An open letter to Adobe

I am a long time Flash User, in fact I started using flash and writing ActionScript when I was 16. So needless to say I have quite a few years under my belt with it. With each upgrade to the Flash IDE, I have generally been impressed, there have always been a few strange things, but I have to say that for the first time ever, I am ashamed to see the horrible product that is CS4. But what I am even more disgusted by, is Adobe's refusal to admit that there may be something wrong. They only continue to tout the new features, which have no doubt are impressive, but the little things that we use most have been destroyed. I have commented on it in various places, and each time Adobe has removed my comments (generally without notice, until on one of them I called them out on it, so they sent me an email, telling me that I should contact Customer Support for issues regarding [insert completely unrelated, and long list]. I have found tons and tons of places online, where customers are complaining about some of the horrible changes that Adobe has made to CS4. And yet, we still have not been able to get a constructive answer from anyone. I've posted, and emailed, but nothing. I've asked Richard Galvan ( Product Manager for Flash) on his blog and no response. So I tried asking Jay Armstrong on his blog (Flash documentation guy), and once again no response. I've posted on Lee Brimlow's site, and nothing (a co-worker emailed him, which was ignored as well). I've also submitted more bugs and complaints to adobe's Wish form (www.adobe.com/go/wish) that it nearly makes my head spin. So what are some of the complaints that I (and many many others have)? Here is an abbreviated list.


1.) the introduction of the browser being forced into our work flow sucks. I used to be able to glance, code, glance,code etc and I was very efficient with that. Now, it's code, alt-tab, hunt, alt-tab, code.

2.) The interface on the web API (no offense) is very hard to use in comparison to the previous help panel interface.

3.) Every time I press F1 from flash, it opens a new instance of my browser. Why can't it even use the same one? Or even open a new tab? A complete new instance of the browser. It's NUTS!

4.) Shortcuts are horribly handi-capped. For instance ctrl+a generally means select all in Windows speak. However, you are only allowed to have it assigned to select all when you are on the stage, or select all in a code window. It is no-longer intelligent enough to tell the difference. The same thing with ctrl+g. On the stage, it means "group", in a code window, it meant "go to line".

5.) Awesome features that were added to CS3 that I use more times in a single day, no-longer work either. In CS3, there was a great new feature added, that allowed us to press ctrl+enter and test a movie when we are writing a class file. This no longer works, we either have to switch to the fla, or use the mouse and select it from the drop-down list.

6.) Classes that used to compile fine now will not compile in CS4. Presumably because they are dependent on assets from the library of the FLA.

Adobe, please engage the community in a discussion about this. Don't let CS4 gain the reputation that Vista gained (even though vista did not deserve it, I hate to say Flash CS4 really does.) Don't let flash CS4 mark the decline of Adobe's dedication to making great software. Feel free to contact me, I am more than happy to discuss this, to show you how horribly broken some of the most basic and crucial features of our work-flows have been obliterated. Adobe, we have spoken, and now we must listen for a response from you. Please do not disappoint. -- Josh

It's a BOY!

Here in living greyscale, is our little baby boy. Still comfortably baking in his oven.

New Feature

So blogger has a pretty cool new feature that I wanted to try out. You can see it in the side bar of my blog here, called "Follwers". Basically, it allows the few of you that bother to read my blog to reveal yourselves to the world. (If you want to.) So click on the link to "Follow This Blog." try it out, add it to your own site if you want. So in the words of Amanda "Reveal your selves"

That's a bill I wouldn't want

So today, I finished my last final for the Spring semester. Namely, the final for my Math 1010 class. It was BRUTAL, but I am hoping to pull a 'B' out of the class. However, when I finished, Celeste was at Y.W.'s, with the car, so I walked to Melanie and Murray's house, and in true nerd fashion, nerded-out on CNet. :) But I stumbled across something so completely interesting, that I had to post about it, so that the 5 or 6 of you that bother reading my drivelings, can check it out too.

Back in late 2006, Mazda had a bit of an accident importing their cars from Japan. The ship they had hired, the Cougar Ace, nearly sank, and instead spent a period of time, numbering in the months, listing between 60-90 degrees. The cars for the most part, stayed put. Despite that Mazda is still going to destroy them. Basically, it is done so that someone doesn't get a bum car thinking that they are buying something new. Here is the link for those of you that would like to read a bit more. You can wiki it here too.

And, last but not least, check out the vid.

The Completion of a Struggle

So today, I wanted to write about the conclusion of a difficult struggle for me. Well, at least the very near approach of that conclusion. Namely, the conclusion of this semester of school.

If you would have asked me as recently as two or three weeks ago, back when Celeste and I were still sick, I would have told you that this semester was never going to end. That I was doomed to spend the rest of my life doing college algebra problems for two or three hours every night. This was due to the fact that when we were sick, I got about two weeks behind on all of my homework, and I can tell you, two weeks behind in an already gruelingly fast-paced math class is enough to 'bout kill you. Or at least that is what it feels like.

But finally the end is almost here!!! It is in sight! Today as I was working on some of my ridiculously copious amounts of Algebra homework, I noticed that I have only four assignments left in this class ever! (well, not counting studying for the final, and my test next week, but those are voluntary so that I can get a good grade and only count... well, -ish. :) )

Three weeks 'till freedom!

The Annoyance of Sucking.

So today, I felt what it was like to truly, and completely SUCK at something. Namely, Halo 3. My friends and I got together to play Halo 3 on Xbox Live tonight, while the women of our lives were else-where. Namely, Celeste was in SLC (well, supposed to be anyway, traffic had it's own thing to say about that), and his wife was in Hawaii. (For work, don't you wish that was you? I do.) Any who, we got together, and as previously mentioned played some wicked rounds of social slayer. But tonight was a first to me. I truly and completely sucked.

We were playing 5-on-5 first team to 50 takes all. If any of you have played Halo with me, you know I LOVE it, and that if you put me in front of Halo 1, I'll school you. Halo 2, and we'll have an even match. (I don't know the boards, but I know the weapons.) However, as tonight was evidenced, put me in front of Halo 3, and if your worth anything, you'll school me.

It wasn't a completely pointless exercise, however. There were a few bright sides that I feel are worth mentioning. First, it was fun. It was nice to hang out with the fella's again, and to get to play a favorite game of mine. Second, it allowed me to relate to my beautiful bride (who has refused to play Halo with me for a while now.) In that, when every 30 seconds someone is killing you (and you have no-clue how) it gets incredibly frustrating. I was SOOOOOOOOO Annoyed. It seemed like the game was stacked against me. I could come up behind someone, drill them in the head, and it would do nothing. They would turn around, and seemingly touch me with the finger of death, and that was it for me. I didn't get it, and I still don't. But alas, thankfully it was just a game, and I am quite sure that with some practice I could become equally adept with the 3rd installment in the Halo quest as I am at the first.

So to all other people who also suck at something ... well ... do as I did. Find something else to do, and maybe you won't suck quite as bad at it. But you never know, maybe with a little perseverance, you will no-longer suck, and will instead be the one to school me. But until that moment, let's stick to the original Halo.

Zune Up for Grabs

Well, since I get to write about what ever I feel like, I am going to do a bit of a sales pitch today. Due to the whole iPod fiasco, I am left with nothing but my Zune... Which most unfortunately, I personally do not enjoy using. I miss my scroll-wheel terribly. So I have decided to offer my Zune for sale. It is nearly new, and only has a few scratches on the screen. They are not noticable when using the device, but are viewable when the device is turned off. It is a black 30 GB Zune, and I still have all of the cables, boxes, and connections that it came with. It retails for $200 (according to Circuit City), and I am offering mine for $125. So you can save $75, and get it used!! If anyone is interested, please contact me, or leave a comment below and we'll see if we can come to an accord.