Marco Casario | RIAvolutionize the web

Why doesn't Nokia Catalogs add FlashLite contents ?

I found this link from Tommy's blog :
Nokia Catalogs is a simple but useful software  that allows mobile users to buy contents from operator and 3rd party portals.
I totally agree with Tommy when he said that he still prefers to browse the applications from the web and then choose if install it on the phone.

I'd love to see some 3rd party FlashLite contents in this Nokia official application !
I can't understand why Nokia did not think to create a Flashite channel on its own where distributing contents ....

From Nokia Catalogs site :

• Access catalogs of downloads such as tools, videos, ring tones, and games
• Browse, preview, buy, and download applications direct to your phone
• Read product descriptions including estimated download time
• Test free trials of some downloads before you buy
• Choose from the latest selection with regular updates

Flash video and After Effects together

During these holidays I spent some time using Adobe After Effects for creating and editing some videos to use in a flash application.
I was surprised by the SWF Export option esposed by After Effects and how it works well with my videos.

I followed these useful series of articles and tips and I found out the new Adobe Motion Design Center where I read a lot of tutorials.

It's a must read ! Great job Adobe !

Capture Flashlite capabilities using WURFL

In these days we have been exchanging ideas with some FlashLite gurus about using WURFL to capture Flashlite-related capabilities.

The WURFL is an XML configuration file which contains information about capabilities and features of several wireless devices.

The main scope of the file is to collect as much information as we can about all the existing wireless devices that access WAP pages so that developers will be able to build better applications and better services for the users.

This project is open-source and is intended for developers working with the WAP and Wireless.

Stay tuned for the progress about WURFL and FlashLite !

Buy FlashLite 2 on Adobe Store

FlashLite 2 on Adobe Store for 10USD : it's now public. Adobe  are releasing the Flash Lite Player 2 “early” to enable developers and enthusiasts to begin playing with Flash Lite 2 over the holidays, said Bill.

You can purchase an IMEI locked version of the player through the Adobe online store for $10 USD for the following supported Nokia handsets: 3230, 6260, 6620, 6630, 6670, 6680, 6681, 6682, 7610, N70, and N90.

I can't wait to see Flashlite 2 features like support for ActionScript 2.0, Video playback, external XML parsing and Local, persistent data on the device.

This is a capture from the Adobe store while I'm adding the player to my cart :

From Perry's blog : this is in anticipation of releasing more "preview release" developer materials in January via Adobe Labs to support Flash Lite 2 development. These other materials will include:

• an updated publishing profile for Flash Lite 2 content
• an update to the mobile emulator in Flash Professional 8 for testing Flash Lite 2 content
• documentation (APIs)
• sample files
• other resources and benefits

DoCoMo to develop ultra-light user interface for next generation FlashLite contents

NTT DoCoMo and Plastic Logic are developing some experiments in mobile device displays that are interesting steps toward the future.
Will we see a new generation of interactive FlashLite contents on DoCoMo handsets ??

Plastic Logic, a leading developer of plastic electronics for flexible display backplanes and sensors, announced today that it has entered into a Joint Development Agreement with NTT DoCoMo, the leading mobile communications operator in Japan, to develop flexible active-matrix displays for future mobile device applications. Such a thin, flexible, and ultra-light user interface may ultimately change handset design.

Simon Jones, Vice President of Business Development at Plastic Logic said, “We are delighted to be working with DoCoMo to develop next generation user interface concepts using flexible displays. This is another exciting milestone in the transformation of plastic electronics from research and innovation to customers and products.”

Mobile Web Best Practices second draft

This is the second public Working Draft of the Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0  released by W3C.
The Mobile Web Best Practices  specifies best practices for Web content when accessed from mobile devices.

The primary goal is to improve the user experience of the Web when accessed from such devices.

Browsers for Series60 please embed FlashLite

Via Tommi's S60 blog I found this useful list for Nokia S60 next generation browsers :

- Thunderhawk (download from here, Allaboutsymbian's comments)
- Opera 8.5 (download from here, MobileMag comments, Darla Mack comments, Mobile-Review.com's review of Opera 8.0)
- Opera Mini (download from here, Allaboutsymbian's review)
- Nokia's new open source browser for S60 3rd edition (not publicly available yet, more info from here and here, osnews.com overview)
- Netfront 3.2 (this one has been around for a year, but I thought it was worth a mention. download from here)

Can't wait anymore to see one of these great browsers with the Flash Lite embedded as plug in !

Convert JPG to SWF for loading into FlashLite

Googling for jpg to swf converter I found some PHP-wrappers that dynamically load images into your FlashLite contents and convert JPEG on the server side to SWF.

All of the softwares listed are for free.

I do not try them yet, but I'll do it soon !

Moreover I found other jpg to swf converter :

FlashWriter Toolkit

PHP MING
http://opaque.net/ming/or
http://www.neuralust.com/~mingdocs/or

LIBSWF
http://www.php.net/manual/en/ref.swf.php

PHP SWF JPG
http://www.foxaweb.com/php_swf_jpg/

JPG2SWF
http://low.fr.st/jpg2swf/

FreeMovie Library
http://sourceforge.net/projects/freemovie/

Open file thru a program with FlashLite

Today I started some tests for my next FlashLite content to launch other programs from FlashLite application.  For this operation you have to use the only fscommand()  function available for FlashLite 1.1 :

fscommand("Launch", "application-path, arg1, arg2,..., argn")

If you want to see the command in action you can read the FlashLite 1.1 Language Reference on Livedocs site.

In my next FlashLite application I'll need to open a file on my device using a specific program. I noted that I can use the same command as follow :

fscommand("launch", "drive:\\apps\\myApp, myVideo.3gp");

To have a list of installed applications on my mobile phone it's enough to see under Menu > Tools > Manager .
These days I'll post more resources on this interesting topic !

Photos from Flash Lite test class in San Francisco

I just wanted to  thank James Talbot and Bill Perry for giving me the possibility to attend the Flash Lite test class last week in San Francisco.
I can't wait to become Master Instructor in FlashLite  and start the Macromedia Official FlashLite for Mobile Application Development course.
Here are some of the photos I took in Macromedia :

Bill Perry and Johnatan Duran show us a lot of FlashLite enabled devices and answer our questions !

I saw some cool japanese (DoCoMo and KDDI) devices with their menu interfaces developed in Flash ! Wow !!

We had great time !

This is the main entrance to the Macromedia Office in TownSend street, San Francisco.

I was wondering if today the Macromedia logo outside the office is still there ?? :(