your final project. Things that are simple and easy to do are always the best so I think that you will definitely be happy if you decide to purchase this program.
By admin
July 8th, 2007 at 08:36am
Under ColdFusion
Macromedia has a great range of products available which are well known for letting the user explore their capabilities and make their dreams come true with such ease and simplicity and user friendliness. A great program which is fairly similar to Macromedia Dreamweaver is Macromedia ColdFusion which I must say is one of the best web server-scripting programs I have seen available, its features just sky rocket this program to a completely new place. This program has changed the way people think about web server-scripting and does its best to make the task easier and more open ended that many other programs which are available across the world. In this article I will be telling you why Macromedia ColdFusion is such an excellent program that passes far beyond its competitors and makes your experience a lot more simplistic and easier.
ColdFusion changes the way you think about web server scripting, it makes things so much simpler and easy to do, each task you perform is easier than that of other programs, the simplicity and user friendly interface has got to be the selling point in this program, it makes things so much easier and faster to perform and complete thus leaving you a lot more free time to yourself. Though this program is not just a simplistic program which is full of presets, it is combined with many sets of options which make the program so open ended that you can create almost anything you want and customize anything to how you feel you need it. With all the options available I can definitely say that you will not be bored when you first get this, there is plenty to explore and do and I’m sure you will be happy with your purchase should you decide to get this program.
In my opinion of ColdFusion I think that it is an easy to use program if you know what you are doing, I would suggest buying a book or a guide to this application to make things a bit easier for you since it can be quite difficult to get used to if you have never used any of the ColdFusion versions before. This program has great integration with Macromedia Dreamweaver and makes it easy to transfer things to and from both the programs.
If you are looking for a good web server-scripting program I highly recommend Macromedia ColdFusion because this program changes the way you think about web server scripting. The simplicity and easy mobility around the programs features makes tasks so much easier to complete and fulfil. And with the programs excellent integration with Macromedia Dreamweaver only makes the program even better because it allows you to easily alternate between the two programs and import and export files with ease for use in both the programs. The integration is a huge improvement and has made my experience a lot easier and allows me to do things a lot easier and faster which is an added bonus on top of the program being great itself.
By admin
June 30th, 2007 at 10:41am
Under Flash
In this article I am going to be going over the Exporting feature in Flash, this may not seem like a big part of Flash however it is in my opinion one of the best features in it, I know that every standard animating program has an exporter however the Flash exporter has a whole range of different options and export extensions. I decided that I am so fascinated by the amount of options it offers I will go through them with you and describe the potential and uses you can get out of your copy of Flash.
First off though you are probably wondering how to export your Flash project, well to start you open the Flash document you wish to export, or if your exporting an image from the document, select the frame or imagine in the current document you want to export, then go to the top and click File > Export Movie or File and click the one which applies, for me I am clicking to export a flash movie I have readily made. Now we are not shown a simple window which is typical to most exporters, I also have a huge selection of options to choose from which is great, I can convert my movie to “.avi” if I wish to view it on my computer or even burn it to DVD to view on my television, there is the option to export it as a Flash file (.swf) which I can go ahead and put on the internet or just view it on my computer providing I have Flash Player installed. These are only some of the options you can pick, not only does amount of extensions you can export as shock me, the biggest and most exciting part of the export feature is the ability to edit settings such as the resolution, the picture quality, and to see this in Flash and it applies to many different file extensions is such a big step compared to many other programs, you can maximise the quality and resolution while still maintaining a good file size which you can feel free to burn to a DVD for viewing on a larger output device. This is great for people who want to expand their use of this program, this allows you to widen you audience, you can show viewers on the Internet, your friends at the office, and your family on your widescreen TV. Its opened so much to the viewers and it still keeps the quality in the finished product no matter what extension I have used I have experienced no problems with audio or video, they have been perfect and always met my needs and it really shows when you view such quality on a large TV.
I hope this quick review of the Exporting feature in Flash has given you more knowledge into its capabilities and I hope you consider trying out some of these options since they really are worth it and the quality of the finished product is well worth showing your friends and family, have fun!
By admin
June 20th, 2007 at 10:41am
Under Flash
I’m sure that many of you out there have heard of Flash and have wanted to take an interest in it, now you have just bought this program from your local superstore and you want to know where to begin, some of the start up options can be confusing in Flash especially to a new user. In this tutorial I will be explaining how to begin with Flash when first opening the program on your windows computer. This will help you get started right away, as always I will be working in Flash 8 however this tutorial should apply for all versions. I hope this tutorial helps you new users get started.
To begin, open up your version of Flash, which you should have installed on your computer. You will be presented with a screen with a list of options, to start off click “Create New Flash Document” or “New Flash Document” depending on the version it should be similar. Once creating a new Flash document you will see a blank canvas with a variety of options everywhere you look. The upper left corner of the screen displays the Tools palette, which contains tools you can use to create or modify graphics and text. You select a tool by clicking on it. Tool modifiers for the selected tool display below the Tools palette. You use modifiers to set tool options. The Timeline appears in the upper section of the screen. You use the Timeline to lay out the sequence of your movie. The blank canvas displays in the centre of the screen. You create your movie on the blank canvas. I hope that now you have a better understanding as to where everything is on the page.
To create an animation you start by creating a new layer next to the timeline and then right-clicking and inserting a new keyframe into the timeline, after doing this you will have your first frame, put something in that first frame like a shape or picture, then move to the next frame and right-click on the timeline and insert a blank frame, then in this frame alter the picture or move the shape a bit and repeat this until you have a fully motional animation, its fairly simple when you get the hang of it. Its all about adapting to the program, not your artistic skills, once you start getting used to this program you will find things getting easier and easier while will allow you to try new features and have a play with them to see what you can add to your project.
Flash is an incredibly easy program to use once you know the basics, and the basics are pretty simple, you will find your knowledge of this program expanding continuously as you discover new features and quicker ways to achieve what you desire, the simplicity of this program is what makes it so popular and I hope that you have learnt from this tutorial, I hope your knowledge of the program has expanded and I wish you luck when using the program in future.
By admin
June 10th, 2007 at 10:38am
Under Flash
In this tutorial I will cover all the basics of importing and using sound in Flash, whether it is for your Flash movie or a game you have made in actionscript, it may sound easy to add sound and making sure it fits with your game or animation but believe me, its not as simple as its let out to be, in this tutorial I will cover how to import music properly, how to align music properly and a few tips on how to get your music to the right length before importing into flash so no editing is required in Flash, just drag and drop. For this tutorial I have been using Flash 8 and Nero WaveEditor, you can use a different sound-editing program to Nero WaveEditor as you wish, I have found that WaveEditor has offered me the best possible results. As always, any version of Flash should work fine with this tutorial.
First you need to pick a sound file that you would like to import, once selecting a sound file you need to import it. You import the sound file by going in to Flash, Click “File” at the top to bring down the drop down menu, and then click “Import”, then click “Import to Library”, then select your file. This part is one that confused me when I first imported sound, I thought to myself “where is the sound clip?” and then I finally realised that it was in the library of Flash. I believe you can access the library by pressing “L” or “CTRL L”, if none of these work, go to the top, click the “Window” drop down menu and click “Library”, this will then bring up the library menu. After opening the library, you should see the sound file you imported, before adding it to your timeline you need to create a new Layer for the audio, so go ahead and make a new layer and then click and drag the audio file from the library and onto that new layer. You have now successfully imported sound into your Flash project.
Now I find that editing sound in Flash can be incredibly difficult, so I have found a useful alternative, first off you need to time how long your animation is or how long the music or audio file is required for and then you know how long you will need the audio file to be. So now we need to cut the audio down, this is simple, you can use any sort of audio editing software for this. I used Nero WaveEditor for this particular demonstration. I opened it up and cut the track down to the length I needed it and faded it out at the end, this adds a nice smooth touch to your Flash project and not make the audio sound rigid when transitioning between tracks. Its incredibly difficult to edit audio in Flash because you have to do it frame by frame whilst in an audio editing program such as Nero WaveEditor you can edit in seconds and milliseconds to make it exact to what you need.
I hope this tutorial has helped you understand better ways to add sound to your Flash project, Flash’s primary function is to animate, not to edit audio so its always best to have your audio readily editing before importing. Good luck with your Flash project.
By admin
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