Tour de Flex Updated

 

 

 

A new version of the Tour de Flex application has been released. It can be downloaded here. In addition, there is also a web based version also available.

The web version supports deep linking so the browser back/forward buttons work as expected.  You can even bookmark specific samples!

AIR version details:

• Splash screen has been replaced by a quick start screen that we can update frequently with news of new samples, resources, etc.
• Comments are now hosted in the Adobe forums.  You can post questions, subscribe to responses, etc.
• Now requires AIR 1.5 
• The download size is now 35% smaller thanks to RSLs.
• Categories are all tree-based instead of a mix of dropdown and tree (confused a few people)
• Minor improvements to Eclipse plugin

Rapid Prototyping Tools

Dan Harrelson has  a post on the Adaptive Path Blog entitled “Rapid Prototyping Tools“. He has a nice list of various tools that we can use in creating our prototypes.

One application that was missing from the this list was Adobe Director. It is true that this grand old application’s limelight had faded, but it still holds a lot of power and capabilities that other tools can’t bring to the table. Although I spend most of my time now inside the Flash Platform suite of programs, there is always a part of me that fondly remembers my time spend with Lingo.

It has a nice set of prebuilt behaviors and a set of components, so creating UI mock ups are not too difficult. One down side is, you can not leverage it’s output for production. I once built a complex UI prototype of a Tomahawk Cruise Missile control station, but we knew not one line of code was useful by the development team.

Adobe AIR Development Plug-In for Aptana Studio Now Available

Today, the Adobe Air Team  announced that with Aptana that the next major update to the Adobe AIR Development Plug-In for Aptana Studio is now available for download. 

The full list of features in the plug-in include:

• Support for Adobe AIR 1.5. (new)
• Integrated JavaScript Debugger. Watch screencast. (new)
• Bundled JavaScript frameworks with full code assist (new)
• Tools for generating application badges (new)
• Integrated content assist for the Adobe AIR SDK
• Pre-installed Adobe AIR runtime and SDK
• Project wizard generates all necessary files for out-of-the box launching of Adobe AIR applications
• Export wizard bundles and deploys Adobe AIR applications
• Easily import Ajax libraries into Adobe AIR projects
• Create and manage certificates for signing Adobe AIR applications
• Support for localization, menu builders, and source viewing
• Adobe AIR samples that can be previewed or imported as project
• Help and online documentation

If you are looking for a good Javascript editor, I would highly recommend it,

Both Adobe Flash Player and AIR Updated!

Earlier this week, Adobe released an update to both the Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR. The Flash Player update contains fixes for critical vulnerabilities identified in Security Bulletin APSB09-01. The current version is now 10.0.22.87. The debug versions of the player are available, so go get them from http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/. 

 

Update: AIR 1.5.1

The latest update to Adobe AIR features improved reliability, compatibility and security.   Notable updates include:

 

• Updated API with the addition of InvokeEvent.reason and Capabilities.cpuArchitecture.
• Over 60 resolved bugs

The new updates are available for Windows, Mac and Linux on the Adobe AIR download center.

 

The SDK has also been updated. There are instructions on updating your copy of  Flex Builder 3 to use the new SDK, however I did not see anything on updating the other installs of the AIR SDK used by Flash CS4, Fireworks CS4.