Tim Layton - Technology Tips and Tutorials

How to Create a Dropdown Combo Box in Access

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:23:00 +0000

A very useful feature in Access or any database is the ability to create data combo dropdown boxes within our application. Data dropdown selection boxes are a great way to make data entry easier and fool-proof for our users.

In this video tutorial I walk you through how to create a new dropdown selection box bound from one table to another and how that impacts the relationship of your tables in your database.

Video Tutorial:

If you have any questions feel free to send me an email.

Tim

How to Create Data Validation Rules in Microsoft Access

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 04:42:00 +0000

I get a lot of questions about Microsoft Access, so I wanted to create this video tutorial on how to create data validation rules and logic in Access database tables. Data validation is a very important issue when dealing with data integrity in databases. As we know, people can misspell or even put a space in a row before entering the correct data and it creates all sorts of unique challenges when it is time to query or manage our data. I hope this tutorials helps you think of ways to use validation within your own projects.

If you would like more tutorials on Access, just send me an email and I will be glad to create more.

Video Tutorial:

Tim

How to Create a Ringtone for Your iPhone in GarageBand

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:35:00 +0000

In this video tutorial I walk you through the basics of how to create your own custom ringtone in GarageBand for your iPhone.

Video Tutorial:

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Tim

Attention - Security Flaw in Adobe Acrobat/Reader 9.2

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:01:00 +0000

According to a post by Adobe, there is a security weakness in the latest version of the PDF reader. An updated post on the Adobe blog indicates that a security advisory has been officially posted regarding a critical vulnerability in Acrobat Reader and Acrobat 9.2 that could cause a crash of your system (Windows, Mac and Unix) and allow an attacker to take control of your system.

For the most up to date information you should refer to the Security Advisory for information on mitigating this vulnerability. Adobe will update the advisory.

For the current recommend solution please visit this link at the Adobe Knowledge Base.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Tim

Should You Upgrade to Windows 7?

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 03:20:00 +0000

With the recent release of Windows 7, I have had many people ask me if they should upgrade or not. It is sort of a loaded question with as many questions as there are responses. However, I will provide a few key points that may help you decide.

You should ask yourself the following questions before upgrading:

Do you or your organization really need Windows 7?
How will you specifically benefit from upgrading?
Would it be wiser to forecast the upgrade a few months or more out so the initial problems will be addressed by Microsoft?
If you are still running XP, Microsoft ended mainstream support in April of 2009. However security fixes will be provided through 2014. Hows does this impact your decision to upgrade to Windows 7 or possibly another operating system?
Will the new administration tools in Windows 7 be important enough to your organization to make you consider upgrading?
Do you have peripherals such as printers, scanners or other devices that are critical parts of your business? If so, are you sure there are Windows 7 drivers available?
Do you need the built-in support for touch screen monitors offered in Windows 7?
Will the upgrade to Windows 7 force new hardware purchases?
Since there is no direct upgrade path from XP to Windows 7, will this impact your decision?
Are there any application compatibility concerns?
Is your IT staff trained to support and administer Windows 7?

This article should help you start thinking about the basics when considering an upgrade to your desktop operating system. Please send me your comments, thoughts or experiences regarding Windows 7.

Tim

Android - Lesson 4 - Fixing Emulator Crashes

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:23:00 +0000

I have received a ton of questions about how to fix emulator crashes. I have personally seen it myself as well, even running the latest release of everything (Eclipse, ADT, SDK, etc). The problem can eat a ton of your valuable time and the fix is oddly enough very simple.

I really don't know why the error occurs, but I do have the answer of how to fix it and it is quite simple. When creating your AVD devices, simple specify an SD Card of 16 Mb and that will take care of it.

In the video tutorial I will you through how to do this. So, now you can get back to learning Android development and stop wasting time on irritating and time consuming issues.

Video Tutorial:

Tim

Android Development Google Groups

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:19:00 +0000

As a developer it is important to learn from others as well as share your knowledge. The two most popular Android groups that I would recommend for learning and sharing are the Google Android Beginners Group and the Android Developers Group:

Here are the links:

Android Beginners Group

Android Developers Group

And, if you would like to stay up to date on all things Android you will likely find that in the Discussion Group.

All of my Android Development Video Tutorials are available here on my blog with additional notes and comments that you may find helpful.

I look forward to your comments and input.

Tim

Android Video Tutorial Playlist

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:48:00 +0000

I have created a video playlist on YouTube for my Android programming tutorials. The playlist is an easy way to watch the videos in order. All of the videos are also available here on my blog with additional notes and comments that you should find very useful when watching the video lessons.

All of the videos are titled "Android - Lesson X - Title" where X is the lesson number and Title is a short description of the content.

My approach is to start at the very beginning (Lesson 0 - getting setup and configured) and progressing through each lesson by building on the last.

You can go to the playlist directly on YouTube via this link.

You can view the playlist in a single video window by using the left and right arrows that are located at the center of the video window to navigate to the next or previous lesson:

I look forward to your comments and feedback.

Tim

Android - Lesson 3 - Using XML and Configuring Your Phone for Testing

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:41:00 +0000

In lesson 3 I build on the simple Hello Android app we built in lesson 2. The text-based UI we used to create the simple UI is not practical in the real world. Using XML to layout your screens and views is how you will do this.

Also, I show you the changes you need to make on your Android phone to allow testing of your apps on your own device as well as the change to the manifest file that is required.

Video Tutorial:

Tim

Android - Lesson 2 - Hello Android!

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 02:51:00 +0000

This lesson is very important for new Android developers. In the first two lessons I walked you through how to ensure your development environment is installed and configured correctly and now I will walk you through the steps to create your first Android application.

The video tutorial includes:

1.) Configuring a RunConfig (required to launch your app)

3.) Writing our first program "Hello Android!"

4.) Testing the your app with emulator.

Let's get started!

Video Tutorial:

Tim

Android - Configuring Eclipse - Lesson 1

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 01:31:00 +0000

In the first lesson I covered what you need to install for your Android development environment and walked your through that process. Refer to this lesson here if needed.

In this lesson I will show you how to configure Eclipse for Android development and how to setup your AVD (Android Virtual Device) as well as how to update your SDK packages before moving on to writing your first application.

Video Tutorial:

Tim

Getting Setup for Android Development

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:14:00 +0000

I get a lot of questions about getting started with Android development so I thought I would publish a short summary of what you need to get started.

To get started go check out some of the videos on the Android developer site.

Video Overview:

Operating System
You can develop Android applications on Windows, Mac and Linux. And all of the tools you need are free! Yes, free. No annual fees, or expensive IDE's to purchase. In a nutshell any version of windows starting from XP on will work, Mac 10.4.8 and above and Linux. It wouldn't hurt to have an Android phone to test on, but it isn't absolutely required. It would be a very good idea to test your apps on real devices first because the emulator is just that--an emulator. Also, if you are an every day user of an Android phone you are more likely to be able to related to your users and create useful or entertaining applications that might appeal to them.

The full list of requirements can be found on the Android site.

Software Tools and SDK Android development is accomplished via Java, so you will need a Java programming environment. This is comprised of the Java Development Kit (JDK) and the highly suggested Eclipse IDE is recommended along with the Android SDK. I would strongly suggest that you follow the suggested path at first and if you choose to go in another direction, do so at your own risk.

Step 1
Ensure you have the Java Development Kit (JDK) and if not, go download it from Sun and install it. The easiest way to check is to open a command prompt or terminal window and type "javac". If you don't get an error then you know you have the JDK installed. Even so, you may want to add the -v switch to check what version you are running and update if necessary. The JRE (Java Runtime Environment) is not enough to do Android development, you need the full JDK.

Download the JDK from Sun.

Step 2
Get the Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers (~188 Mb). The reason you need the Java EE IDE is because it has two very important plugins already installed (JDT and WTP). If you are just starting out this is the easiest path to take and honestly it really doesn't hurt to have the other EE components installed anyway.

Download Eclipse

Step 3
Go get the Android SDK and install it in a directory of your choice. The SDK is basically a bunch of files containing the classes and other files for the SDK. This is a manual install, so just unzip it in a directory of your choice. I would suggest that you locate it in a logical place because you will need to add its path to the Eclipse development environment as well as update your PATH variable.

Download and Install SDK

Be sure to read up on the notes regarding the way the SDK now operates.

Notes on Installing the SDK

Step 4
Next, you will need to launch Eclipse now that the JDK, Eclipse IDE and Android SDK is installed. In this last step you will be installing the Android Development Tool (ADT) plugin for Eclipse and getting your IDE configured for development.

You will need to update your PATH variable to include the path to this SDK/tools directory. This is where the SDK tool binaries live and you will need them moving forward. If you don't know how to update your PATH variable for your platform, just google it. To test to make sure you have your path updated, open a terminal or command window and type "android". If the Android update manager appears then your path is correct. Just cancel that for now and move to the last step.

The ADT (Android Development Tool) extends the capabilities of Eclipse to let you quickly set up new Android projects, create an application UI, add components based on the Android Framework API, debug your applications using the Android SDK tools, and even export signed (or unsigned) APKs in order to distribute your application.

Here are some notes from the Android development portal about installing and configuring the ADT that you may want to review. I find these to not be completely in sync with the latest tools and software, but it is a source of good information.

To update Eclipse with the ADT plugin follow these steps:

1. Launch Eclipse.
2. Select Help, Software Updates.
3. Select the Available Software tab.
4. Click the Add Site button.
5. Add a remote site: https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/

If the site fails, try http://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/

6. On the Available Software Updates tab, check the Android site you just added.
7. Press the Install button.
8. Follow the installation instructions and install the Android Plug-In.
9. Restart Eclipse after the software update completes.

After you install the Android SDK Eclipse Plug-In, you should update your Eclipse preferences to point at the Android SDK. This is VERY important... so don't forget.

To do this, launch Eclipse and choose Window, Preferences (or Eclipse, Preferences on Mac OS X). Select the Android preferences and set the path to where you installed the Android SDK.

And, you are ready to develop some Android applications...welll, almost! There are a couple minor details such as adding a AVD (Android Virtual Device) for testing with your emulator and how to setup and configure your first Android project inside Eclipse as well as making some changes to your Android phone and the manifest configuration file so that you can test on your device. I will cover these important topics in my first tutorial "Hello Android!".

Resources
There are many resources on the Android Developer Site, but here are a few that you will find very helpful when getting started.

Developer Guide

Package Reference Guide

Android Hello World

I hope you found this article helpful in getting you started with Android development. Stay tuned for many more articles and video tutorials.

At the time of this article my T-Mobile Android MyTouch is running 1.6, however 2.X is out in the wild. The reason I mention this is because you will likely want to setup your development for 1.6 and then use the Android SDK manager to add on new code bases as needed for 2.0 and beyond.

Tim

Getting Started Tips for Google Wave

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:55:00 +0000

Here are some quick videos to help you get started with google wave.

Starting a new wave

3 ways to reply to a wave

Use the Shift+Enter Shortcut

Doing a Chat AND Email all within the same wave

Use the spacebar to navigate between unread wave messages

Using Playback allows you to view the full history of the wave.

Spelling Help

Customize your wave workspace

Creating a folder and organizing waves by folder

Adding extensions to google wave.

The google wave help center

Tim

ActionScript 3.0 - Lesson 5 - Inheritance, Importing, Compiling Hello World

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:32:00 +0000

In Lesson 5 we round out the basics of our OOP introduction by learning about inheritance and how to import external classes into our custom Main class.

In the next series of lessons we will move our focus to the Flash environment where I will show you how to use the Flash art tools to create our own artwork and character for our new web application.

View Lesson 5 now:

Tim

ActionScript 3.0 - Lesson 4 - Directives

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:12:00 +0000

In lesson four I explain and define directives and walk you through defining your first directive in the constructor method. In the next lesson we will learn about inheritance and importing before compiling and executing our first application: Hello World.

Watch Lesson 4 now:

Tim

ActionScript 3.0 - Lesson 3 - Constructor Methods

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:19:00 +0000

In this video tutorial I explain constructor methods in ActionScript 3.0 before moving on to directives and inheritance in the next lessons. In the last two lessons we covered packages and classes.

View the video lesson:

Tim

ActionScript 3.0 - Lesson 2 - Configuring Packages and Class

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:57:00 +0000

In this lesson I show you how to setup your Flash environment and your file system to properly configure for taking advantage of OOP classes and packages.

YouTube Video Tutorial:

Tim

ActionScript 3.0 - Lesson 1 - Packages and Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:07:00 +0000

ActionScript 3.0 - Lesson 1 - Packages and Classes

Objective: Introduce and define packages and classes.

Overview: I will introduce OOP programming concepts to you. We will learn how to define and create a package and a main class in this lesson.

Lesson 2: In the next lesson we will define a constructor for our main class, define some directives, introduce inheritance.

Lesson 3: We will learn how to publish our Hello World application.

Jargon: pseudo-code, stage, display objects, event listeners, instance, instantiate

Pseudo-Code - Your application logic explained in plain English by a series of short statements.

Stage - This is the canvas or main stage in Flash where all the action takes place.

Display Objects - These are special objects within Flash that are seen on the stage. Examples would be movie clips, buttons, etc.

Event Listeners - We code event listeners in ActionScript for the Flash movie to do things like wait for user input or to exchange information between objects.

Instance - An instance is just a copy of an object created from a class.

Instantiate - To instantiate an object simply means to create a copy of the object for use within your application.

Package

A package is a container that holds all of your classes. Classes within the same package can reference one another without importing.

Rules and best practices
A package name is in all lower case letters. This helps you distinguish them from classes that start with a capital letter. The package name is also represented at the file system level as a series of nested folders.

We will use an industry standard to name our packages.

package ourdomainname.packagename

package com.timlayton.lessons
{

}

N.B. - In the lesson you will see that I have a src directory representing the source code files for our program. Under src I have the following nested directories com, timlayton, lessons. This must match your package name or your program will not run.

Syntax
package mypackagename
{

}

N.B. - you will notice that when you type in package into the Flash IDE that it will be blue. This is because package is a reserved word or also known as a keyword. In a nutshell you can't use these as they belong to Flash.

Class
A class can either be part of your programming environment or custom created by you. We will be creating custom classes to bring life to our applications and leveraging the classes within Flash to drive the behavior of our objects.

A class is more or less a template for your objects in your program. You can think of a class as a blueprint created by an architect that is ultimately used by a carpenter to build a house. Once the template is made you can build and use as many objects as you want and you will be assured of their basic characteristics.

A class is defined in a package.

Rules and best practices
There must be at least one class for every Flash application. In reality you will have many more, but you must have at least one. This one class is known as your main class and this is why many programmers title it Main.as as a method of good practice.

A class name must match your ActionScript file name. So if you have a class called Main, then you must have it stored in a file called Main.as.

The Main class must be public. We will discuss the other access modifiers in more detail as we progress, but public simply means that this class can be shared by any other class in all packages for your application.

package com.timlayton.lessons
{
public class Main
{

}

}

N.B. - Notice how I indented the package and class code brackets.

Here is the video tutorial:

Tim

ActionScript 3.0 Video Tutorial - Getting Started

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:08:00 +0000

In this video tutorial I discuss some of the basics of getting your system and environment setup to write innovative multi-media applications in ActionScript 3.0 for the Flash environment.

Flash is literally everywhere and with ActionScript 3.0 becoming a true object orient programming language the possibilities are literally left up to your imagination. You can develop apps for the web as you would expect, but also cross-platform desktop applications via the Adobe AIR runtime and soon even native iPhone applications when Flash CS5 Professional is released.

There has never been a better time to get up to speed on Flash and ActionScript. The learning curve was fairly huge from 2.0 to 3.0 and this is a great time to jump in before CS5 is release with even more enhancements. With enhancements comes more complexity most of the time.

My goal with this series is to help designers and new programmers get up to speed on OOP principles and apply this knowledge to create cutting-edge rich multi-media applications.

If you have any questions please send me an email or a tweet on twitter.

Tim

Native Classes: An ActionScript 3.0 Primer

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:03:00 +0000

I have been writing several articles on helping you get started with Object Oriented Programming (OOP) and ActionScript 3.0. As we progress and understand more you need to know the native classes for ActionScript. These native classes in ActionScript are used to manipulate data and text within your application. You will frequently use these classes in almost every one of your applications so you should be very familiar with them.

Remember you can get help inside the Flash authoring environment or by going to the ActionScript 3.0 language reference page which I previously provided for you in another article introducing resources for ActionScript programmers.

String - Represents textual data (i.e., a string of characters)
Boolean - Represents the logical states true and false
Number - Represents floating-point numbers (i.e., numbers with a fractional value)
int - Represents integer numbers (i.e., numbers with no fractional value)
uint - Represents positive integer numbers
Array - Represents an ordered list
Error - Represents a program error (i.e., a problem in your code)
Date - Represents a specific point in time
Math - Contains common mathematical values and operations
RegExp - Defines tools for searching and replacing text
Function - Represents a reusable set of instructions that can be executed, or called, repeatedly
Object - Defines the basic features of every object in ActionScript

Stay tuned for more ActionScript and OOP articles.

Tim

Objects & Classes: An ActionScript 3.0 Primer

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:37:00 +0000

I thought I would start a new thread of articles discussing OOP (Object Oriented Programming) concepts before we jump right into writing ActionScript OOP code.

There are so many OO languages in use today (e.g., ActionScript, Java, C#, Visual Basic, etc.) and I think many people don't really understand the underlying OOP principles. And, by the way writing C code in an OOP IDE doesn't count as writing OO code...

My theory is that If a person does not fully understand the principles of OOP then it is impossible to fully employ the benefits associated with the principles.

So, let's start with the obvious first concept: what is an object?

I could answer this with a one line zinger or could rattle on for pages! I will try to go for something more than the one liner, and my only goal is to make the concept clear to you.

An object in the context of OOP software development is simple for us because we already think in terms of objects in our everyday lives. When I think about solving a problem in programming I think about the nouns or things within the program. For example, if we were to build a program about motorcycles then the nouns or things are natural choices for classes and ultimately objects. We will talk about classes next, but just think of a class as a blueprint in which you use to build things.

Here is one example about objects: when you look at your best friend in the morning over breakfast, you see them as an object. In this example your friend is defined by two major terms: attributes and behaviors. Your friends attributes would include: eye color, height, and so on. Their behaviors might include breathing, the ability to walk or run and so on. So, in effect an object is an entity that contains related attributes and behaviors. Yes, it really is that simple. In plain English, when you think of a human being, you think of eye color, hair, height, breather, walking, etc. These are some of the attributes and behaviors of a human being.

Let's take another example. Let's say that we are going to create a program that allows a user to custom configure or build their own motorcycle. In order for them to do this from a programming perspective you would need to design all of the parts for them. This is known as designing the classes. A class is a blueprint from which objects are built. And each object can have its own characteristics and behaviors. So, in this example, every motorcycle will have a frame, motor, wheels, and so on. We would build the blueprint or classes for each of these and then when the user starts creating their own unique motorcycle they are in fact instantiating a new object based on each of our classes. Their objects are unique and have their own set of characteristics and behaviors. Does that make sense? I hope so.

Keep in mind that objects can represent both tangible things like wheels, motor, color and also intangible things like a point in time or an effect on an image. We will get into that more down the road.

Stay tuned for the next OOP topic. If you have any comments please send me an email.

Tim

A List of Good Resources for Flash and ActionScript Developers

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:53:00 +0000

If you are just starting out or maybe refreshing your Flash and ActionScript skills, then this article is for you.

The current version of Flash is Flash CS4 with ActionScript 3.0.

Over the last 10 years Flash has really matured and grown into a powerful and professional multi-media tool. You can develop entire web sites in Flash, small movies with an incredible blend of multi-media objects (e.g., sounds, video, animation, graphics, etc), a banner for the web, mobile phone applications, and even desktop apps with Adobe AIR.

ActionScript 3.0 is a full blown object oriented programming (OOP) language and has really extended the capabilities within Flash development. The next release of Flash is going to facilitate iPhone application development so this should be very exciting. Check out the link for Adobe labs below to learn more about the next release of Flash.

Here are a few of the resources I think will be helpful for all Flash and ActionScript Developers.

First, a lot of people overlook the most obvious place for help. Within Flash, go to Help -> Flash Help and you will be connected to the Adobe Community Help Site where you will find a ton of good information.

You can visit the Flash Support Community here.
If you are brand new to Flash and want to create your first animation, then check this tutorial out from Adobe.
To get started with Flash training you can go here.
The latest Flash updates and related downloads can be found here.
A good overview of ActionScript 3.0 is here.
Getting started with ActionScript 3.0 can be a very tall order. You will find a ton of help, tutorials and examples here.
Flex 3.4 Language reference can be found here.
Programming in ActionScript and Flex can be found here.
Download the latest Adobe betas from here.
This is an excellent series of tutorials from Adobe on Flash CS4 and ActionScript.
Here is Adobe's ActionScript Channel on YouTube.
Last but not least here is the ActionScript 3.0 language reference for Flash CS4.

Tim

Overview of Adobe Technoloy Lingo

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:12:00 +0000

Adobe makes a wide array of applications, tools and services that allows a developer to publish visually stunning web, desktop and mobile applications. I ran across a good review of Flash CS4 by John Hattan where he did a really good job of outlining some of the most common Adobe lingo.

I am in the process of developing a lot of new tutorials for Photoshop CS4 and Flash CS4 focusing on helping web designers and developers get up to speed on creating cutting-edge multi-media applications. Stay tuned and send me any requests that you might have in this area.

My current plan is to teach the basics of Flash CS4 and the OOP principles in ActionScript 3.0 so you can take some beautiful images or photos that you create in Photoshop and get them on the web, desktop and even the iPhone in the near future! I will also go over getting your movie files into Flash CS4 and even on to YouTube as well. Depending on where all this goes I may also include tutorials and tips on Dreamweaver CS4, Lightroom 2 and Illustrator CS4. The goal is to get you up to speed on the basics first and then we will pursue some end-to-end projects leveraging many of these tools and applications.

Here is the overview of the Adobe Tech Lingo:

Flash Movie (Flash game, etc) - A compact file with the .SWF extension. This file is a compressed collection of images (bitmap and vector), sound, and script. The Flash player, which is a runtime engine and browser plugin, can play SWF files. If you are building a game targeting the Flash player, your goal is to create a SWF file.
Adobe Flash - An enormous byzantine application that's a combination vector drawing tool, animation tool, IDE, compiler, debugger, and a half-dozen other things. If you want to make a SWF file and you want to use only one tool, this'll do it. Flash's primary file support is the FLA file, which is a single-file database containing your code, drawings, sounds, etc. that are compiled into the SWF. Flash's programming language is ActionScript, which is based on the ECMAScript specification (not unlike JavaScript)
Adobe Flex - A free compiler that compiles MXML files into SWF. MXML is an XML-based format that contains both ActionScript code, pointers to external resources, and descriptions of an application user interface. The Flex compiler bundles in any described UI elements (button, checkbox, etc) into the SWF. If you like, you can consider Flex to be a ground-up re-envisioning of the Flash technology, but better suited for building robust web-based or standalone applications.
Adobe FlexBuilder - A non-free extension to the popular Eclipse IDE that adds Flex support to Eclipse. It includes round-trip UI development. That means that if you make changes to a UI element in the FlexBuilder's UI building tool, it's automatically reflected in the source code and vice-versa. FlexBuilder will be covered in a later review.
Adobe AIR - A runtime engine that contains the Flash Player as well as a WebKit-based web browser and PDF file reader. Using Flash or Flex, you can build an AIR file that can install to a user's machine (provided the user has the AIR runtime installed) and will mimic a first-class executable. This allows you to take advantages of the niceties of browser apps (effortless text rendering and network communication) as well as standalone executables (access to system files, databases, etc).
Shockwave - A format similar to Flash, but run by the Adobe Shockwave player and developed using Adobe Director. This isn't actually Flash-related, but Adobe muddied the waters a few years back by trying to rename Flash "Shockwave Flash". While Shockwave content can actually contain Flash content within it, it's really not in the scope of this particular series of reviews.
Flash Platform - A bit of marketing speak to refer to pretty-much everything that can run a SWF as a whole. Your PC is part of the Flash Platform. As is your Flash-enabled cellphone. Or your Chumby. It's just a buzzword to show that Flash is more than a gizmo that lets you play games in a browser.

For John's review of Flash CS4 go here.

Tim

Convert .PNG files to .ICO Icon files for Windows

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:54:00 +0000

If you need to quickly convert one of your .PNG graphic files to an icon for your Windows system then all you need to do is to go to this web site and either upload the file or provide a URL to your files and this free site will convert the files for you instantly.

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you.

Tim Layton

How to Enable Root on Mac OS X

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:27:00 +0000

If you are a power Mac user and either have a Unix background or maybe you need root access via a terminal session, then I will list out the simple steps you need to take in order to gain root access via a terminal session.

By default Mac OS X disables the root account. The casual user really doesn't need root access so that is probably a good standard build configuration.

In order to get started you must have administrative privileges on your Mac. If not or you have forgotten it then you can boot from the installation CD and do a password reset.

The sudo Command

If you want to run a particular command as root when logged in under your normal account you can simply open a terminal windows and then use "sudo" in front of your instruction. Your user account must be listed in the /etc/sudoers file in order to be able to use the sudo command. By default your admin level account will be in this file.

You could open a terminal window as your normal user and then type "$sudo /etc/sudoers" to display the contents of the file. If you don't have permission to do this then this is time to open a terminal session as root and add your account to the file.

Enabling Root

1.) Log in as your admin level account on your Mac OS X system.

2.) Open a terminal window via the terminal application.

3.) At the terminal prompt $ type the following: $sudo passwd root

4.) Enter a password for the your normal admin account and assuming you have the correct password enter a new password for the root account and confirm.

And that is it. In summary, try and use the sudo command as much as your can and enable the root account as indicated above for those times that require root level access.

Keep me posted and let me know how this works for you.

Tim Layton