Announcing the Flex Authority Schedule for Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010
After a long delay, I am pleased that Flex Authority Issue 3 has shipped to subscribers. While this was not the way anyone planned things to happen, my focus is now on getting Flex Authority back on track.
I am excited to announce the schedule for the upcoming issues of Flex Authority. Below are our themes and publishing dates for our next two issues as well as a sneak peek at what our sixth issue will be about. Feel free to offer to write on a suggested topic, suggest other theme-related topics or simply suggest a topic that you would like to write about. We typically advise our authors to write articles from an advanced point of view so that our all of our readers may get something from every issue. Typical article length is between 2000 and 3000 words.
Flex Authority Issue 4
Theme: Future Flex
Description: This issue covers the next version of the Flex SDK and all the new features that developers have to look forward to in 2010. Along side of the Flex SDK is the next version of the IDE now named Flash Builder. With the Flash Builder Beta 2 publicly released at Adobe MAX 2009, everyone has access to the IDE but do they know everything that they can do with it?
PLEASE NOTE: While we have quite a few articles already in our editorial, we are still looking for some articles about skinning, as well as any number of advanced topics.
Articles Due: November 16, 2009
Publish Date: December 20, 2009
Flex Authority Issue 5
Theme: UX (basically user experience design)
Description: This issue covers user experience design and all the related areas. Think of this issue as a primer for developers looking to create better applications through the application of user experience design.
Suggested Topics:
Flex UX 101
10 Things to Avoid in your Next Flex Application
Why Are Users Not Using Our App?
Success Story: How UX Saved the Day
Using Flash Catalyst Effectively with Flex Developers
Smoothing Out the Designer and Developer Workflow
Topic Submissions Due: January 11, 2010
Articles Due: February 1, 2010
Publish Date: March 15, 2010
Flex Authority Issue 6
Theme: Flash Player 10 and Flash Player 10.1
Description: In this issue we dive into all the new features of Flash Player 10 and Flash Player 10.1. Consider this a primer for all the new features in the Flash Player for Flex developers who haven't used them yet.
Suggested Topics:
Audio and Sound Features of Flash Player 10 (Microphone Access)
Flex and P2P (Peer Assisted Networking)
Global Error Handling
HTTP Streaming of Video
Topic Submissions Due: March 8, 2010
Articles Due: April 5, 2010
Publish Date: June 15, 2010
Please assist Flex Authority and myself in providing our community with great content. I can be contacted at leif[dot]wells[at]gmail[dot]com.
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The Summer of Flash Page on My Site
I just wanted to point folks to the Summer of Flash Podcast page on my blog. I thought it might be good to have a place on my site where the podcast that features Garth Braithwaite, Stacy Mulcahy, Zach Stepek, and myself droning on and on about the Flash Platform. The "info" links are to the InsideRIA site pages that Garth put together for us, but I wanted to put all the information in one place so that I can refer people to it.
I totally enjoy recording this podcast. It is so much fun and honestly it's almost therapeutic for me. I don't work in a work site environment where there are a lot of Flash and Flex developers. In fact, I am the only one in the office who does that type of work, so getting to "hang out" online with the Summer of Flash crew is pretty healthy.
I want to thank the people at O'Reilly who have been so supportive. This was their idea and I feel lucky to have been asked to come along.
Oh, boy. Did I just say that hanging out with Stacy was healthy? What was I thinking?
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Summer of Flash Podcast Episdode 1
I am pleased to announce that the first episode of O'Reilly's InsideRIA Summer of Flash podcast has been released.
In this episode, Garth, Stacy, Zach and I discuss the recently released Flash Catalyst Public Beta and what we like and dislike about the product.
We're continuing to record episodes and have lined up a few people from the Flash Platform to waterboard... er, grill for infor... er, interview about all things Flash.
If you have any thoughts, ideas, questions or requests, feel free to leave them in the comments for my entry here or at the entry on the InsideRIA site.
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Introducing Leif Wells, Editor-in-Chief of Flex Authority Magazine
I'd like to officially announce my new role in the Flex community; I am now the Editor-in-Chief of Flex Authority magazine. Flex Authority was started last year by House of Fusion and currently is in production for Issue 3.
Back in February 2008, I was helping my friends Tom and John with 360|Flex Atlanta by allowing them to send packages to the Roundbox Global office so that they wouldn't have to pay the insane storage fees at the conference site, which happened to be a couple of miles from our office. Needless to say, the pile of boxes got fairly impressive fairly quickly. Adobe sent posters and t-shirts, there were boxes of "The Cluetrain Manifesto" , and a ton of other stuff.
Then a call came in from Judith Dinowitz requesting assistance transporting some printed materials, fliers for the attendee bag they were having printed in Atlanta to avoid some difficult shipping costs. I believe that is the first time I had heard about Flex Authority. Judith confirmed that it was in the works and that they were going to launch the magazine in the middle of 2008. My reaction was, as with a lot of things that promote the community I work in every day, "What can I do to help?"
And help I did. I was Technical Editor for several articles in the first issue, authored a "10 Questions with..." column with Adam and Dave from the Merapi project , and even took the time to write a couple of filler pieces at the eleventh hour. I was excited about Flex Authority and hopeful for its future.
Flash forward to January 2009. Judith calls me to discuss a change in the magazine management; the position of Editor-in-Chief was open. She said that my name had risen to the top of the list of candidates. She presented me with an opportunity, one that I was sure I'd regret letting pass.
The Editor-in-Chief position at a magazine the size of Flex Authority isn't a high paying gig. In fact, I am not getting paid at all. The position requires a lot of reading and re-reading of articles, balancing grammatical and technical corrections while considering the author's voice, herding cat-like authors, technical editors and copy editors who are balancing full-time jobs (and lives) with a magazine schedule; it's not an easy job. Sure, I'll avoid the stereotypical publishing industry traps like hard drinking, chain smoking and womanizing, but those activities actually sound like rewards compared to these responsibilities.
So, why did I agree to become Editor-in-Chief of Flex Authority?
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Atlanta Adobe Community Events for March 2009
Adobe Community Events
for March 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009, 7PM
Atlanta InDesign User Group
InDesign and Flash: The Digital Transition
Paul Omeda, Chris Stalcup
Wednesday, March 4, 2009, 6PM
Atlanta ColdFusion User Group
Thursday, March 12, 7PM
Atlanta Adobe XD User Group
Wednesday, March 18, 6PM
Atlanta Flash and Flex User Group
Tuesday, March 24, 7PM
Adobe Flash Platform User Group
Simplified Logic's Andrew Westberg
Digital Rights Management and the Flash Platform
Thursday, March 26, 7PM
Adobe User Group of Atlanta
Illustrator CS4 with Adobe's Robert McDaniels
Related Events:
Monday, March 9, 7PM
Atlanta Flex & Actionscript Coders
Monday, March 16, 7PM
Atlanta JavaScript Developers Meetup
Wednesday, March 18, 7PM
AIGA - Atlanta
Wednesday, March 25, 6:30PM
AiMA
Thursday, March 26, 7PM
Atlanta Web Design Group
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This Thursday: Adobe is in the house! And they're showing Acrobat Professional
UPDATE: Find out how things went by reading the Meeting Recap.
This Thursday: Adobe is in the house! And they're showing Acrobat Professional
Adobe's Acrobat has been in the news a lot lately and for some bizarre reasons. Last week it was the whole Facebook and their redaction problem. On the same day, Rush Limbaugh ranted on-air that Democrats were hiding information in the stimulus bill by preventing search inside the published PDF.
Sigh. Good times, good times.
So, how wonderfully timely is this week's meeting of the Adobe User Group of Atlanta? I mean, seriously. We are featuring the Adobe Acrobat Professional product for the first time in our history! And some of our friends from Adobe will be doing the presentation. And these guys are good. No doubt that the Facebook lawyers and Mr. Limbaugh wished we had scheduled this meeting earlier this year. In fact, one of the topics at Thursday night's meeting is "Securing Your Intellectual Property", so you can learn what some in the legal profession don't know (and perhaps Rush would be interested in the "I didn't know Acrobat could do that!" topic, but it might actually be too advanced for him).
Please come and show Adobe some love.
WHAT: Adobe User Group of Atlanta February 2009 Meeting
WHEN: Thursday, February 19, 2009 starting at 7PM
WHO: Adobe's Ann Fracas and Phil Lee
WHERE: Roundbox Global (directions [PDF], Google Maps)
RSVP: link
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Thursday Night: Photoshop with Jim DiVitale
Most of our local Photoshop artists, designers and photographers enjoy it when Jim DiVitale presents at the Adobe User Group of Atlanta (Tomorrow night, Thursday, January 22, 2009).
But why is that?
Could it be that he has a great deal of experience? He's been a commercial advertising photographer for 28 years and has a long list of certifications and degrees.
Could it be that he is a great Photoshop presenter? He's been touring around the country presenting Photoshop and other related Adobe products like Lightroom for years.
Could it be that he continues to give back to the community? On his blog and in a ton of publications.
No. I think that it is because he always presents ways to to reduce time and effort using Photoshop. And he almost always announces every keyboard shortcut while he presents. That is cool.
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Haven't Gotten Enough of CS4? Go See CS4 Design Premium in Action!
If you don't think that you've had enough of Adobe's Creative Suite 4 over the past month, on November 17th you'll have an opportunity to have more! The Atlanta InDesign User Group Fall meeting is coming up and they have Robert McDaniels presenting the new features and workflows for CS4 Web Premium.
You'll get more info via the link, but here are some of the details:
WHAT: Atlanta InDesign User Group Fall Meeting: CS4 Launch Meeting
WHEN: Monday, November 17, 2008 at 7:00 PM
WHERE: Portfolio Center, 125 Bennett Street, Atlanta, 30309
RSVP on the site, please.
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Thursday Night: InDesign with Paul Omeda
I wanted to remind everyone about the Adobe User Group of Atlanta meeting tomorrow night featuring, for the very first time, InDesign.
Here's the details:
The Meeting:
WHEN: Thursday, October 23, 2008 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
WHO: Paul Olmeda, Atlanta InDesign User Group Chapter Leader
TOPIC: InDesign and Workflow with Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign
WHERE: Rounbox Global - King Plow Arts Center (directions in pdf)
RSVPThe Topic:
In our first meeting featuring InDesign, Paul Olmeda, the Atlanta InDesign User Group Chapter Leader, will be giving us an overview of InDesign. He will also show us some real-world workflow techniques using the other Creative Suite products like Bridge, Photoshop and Illustrator.The Speaker:
Paul Omeda is a Graphic Designer for Deep Design in Atlanta, GA. He has an extensive background in design, print production, and various other facets of visual communications. He prides himself on his versatility and his "jack of all trades" persona. Overall, he is a hardworking designer with a true passion for design and is a real nice guy.
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Wiley AIR Bible Ships!
I received a copy of the AIR Bible on my porch this week. This book marks my first foray into the madness that is technical editing for industry books. Having had a little taste of writing part of a book in my past, I can tell you that technical editing a book can be almost as difficult as writing a book.
Ryan Taylor, a great local resource here in Atlanta, is one of the authors of this book. Ryan has presented at a couple of our user group events locally. He has really gotten into Flash CS4's Pixel Bender functionality. You should take a look at his site for more on that. Ryan will be presenting "Pixel Bender Unleashed" at MAX 2008.
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