GooTube

Sometimes you can find some rare videos on YouTube and you wish that you can download a copy of the video. I found a tool called GooTube FLV Retriever. It allows you to download videos off YouTube and from some other video sites. You will need to use a player that supports flvs and I recommend downloading the Adobe Media Player.

You can definitely embed the video in your blog in order to watch the videos in the future but they are more like bookmarks. If the owner of the video or the administrator from YouTube decides to take off the video, you will be out of luck.

Of course, I do wish you can purchase the legit DVD whenever possible. Anyways, have fun downloading!

PHP.js

I love PHP but I hate javascript. However, what do you do when there’s no choice? Well, I have found this site. It has over 170 php functions that are converted to javascript. This site is very handy for people who are used to the php syntax. Even a simple php urlencode function can be turned into a nightmare if it’s written in javascript and I am glad that these scripts have saved me a lot of time.

Saving Word Document as PDF

I have just got a new computer recently. While I am very happy with a newer, faster, prettier computer, installing all my softwares back to the computer is such a pain. I have just realized I can no longer save my word document as pdf and I had no idea what I did to my last computer in order to add that functionality. If my memory is correct, I have probably added the Adobe Reader Professional or something similar but I have no idea where did the software go. Fortunately, a search on the internet gave me this link. I have immediately installed the plugin and it works like a charm without spending a penny.

Windows Live Translator

I have finally installed IE8 Beta 2 out of curiosity.  It pretty much looks like IE7 but with a few new functionalities.  Under the page tab, it links to a new service called Windows Live Translator.  After a few tests, I figured it is probably just a more elaborated version of Babel Fish.  I like how it shows the original content on the left while it places the translated web content on the right.  With a widescreen computer, this service is actually very handy.  The only problem is that with most automatic translation services, the translation is not exactly up to par.  I tried to translate one of my blog entries from English to Traditional Chinese and it gave me the following:

去年春天多倫多星建議一種新增長容器內的薰衣草。 所以我從勒妮 ’s 花園網站購買這些種子，我總是有愛該等相當 lavender 的廠房。 我等待到達包時, 我發現出通過論壇薰衣草種子其實很難 germinate。 我發現我可能應購買薰衣草植物從花園中心而。 但由於我已繳付的種子我可能以及它一試。 也許 Beginner ’s 幸運是所有您需要，因為我宗種子 germinated 沒有任何特殊處理一星期內。 但是，幾乎五個月後植物是仍然只 5 英寸高的一半人數什麼它應該，我尚未看到任何花。

The translation is so literal that I can hardly understand a thing. 

Presentation Slides

I have participated in two presentations today!  One on C# and the other one on the presentations at the FITC.  If you are interested in the presentations, you can download the slides:

Introduction to C#

FITC Presentations

Convergence: TV, Broadband & Flash

Robert Reinhardt from Schematic presented how cable channels are leveraging Flash technology with Windows XP Media Center Edition to further extend their brands into the living room.  He emphasized that in the near future, people will be using their computer to surf the net since majority of North Americans’ favorite entertainment is still watching television.  He suggested that regular people would not be using a computer to watch television since it is too cumbersome.  You will need to use several external peripherals just to get to the channels that you watch.  Therefore, it would make the most sense to make televisions in such a way that people can watch shows as well as to surf the net.  Unfortunately, I don’t think I agree with his logic.  Maybe it is because I am the minority of people who watch television on their computer.  I must say tv turner for computers is the best thing since sliced bread.  The thing is if I can only buy a computer or a television, I will definitely have to pick the latter since even if a television can surf the net, I still need all those other applications that allow me to read email, create documents, chat with friends, do crazy things with Flash, etc.  A television just won’t do.

Continue reading Convergence: TV, Broadband & Flash…

New Works by Joshua Davis

Joshua Davis is one of the most prominent artists in the Flash community.  He is famous for creating graphic designs with the use of ActionScript.  I was at his presentation two years ago at the FITC and was totally amazed by the complex designs that can be generated by a combining simple graphics and ActionScript.  While most people view design and programming as two separate entities, he views them as an inseparable couple.  One cannot live without the other.  This concept is especially true in web development.  A website without good design would not attract any visitors; while a website without good functionalities and interesting content cannot keep any visitors.

Continue reading New Works by Joshua Davis…

Flash and the Adobe Engagement Platform

In this keynote, representatives from Adobe shared their vision for the future direction of Flash and the pivotal role it plays in the Adobe Engagement Platform.

Continue reading Flash and the Adobe Engagement Platform…

Playing With Yourself (For Fun and Profit)

Grant Skinner talked about how experimentations can help to advance yourself and your career options.  There are three reasons why he does experiments:  enjoyment, education, and exposure.  He believed that experimentation helps to develop passion in what you are doing.  “Love what you do, even when you don’t.”  Moreover, focued experimentation is one of the best (and cheapest) methods for learning new techniques.  It is also a great way to get noticed so that you can get more interesting clients.  He further emphasized that experiments do not have to pretty.  They are exercises that push yourself out of your comfort zone and force yourself to apply best practices.

Continue reading Playing With Yourself (For Fun and Profit)…

Creating a Visual Language with A.S.

Brandon J Hall from Automata Studios talked about the new ActionScript 3.  He began the presentation by going through a little bit about the history of Flash.  Flash begins as a simple application that allows desginers and developers to create funky animation.  As time goes by, ActionScript is added to Flash and it allows people to experiment with different kinds of effects.  The time has come where Flash matures.  ActionScript has became a more complex scripting language that allows developers to create Rich Internet Applications (RIA).  ActionScript 2.0 has added the concepts of classes to the language.  The new version of the language, ActionScript 3, is going to further clean up the language such that the code will run faster.  There will be an impovement in the XML engine, and it is going to be java based, so that the code will run anywhere.  There will also be improvements on classes, and it will make developing portable good code a lot easier.

Continue reading Creating a Visual Language with A.S….