Well I just got my iPhone and I’m amazed and it reminds me why I missed my iPod Touch (it was stolen back several months ago). I just transferred all of my apps and music that I had on my Touch over seemlessly.
I then remember I’ve been wanting to play around with 2D barcode readers. So I did some research and settled on ScanLife. I created an account, created a 2D barcode for my buddy’s website (Andy Sowards) and then downloaded the iPhone app. Real simple to use and it worked on the first try. Definitely a pretty nifty app and it can be used in some many various type of application.
Download the app and try it yourself.
AndySowards.com
Over the last several days there has been a ton of exciting news related to Flash & Flex…
First, Adobe has decided on renaming Flex Builder to Flash Builder! I know when I first heard this I was thinking WTF?This completely screws up everything… especially talking about Flash verse Flex. For everyone who has a complaint about the changes, Lee Brimelow has several answers to these questions on his blog. There is a lot more great feedback from the Flex community down in the comments section of the post.
Next, Adobe has a tentative schedule for the Flex 4 / ColdFusion 9 world tour dates starting June 1! Visit Ted Patrick’s blog to view the lengthy list.
Sound off…. what are your thoughts on these changes?
Adobe has released Flash CS4 10.0.2, a patch to fix 61 bugs and improve the stability of CS4. All I can say, it is about damn time. =) Having Flash CS4 crash numerous time every day gets a bit frustrating. Good work and thanks to all of the people at Adobe for this update. Everything seems to be running much better now.
If you are looking for a free, kick-ass file renaming app for your Mac let me introduce you to Name Mangler by Peter Maurer. Its a true life saver app if you need to rename a large batch of files.
For all of the unemployed web and software developers out there here is Adobe’s solution to help you build your skills… Adobe is giving away free copies of Flex Builder 3.
There are three limitation for this fantastic opportunity:
- I am not currently employed or being paid to develop software applications or web pages.
- Adobe Flex Builder 3 Software I receive under this program is for my personal use to learn about Adobe Flex and improve my skills.
- My license to use Flex Builder 3 under this program will not be used for production or commercial purposes, nor will it be transferred to any other person or entity, including to my employer should I become employed.
I think this is a fabulous initative and idea from Adobe.
Gone are the days where the traditional, printed newspaper reigns king! The combination of terrible economic times and “free” online news is making it ever so hard for newspaper businesses to make money. It is becoming a weekly occurrence that we hear this newspaper is closing, that magazine is shutting down.
If you are at the point of debating to close your newspaper doors OR if you are looking to start your own local, niche news source this post is your guide to getting started creating you own digital newspaper for a fraction of the cost.
THE PROBLEMS
- Most people don’t want to pay for news since it is freely available online.
- The Gen Y’ers don’t subscribe or read a printed news for the most part.
- Traditional newspapers are not interactive.
THE SOLUTION
So I want to show you a few tools on how to create your own cost effective, interactive, digital newspaper. There are 6 (with an optional 7th) basic items you need: Brand Identity, Domain Name, Website Hosting, Framework, Publishing Tools, Marketing/Promotional Tools & an option Web Geek on the side.
- Brand Identity – If you don’t have a registered business name, logo and tag line you need to pick one and files the appropriate government entities. As far as the logo and tag line normally you can come up with these on your own or if you want a bunch of creative idea you post a contest on 99Designs.com (This will cost you between $250-400 for a fabulous brand which is cheap in comparison to the next option). Or if desired and you want to spend a large amount of money you can hire a designer or firm to create a brand. This is usually the most expensive solution.
- Domain Name – Next, you need a domain name that is concise, easy to remember and matches your Brand Identity. I would recommend GoDaddy for purchasing and managing your domain names. These will normally run you $15 per year for an average domain.
- Website Hosting - I would recommend using MediaTemple. They are only $20 per month and usually pretty reliable.
- Framework - I would strongly using WordPress! I’ve used Joomla, Drupal, Mambo, etc… but at this current time WordPress is easier for the average person to use, it has a larger development community, you get better search engine visibility (SEO) & it is much easier to customize… oh, and lets not forget its FREE! Once you have a framework installed you need a theme to make it look spiffy. There are thousands of WordPress themes available for commercial use… just Google it or click here.
- Advertising/Monetization - If you have a popular or niche audience you may be able to get away with charging a monthly subscription fee, but in most cases the way you are going to make your money is through advertisements. Just like newspapers have done for years, but you don’t need to hire a sales person. If using WordPress you can automate the process by using a WordPress Plugin. Click here to see the pros/cons of several popular WordPress Ad Management Plugins. If you prefer not to fool with doing this yourself there is always Google AdSense, but you probably won’t make quite as much doing that, but its certainly is convenient.
- Publishing Tools – If you are looking to just publish text and pictures the WordPress framework can easily meet those needs. If you are looking for a fantastic way to manage your image collection & controlling the licensing your photos I would advise using Flickr Pro and its only $25. If you are looking for a better approach to telling the story I would recommend using Soundslides Plus. This tool will only cost you $70 one time and you own it. With it you can take your images and organize them as you please, then you integrate an audio file to create a powerful news or storytelling presentation. Finally, I would recommend using Vimeo Plus for any video streaming needs you may have.
- Marketing/Promotion Tools – You need to install Google Analytics or some other form of tracking visitors on your site so you know how to improve it. I would strongly suggest tying your site into a few social media avenues such as: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc… I would recommend setting up your WordPress RSS Feed through FeedBurner. There are many more, so you will have to evaluate what will work best for you site.
- Web Geek (Optional) - I will be releasing a series of video tutorial on how to create your own online news system in the near future. If you start a project and hit a dead end OR if you want to hire me to setup your site I’d be more than happy to help.
As a ballpark estimate (basic package) if you were to create an online, interactive newspaper it would roughly cost you $255 per year to maintain. For a full package (basic package + Flickr + Vimeo + Soundslides) it would cost you $420 for the first year and then $350 for every year after that. Not too shabby compared to the cost of starting a traditional newspaper. Actually those numbers are VERY impressive!
Let me know what you think or if you decide to create an online news site post a link on here so I can see how it turns out.
Cheryl Smith, a friend of mine has uploaded a clear & concise presentation on SlideShare about Twitter and how it has evolved from a fun little application into a power tool for business and networking.
Take a look…
What will they come up with next…
Today, April 1, 2009 Google has announced Google Chrome with support 3D viewing and the true beauty of it is you can download & print your FREE copy of 3D glasses for free!
Click here to get start viewing your favorite website in 3D!
Enjoy the day! 
With the recent announcement of the Microsoft Silverlight and Facebook partnership, Adobe has released a new ActionScript 3.0 Client Library making it even easier to build Facebook Rich Internet Applications (RIA).
Here are a few good links to help get you started build Facebook Apps with Flash or Flex:
- Getting your head around Flash on Facebook – Mike Nimer
- Understanding the architecture of applications built on the Facebook and Flash Platforms - Jeanette Stallons
- Create your first Facebook application with Flex – Jeanette Stallons
- Build your first Facebook application (Video Tutorial) – Daniel Dura
- Adobe’s Flex Learning Path: Getting Started with Facebook (Very In-Depth!!!)
Hope you enjoy & any other resources you find please leave a link here so others can easily find them. Cheers!
