Randy Troppmann

A blog post by Vince Maniago from the Yahoo! Maps Team speaks about their favorite map mashups:

“Randy Troppmann’s Running Map is a stunning and useful implementation of our AS-Flash API that allows you to plot your running, walking, or cycling route to determine how far you’ll be going. We’re especially proud of the way Randy has integrated his controls around our map to give this mashup a unique feel.”

Additionally, RUNNINGMAP is listed under “Editors’ picks” on Yahoo! Gallery

I’ve read many lists like this. Over at .Net mag they put together a killer list of 20 tips. My favourite: #8. IE Box Model Hack. Check it out!

I use the mCom components for Flash 8 development and I came across a problem when combined with masks: the text disappears. Examples and solution:

just a button (no mask)

button with mask. Notice the label has disappeared. It is showing only half of the button because the mask is doing its job, silly!

Here the label is back. It is an issue regarding embedded fonts and this is how it is fixed:

1. add a font to your library; Verdana for example
2. under Linkage for this new library item click off "Export for Actionscript" and "Export in first frame"
3. add these lines of code:

import com.metaliq.controls.UIObject;
UIObject.setStyle("embedFonts", true);
UIObject.setStyle("fontFamily", "Verdana");

Some applescript for getting non-pro quicktime to playback full screen on OSX:

tell application "QuickTime Player"
present front movie scale screen
end tell

Last week Adobe released Flash Player 9 into the wild. This new version supports swf content that is written and compiled using Actionscript 3.0. Adobe is changing the landscape significantly with this and upcoming releases.

Adobe is reinventing Flash as a development platform and is branding it as Flex. I think the new name is a smart move since Flash has the stigma of being all “flash” and no substance. It is important to stress that the Flash IDE with it’s timeline based development paradigm is not going away. Flex is a new addition to the Adobe stable of products.

Read more…

Michael Surtees (friend, co-worker and fellow designer), has accepted a position with Renegade Marketing in NYC. Congrats!!! Aside from his successful career as a talented graphic designer, Michael has spent innumerable volunteer hours as President of the northern Alberta Chapter of the GDC and more recently as VP communications for the national chapter. I applaud Michael for these efforts and I think graphic design in Edmonton is better for them.

Even though the last 6 years of my career have focused on application development, I am still a designer at heart. I enjoyed the many discussions and debates we had and I hope we can have many more.