I just got done with a site redesign. I had a few goals:

• Fool around with new semantic HTML 5 elements
• Use web fonts for typography
• Do some jQuery for interactivity
• Do a proper mobile version

Semantic HTML5
It seems like such a geeky little thing, writing header instead of div id="header", but I was shocked at the improvement it made. Much fewer divs made the HTML code so much easier to read, and so much easier to detect an improperly closed div.

Ever go to a government site and ask yourself, "Dude, does the developer for this site hate me, and hate communicating information?" Or something like that. Think you can do better?

Sunlight Labs is holding a contest to encourage redesign of government sites. Adobe is sponsoring, and we invite you all to participate.

Check out the contest: "Design for America."

This is more a stream of consciousness piece than a well-developed thesis. I've had these thoughts thundering around upstairs and needed to get rid of them.

I really like Apple and their products. The MacBook Pro saved me from Vista, and I haven't looked back. The iPhone is a great piece of technology. I would really want an iPad if I didn't have a Kindle already. I have to say I'm really disappointed by all of this Flash and Apple nonsense. I'm also happy to read that some other people are disappointed by this (Gizmodo, Digital Beat, MacRumors Forum, FucktheIpad).

Some of Apple's justification for the lack of Flash, namely performance issues, seems to fall a little flat here. Supposedly by designing the chip themselves, Apple has a chip that can render webpages instantly and still play video for 10 hours. It would appear that performance isn't really the issue with the iPad.

That being said I have never really understood the whole Flash-performs-poorly-on-Mac thing. I work for Adobe. I am a member of the Flash Platform evangelism team. I use multiple Flash applications, every day of my life, for hours on end. I don't have browser crashing issues. I currently use Chrome, and used Firefox before that. I never really gelled with Safari. I'm not being obtuse here, or acting, I just don't have those particular problems. I'm not running a special version of Flash Player either; I just use the latest released version.

I also don't understand cognitive gymnastics it takes to hate Flash because it's proprietary and love the fact that Apple is batting us around by designing systems that block it by way of preventing one from installing it through a proprietary gatekeeper.

Flash is proprietary. It's also free, widely distributed, rapidly brought up to date on user's computers, and cross platform. Yes, to some degree you have to depend on Adobe. This is true. Even worse, we get something out of it--we sell authoring tools, content creation tools, services, and servers that target that dependency.

With HTML 5 you don't have to depend on anyone….

Except browser authors: Opera, Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, and Apple. But they all conform to the HTML 5 standard…

Okay, they don't yet but they all have detailed plans that outline when they will support HTML 5…

No they don't. But they don't get anything out of it…

Except access to your data, or locking you into their operating system, or locking you into their operating system and hardware or whatever ideologically pure motivation Mozilla and Opera have these days.

At the end of the day, all of these technologies are driven by mutual self-interest and not by ideology. You have to decide if what you get is worth what you give up.

Personally I don't like being told what to do. But more important than not liking being told what to do, I enjoy being told how to do it even less. I don't like opinionated software that promises Do it the way we tell you to, and we'll make your life better.

• I didn't like Graffiti.
• I don't enjoy working with Ruby on Rails.
• I don't like the Apple Mobile device's increasing demand that I work the way they want me to.

At the end of the day, despite the fact that they may not be well expressed or even coherent, I have more faith in my opinions than my software's opinions.

I just learned this today. Did you know Adobe has an Affiliate program? You can set yourself up to get some sweet commissions on Adobe software. I won't go into the long and short of it but you can earn between 5% and 8% on Adobe software that people buy after being referred from your site. The variation in percentage is based on sales, the more paying business you refer the higher your percentage.

That means for ColdFusion Server you're looking at:

• ColdFusion Standard    $64-$103
• ColdFusion Enterprise     $375-$600

Not bad, right? Also as stated in the FAQ:

Do I earn commissions on my own purchases?

When you buy products from us through your website, you earn the same commission on your purchase that you would from a visitor purchase.

So check out the Adobe Affiliate Program.

A few weeks ago I tweeted about getting free licenses of Flex Builder for victims of the current economic craptaculon. It was an informal test balloon while we got the formal plan in place. I'm pleased to announce that as of Friday, Adobe has formalized this program. Here are the details:

Today we have launched an updated https://freeriatools.adobe.com/ and it now includes a link for "Flex Builder for unemployed developers" https://freeriatools.adobe.com/learnflex/.

A cool additional piece is that when you apply you also get 60 days of free access to Safari Books' collection of Adobe Developer Library titles.

Just a note, I'll be doing the ColdFusion Flex Roadshow in San Francisco and Denver next week. If you have always wanted to know how to get started in Flex but haven't gotten over the initial learning curve, this event is for you. Even better - the event is free. So come on and check out the ColdFusion Flex Roadshow.

• April 1, 2009 9:30AM - 2:00PM at San Francisco, CA
• April 3, 2009 9:30AM - 2:00PM at Denver, CO

Register online beforehand.

I'm a little late posting this but at Max 2008 I gave a presentation on "ColdFusion as Enterprise Middleware." It has made its way to Adobe TV.

Watch, enjoy, learn more about ColdFusion as Enterprise Middleware.

Due to a recent tweet of mine, I've received an influx of requests on how to get started with Flex. Here's how to get started with Flex:

Go to the Flex Download Site to download the 60 day free trial version of Adobe Flex Builder 3.

Then to learn Flex, check out the following:

• Flex In a Week is a free video training course that will help you get the most of your new Flex Builder software in just a few days.
• Flex.org is an invaluable portal with links to all sorts of Flex information, know-how, learning, opportunities, and more.
• Tour de Flex is a desktop application for exploring Flex capabilities and resources, including the core Flex components, Adobe AIR and data integration, as well as a variety of third-party components, effects, skins, and more.

Anyone else have good resources for learning Flex?

If you're looking to get a leg up on your Flex knowledge, or see a preview of what's coming in Flex 4, you should head to Flex Camp Miami on March 6th.

Flex Camp Miami
March 6th 8am - 5pm
BankUnited Center
University of Miami
Register

Flash Camp

Flash Camps are technical showcases for the Flash platform. At these events top speakers from both Adobe and the Flash Platform community show off both code samples and demos, to both help jump start new developers and inspire proficient developers with new areas to explore.

A couple of my educational customers have asked me this, and I figured I would come up with a canonical (for me at least) answer.

How do I get Adobe Software with educational pricing?

Free Software

Both ColdFusion and Flex Builder are free for Students, Faculty, or Staff using them for academic purposes. In order to take advantage of that, you have to go to either the Flex or ColdFusion FreeRIATools site. The only thing you have to do to secure the software is prove you are eligible. The easiest way to do so is to take a picture of your student ID and send it in. I know from experience that they accept that.

If you would like to obtain a bulk license for a lab or classroom, you can do it through that site. You just:

• Accept the terms
• Click the button for "Other"
• Answer the questions about the lab
• Select the number of licenses you want

Discounted Software

In North America, Adobe has a tool that will allow you to search for local resellers for our products. I did a spot check for the Philadelphia area (my local), and it looked very up to date.

Adobe - Find an education reseller

In Europe (and North America) Adobe products can be found online at Studica. Additionally Fuzzy Orange, can also resell Adobe software and provide educational discounts. They do not have a online catalog/store, but if you contact them they will be more than happy to help you out.

In other parts of the world, the online Adobe store has an educational section:

Adobe Store – Select a store

I'm not convinced this covers everyone so if you can't find a way to buy Adobe products for Higher Education in your country or region, let me know, and I'll research it.