senocular.com

ZDNet UK has the dirt on what happened a few weeks ago when Actionscript.org was hacked. Apparently there's a "a vulnerable PHP script in EMML (EternalMart Mailing List Manager)".

The hackers rigged a backdoor into the site by manipulating the PHP script using a Web browser. Using a very complicated URL, the hackers were able to make the faulty PHP script download and compile code stored on a remote site, said Stratford. Once compiled, the code allowed anyone to log in to actionscript.org's server with root [administrative] privileges, giving the hackers free reign to wreak havoc with the system.

I can't say that sounds good.

Wired News is reporting that the Lycos's web-developer resource Webmonkey is closing down thanks to layoffs. From e-Business to Flash to color-coding, Webmonkey has been a long-time standing reference for just about anyone developing for the web. I've certainly benefited from the monkey; it's sad to see them go.

Strict data typing in AS 2 is one of those nice additions that adds not only a great way to help debug, but also gives us those wonderful code hints without needing to deface a variable name with an underscored suffix. It is important to note, however, that strict data typing is reserved for those individual variables that can be declared or defined using the var keyword. This means that properties created in objects from that object will not be able to by typed. For example:


Since any global variable or function has to be defined off of the _global object much in the same way prop was from myObj above, it means that anything global you have, sadly, cannot be typed.

The forums that belong to Kirupa.com are currently unavailable due to some corruption in the forum database. From the site:

The forums are temporarily down. I have contacted (mt) and various other people, so hopefully this problem should be fixed soon. The issue will take a short while to be fixed. I apologize for the inconvenience.
In the meantime, visit the IRC for all your chatting/helping needs: http://www.kirupa.com/me/irc.htm

Foulplay is not suspected at this point. Though, with the recent hacks of the past month, one can't help but suspect.

Update: The forums are back online now and in fairly good condition.

The newest version of burak's ActionScript Viewer has been released. This version, version 4.05, offers some fixes and allows the extraction of Flash font symbols as true type fonts. Read more about it in ASV's News section. Thanks to eyezberg for pointing this out.

Macromedia has just announced the release of Director MX 2004. There are many new features such as support for DVD video (note: this is DVD playback, not the ability to author DVD's) and of course, support for Flash 7 files. One of the more inviting new features, especially for Flash developers, is the new Javascript Syntax that can be used in place of or along side of Director's own Lingo programming language.

Also, Director MX 2004 supports cross-platform projector publishing. However, there's a huge caveat here since the Windows version can NOT create projectors for Mac OS9 and below. Otherwise, that feature alone would easily be worth the upgrade - for Windows folks. Luckily (for Mac folks) the Mac version can publish to Windows, Mac OSX as well as Mac OS9.

Im thinking of having more in the means of resources for Fireworks. They seem to be few and far between. I already have a few extensions posted. I'll get around to adding more along with some commands. Ill probably get some tutorials written as well. They most likely, If I get to them, will be found at Kirupa.com. Of course my free time is few and far between so we'll see what comes of this.

Be careful in your transition with switch from Flash MX to Flash MX 2004. In Flash MX, when using a switch statement, each time a case value is checked, the switch condition would be re-evaluated. For example:


would result in a trace of "Actually, a is 3" running the default case since ++a is executed for each comparison with a case value. In Flash MX 2004, however, this has been fixed and the switch condition is only handled once. Then, the output of the above will result in "a = 1".

The idea of inheritance is to allow the sharing of methods and properties among super classes and subclasses derived from them. When dealing with static members, those which are specific to a class and not instances of that class, however, you may find that inheritance may not behave the way you think it should.

Breeze is Macromedia's Flash-based application that "quickly and easily share[s] important information through online meetings, presentations and training courses." Because Breeze presentations are viewed in the Flash player, it makes them instantly accessible to 98% of the web. A recent press release explains the new version of Breeze which:

... include[s] application sharing, trackable live polls, editable vector-based whiteboards, and file transfer. Recorded meetings are now indexed and searchable, along with presentations stored in the content library. New customization options include a brandable user interface and custom pods for data display or new functionality. This release also exposes the application's web services framework to enable integration with existing portal and enterprise applications.