February 11, 2010
I’ve been reading every opinion in my feeds following the fallout of the iPad launch. I think it’s fascinating to see how quickly people are polarised. There are a lot of angry Flash developers out there, and a lot of smugness coming from the other side.
I will admit that I like developing with both ActionScript and JavaScript/HTML. I think both the Flash Platform and the Browser show great potential for different purposes. And each has its problems when misapplied. So what’s new? As developers we face these choices with our technology every day. So Flash isn’t on the iPad or iPhone. Does it matter that much? It’s a single device platform with a visionary design. It should be applauded. But we are not creating interactivity for a monoplatform world. Innovation will mean there is something that outwits the iPhone OS. Necessity will require us to adopt new, unchartered and non-standard solutions. Interaction design and communication technology is not all about LED screens and input devices. Principles will still be the same: make things for people not for technologies.
There is so much to say on this subject, it opens up so many juicy channels of opinion, debate and evidence. Is this about openness? Is it about innovation? Is it about standards? Is it about winners or losers? Ultimately the debate is good for the web development community, and it’s time we all had a chance to define some thinking about these issues in this landscape. The launch of the iPad may be a watershed moment for more reasons than innovative touchscreen technology and eBooks saving the publishing industry.
I think the ball is in Adobe’s court right now. They could really turn this around to their favour. Open source the Flash Platform completely? Support the development and adoption of the HTML standard by giving developers more great tools? Make Flash better and more essential to everyday browsing? Make a FlashPad device?
Ray Valdes on Gartner probably offers the best and most balanced overview of the issues that face us as media producers for these platforms.
I recently decided to change the way I use the social bookmarking service delicious.com to how I have been using it for the last five years or so. I have starting to see it less as a big bucket to catch anything of minor interest I encounter, and more of a considered record of my daily worthwhile reading on the web, with space for my comment. Not quite a blog, but a timeline of my online reading that reflects my thoughts, research and daily problem solving. We’ll see how this new approach turns out, but to get there I felt I needed to organise my delicious account a little better.
more…
Mashing up the Universe at the Science Museum on Saturday, ActionScript frameworks and Design Patterns at the London Flash Platform User Group at the Cosmo Bar in Clerkenwell on Thursday, and Playful09, ‘a day of cross disciplinary frolicking’ on Friday. more…
Last Friday I took the day off work to go to Playful 09 at Conway Hall in London – and had a fun and inspiring time.
more…
At Clinic London we recently hired a contractor to help us with the Drupal development on a new project (details as yet undisclosed, but it is an exciting job). Having worked on a very big Drupal based project recently, and at times struggled with way Drupal works compared to our usual bespoke development with PHP, we felt it would be good to get some help and some extra Drupal brain power in the studio, and having an expert in the studio to help raise our knowledge. more…
Let me start by saying I am not a Project Manager. I have a some practical knowledge of how projects work, and I have read a few books about Project Management (I think it’s important to know), but I am not a Project Manger. I have to draw the line somewhere, especially in my recent added duties as Studio Manager. I often need to remind people in my team. more…
A dilemma vexes me at the I start of almost every new project: Which JavaScript library should I use this time? Which one will give me a little more help to get the job done faster and make my job easier and more fun? I am motivated sometimes by dissatisfaction and frustrations with my choices on previous projects, and sometimes by curiosity and desire to try something new to see if it is better. more…
Just over 6 months ago there were redundancies at my work. In the shake up I was dealt the responsibilities of the axed Studio Manager. Here are a few of the things I have done. more…
I was clearing out some notes the other day and I came across this bit of wisdom and clarity… My rejection of the concept of a process for our team creative output that I blurted out into a text editor late one night. more…
In a recent email conversation with a designer/client manager friend/collaborator, I wrote the following about a process for Flash development. I think there is something in this… more…