SWF Maestro: Flash to Desktop App Made Easy
Have you ever wanted to create an application but you just don’t know how to code c++, VB or one of those difficult programming languages?
If you have used Adobe Flash or Adobe’s new easy to use Flex system - then you can easily pump out your very own Desktop applications.
Using SWFmaestro you can convert any SWF or flash based source file to a standalone application.
Imagine creating a screensaver or presentation easily straight from flash source files!
Both portable and easy to use.
The SWFMaestro website strikes me first as very clear and direct. No grand claims or unecessary flash.
The site gives you the information you need and let’s you get right to work.
Fully functional trial versions are all available at the dowloads page:
Installation is very quick - the downloadable is painlessly small (2 megs or so).
You can see a screenshot of the main SCR creator application configuration screen here:
The appliaction itself is a snap to use.
With relative ease you just point the application to the media files or flash source files.
The configuration has several options for screensaver (or application) settings as well. These are all quite easy to use.
If a support question does arise a full user manual is available online as well a basic customer contact form.
The good folks over at SWFmaestro tell me that a user forum is planned in the near future and should be a great addition.
The SWF Maestro system even allows for time limited keys and hardware based keys to be created for licensing protection.
With Single user licenses starting at $49.95 it is easy to see the value in using SWFmaestro.
This has been a paid review.
Podcast to Listen to: Buzz Out Loud
Buzz Out Loud is probably one of the first podcasts many subscribed to back when the iPod was still a fairly developing thing. When the podcast started it was called “CNET’s podcast of indeterminate length” because it slowly changed from 5 minute sound bytes about tech stuff to full 30 minute episodes in the first couple of months. Now the shows are always 20-30 minutes long and have a consistent line-up of speakers.
Tom Merritt, Molly Wood, and Jason Howell come together every week day with this amusing podcast to deliver the latest and hottest tech news and off the web and provide their frequently pretty funny commentary about the internet and the new ways we can apply technology in our everyday lives. If you haven’t listened to the show at this point, definitely give it a shot! It brings technology down to the level where “normal” people who aren’t consumed by gadgetry can understand it.
More info here: http://bol.cnet.com/
Ask.com gets more cool search features - but will it matter?
Ask.com rolled out a new version its search engine Monday. The recoded search engine includes a new user interface with three brand new technologies that sound very cool – DADs (Direct Answers from Databases), DAFS (Direct Answers From Search) and AnswerFarm — that offer users the ability to search the Web using commonly spoken language, like how regular people speak.
It’s sophisticated sounding stuff, but it may or may not erode industry leader Google’s position all that much realistically.
More intricate and nerdy details here: Link
Comcast announces a 250GB/mo cap on bandwidth, and the World Ends
Yes, the long-awaited cap from Comcast finally was announced. It’s been rumored for many months, and the cap is 250GB/month. Not that bad really, and it should keep away the genuises who decide to download 8GB BitTorrent videos 24/7 with 20 hard drives to store it all (yes, I know people who do this), without affecting the bandwidth of normal users who just surf the net and check their e-mail.
Yes, I think it’s a good thing.
Based on a majority of responses on SlashDot and various other sites, you’d think they suddenly cut off service to everyone and posted a big middle finger to every user’s home page. There’s anger, call for lawsuits, and pronouncements of doom. The fact is, it needed to happen, for many reasons. Network congestion and abuse being the two main reasons, and people who embrace these two policies of malice are the ones who’ll get hurt by this change.
The company said, via Slashdot: “Under its new system, traffic will be analyzed every fifteen minutes. Users who are found to be occupying large amounts of bandwidth will be placed at a lower priority for network access behind users with less bandwidth-intensive traffic.” Makes sense to me.
Of course, my only concern is that Comcast may try limiting bandwidth even more over time, or severely limiting access to streaming video or other similar types of sites, which is NOT a good thing. Hopefully, they won’t try and milk the cow too much (but knowing Comcast’s history, I fear this is what they may do).
I know my internet connection has sped up a good 10% or so the last month (who knows if that’s why), so i’m a happy camper.
The Android/Google G1 is coming soon, and the iPhone may finally have some real competition
The Google iphone competitor, long awaited and rumored, was announced today. It will be crowned as the G1, and will be officially available from carrier T-Mobile on Oct. 22nd. It will list at $179, if you subscribe to a 2-year agreement.
And Apple should be a little nervous. As trendy and slick as the iPhone is, this one has a few advantages, at a smaller price, as well as the disadvantages of a first-generation product. It will probably target younger e-mail/text people initally, according to published reports. It supports Word, Excel and Powerpoint, but not MS Exchange.
It will feature a large touchscreen, and slide-out keypad, and a trackball. Other included goodies: a 3MP camera built-in, support for both EDGE and 3G networks, a GMail client that can sync up your e-mail, calendar and contacts, and an Amazon feature where you can purchase music right on the phone.
More importantly, the Android system is open-source, which makes all kinds of additions and changes much more transparent than Apple’s rather closed, secretive and NDA-shackled process.
Pardon my soapbox, but why does Apple always design things so closed, proprietary and close to the vest? “Secret sauce” annoys many in the tech sector for a variety of reasons, and the way this industry is today, most secret formulas get cracked, hacked or broken in a few months anyway, so what’s the point? That kind of thing worked for the Mac desktops, due to the fact they touted strong compatibility over the PC, so that gave it a reason to be so closed as a platform. For a mobile, worldwide platform like the iPhone, it makes little sense to keep development info so closed off, and (IMHO) limits its appeal to some portions of its market. I’ll get off the soapbox now.
Anyhow, it’ll be interesting to see how the smartphone war shapes up as Google jumps into the fray. I expect the iPhone will keep its top position, but not by as much as before.
The Sunday Techie Notebook
For those of you who don’t know, http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ is a great site for free stuff of all sorts, from useful utilities (some retailing for a fair amount of money), to screensavers, to…you name it. I’ve been frequenting the site for awhile, and gotten tons of great stuff.
I know what you’re thinking .. ‘Ah, just garbage on there that authors can’t even give away, so why not throw it on there?’ And some of it is that sort of software, but most of it is actually useful. And no, it’s not warez; it’s all approved by the authors of the software. Worth a visit.
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Packard Bell (yes, those of the slow, cheapie systems from years ago) has a new laptop and attitude, apparently. Take a look at the iPower GX:
This model comes with a “street art cover” that basically stands diametrically opposed to their boxy, beige history of design. Specifications are pretty beefy: 1,920 x 1,200 resolution display, nVidia 9800M GTS 1GB video card, Intel Core 2 Quad Q9100 processor, Draft-N Wi-Fi, and Blu-ray drive. Should be out in early October.
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The HTC Dream, the first Google Android smartphone is expected to be released this month, priced at $199 the same price with Apple iPhone 3G. This will no doubt trigger huge waves in the smartphone industry, as it has enough muscle behind it to seriously compete with the iPhone for market share.
The Google Android gPhone will be available on the October 13th ~ 2-year contract, a specified data plan, and Gmail account included.
All I know is: I’m glad I waited to decide on a smartphone, as the competition is just now heating up, and should bring lower prices and better service to consumers as a result.
Microsoft and Zune gain ground against the iPod
It’s been no secret that Apple’s iPod has dominated the portable music player scene for awhile now, and even less of a secret that Microsoft’s Zune has been an afterthought next to the iPod. But that hasn’t stopped MS from innovating, even a bit past the features offered by the iPod. Their latest release is no exception.
MS announced a new lineup of Zune players with new features, including being able to buy songs from the FM radio feature by “tagging” them. It’s a little imperfect, according to several reviews, but it’s a big step towards total integration of music and instant buying power (using wi-fi, if available), a recommendation feature based on your listening habits called MixView, and different “channels” that can be wirelessly added (again with Wi-Fi) to your player, each with 20 different songs, updated weekly.
It even allows you to download and listen to songs as often as you want with a $15 monthly subscription (a feature I wish the iPod had).
Physically, the players haven’t changed much; there’s a slick touch menu and a few new colors. Price ranges from $79-$250 or so, depending on storage capacity. They’re a bit bigger and thicker than an iPod, but some larger hands may welcome that development (speaking as someone who’s dropped an iPod a few times).
Microsoft is defintely beginning to give the iPod a run for its money, based on their latest products. No longer are their players an afterthought.
True Internet/TV convergence - It’s almost here
As an avid TV viewer and internet junkie, I’ve always had that dream, the dream of a television-viewing experience where the Internet was not only always accessible but integrated right into the experience. There was no switching back and forth between environments. I viewed what I wanted when I wanted online or via broadcast and tapped into information about what I was viewing through a small bar or window that could either sit on the screen or be safely minimized. If I saw something that I wanted to buy, I didn’t have to grab my laptop or switch out to Windows. I simply accessed the information about the product right on the TV screen, and bought it right then and there.
Now, a group of events appear poised to make this dream a (partial) reality. Last week, Intel and Yahoo! announced a somewhat unlikely partnership that would result in Internet-enabled HDTVs that play and use on-screen Yahoo! widgets to give viewers direct access to Web-based content, applications, and contextual advertising. It could be the germ of what might become my idea, brought to life. In fact, execs at Intel and Yahoo! did note that viewers might be able to, say, buy the shoes Lauren is wearing on an episode of The Hills, or anything similar to that sort of thing.
The digital TV part is pretty much going to be taken care of soon. The FCC’s decision to strong-arm the nation and broadcasters into the digital spectrum is probably the best thing to happen to television since color, IMHO. Sorry, all you people still fiddling around with your rabbit ears, but it’s an idea that really needed to happen at one time or another, for a lot of reasons. Those complaining about next year’s switchover on February 17, 2009 might end up feeling quite differently once they see everything the programmers and partners can do with a digital screen.
The Intel/Yahoo! tool and the Sidebar feature look like a really good start. I love that these toolbars can slide on and off the HDTV screen, providing you with instant access to content you’ve stored online. What’s missing, of course, is the deeper integration that would offer direct interaction between your live TV show and the Internet as I mentioned earlier, but I know that’s coming. So, for example, on Deal or No Deal, you could play along with the contestant, select your cases, and even see what’s in them (via an overlay). You could also select a winning case and, perhaps, be entered into a live drawing—maybe you’d compete directly against the on-air opponent for a million dollars! This is the type of digital world I always envisioned.
So do these exciting developments represent true integration and convergence? Not quite yet. In fact, significant hurdles remain. Few of the glowing reports about the Internet TV revolution and the surprise Intel-Yahoo! partnership mention that not enough people have broadband access anywhere near where their TV is located (or have broadband period in some areas of the country). So consumers either need to wire their homes (not gonna happen) or add access points near their TVs. An obvious alternative would be for these Internet-ready TVs to come wireless-ready, too. But these hurdles will be overcome. Eventually.
iPhone 2.1 Firmware upgrade results - good (so far)
Apple released the 2.1 firmware upgrade for the iPhone on Friday, and so far (from the reports and feedback from various websites from users and reviewers), it seems to have resolved many of the speed and battery issues with the phone, and fixed many of the little bugs that plagued the iPhone.
Numerous issues have been documented since the iPhone’s launch, and have been the subject of several lawsuits against Apple.
Many have said the dropped calls issue is better as well, and app install and backups are much quicker and more stable. A few select customers are still having issues, but overall the phone’s standing among many of its users has greatly improved. It (almost) makes up for the rather dismal launch of iTunes 8 (documented in an earlier post on this blog) that went along with this firmware update.
Yes, it’s only been 1 day or so, but early reviews seem to be very positive. It seems Apple engineers and programmers have a right to give themselves an (early) pat on the back.
NIN Releases Album via Internet : Free
It is no secret that we love Trent around here - and for very good reason.
Today NIN released The Slip via the nin.com site completely free of charge.
This follows Trent’s direct to consumer release of Ghosts - where he sold the album for $5 per full download. Fans can register via email address on the site and will receive a token to download the album. (Props go out to you trent - the site experience is much improved from ghosts).
Torrents are available both for lossless flac download and for purist audiophiles - wave format as well (1.2 gig download).
The internet boards are buzzing with fans begging for more, asking where to donate money and making all out fan-love to trent.
Go download the album. Take a listen to tracks #2 and #3 - my personal faves.
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