The other day I heard someone define iTunes as a RIA. I started to correct them because, until then, I had only thought of RIAs as being built with AJAX, Flex, Silverlight, etc; with these new RIA technologies. That comment though, got me to thinking. What does really define a RIA? Is it the technology that is used to build the application or how it leverages the power of the Internet (via SOA, etc.)?
After a bit of consideration, I have to say that an RIA is any application that leverages the power of the Internet to enhance the application. An RIA is not simply an AIR application, a Flex application, an AJAX application, or a Silverlight application. Any application that uses the internet to leverage new user experiences is a RIA.
So, that being said, iTunes is probably one of the best examples of an RIA out there. It changed the game when it came to music applications, adding the ability to subscribe to podcasts, share your library, listen to Internet Radio broadcasts, and the iTunes store itself transformed iTunes into the most ubiquitous and indispensable RIA we've seen yet. All that and it wasn't even built in Flex, AJAX, OpenLazlo, Curl, or Silverlight. It was built in Objective-C.
In the coming months and years as we see RIAs and the influence of SOA proliferate through ordinary desktop applications, we're going to have to take a long hard look at how we, as a community, define a RIA. I think we're heading towards a point where we really do define a RIA as any application, regardless of the development language, that leverages the Internet to deliver new user experiences to the end user. In the end, it would seem, we are all RIA developers.
I am pretty sure (others have confirmed) that the latest update for Mac OS X (10.5.3) nukes the debug Flash Player. After installing, I went to debug a Flex app and it couldn't find the debug player. A simple re-install of the player from your Flex Builder folder will fix the issue. The Apple update page doesn't have any notice about the Flash player, but it is broken with the update. This obviously means that Apple has snuck in a Flash Player update without any mention of it on their site.
OK, so a lot of Mac users use TextMate for everything from text editor to IDE. I didn't realize this until recently, but you can blog directly from TextMate. If your blog supports the Wordpress, Moveable Type, and Type APIs. You get live spell checking thanks to the built-in integration with the OS X dictionary. You can edit existing posts in TextMate as well as new entries. You can upload images to your blog, simply by dragging an image into the editor window; TextMate will automatically upload it for you.
Don't believe me? Check out this YouTube video for more info:
I've been seeing people splash this quote from The Wall Street Journal:
"Apple's iPhone, with all its cutting-edge mobile Internet trickery, needs something much better than the current Flash player that Adobe makes for cellphones."
Let's analyze this statement a bit and think about it. First of all, you have to realize that executives choose their words very carefully when talking to investors. Just ask Jeff Skilling what happens when you don't... asshole (read the article, you'll get it.)
The quoted article specifically states that the iPhone "needs something much better than the current Flash player that Adobe makes for cellphones." This is not the true Flash player we all know and love. This is talking about FLASH LITE. I agree with that Flash Lite cannot deliver what Apple wants to deliver on the iPhone.
Until we get Flex 4 and can build to mobile devices, Flash Lite is a joke.
But, I digress....
I think this could be a bit of misdirection by Mr. Jobs & co. I am of the opinion that we will see either a Flash Player or AIR Runtime for the iPhone very soon. Just my two cents.
As everyone who is running Leopard and ColdFusion know by now, Leopard shipped with Java 5, and not Java 6. The performance improvements in Java 6 are too great to be left behind on the Mac. Fortunately, there is a solution:
SoyLatte: Java 6 for OS X
A simple change to the "java.home" variable in your jvm.config file and you'll be all set. Binaries are available, so you do not have to compile your own. I am currently running, in a development environment, under the 64-bit version with CF8 and it is smooth. Of course, YMMV.
Those developing AIR applications in HTML/JavaScript know that the engine that enables these applications is WebKit. Apple has just released a CSS reference for Safari and WebKit. Since AIR is powered by WebKit, this, in turn, also applies to AIR Applications.
Explanation of TermsSupported CSS Properties
Leopard (OS X 10.5) and Flash Player 9 are not fully compatible. There is an issue with FileReference.upload() that is breaking not only Flash Player 9, but also AIR Beta 2. This issue is supposedly going to be fixed in the "Moviestar" release of Flash Player.
In the past few years, we've seen an pop culture explosion in the form of the iPod. The iPod (in all its forms), however, spawned a marketing/psychology phenomenon known as a "halo effect". Basically the halo effect is when, in this case, the positive impression of the iPod has filtered through to the rest of the Apple brand. This includes computers, software, etc. Anything branded Apple.
Aside: Apple has further changed their image to be "Apple, Inc." and not "Apple Computer, Inc.".
How does this apply to Adobe? Well, let's consider the following:
Firebug is by far one of my favorite tools for debugging Javascript in FireFox. If I am having a JS issue, I just fire up Firebug and it's pretty easy to hunt the bugs down. Too bad Safari doesn't have anything like that...or does it?
Better Than It Was
We Will Fall Together
Justified Black Eye
All Star