tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66496429863037595322012-01-03T23:39:02.013-04:00I help people customize their websites and web applications with custom code. I love what I do and believe I have the best job in the world.Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.comBlogger411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-53533483084339764622011-12-26T20:30:00.000-04:002011-12-26T20:30:39.394-04:00

I develop online learning experiences for users. These tend to involve some kind of interactive UI that enables the user to view content and interact with it in the form of simulations, tests and assessments of some kind, and tracking/session management stuff aka bookmarking. These experiences are generally one time experiences with little repeating.  They sometimes want to be reused extensively

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-80372263955904054642011-12-26T19:30:00.000-04:002011-12-26T19:30:29.202-04:00

After writing software on my own for almost 15 years, including dozens of applications that served tens of thousands of fortune 500 users and served up thousands of hours of content, along with user/content management and access control, content authoring tools and countless UI components, assessments, and API based system specifications...I've finally gotten to a place in my career where I've

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-23719632988175799562011-12-13T10:49:00.004-04:002011-12-14T10:00:10.566-04:00

How to make your animation controlled by the scrollbar in Adobe Edge Preview 3: Adobe edge is a great HTML 5 editing tool, and with a few tweaks I think it will end up being the best html5/javascript/jquery tool on the market for professionals looking to create highly interactive non-flash interactive animations. I've been a flash programmer for 14 years now, and I actually enjoy working on the

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-64309115907027909122010-10-19T08:49:00.002-03:002011-12-14T10:00:56.206-04:00

http://www.northeastmagic.com/as3examples/ Everything in this example is 100% pure actionscript 3 made in FlashDevelop. I was struggling to find a real object oriented component that was editable at a very low level so I made this from scratch myself. I may add it to google code as an open source project for others to improve upon. There are a ton of controls. The individual shapes for

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-43952456198940979362010-09-30T10:33:00.003-03:002010-09-30T11:09:07.032-03:00

Five Helpful hints when making an FBML facebook page. Hopefully this will save you some time in creating your own custom fan landing page. Facebook page Icons: 200x200 pixels in size max. Different sizes get cropped unexpectedly so trial and error is the only way to determine what to do. 1. When the tiny icon is made, a 200x200 image gets cropped to around 165x165 then shrunk to the icon size

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-21330162487764741942010-09-20T14:15:00.000-03:002010-09-20T14:15:34.964-03:00

Up until about 2006 when internet technology was advancing extremely fast in terms of what an RIA was capable of, we were introduced to what I would characterize as several speedbumps. 1. Facebook (in a big way, not its actual inception) 2. the iPod touch/apps/iPhone etc. 3. Google These two massive developments effectively ended the progression towards faster, better, more elaborate

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-23303466420418156572010-05-02T09:44:00.000-03:002010-05-02T09:44:24.621-03:00

I thought of an appropriate analogy. I've spent a lot of time working with both open, standards based technology AND proprietary technology, as have all of us. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, making them each important in developing commercial software and rich internet applications. Proprietary platforms vs Open ones are like two cars in a race. One has to follow a set of

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-69610796997913958942010-05-01T18:42:00.000-03:002010-05-01T18:42:03.138-03:00

Its hilarious to listen to ludites express opinions about things they have no concept of. They state that "one day, people will no longer have to download plugins and that is why flash will eventually die" Flash is simply integrated into the browser, so no plugin or download required, this is already the case with Google Chrome. Remember when you would buy a PC with or without a math

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-17505276179474710392010-05-01T17:28:00.000-03:002010-05-01T17:28:53.149-03:00

I see Flash/Actionscript it as I've always seen it, a specialized UI tool for building rich internet applications, and there isnt anything else on the market that accomplishes this task as well as flash at the moment - and in the forseeable future. Should something come along that does it better, I have no particular loyalty to Adobe and would be the first to embrace the new technology, in fact,

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-75966031324847074652010-04-29T13:39:00.000-03:002010-04-29T13:39:10.158-03:00

Here is a link to an engadget article including Steve Job's press release. (Press the "show press release button" at the bottom of the article...dumb, I know.) Here are my points in response to the 6 points highlighted in the article. 1. "Flash isnt open" - it is actually. Its been open source for years, and there are hundreds of free tools out there that can create .swf files. The swf file

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-45042267956445201842010-04-04T10:17:00.002-03:002010-04-04T10:21:03.714-03:00

Take the "i" out of iPad, and replace it with "we" or "share" and it might become obvious why Steve Jobs is right, this will be the most important and influential offering of his career. Well, I watched this video, and it suddenly dawned on me. Steve Jobs is right, this is the most important thing he's ever built...only he forgot to tell us why. Its a show and tell device, a sharing device.

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-51276118842896477702010-02-24T11:02:00.000-04:002010-02-24T11:02:01.008-04:00

In recent news, Google executives in Italy have been convicted for participating in the dissemination of a video depicting the abuse of a child with Down's Syndrome. Google responded, claiming this action represents the end of the internet as we know it. Well, it could certainly mean the end of Google as we know it. The problem as I see it is, while Google execs didnt post the video or even

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-81348804201108743052010-02-21T18:13:00.000-04:002010-02-21T18:13:47.838-04:00

In a recent article shown to me by a co-worker, blogger and flash developer Dan Eran Dilger makes a case in support of keeping Adobe Flash technology off the iPad. In the article, his chief arguments seems to be centered around UI elements such as mouseover, keyboard controls, and multiple mousebuttons so many flash applications depend on to function properly. I would counter that the idea of

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-63100338109434999562010-02-12T12:58:00.001-04:002010-02-12T14:04:47.628-04:00

Here is what truly would have revolutionized the technology world the other day. If I were CEO of Apple, this is what I would demand from my team. 1. A touch screen device that can interlock with another one, so they could be oriented like a keyboard/screen. This means you'd have one on the desk, flat, and the other one vertical on its wide edge held in place by the flat one. You could then

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-82971817016362512662010-02-01T16:54:00.000-04:002010-02-01T16:54:03.056-04:00

The more I am involved in social networking writing contributions to various sites, the more I am increasingly aware of the ethics of deleting other people's comments, closing a discussion to comments, or deleting an entire thread/post/network. Right now, there are literally thousands of ning.com networks, and some of them have tens of thousands of members. The members can spend hours per week

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-76136288103980874252010-01-28T11:28:00.002-04:002010-01-28T12:14:03.218-04:00

Watching the iPad become "unveiled" yesterday really got me thinking...these people at Apple are geniuses. Evil geniuses. The iPad is effectively a giant iPhone, but what is key about the iPhone is the monopoly Apple has on the app store and its stranglehold on the developers for it. If you want to develop for Apple's iPhone, you have to play by their rules, use their technology, and price

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-9261557199347852902010-01-17T14:03:00.000-04:002010-01-17T14:03:14.504-04:00

Cellphones.  Smart phones.  I like to call them T.I.R.E.D. or "Temporary Intelligence Reduction Electronic Devices".  Particularly the ones that have no raised buttons you can feel to know what to press by memory instead of staring down at it.  I dont spend any time in a large city, but can only imagine how many people stumble into traffic, trip, walk into poles, or miss important physical cues

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-31226329801890691142010-01-08T14:14:00.000-04:002010-01-08T14:14:47.350-04:00

I recently had the opportunity to review a copy of the Gambryo software used by several major titles, including "fallout 3" to make very compelling, immersive gaming experiences. Its an incredible piece of software that makes turning your virtual idea into a reality much easier than other titles Ive seen in the past. In order for it to really change the world,though, it needs to become free. 

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-62507522162569785162010-01-02T18:56:00.001-04:002010-01-02T18:59:18.491-04:00

There are a lot of people dissing flash, and I wanted to quickly note a few reasons why Flash is actually a better way to present information and offer user interface/functionality than the old, outdated technology of HTML and its derivatives. 1. Flash gives the author control over how the content is loaded and displayed.  Would you want to watch a movie or read a book that had all the scenes or

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-87486761501106265342009-12-29T23:03:00.002-04:002009-12-29T23:03:56.540-04:00

 Ahh the Onion...couldnt have said it better myself. http://www.theonion.com/content/news/new_device_desirable_old_device Thats it for today.

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-70811549303387885182009-12-24T11:49:00.002-04:002009-12-24T13:15:55.217-04:00

Here I am alone in Google wave. There are some buttons I can press, lots of familiar interface elements, but no contacts, no one to "wave to". So, I'm alone.  Perhaps I can create something and store it for later, just in case at some point someone joins my "wave" ?  What exactly is a "wave" ?  Dont really know so far, but it seems to be what I would call a conversation.  You can apparently

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-86994633715035185472009-11-22T14:20:00.005-04:002009-11-22T19:38:12.029-04:00

Vista was getting to be more and more of a pain. Crashing more often, windows defender zombies trying to come back from the grave after I have repeatedly tried to disable it, and after 7 years of virus free operation in the last few weeks inundated with viruses so I was forced to run zone alarm, which was incredibly annoying in new ways I could only have dreamed of before.I went to costco and

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-8893846919323070672009-11-17T14:02:00.003-04:002009-11-17T14:12:42.299-04:00

I run a small online community website called "FacesForFilms.com". Until recently we were called "FilmFaceBook.com" and once we reached around 1500 members, I was contacted by a facebook lawyer to stop infringing on their brand. Apparently I was damaging their business by supposedly causing confusion.As it happened, I had just purchased 20 shirts and several posters with "filmfacebook.com" on

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-29325165135636715472009-10-05T13:43:00.001-03:002009-10-05T13:43:47.677-03:00

I get a lot of calls from clients concerned about a web development company they hired to provide content management software for them. People generally see software as a product like a desk, or car, and figure you buy it and it acts like a tool for you.They couldn't be more wrong. Software is a service, and this is becoming increasingly true as our online technology evolves rapidly to meet the

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-21751018132282991472009-07-15T13:04:00.003-03:002009-07-16T19:01:03.740-03:00

Today I am writing this blog in Safari 4.0 for the PC. I started out as a mac person because of the superior hardware, speed, and processing power offered at the time, using the now defunct "clone" called a "Supermac". When I left the mac platform to move to the PC platform, of course my fellow mac developers have heaped nothing but endless scorn on me for my choice, and invariably sent daily

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-14727606086887034612009-05-04T08:22:00.000-03:002009-05-04T10:04:34.739-03:00

For those of you using XML and actionscript 1 and 2, I made this set of xml extensions that I use regularly and wanted to pass them along to help you and your projects that involve XML parsing, sending and loading etc.Here is a quick list of functions and descriptions. Script and docs available for .zip download here.getRootNode();returns the root node and all its children(see docs for useage

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-37727839097837383612009-04-17T08:43:00.006-03:002009-05-04T10:18:20.570-03:00

Side Door Economics? Try Butterfly Effect Economics.How does Google make a 30% increase this quarter in the middle of an economic downturn when they give everything away for free?Selling advertising? Bums in seats?Sorry, Charlie, its not that simple. In fact, as the social networking neural pathways develop, they create vastly more complex paths between you and financial success. Fortunatley,

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-52280590885475574522009-04-16T12:49:00.010-03:002009-04-17T09:05:13.727-03:00

If you perceive social networking as a game, or waste of time, or frivolous, you are in for a rude awakening.Social networks are the building blocks of a new organism, the latest manifestation of the collective conciousness of human beings.As the internet was born, the first aspects of social networks took the form of irc chat rooms and email. This led to unprecidented speed and efficiency in

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-34770428401320941022009-04-14T07:48:00.004-03:002009-04-14T07:59:22.106-03:00

Yesterday at our staff meeting with Jeff Jarvis, I was quite inspired and came up with 2 phrases summing up web 3.0 that I want to put here for posterity:Web 3.0 - turn your content into conversation™Web 3.0 - stop being the wall, and become the floor.™Web 3.0 - public conversations trump private ones.™First one, fairly self explanatory just take your big long statements and allow comments, or

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-23645327626161221932009-04-12T07:30:00.000-03:002009-04-12T07:45:25.151-03:00

Finally got my RSS feed aggregator working. Whats an rss feed aggregator? The little widget below reads a list of RSS feeds RSS from an XML file and displays the RSS feed news items from all the feeds in order of most recent to earliest. Theres a few of these out there, but mine is free for you to use, and has some interesting features. If you press the grey button underneath a specific feed

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-6685519195463165222009-04-08T12:26:00.000-03:002009-04-08T13:11:25.206-03:00

Recently I was asked to review a product that fit in the "powerpoint killer" category of applications. Threaded throughout the marketing material were phrases that appeal to the cost cutting business manager audience who often find themselves frustrated by the effort and knowledge required to build engaging, interactive presentations or games."With a click of a button... " , "reduced costs

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-34568785851279809272009-04-07T00:13:00.000-03:002009-04-07T00:48:05.212-03:00

Here is a snapshot of the traffic on these websites, ranked where "1" is the most visted website on the 'net, and 10000 is the 10000th most visited website. As you can see...Facebook is plateauing with a gentle increase in the past year, Yahoo has seen a recent sharp drop, twitter.com and ning.com are experiencing significant increases, with Twitter being the most pronounced most recently, and

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-78550405265201930242009-04-07T00:11:00.001-03:002009-11-20T17:37:38.766-04:00

ad

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-33630716922510963862009-04-06T13:13:00.000-03:002009-04-06T13:16:05.623-03:00

this is my guru jeffrey and my other guru jeff...(click the links...you'll be richer for it!)

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-73891128643415714132009-04-02T16:50:00.000-03:002009-04-02T21:01:20.492-03:00

Actionscript...1,2,3...they're all good! A biased opinion piece from an old hand at flash.Executive Summary for CEO types:Actionscript 3 is a good move if your company is large, well funded, and well staffed with low staff turnover. You have a good chunk of your budget put aside for R&D, and another good chunk for training and employee personal development, and process is important. Also

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-2467764905246251482009-03-27T12:50:00.000-03:002009-03-27T13:03:00.412-03:00

Really more for myself than my dedicated readers...ha ha... I am posting a few future blog titles that I need to write about because I want to focus this particular blog on actionscripting best practices in the e-learning vertical, which is my primary area of expertise.Here are the titles you can look forward to seeing articles on in the form of my to-do list!1. Scorm and flash resources. Getting

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-78777260727785694742009-03-20T11:07:00.000-03:002009-03-20T17:31:38.620-03:00

With all these social networks that are heavily customizable, targetted advertising, and personalization of content feeds, the shared experience of the internet is becoming less and less apparent.When you log into a system, the appearance is constructed on the fly based on your preferences, settings, and permissions. If you are an "admin" you get different buttons and layouts than a "public user

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-32326015629306225122009-03-18T12:19:00.000-03:002009-03-18T14:02:21.684-03:00

My SL alter ego would kill me for saying this, but Second Life is largely irrelevant. Why? Because it doesnt integrate into my life.I have an island in Second life called "Tree Estates IV". I pay $299 every month to keep it there, but I'm only there 1-2 times a week for up to an hour for the past 6 months.Its important to me and my business, and it still pays for itself in ways I cant begin to

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-64757395729415312702009-03-18T10:11:00.000-03:002009-03-18T10:52:04.964-03:00

I have a lot of people coming to me for advice on their websites. Here is my personal philosophy on the topic and what drives my advice to pretty much everyone these days.First of all, websites as we generally think of them, are dying or dead. The idea of a static page with some sharp graphics, perhaps a fancy flash logo animation etc. has largely become irrelevant to most people in the past

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-49054453577297218752009-03-18T09:56:00.000-03:002009-03-18T10:10:43.583-03:00

I spent the last day and a half converting 4 of my 120 .com's to blogs using blogger. I chose blogger for the simple reason that it is currently #8 on alexa.com's list of highest traffic blogs, well and that its owned by Google, my current "mentor". I just renovated part of my house to have a lovely sunroom addition (and sank any hope of getting out of debt in my life time with it...heh heh)So I

Code Handymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09198842669030582829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6649642986303759532.post-72233910900693239012009-03-16T13:53:00.000-03:002009-03-16T14:13:02.687-03:00

My previous (current?) brand is northeastmagic.com. I do coding for a living, so the brand was based on coding as "magic" as I was not good at explaining how exactly I "solve problems" or enhance online applications with my work, so I called it magic.Its been that way for 10 years. This afternoon I decided to eat my own dogfood so to speak, and begin opening up my brand to conversation, rather

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