senocular.com

So its final. The definitive 1.0 release of Firefox has come out today. Go ahead and check out the release changes. It still peeves me that they still haven't "fixed" view source. The bug (err feature) means that when you view source on any page viewed by Firefox, what you're actually getting is Firefox's corrected version of that page and not the true source as it exists in the file itself. Oh well, nothing's perfect. Lets hope 1.0 won't crash as much too. Cheers Firefox team.

For all you worry warts out there concerned about code theft and Flash site ripping, there's a new obfuscator in town, Flashincrypt. I've tried it on a few files, many complex script-wise, and I can say Flashincrypt has performed well and hasn't broken any of the swfs converted. Attempting to decompile gave virtually no indication of the AS used. I can imagine this will be the new obfuscator king. It seems well worth the $29.95 asking price. The only downside is that the resulting swf is always exported to Flash Player 7.

Update: I've recently gotten word that the current version of Flashincrypt will no longer be updated as tools have been developed to counter its method of protection. However, there is good news. Fenix Studios is in the process of developing a new obfuscation engine that should once again provide better protection for your swfs. No ETA on when that will be complete.

A post from iloveitaly in kirupaforums pointed out this promising open source AS2 compiler for Flash ActionScript.

MTASC is the first ActionScript 2 Open Source free compiler. It can compile large number of .as class files in a very short time and generate directly the corresponding SWF bytecode without relying on Macromedia Flash or other tools.

Looks to be very fast and has a lot of potential. Though still in beta, some of the differences listed pretty much make it unusable (for me at least, then again I rarely use AS2). Something to keep an eye on though.

senoculog, my own attempt at writing a simple CMS has been delayed. Actually I kind of started over again from scratch. Not to mention I have hardly put any time into it because of other interests that have been occupying the bult of my spare time. So, I appologize for the delay and whatever other problems may be a result of it. I no longer have any ETA and am just going to roll with the punches with this one. Hopefully, though, I won't let this project disappear into the void like so many others I've started and just never finished.

Just added a new Flash MX file entitled horsebox3D. This is your basic 3D (non-perspective) cube with animated textures added to sprucen things up. Some other interaction is added to adjust the color of backfaces when the mouse is clicked.

Waleed Anbar over has a column over at Macromedia covering the new Flash client (player) code-named "Maelstrom." He states, "The effort on Maelstrom roughly falls into three main themes: performance, expressiveness, and standardization." Details of these are covered in more... detail, but all in all its looking to be an extremely promising release.

Macromedia has recently released DevNet Resource Kit Volume 9.

The Macromedia DevNet Resource Kit Volume 9 is now available. Volume 9 delivers the latest functionality to your Macromedia MX 2004 tools with new Macromedia Flash MX 2004 components, Dreamweaver MX 2004 extensions, sample applications and utilities for ColdFusion MX, and Fireworks MX 2004 extensions.

(via Nathan Pitman)

I just found out that the firefox logo was created with Macromedia Fireworks. Very interesting to see a Fireworks piece so deeply engraved into internet culture in a browser gaining so much in popularity.

The 2004 MAX conference is now underway. Be sure to keep yourself updated with all the latest events with various sources covering the conference such as Macromedia's Devnet.

Macromedia has created a customized version of Contribute 3 that "simplifies online store creation and customization for eBay Store sellers." This puts Contribute in a good position to open itself to a potential gold mine of new users. Read the press release here.