New for 2009
Posted by admin | Filed under Ramblings
It’s now 3 months in to 2009 so this post isn’t quite as timely as I’d like it to be but I got my shiny new MacBook Pro 2 weeks ago and it inspired me to write about some of the new technologies I’m hoping to play around with this year.
Explore the Gaia Framework
I’ve never used a Flash framework, in fact this is the first one I’ve heard of. When I build a Flash site my least favorite part is always sitting down and planning out the loading structure. Where the data is coming from, when its going to load etc etc. It’s dull, repetitive and takes away from all the fun creative interface creation I enjoy so much BUT it’s very important to consider unless you want to have a crummy sluggish site. In the past I’ve written my own loading classes and used existing classes (ie: BulkLoader) but after reading about Gaia I’m excited to see how they handle loading and other typical Flash site needs ie:transitions. Oh, and bonus points because it plays nice with SWFAddress and TweenLite! Two Flash classes I can’t live without. 
Take Flash IK for a Test Run
One of the main reasons I upgraded my computer was so that I could run the new CS4 suite. My old TIBook just couldn’t handle Adobe anymore. Now that I have CS4 I’m looking forward to running through a few tutorials on IK and rigging a few objects/characters.
Make a Layout Using CSS Tables
Now this probably won’t happen on any professional work just yet but I’ve put off working with CSS tables for awhile now. In my 9-5 good old IE6+7 make up over 70% of our users in most cases so using CSS tables for <30% of users doesn’t quite justify it for me just yet.
Well there’s three of many new techniques/skills/tools I’m hoping to get familiar with this year. I just hope I can find enough hours in the day for everything!
Tags: CS4, CSS Tables, Flash, Gaia, IK