Dec 21, 2008 by Paul White
Flash is by far the best format for streaming videos on your website. Thanks to YouTube the FLV format has become almost in industry standard. Now that you know you want flash, you have to pick a program to do your encoding. I tried many, and recently I came across one program that blew the rest away. Sothink Flash Video Encoder is the best FLV encoder I have ever used. Read more for details and link
Jul 9, 2008 by Paul White
Today as I was searching the web for tutorials on Flash AS3. I came across a very nice tutorial. This tutorial helps explain some of the main differences between AS1, AS2 and AS3. Thus far I am liking AS3, but it does have a steep learning curve. In AS1 and AS2 the language was very simple. It didn't require a lot of code to do anything. Even graphic designers who traditionally curse at the thought of coding were able to understand how to use flash. AS3 is written for the hardcore programmer in mind. This is good because it gives you more control over things, but the result is you write alot more code. I tend to learn better from examples. I see code formatted in a particular way. I see what is does, then I make changes to it, and see how it affects the results. Learning how to Code with the new AS3 is like moving into a new big city. After a while you get a logical feel for where everything is, and how to get from point A to point B. This guy did an awesome job explaining AS3 in words and examples I understand. Check it out!
Jul 2, 2008 by Paul White
Its been a while since I have played around with flash. I am finally getting around to building a new portfolio website for whitesites.com. The current one gets the job done, but my potential clients aren't really given any taste of my flash skills. Even though my current skill set could help build a very nice website, there are few things I specifically wanted to utilize in my new website. The main one being the use of 3D. Flash as a stand alone package does not support 3D. If you want 3D you are left to program your own 3D engine using actionscript. If you aren't a fan of Trig it could cause you some stress. Thankfully there is an open source class called Sandy 3D, designed to run on Flash AS2 and AS3. This gives developers a very easy way to integrating 3D into their Flash Apps. Since AS3 is the latest and greatest to come out of Adobe, I will put my focus on catching up to learn it. AS3 is a true Object Oriented Programming Language. I am used to working with alot of C# in my asp.net Apps, so learning AS3 should be that bad. But considering how intense it could be, I might actually buy a book on the subject.
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