My colleague Holly Schinsky and I were invited to be part of the super early beta program before MAX, which was extremely cool. This is huge for AIR developers because we now have a fully supported means of monetizing our applications. In the early days of Apollo (AIR’s beta name) I had come up with the idea for Attest (mock exam software for Adobe’s Flex certification) while studying myself. There was nothing on the market and I had compiled heaps of data while studying, so I thought it would make for a nice side project.

Attest was originally built in Apollo, but at the time it was beta and not ready to use as a release version of a commercial app. So I ended up going with C# to build a desktop app. Of course, there were one or two voices of dissent who asked why I didn’t use AIR at the time, I would have thought it was pretty apparent. Enough rambling, the point is that now, years later Attest PRO utilizes the Shibuya licensing, and makes life a lot easier for us at PXL Designs. Holly and I are still going to support the free version of Attest going forward, but for the upgraded, beefier version you now have Attest PRO available.

For the AIR developers out there, it couldn’t be any simpler to incorporate the Shibuya framework. It is still in beta, so there’s things to tweak and work out, but overall you have creative license to build any trial version of your application that you want.

• Time-based: If you want a 10 min or 10 day trial for example
• Feature-based: Turn off any features you want during the trial period

To get the license up and running is cake, there’s really nothing to it. You’ll know from the server whether an app is licensed or trial, and be able to turn on/off features wherever you like. For example, check the license, if it’s trial, set a boolean on your model and enable/disable certain buttons, or views, etc.

Keep in mind, the number of developers for the beta program is restricted for the time being. I’m not sure how many developers they’ll take right now, but it’s definitely something to read up on. Once Shibuya is a full-fledged product, there’s going to be tons of AIR apps for sale out there. For now, you can dream about writing AIR applications that make fart noises and becoming a millionaire (ok maybe not, hopefully you’ll want to actually build something with real purpose).

Technorati Tags: adobe air, flex, licensing, shibuya, try/buy service

Besides that, I’ve just been insanely busy (what’s new) pitching gigs, winning some, losing some, running away fast from others, and working secretly on Attest in the wee hours on top of everything else. Check out the PXL Blog for more (much much more soon), even if you’re not looking to get Flex certified or not interested in Attest, you’ll be very interested in some of the Adobe MAX goodness next week – mwahahha! Shhh, say no more…say no more, wink wink, nudge nudge, does she go aye?

On top of that, I’ve been updating MezzyShredder.com with new content, many a late night. He joined a new band, formerly called LOCKJAW, currently called War Horse. I defy even Yngwie Malmsteen to play faster or better than this man

Besides his band’s demo and performances, he’s teamed up with artist Scythen Hade and released their first album on iTunes called Elements of Time.

Check out the NEW Mezzy Shredder and Scythen Hade album entitled ‘Elements of Time’ on iTunes! I know of a few people who will be happy to finally get their hands on a real album instead of eating up my bandwidth listening to songs.

War Horse is actually highly likely to go tour next year in Europe, which would be insanely cool! I’ve posted new pics, songs, videos, and there’s a ton more coming soon. They’re currently recording their demo album and Mezzy is going to send much more material, so keep an eye out (or ear open) for updates.

Technorati Tags: Attest, cf united, lockjaw, Mezzy Shredder, war horse

Sorry, I had to share my euphoria though. With this thing in the office, I’ll have a hard time getting any work done. Anyway, I’ve been working my rump off on a bunch of different things but mostly I’ve been cranking on Attest 1.5.  It’s built in Adobe AIR (see PXL blog for the full scoop). This is current being tweaked and tested, and will be available shortly. The coolest news is that it’s free for non-commerical use. If you want to get certified in Flex 3/AIR, you’ll want to download this AIR app when it’s finally released.  I’ve taken a way longer time getting it out than I had originally planned on, but with my work load, and being a one man show so far, it’s been tough.

I’ve also been working on my first Ruby on Rails app for a client, amongst heaps of other things, and I have to say I really dig RoR.  Ruby’s syntax takes some getting used to for me because I’ve always worked with C-based languages. It reminds me more of Basic, but I like the whole set up and how easy it is to get a database connected site up and running fast. There will definitely be more Rails apps created at PXL in the future. For this release of Attest 1.5 (not calling it 2.0 yet) I wanted to set up the questions and answers with a RESTful webservice built with RoR. But that’ll probably come in the future (not that it makes a difference for end users) but I’d like to create it For now though, Attest is done differently than version 1.0.

When I had originally built it, it was done in Adobe Apollo but I couldn’t monetize the app. Many things happened since the first release, and with the economy sucking turd I don’t want to charge for regular devs like myself going forward.  So I’m going to give the full version for nada, unless you happen to be a large telecom who’s spying on my transmissions as I write this blog post (I’m looking at you Comcast, and I’m not laughing) then you’re going to pay for it! I’m all for Buy American, and that’s what ocurred to me after I got the Fender…it’s a small thing but I did technically help out the economy and my greedy guitar lust by buying this fine mama jamma! Attest, however, is made in the USA and you, the every day shmoe like myself  will no longer pay for it.

Onward and upwards, if you’re a developer like me, and you want to add yet another credential to your resume, study with Attest 1.5, take the exam for $150 bucks, and get it behind you. There was a discussion on the Adobe Flex Developers group on LinkedIn yesterday about just that…should I bother to get certified in Flex 3 or not?  I’m pretty biased obviously but I added my two cents regardless.  If you’re interested in taking the cert exam, if you’re looking for study material to gauge your readiness, enjoy Attest 1.5.  It’s another contribution to the community at large and will be available before the end of March. My apologies for being so late on this release.

The plan is to finish up what I have first, then I have some great Flex/AIR developers who have enlisted to help out on some  pre-release testing, and it’s on track to be released before the end of March.  Until then, relax your mind a bit…maybe buy yourself the Fender you always wanted, or read the news

and wonder if the folks at MXC (Most Extreme Elimination Challenge)

had advance knowledge of angry pink dolphins.  And look for Attest 1.5 on the PXL blog in a few short weeks.

Technorati Tags: adobe air, attest 1.5, flex 3/air cert, flex certification, study material

I decided that PXL Designs, LLC certainly must go green. Last night between 8-9pm I turned everything off and camped out in the living room with the acoustic guitar and had a sort of dimly lit party by candle light. It’s a small price to pay to make such a huge difference, and the coolest part is showing the big corporations that the PEOPLE on this planet don’t like the silliness going on. Grass roots movements are extremely cool! Big cities like Chicago, Atlanta, Phoenix and San Francisco joined in last night to make a statement. Not surprisingly, my old stomping grounds, NYC didn’t sign up, but I tend to think that has more to do with Mr. Bloomberg than the citizens of NY. Most of them that I know would and have joined in, but Bloomies wouldn’t want you to turn off his wonderful tv channel lest you be awakened from your hypno-stock exchange induced trance for a while and slip out of his control. Ha, just joshing ya Mike…..ya basti’d

Having lived in “the environment” for so many years, I’ve become pretty attached to it, as you might imagine. So I figured it’s a small price to pay to show some solidarity with the rest of the world and sign my company to take part in Earth Hour, and you should give it a look too if you haven’t already, since most of you probably live in “the environment” as well. I say this because I know very well that more than a few of you who read my blog regularly don’t necessarily reside in this environment, but rather, somewhere in outter-space most likely.

So I say, the next time Mike Bloomberg hops the train to work, turn the power off in the middle of the ride and you can utilize that time while stuck under the city of NY (as I have many times) to tell him how pissed off you are that he won’t shut off his silly tv channel for a stinking hour once a year, and tell him you’d like to enact a law that bans all Bloombergs from the bars, subway system, and positions in office in the city of NY, and I’m sure it’ll be an hour well spent. Plus, you’ll be doing future generations and the Earth a huge favor in the process.

Happy Belated Earth Hour!

Technorati Tags: australia, bloomberg, climate, earth hour, electric, environment, green, nyc, power, sydney

My software, Attest, the Adobe Flex 2 Certified Developer practice exam happens to use it’s copy protection from a company that just so happens to be one of the very few on a list of other companies who’s software is affected by this update. Most of the other companies directly affected by SP1 are primarily made up of anti-virus, internet security, and anti-spyware manufacturers…….you know, no big deal. Who cares for that kind of software anyway, not Bill!

So as you can see, Bill releases monkey patch for Vista, that makes certain software programs explode that otherwise worked great, so those companies release updates for their products and “stuff” rolls downhill…….good thing I noticed that my software would be mangled and created an update, or I may have been hit with a ton of support issues without knowing that Bill decided to revamp his OS yet again.

The company I use for copy protection made their patch for Vista, then I made mine for Attest. Meanwhile, Microsoft chuckles at us, “hehehe look at ‘em all running around!”. This is exactly why I still haven’t upgraded to Vista. Vista is Spanish for view, by the way, and I could see lots of monkey patches coming from a far way off and that’s why I’ll need to be forced to upgrade from XP Pro.

That being said, I have decided that the next version of Attest will be created in Java I wouldn’t mind some cross-platform goodness, and what’s more, I wouldn’t mind not having to deal with some Vista hole-patching that throws my plans for the weekend in the crapper when I could be doing things like running my teeny tiny company compared to Microsoft, or blogging on nicer things that don’t make my nostril hairs recede back into my nose tunnels when I think of Bill and his non existent retirement plan.

Technorati Tags: Adobe Flex 2, Attest, Microsoft, practice exam, PXL Designs, service pack 1, Vista, Windows

I’ve been so busy this last two weeks or so that I slacked off on the blog posts for a bit, but I did see on MXNA that Sean Moore, and Chad Udell posted they got the same package in the mail. Congratulations guys!

It’s definitely an honor to receive the recognition and join the team. Many thanks to Suzanne Nguyen and the team at Adobe! I remember trying to explain what Flex was to fellow developers back in 2006 when I was a Flash consultant, and it’s awesome to see it develop and grow and gain in popularity the same way I watched Flash grow since it’s infancy. The coolest part is that there is such a strong community that started out not too far back, and I’m seeing it grow faster every day. More and more companies and developers are catching on about Flex and joining up on FlexCoders, checking out Flex.org for info. I remember when there were but 4-5 components up on the Adobe Flex Exchange and now it’s filling up with heaps of cool stuff donated by the community.

Thank you again Suzanne and Adobe, and congratulations to everyone else who will be wearing their medals around town while food shopping for a week or so…..er ok, maybe I won’t go that far. But still, it’s a great honor and I’m glad to join the team.

Technorati Tags: Adobe Flex Developer Community Champion

If you’re like me, your file cabinet is jammed packed with carefully placed papers that are sorted in a completely illogical manner and that never occurred to you until the day you find yourself sifting through the hours of papercuts trying to decipher your own system. If I’m not far off, I may have come across some additions to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Anything is possible in my cabinet.

Hours later and I can finally sit down and write a bit. 2007 is at last over and having emptied the file cabinet, I can set up my new folders and look forward to another year of creating a jungle of paperwork, neatly concealed within the drawers of my file cabinet, away from view. Out of sight, out of mind so they say.

Many things have been said about taxes that still hold true today. An unknown comedian once said

The wages of sin are death, but by the time taxes are taken out, it’s just sort of a tired feeling.

This is how I feel right now. Don Rickles said

The Internal Revenue Code is about 10 times the size of the Bible – and unlike the Bible, contains no good news.

Hmmm….no comment. One of my favorites, Dave Barry wrote

It’s income tax time again, Americans: time to gather up those receipts, get out those tax forms, sharpen up that pencil, and stab yourself in the aorta.

On the flip side, Michael Bloomberg once said

Taxes are not good things, but if you want services, somebody’s got to pay for them so they’re a necessary evil.

Having lived in New York City for over 2 years with Mr. Bloomberg as Mayor, I have to agree with this one. By “somebody” however, he means “yous peoples”. I don’t think he ever accepted my suggestion that as a billionaire Mayor, he could offer to pick up on some of NYC’s taxes and help us all out, no skin off his nose.

After thinking about taxes all weekend, and finally putting them behind me for the time being, I’ve come up with some suggested means of taxation that could really push the economy in 2008 and help us out of a rut.

• Mr. Bloomberg has created such laws in NYC that have been such a burden to people and small businesses, I suggest that he himself should pay the 10 billion dollar “you make-ah da taxes, you pay-ah da taxes” tax. If you wish to visit NY and go bar hopping for a night, leave your smokes at home, be weary of hamburgers, french fries, or any other food containing trans fats (transexuals are not yet being taxed in NYC for their preffix, but rather the food containing trans fats). There may soon be a fart tax imposed on the citizens of NYC for polluting the environment, not sure about this one though. I’m sure Mr. Bloomberg’s comment about “somebody’s got to pay them” will included taxes on transexuals, heterosexuals, metrosexuals, dogs, cats, pigeons, homeless persons, aliens (both extraterrestrials and illegal) and the list goes on, but not himself and his power elite friends I’m sure he meant. No, he would need some more cuts.
• Verizon, Microsoft, Apple, Intel, Dell, etc, all the big guys should get a “help out the little guys” taxes. Little guys like me, just starting our companies could share our tax debt with our big brothers so to speak, I’m sure they’d be glad to help out. You can view this as a sort of volunteer tax that I’m sure will gain widely in popularity.

These are just some ideas to name a few. Park on the wrong side of the street in NYC and you’re looking at a $50 ticket. Park an inch past a yellow curb, another $50 I believe. $8 to cross the George Washington Bridge, and the troll hiding under it happens to be a billionaire. I think he could do more for NYC by imposing a self-tax, or ass-tax, if you’re an ass, you have to pay another tax. It’s even a catchy phrase. If not, I believe the people of NYC should go to their windows and toss their ill-gotten McDonals Kangaroo Meat burgers in the streets in protest, not unlike the famed Boston Tea Party. We could call it the Trans fat Patty Party.

Perhaps I’m ranting, but I did promise there would be more of that in the future. I guess I’m still venting a bit after trying to figure out what is deductible and what is not and actually seeing the total numbers of a busy year of work and where exactly my money is going. Between Uncle Sam and the pharma industry which I’ve worked for for years, I consider it an accomplishment that I’m still here blogging in ’08. On a previous post, I mentioned my highly prized kidney stone operation I had earlier in the year when I was not covered by medical insurance. After an astronomical bill, I have yet to receive my stone, encrusted with precious gems, set and hanging from a chain wrought in pure platinum as I’ve requested time and time again. Perhaps the hospital that I’m paying still did not take my request seriously? Why would anyone turn down the chance to wear such a prized possession birthed within their own body with pride? I cannot imagine.

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to jump on taxes quarterly as I had originally intended. In this way, I ensure myself 4 times the fun and lesser payments to the IRS at any given time. My advice for anyone else currently pouring over their paperwork for the year in tax preparation is this: Accountants accountants accountants, and if you don’t have medical insurance but find yourself stuck with a kidney stone, do yourself a favor, buy a bottle of Jack Daniels for the pain and do some high speed, vigorous jumping jacks until you either pass out, die, or the stone comes out of its own accord. You may even enlist the aid of a vacuum cleaner if need be. Of course there’s no better advice than just making sure you’re covered by insurance (the kind where you can make a claim, not just pay premiums) before you wind up with one.

Technorati Tags: filing taxes, nanny bloomers, PXL Designs, tax season, taxes

Thank you thank you! It’s good to be here. I finally got the cooler blog aggregated on MXNA. It’s been a bit slow trying to get listed, probably due to the holiday season but I’m here at last.

For those who don’t know, I’m the same guy who runs PXL Blog. The reason for this blog is 1. WordPress is much cooler than Nucleus CMS in my opinion, 2. I get to yak about other things in life than Adobe Flex, Flash, AIR, and other technologies, although you will find many code samples here.

Here are some of the better tutorials for Adobe Flex that I submitted for the Flex CookBook, and some Adobe AIR info:

• Creating a Center Registration Point in Adobe Flex
• Programmatic Button Skins in Adobe Flex
• Adobe AIR Beta 3 Descriptor File Porting

There’s logs more info here, although the site’s only about a month old and you’re sure to find some hilarity as well. PXL Blog shall continue on, although I’ll leave it more for information on the company (PXL Designs). You can expect much more code and samples in the future, and of course I won’t ever forget to leave out the fun.

Technorati Tags: adobe, aggreggator, david, flash, Flatley, flex, mxna

I still remember the good old days when they had the Flash robot chat and we’d “research” new Flash techniques for hours at work by making the little bots run around and write profanities at others in the room. All just for plops and giggles of course.

So the new PXL Designs is cleaner and will make you feel like you’re bathing in sunlight, and just itching to buy yourself a brand new rich internet app. Well that’s the hope. But seriously, having the old site completely done in Flex isn’t cool for the search engines. Not that I wasn’t aware of that, but with the speed of developing in Flex, it was the preferred method for the first version. I have to admit, the Adobe Partner logo looks better on white too

There y’ar now. How’s that?

Of course it’ll need a little more, maybe a Flex robot chat with pre-made profanities? Or a Noodling game? THIS is an idea! Certainly, here is one reason I’m glad I started this blog where I can display such things. I think people would enjoy a Noodling game, but I’m not entirely sure it would fit with my design for PXL. What would be the goal of a Noodling game thought? For that matter, what’s the goal of actual Noodling. I’ve often pondered that one, as you can tell from my seeming obsession with the sport written all over this blog.

Anyway, for PXL, I figure I’ll do something cool with the top nav since it’s in Flex. But these things take time, I’ll have to think about that one.