ACE Photoshop CS3 certification

Just a quick note to say we added Adobe Photoshop CS3 ACE (Adobe Certified Expert) certification to our roster today.

Photoshop is one of those software applications I admit, even as an amateur photography enthusiast, with which I enjoy a love-hate relationship. With so much power comes not only so much responsibility -- but also so much of a learning curve! And that's where some good training can always come in handy.

I love some of things that only Photoshop can do, but fully concede that there are easier and less expensive applications out there for a myriad of common and important photo editing tasks. For example, if you just need to crop, rotate, and/or resize a picture you took on your digital camera, but don't have or want to mess with other editing tools, consider the free and easily available www.phixr.com. You can edit a photo there without even signing up for an account.

That said, sometimes a professional or prosumer has "gotta have" the beast that can pretty much do it all, if you can tame it. And thus, the full version of Photoshop is out there.

(And finally, if you care to take this or other certification exams in the KC area, you can do so at Centriq Training.)

On the Road,

Eric J. Reid

Delicious a great bookmarking solution

Just a brief post here to note what a big fan I continue to be of Delicious.com... As time has gone on, and I have continued to use increasingly more PCs and laptops throughout my workday and personal life, it's gotten harder to manage Web information. Plus posting quick answers to questions students have on various topics (where I and others can reference later) can be a challenge.

With my free delicious account (and you can use the service to find bookmarks of the public at large or those of users you know in particular without even signing up), I am able to house all my Web bookmarks/favorites all in one place. I can't get to it without an Internet connection -- but if I am without one of those, I probably don't need access to my Web bookmarks. Plus I can segregate the bookmarks by the ones I want to be private (only viewable if a person logs in as the user who created the private bookmark).

And one of the most interesting things for me has been the method by which Delicious has you store your bookmarks for retrieval, using keywords instead of the standard "folder/subfolder" filing system. I suppose I should be used to this -- I've seen the process used in different places, including this blogging system I'm using. But I've never really gotten used to its power until I try to commonly use it for retrieval... It takes some getting used to, but it's actually more flexible to be able to find a bookmark by remembering one of several possible keywords (categories) you used for it than to have to find the exact folder path to your bookmark.

Anyway, try Delicious out today and use it for 1 week with all your new bookmarks, especially if you work from multiple machines throughout your day. I think you'll like it. (Plus you can find my links and a HOST of other resources, many of which are filed under keywords "webdesign", "programming", and "graphicdesign", at www.delicious.com/lucianosole.)

On the Road,
Eric J. Reid

Sounding Off On Browsers

Today, I just wanted to use the virtual scratchpad to talk about some of the things I don't like about modern browsers. And I'm not singling out any one browser. In my day-to-day activities of researching, working with common application tools, communicating and doing my stuff in the industry, I find that it's not uncommon for me to switch to different browsers for different needs. This is odd because browsers are supposed to do basically the same things.

When I am in the biggest hurry and I don't think I will need to print anything or be dealing with Flash content, then I open Google Chrome. I love its big thumbnails of commonly used sites, multiple tabs and quick start-up and browsing. But the second I go to print something, I am hamstrung because Chrome has no print preview feature. I am usually running from one thing to another, so now I have to jump to another browser to get this basic feature which I am learning is evidently not so basic to program. (I believe other browsers will be launched without this feature the for the first few generations). And if I come across a site with Flash content, Chrome screeches to a halt... it seems that getting the Flash player is difficult or impossible for Chrome. I don't know if this is the fault of Google or Adobe, but I suspect it's a bit of both. I was routed out to get the player for Firefox, which didn't work on the first install attempt. Bad.

On the other hand, on most of my machines, I like Firefox's multiple tabbing system, and its print preview and Flash player installs work just fine... But I find that it is the slowest of all my browsers, which is annoying. And some fairly mainstream web applications (like my banking website) simply choke and die when I run them on this browser. Switching over to Internet Explorer seems to get around this... Again, this may be a problem with how the bank coded their application, not including enough cross-browser support -- but in my workaday tasks, I am governed but what's out there, not by what "they should have done".

And then, finally, although Internet Explorer can be a good happy medium (on my machines, it's medium speed; it has print preview and Flash player compatibility), it has its problems as well. I remained on IE 5.5 or 6, I can't remember which, for the longest time to avoid the complete IE makeover that removed all my menu bars that let me get to common settings and features easily. (A complete makeover that in my opinion was completely unnecessary and counterproductive.) On top of that, IE settings began to become positively fascist with their blocking of common and harmless JavaScript, Flash, and other "active content". Every time I'd turn around, it would be blocking something. And I know I could go back into the security settings and "fix things" but this is also a hassle and a bigger pain when you, like me, use a lot of different computers in your work.

My final analysis -- although the new browser wars are producing some cool new features that the competitors rush to imitate, I for one am still far from ready to declare any one of them the "winner" for all situations.

On the Road,
Eric J. Reid

Internet Explorer 8 Now Available

IE 8 is available for download.

Per ZDNet, "Microsoft says that the new Internet Explorer 8 browser... is faster, more secure, and easier to use. It also adds a new private browsing feature."

Some of the more interesting features IE8 promises are compiled below.

For Users:

• Web slicing that lets you easily track a frequently-used site for updates.
• Compatibility view to help "adjust" the layouts designed for "older browsers" -- it disappears as an option if the page has been "updated for IE8". Of course, for me, this begs the question -- just how differently will IE8 "render" various CSS, that it will need this tool to compensate for hacks often used to accommodate previous versions of IE or maybe other browsers?
• Accelerators, to reduce the additional pages and typing you tend to use to perform standard functions on data, like mapping directions to an address, translating a foreign word, finding a product on eBay, or getting a definition. A nice subfeature here is that it's even updatable to use vendors other than Microsoft and its partners.

For Developers:

• CSS table layout support -- which should allow you to get table-style layouts without using HTML tables.
• Support for the :focus pseudo class
• Various tools for developers
  

Also, for developers, Microsoft has already published some tips on taking advantage of changes in IE8, as well as short-term and long-term approaches to making your pages more IE8-compliant.

I'm curious to see how this notably different version of Internet Explorer changes the way we surf and develop. The browser wars continue -- but instead of coming out with products that result in more variation in the rendering, and more problems for developers and users, the new competition seems to focus more on features to beat the other guy. And that looks promising for the rest of us.

On the Road,
Eric J. Reid

W3C on HTML 5

This month the W3C published info on the HTML 5, which is still a working draft of the latest version of HTML. According to Justin James, "The last round of Web browsers already included many of the HTML 5 features, and a number of Web sites use HTML 5 code". Changes may be coming down the highway after years of talking about it.

Note that HTML 5 is intended to replace XHTML (which is itself the XML-ized, later version of the HTML 4 family.) 

Some other interesting points (and a few big changes) include:

• It's designed to be backwards compatible. It will have separate requirements for authors (writers of the code) versus user agents (browsers, screen readers, etc). This is hoped to end the use of "deprecated" elements, as authors won't be able to use them in HTML 5, even though browsers will probably always support them so older code doesn't simply cease to function. Authors will have their rules; browsers will have different, broader ones.
• "HTML 5 specification will not be considered finished before there are at least two complete implementations of the specification". The idea is to make sure that coders and browsers are "following the program" as well as putting forth valuable feedback before the new version is embraced as complete.
• "New content model concepts (replacing HTML 4's block and inline concepts)". Gasp. Seriously. This would be a big departure from how HTML content has been coded.
• "The use of the DOM as a basis for defining the language" -- something previously synonymous with JavaScript, not HTML.
• The DTD will be shortened because it will not need to be specified in SGML. Removing that requirement will end the need for the much longer doctypes in previous versions of HTML.
• There will be a nav tag, intended just for navigation sections.
• There will be new input types for forms, including date/time and color options.
• Frames are finally removed from HTML. (I can't help but offer a personal hooray.)
  

Stay tuned for further updates... Exciting stuff for web designers and their users!

On the Road,
Eric J. Reid

How do I make a preloader in Flash?

Editor's note: Shortly after posting this, the Youtube version of the video discussed below was cut from 23 minutes to 14 seconds. You can still view (and purchase for $3.50) the fuller versions at the author's site: http://tutvid.com/tutorials/flash/tutorials/
simplePreloader.php

As with anything of some depth, it can take awhile to “circle” a topic you’re learning and get closer and closer to the details. In a class last week, several students commented on the common practice of using a Flash preloader in sites built primarily in Flash. This post is intended to summarize and explain generally what you are doing when you create a Flash preloader, and why.

A preloader plays while the larger “movie” is loading in the meantime. I told my students I’d get them some resources for different approaches to doing just that. Below are a couple that I’ve put on on my recommended Delicious list under the tag “preloader” for background information. Further down you’ll also see a great video tutorial that walks through the process quite well, and my blow-by-blow dissection of the ActionScript used.

• smartwebby.com info
  
• webmasterworld.com forum
  
• youtube.com tutorial from tutvid.com -- shown in embedded video below

Key Components to a Preloader
What do we really want out of a preloader, then, and how is it generally accomplished?

1. Amount Loaded So Far: You want to have a visual indicator of how much of the movie has loaded so far.
2. Constant Progress Updating: We need this progress to be updated contiuously. Intuitively, as visitors we will gauge how much time has passed versus how much progress has been made (amount loaded so far). This gives us a sense of not just the download’s progress, but also its speed.
3. Constant Progress Checking: In order to constantly update the progress of the amount loaded so far, we will need to check it.
4. Manipulating Visual Indicators: Finally, in order to continously display the information we’re gathering, we’ll manipulate some visual indicators. It could be dynamic text which displays the current “percent downloaded”, it could be a bar filling up proportionally to the amount downloaded, or any number of approaches.

The video tutorial above does a good job of illustrating how to create a preloader using ActionScript (he’s using ActionScript 2.0). You’ll need an animation that’s 2+MB so that you can use Flash’s Simulate Download settings in the Test Movie mode to see the effects of your preloader in action as you build it. (That also gives you a good appreciation of the pain caused by how long your movie takes to load at different speeds.) Then you’ll create a preloader bar and dynamic text to update the download progress, and use the timeline and ActionScript to bring it all together.

Actions Panel Color Coding
Below you’ll find a screenshot sample of finished code for the ActionScript that’s really the brains behind this whole preloader, as well as a basic dissection of what’s happening. (Notice in the screenshot below that the Actions panel color codes things for you.

• Names you created and basic syntax is in black.
• Text strings are in green.
• Flash keywords, properties and functions in blue.

Completed Code Sample
Click the code image below for a clearer and larger display.


Dissected Code Sample
So below is a summary of what you’re doing in the code, line by line. (By the way, all of this ActionScript code is going on frame 1, with the majority of your preloader elements also starting on frame 1. Your main movie elements start on their own layers on frame 2, after the preloader has completed its task.)

On line 1 we set the movie to stop. This doesn’t kick in until frame 1 has played through, which allows the rest of the preloader to do its job, but to make sure that the main movie doesn’t start playing until called by the IF statement we create starting line 8.

On line 2 we call a variable name textVar and set it to say “LOADING”. (We created this dynamic text and gave it a variable name in the Property Inspector when creating it on the Stage. )

On line 3 we create an initial container to hold preloader’s interval information, and to set the details of its repetition. We name the container “loaderInt” and set it to use the Flash function setInterval(), with parameters to run a function LBar that we’ll create next, and to run it every 10 milliseconds.

For readability we skip Line 4 and on Line 5 we create the function called LBar(). The lines beneath it get the opening and closing curly braces to contain the function’s logic. That logic will:

1. Line 7: Define the contents of another dynamic text field (percentInst) we created earlier on the stage. The contents will be the result of dividing the total bytes loaded so far by the total file size, multiplying that number by 100, and adding a percent sign to make it easily understood to visitors.
2. Line 8: Create an IF statement that says, each time this function is run, check to see if the bytes loaded is greater than or equal to the total file size. If so, then:
1. Line 10: Start playing again (which will run the main movie now),
2. Lines 11-14: Hide all the visual indicators we’d created to update the visitor on the download’s progress, and
3. Line 15: Clear out the “loaderInt” that we’d created to continously run our preloader.
3. Line 17: Use the _xscale property to increase the fill of the horizontal loader bar we created. Do this proportional to the percent of how much is loaded, divided by the total file size. Keep in mind that this line is outside of the IF statement, so it runs each time the Lbar function is being run. That continously updates the download progress bar until the movie is loaded and the LBar function is no longer called.

Closing
Hopefully that puts you on the right path to creating this and other preloaders in Flash, where needed, and is a good introduction to some handy use of ActionScript.

On the Road,
Eric J. Reid

Closing out 2008 with Flash ACE Certification

Just a brief update from Open Road Communications... Hope that you're all enjoying the holiday season, whether it's taking you on various journeys or keeping you safe and cozy at home. Last week, before closing the offices for the holidays, ORC added another ACE certification to the list, this time for Flash. Of course, Flash, like Dreamweaver, was previously a Macromedia product that Adobe acquired. Fortunately for fans of both products, Adobe has not discontinued either, but has instead continued to develop their capabilities.

Since 1996, Flash has added visual pizazz, animation and interactivity to the Web. Good usage of Flash can be tricky, and some other technologies (such as CSS and JavaScript) have replicated some of the benefits of Flash. But it remains a viable and attractive option for countless designers. And in recent incarnations, Flash has added XML data interactivity to increase its usefulness and flexibility in more situations. Plus, sometimes you just need a little action on the page or subtle responses to users that Flash can accomplish very well.

Again, if you care to take this or other certification exams in the KC area, you can do so at Centriq Training.

And have a great 2009. We certainly have big things in mind just over that hill.

On the Road,
Eric J. Reid

ACE and ACI Adobe Certifications

A few weeks ago, ORC updated its Adobe credentials for increased web design functions. ORC now adds ACE certification (Adobe Certified Expert) for Dreamweaver, and ACI certification (Adobe Certified Instructor) to its roster of certs. For those who may be considering it, the exam is a timed 80-minute exam with just over 70 questions covering 4 main topic areas:

1. Understanding Web technologies
2. Planning sites
3. Designing pages
4. Managing and maintaining sites

In Kansas City, you can schedule to take the exam at Centriq Training.

Dreamweaver has for many years been a leading (if not the leading) GUI web editor. Although like with any web editor it is fully possible to create "bad" or "poorly organized" code, or to achieve affects the user doesn't fully understand, Dreamweaver forfeits some control over code creation and maintenance for faster results with less upfront knowledge required. Additionally, many of the tools provided (such as templates, the sweet new Spry tools, and site-wide find/replace and link updating) can be huge time-savers and consistency helpers even for veteran coders. I personally consider it one of the best options for someone starting out their web career, and in some cases, a good option for someone trying to ease their management of ongoing sites.

So best wishes in continued growth and usage of the Web.

On the Road,
Eric J. Reid

LinkedIn, Web 2.0 and Social Networking

So there’s been a lot of talk (and drama) around Web 2.0 – this whole idea that the web has evolved in the past few years to be more interactive, more social, more elastic than just static pages and even just forms that fulfill orders. It’s sort of intoxicating to read about all these open source developers creating helpful applications for “all of us”, and these bloggers and the blogosphere and the impact “the little guy” is having on the world. But really, I think many people are just “using the Internet” and not thinking a lot about it all.

Oh, I’ve dipped my toe in. I’ve been blogging for a few years now, professionally and personally. I’ve developed some accounts on some social networking sites and kicked the tires. I’ve seen some use for it, had a great time getting into contact with long-lost-acquaintances and friends. But lately, I’ve started to see what some of the hype is about. You really can meet more people, talk to more people, express  or share more opinions, and collaborate more when there are tools out there that are accessible, widely used, and targeted. It’s not that the Web is new again. It’s that it’s being used more interactively by more people, which in and of itself creates a dynamic.

For example, I have been seeing more use for Facebook and LinkedIn. Both have started growing exponentially in my field of connections. I am seeing old high school and college connections materialize and find each other on Facebook like never before. I am seeing LinkedIn professional contacts expand into a web of who-knows-and-recommends-whom. It’s exciting. But more than that. It’s useful.

Why is it useful? Because it makes it easier to keep track of people, as long as they continue to opt in. I have long used my own personal website as a means to promote staying in touch, and being part of different social groups. But people have to come to my website, and remember that they’re part of that group. They have to ask me to update their information and I have to take the time to do it. (That could be fixed with a little more interactivity built-in, but that’s a different issue.) However, with a widely recognized social networking site, people can update their information, find their own connections, and bring them into the fold quickly. You can’t argue with greater ease, speed and control – especially when popularity means you are actually more likely to find people.

Plus, some networks provide something beyond staying in touch. MySpace can be good for finding new music, based on how you can embed songs from a favorite band that’s already using MySpace. Twitter can keep you posted on what friends are doing right then and there. And my favorite, LinkedIn, has started to reach a critical mass where you are able to make new connections, promote your business, help bridge the connection-gap for professional contacts, and do research for job-hunting or hiring.

With LinkedIn, here are a few blog posts that might challenge your perception of the usefulness of a social networking site:

• ·         10 ways to use LinkedIn: http://blog.linkedin.com/blog/2007/07/ten-ways-to-use.html
  
• ·         Getting Set up: http://www.aspirekc.com/Blog/2008/04/16/how-to-get-up-to-speed-on-linked-in/#more-101
  
• ·         Some tips and trick: http://time-blog.com/work_in_progress/2007/06/linkedin_tricks_for_networkers.html
  

Here’s to extending our reach into the world, over the wire.

On the Road,
Eric J. Reid

And Behind Curtain Number 4: Google's Chrome Browser

So, the lion's share of Internet browsing (excluding mobile devices like phones, etc) has been done on various versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari in the past couple of years. Well, recently, Google has given some hype to its own new browser.

Reading about it, I've found it interesting to see also how the browser will incorporate cookies and ad integration to protect its very business model. It is, after all, a strange situation to know that over 70% of the access to your core web services is taking place on a rival's browser (Microsoft's Internet Explorer).

I am intrigued. And as a web developer, I know that this means yet one more browser we're going to need to test to see how it renders our pages and handles our web applications. I'm looking forward to seeing if the new features that Google brings to the browser world make it worth all that.

So here's the link they just posted if you'd like to download the beta and check it out, too.

On the Road,
Eric J. Reid

9/3/08 Addendum: Here's another recent review on CNN that gets into the debate regarding "what slows down and/or crashes your browser when you have multiple tabs open".

Getting the Right People, Right Now

Good news. Starting next week, I'll be assisting Centriq Training with their Connections program. For over 15 years, they've been providing technical training in the Kansas City area. Their clients include companies all over the city and beyond, and also individuals taking carefully structured tracks geared toward practical skills and certification. The primary focuses are in C# .Net Programming and Network Administration.

Centriq Fast Track Employer Program
As one might expect from a center that produces graduates from various technical programs, Centriq is a great place to post your company's job openings at no cost. However, from an employer's standpoint, sometimes it's very valuable to be able to reduce the amount of time it takes away from your other tasks to search for that ideal candidate. It can also be a terrific advantage to be able to talk to someone you trust (who maybe already provides you with top-notch technical training). Someone who can recommend several top-tier candidates for you within a matter of hours, not weeks. And Centriq is in a great position to do that.

No other IT recruitment service can give you a referral based on 4 to 8 months of actual contact history, wherein the selected candidate was judged on attendance, participation, work ethic and project performance. All they can do is pre-interview the candidates for you. And what's more, participating in Centriq's Fast Track Employer program provides you cherry-picked resumes that won't cost your organization anything unless you hire one of their candidates. So you can combine it with other search methods if you wish.

Built-In Training and Ongoing Replacement Insurance
In addition, your new hire comes with a built-in training program in case they need to beef up on some new technology. So if you decide they could learn something extra to support your organization, you can send them back for free training within one year.

And the cherry on top is that if your new employee is promoted or moves on within that year, your next hire from Centriq will be provided for free, with the same training benefits.

Contact me today if you'd like to know more about Centriq's Fast Track Employer program. Sometimes the value of finding the right candidate, immediately, is worth looking into.

Best wishes and keep on trucking.

On the Road,
Eric J. Reid

Forks in the Road

Well, sometimes when wheeling your way along, you take a fork in the road.

This month, that fork has me out assessing new opportunities and accomplishments-in-the-making. I continue to classify new music, and have taken on some new web projects for a former client. I ran an online training session last month, which allowed me to provide insights to a client in western Kansas, while I was tied down 5 hours away.

Additionally, I have been discussing a few different options with a few training companies in the area. Sometimes the fork in the road is the best part of the trip.

On the Road,
Eric J. Reid

Music and Data

Just a brief heads up... Things in the music industry continue going like gangbusters - change, opportunity and growth make for interesting and exciting times. For some examples of interesting genres I've come across (but we currently don't use in our system), check out "shoegazing" (not a fan) and "alt. country" (dig it).

Also this month I assisted a client with a data and software migration. Always good to keep the portfolio diverse.

Hope all is going well for you and yours.

On the Road,
Eric J. Reid

April updates

Last month I celebrated a birthday and we completed a phase of an Advance Tester Program. Interesting stuff. Every software application and set of instructions should go through a solid and distributed testing feedback system -- the data you get can be politically vital and certainly can only help your product.

Also, it looks like I'll be getting involved with more content management as time goes on, so still plenty to keep me busy.

Looking forward to Memorial Day and a game coming up at the end of the month. Keep on trucking, all.

On the Road,
Eric J. Reid