Jay Armstrong - Flashes of Interest

I have been asked many times if there is a decent Flash glossary out there, so I thought I would create an entry to act as a hub for such glossaries. Please send me links in the comments to any that I have missed or that are added in the future. I'll add them to the list as they come in.

Please also send comments about terms that you think should be included in glossaries. I'd love to hear what terms you have found frustrating or confusing in your own learning process or with people you've taught.

In most cases, the glossaries that exist provide only fairly cursory definitions. It's not that I think there should be a whole treatise on each term, but it would be nice to see definitions that give a new or learning user a real sense of what a term means and how it fits into Flash as a whole.

Here are a few links to what's out there so far:

Addison-Wesley's Web Wizard Series:
http://wps.aw.com/aw_webwizard/2/721/184735.cw/index.html
This one has a decent list of terms, often with fairly short definitions.

Wikispaces.com:
http://msit8q3.wikispaces.com/Flash+Glossary
This one is very short, and somewhat out of date. One nice thing about it is that some of the entries have links to short tutorials.

Flash SEO:
http://www.flashseo.com/glossary/
This one, at the Flash Search Engine Optimization web site, is pretty light weight, but it's nice to see it as a start. I'm not sure it will help anyone who really needs it. Hopefully it's a work in progress.

For those of you who haven't seen it yet, Kevin Lynch has written a blog post about the future of Flash and its place in the technology landscape. He addresses the variety of mobile devices, the iPad, and HTML5. It's definitely worth a read if you're interested in hearing the inside perspective from one of the lead architects of Flash's trajectory.

Update: as of 2/3/2010, there are over 70 comments on Kevin's post. Kevin has added a lengthy comment in response, which you can see here.

Are you considering creating written or video tutorials for Flash Pro CS5? If so, Adobe is willing to collaborate with you toward the following ends:

• We can point out to you new features in Flash Pro CS5 in need of tutorials.
• You need not be on the Flash Pro CS5 Beta list, we can get you added.
• We can let you know of some tutorials already in production, in case you'd like to avoid duplicating the efforts of others.
• We can create links from the Flash Pro Help system to your tutorials, to drive traffic to your site.
• We can help you post your video tutorials to Adobe TV, if that is something you would like to do.

If you are considering creating videos, here are some of the common characteristics we have found in the most successful video tutorials:

• Video duration is 5-8 minutes. Users resoundingly prefer short content.
• Steps present real-life workflow, avoiding tangent information or alternate workflows.
• Voiceover is clear, in sync, and descriptive of each step on screen.
• Speed of voiceover is not rushed and is appropriate to understanding of content.
• Product UI is legible in video after compression (see Learn CS4 shows for examples).
• Avoid long (4+ seconds) narrated sequences without action.
• Use of overlays of pointers or highlights does not distract from content.
• Assets are simple and relevant to the task. Aesthetics and design quality of assets are relevant to the user audience.
• Credits are brief (around 10 seconds) so users don't give up before the content begins

If you are interested in coordinating your tutorial efforts with Adobe's in-house documentation efforts for Flash Pro CS5, please drop me a line at jarmstrong at adobe.com. After we receive your signed NDA, I can share more specific information.

AIR developers, the latest release of the Adobe Integrated Runtime is now available on Adobe.com.

This release includes:
- Improvements to certificate renewals
- WebKit version 34190
- The latest Flash Player v. 10.0.42.34
- Bug fixes

You can download the new version here:
http://get.adobe.com/air/

Check out the announcement on the AIR Team blog at:
http://blogs.adobe.com/air/2009/12/adobe_air_153_now_available.html

You can find the detailed release notes here:
http://www.adobe.com/support/documentation/en/air/1_5_3/releasenotes_developers.html#newfeat

Enjoy.

The Adobe Developer Connection is has announced that the brand new Adobe Cookbooks application is now live. This uber Adobe Cookbook application replaces the individual, product-specific cookbook applications that were previously in place for Flex, AIR and Mobile. The new application will still support those technologies, in addition to a dozen or so additional technologies, all within a single application. For those new to the cookbook applications, they are a searchable repository for community-generated code samples.

You can read more about the new application in Ed Sullivan's Logged In article on the Adobe Developer Connection.

A few key Cookbook links:
http://cookbooks.adobe.com - Cookbook home
http://cookbooks.adobe.com/flash
http://cookbooks.adobe.com/flex
http://cookbooks.adobe.com/air
http://cookbooks.adobe.com/actionscript
http://cookbooks.adobe.com/flashcatalyst
http://cookbooks.adobe.com/mobile
http://cookbooks.adobe.com/flashplayer