Wednesday, March 30th, 2005
CMX Weekly Newsletter
Check the News!
The Envelope, Please!
Join us in congratulating Robin Button and Heather Armstrong for winning the contest we ran to celebrate the publication of our 1000th article. Their prize is a fabulous collection of books by CMX authors that includes everything from The ActionScript Bible to Dreamweaver MX 2004 Magic. We know that Robin and Heather will read them all with eagerness, and have a lot of knowledge to share.
If you didn't win, don't be too disappointed. We're now close to article 1050, and you'll never be lacking for reading material as long as you stayed tuned to our CMX online library of all things Macromedia.
While You're Looking At My Taxes, Could You Pay Them Too?
If you're using any file-trading software like Kazaa or Limewire and you also file your own taxes online, be careful to note exactly what folder you're sharing files from. Make sure your tax return software is not storing its data in the same spot, or you might get a call from "Jeff." Jeff, who didn't offer his last name to the folks at wtoctv.com, found tax information from dozens of file-sharers who presumably are unaware that they are sharing this potentially valuable information.
Maybe They'll Just Be Mini-Attacks
Antivirus makers speculate that the advent of low-cost Macs, such as the Mac mini, could cause Apple computers to be a more desirable target for virus makers. Listening to the makers of Norton Antivirus warn you of increasingly frequent viruses is a bit like getting your weather forecast from an umbrella salesman, but they could be on to something. You can check out the logic in this Wired.com article.
This Guy's Name Has Got To Be Chip (At Least We Didn't Say "Hey, This is Handy!")
We couldn't find a link that gave this guy's name, but he has implanted an RFID chip in his left hand. He'll use the ID to unlock his car, log into his computer, and presumably stop using the Clapper to turn his lights on and off. With only a 2-inch range, he doesn't really have to worry about anyone hacking into the data on his hand. RFIDNews.org has a bit of commentary, as well as a link to a question/answer session with the nameless fellow.
Judge Rules In Favor Of Truth In Advertising
Blockbuster's recent "No Late Fees Ever" campaign came to a halt after a judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs — the plaintiffs being forty seven states where people understood the paradox of paying no late fees, yet being charged for movies that were not returned within seven days. Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox ruled that Blockbuster must be more forthcoming with its late fee policies, and must be consistent with their practices from store to store. Netflix was heard snickering loudly, while Hollywood Video was happy someone else was taking the heat for a change. MSN Money has more on the $630,000 settlement.
Satisfied Customers Speak Out!
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"I sure love CMX! I know, I know, say it all the time, but see, I have learned SOOOOO much here. I learned how to use FW instead of PS; I've learned CSS, I'm beginning to learn Flash, and I've just done so many cool things that I could never do before and I OWE IT ALL TO CMX!!! Wow! What a place. Don't EVER leave me CMX."
-PJ, Ecstatic CMX Subscriber
Whether you're just starting out or need advanced support, Community MX will give you answers and ideas to work through your tough issues. Don't miss out. Learn more about CMX or sign up for a free trial today!
Great Quotes:
"If Bill Gates had a dime for every time Windows crashes... Oh, wait a minute, he already does." — Unknown
Dude, You're Getting a... Really Light Dell Laptop
Dell just started selling a two and a half pound laptop that should be a big hit with travelers. The weight alone is a pretty hot selling point for anyone who is used to lugging around a heavier machine. The Latitude X1 also has a sealed keyboard to keep spills away from the innards. Read more about this featherweight laptop at Yahoo!
What Percentage Said They Simply Cry Like a Baby?
When your computer acts up, what is your first reaction? We don't mean those times when a program stalls or your computer just freezes. We mean one of those times when it appears that your computer is plain old fried; no response on startup, or nothing but a blue screen of death. Slashdot.org linked to this article at MSNBC.com where the results of a survey show that people can have some interesting reactions to this particularly stressful situation.
MySQL Could Be Your Very Important Upgrade
The MySQL 5.0 beta is out. Anyone familiar with this extremely popular open source database will enjoy the new enterprise features, such as stored procedures, triggers and views. David Axmark, co-founder of MySQL, says "We're fixing 10 years of criticism in one release." We ran across this news at ZDNet.com.
Creator of the Blaster-B Worm Gets Community Service
Is it scary that Jeffrey Lee Parson, creator of the Blaster-B internet worm was fined $500,000 for his actions by Microsoft? Of course not. Is it scary that Microsoft decided to let Parson off the monetary hook and allow him to pay them back through doing 225 hours of community service? Not really. You know what's scary? Jeffrey Lee Parson is scary!
...and the Number One Sign That it's Time to Step Away From the Keyboard is...
Don't you just hate it when you lend someone your virtual sword and he sells it to someone else online? If you even have a virtual sword, and this happens to you, you should be forewarned that the police do not consider a sword you use in an online game to be actual property. You should also be warned that if you kill someone for selling your virtual sword, the police will consider that to be an actual manslaughter. ZDNet.com reports on this obvious blur between fantasy and reality.
CMX User Password Component
- This ready-to-use ColdFusion component (CFC) provides a simple mechanism to handle assigning passwords to user accounts, verifying passwords provided by users, and generating random passwords for accounts.
Take a look at this CMX Component by CMX Partner Arman Danesh
Fun and Freebies!
We Saw Right Through This One
Move your monitor. Take a picture of the spot your monitor was in. Make wallpaper for your monitor from the picture you just took. Sounds simple and silly enough, but the effect is pretty neat. Who knew so many people would post their pictures at Flickr.com?
If You Enjoy Being Lazy So Much, Why Don't You Write a Book About it?
Jamie Reidy worked for Pfizer for a few years as a salesman, and wrote a book that included information on how much he goofed off and was able to get away with being a huge slacker while he worked there. Apparently his current employer, Eli Lilly & Co, was not too impressed and fired him for telling the world what a slacker he was. Infospace.com has more info on Jamie, who really should have used an alias...
Some Things Are Worth Repeating
Web developers, graphic artists, programmers and technicians run into a unique flavor of clients. Dealing with folks who just don't "get" what you do can make for some pretty interesting interaction between you and a client. Don't feel bad though. For every war story you might have, ClientCopia.com can top it and make you laugh hysterically at the same time.
Slicing Fireworks Navigation Bars With Frames (Free)
- A question that often comes up when discussing slicing Fireworks navigation compositions is "Should I use layers or frames for composing my image?" The short answer is, "Yes", which is really no answer at all of course. The slightly longer answer is "It depends."
This free article by CMX Partner Kim Cavanaugh can be found here.
Weekly Content Listing
Formatting Dates, Numeric Values, and Text on Your ASP.NET Pages - Part 1
Formatting values on your ASP.NET pages is easier than you might think. Dreamweaver offers built-in formatting options for many common formatting patterns for dates, numbers, and text. But sometimes you need uncommon formatting or maybe it's just plain easier to bypass DW and do it yourself in code view.
Learn when and how to use DW's built-in formatting options in Part 1. Part 2 will explore customizing your own date/time, number, and text formats.
ActionScript Drawing API Part 2: Masks and Transitions
In Part 1 of this tutorial, ActionScript Drawing API: Part 1 - Basic Lines, Shapes and Fills, we learned how to create basic squares, curves and lines and fill them with a color. I was thinking about what I should cover first for Part 2 of the ActionScript Drawing API and I thought it might make sense to actually show an applicable use of the drawing API before I move on to more advanced topics.
Programmatic masking is a great example of the drawing API in action. In this article, we will cover the drawing of shapes to be used as masks and the manipulation of these shapes over time to create some really cool masking transitions for use in your projects. Once you know the basics, you can get more fancy with your code and create some really interesting shapes and animations to create more robust masks and transitions.
CSS Negative Margins - Part Two: Two Column Liquid Layouts
A liquid or fluid layout is one in which at least one of the columns changes in width depending on the viewport size of the user. Because the end user controls the width of the columns, not you, you risk inserting content that is too large to accommodate the user's column width. If a piece of content is too large for its column, it either overflows or, in the case of Internet Explorer and float-based layouts, drops the entire column down the page. Luckily, negative margins provide a way for us to fix this problem and, in the process, make our page more accessible as well! Read on for a two column liquid layout that is resistant to Internet Explorer's float drops and has good source order. It's a great starting point for your own web page layouts.
A Photo Correction Case Study
You thought you'd taken the perfect picture with your digital camera, only to find that when it was examined on your computer that there were some serious flaws. In this Captivate video case study you'll follow along with me as I fix a family photo that was taken recently. How can Fireworks be used to remove those flaws using the Rubber Stamp tool? What settings work best in certain situations, and what other tools can you use to help speed things along? This 3-part video tutorial with 15 minutes of instruction answers those questions and more as you follow along with the steps I took to fix my photograph.
Color Correction Part 4: Pixel Clipping
When a pixel gets "clipped" in Fireworks, all sorts of nastiness breaks out. See how judicious use of sliders and values can either improve - or destroy - an image.
Basic FTP in Your PHP Scripts
Although many developers regard PHP simply as a tool for dynamic web sites, there are many situations in which it can be used to make a web administrator's job easier and more efficient. In this article, we take a look at PHP's native FTP functionality, and how it can be used to help automate the task of creating and updating a Froogle data feed.
Breezin' with Breeze - Part 3: The Captivate Connection
It isn't only PowerPoint that can be used to create Breeze content. A direct upload to Breeze from Captivate is dead simple to accomplish and adds a whole new level of interactivity to your Breeze efforts.
ColdFusion MX 7 on Macintosh OS X: Part 2 [FREE]
Part 2 in our CF 7/Panther series shows you how to install the latest version of ColdFusion with JRun 4 in a number of different scenarios: as a new version, as an upgrade from an earlier version, or as a parallel installation with your existing version of ColdFusion.
Creating a Realistic Cast Shadow
In the early days of CMX, I wrote an article on Creating Perspective Shadows in Fireworks MX. Those concepts still hold true, but I thought I would share another technique. Consider this an enhancement which produces an even more realistic - and controllable - cast shadow.
This technique makes use of a vector mask, a marquee selection and two copies of the bitmap selection, each filled with black.
CMX Slideshow (Flash Extension)
This extension for Flash MX 2004 loads external JPEG and SWF files to create a Flash slideshow. The CMX Slideshow component is very customizable and includes support for hyperlinks, captions, padding, resizing, transitions, controls, and much more.
You can also access CMX Slideshow's methods, properties, and events using ActionScript. The support files demonstrate how to create your own custom controls, and how to load a list of images from an external XML file.
PHP Zip
- Learn how to read ZIP archives using PHP. In this article you'll learn the basics of reading data from ZIP archives, and how to extract the files, and recreate the directory structure.
Check out the article by CMX Partner Joey Lott
Tips, Tricks and Dirty Cheats!
This week's Tip, Trick or Dirty Cheat is courtesy of Jim Babbage, CMX Partner.
Creating a Custom Grid Command in Fireworks
The default grid size in Fireworks is not something I find useful, because of the grid dimensions. You can create your own custom grid though, and save it as a Command. Here's how:
- Open a file. choose VIEW > GRID > EDIT GRID and set the attributes and dimensions you want, including SHOW GRID.
- Click OK
- Go to the History panel and select the EDIT GRID step.
- Choose the Save Command icon (small floppy disk), give the command a name and click OK.
- The command will appear in the lower part of the COMMANDS menu, and will be available every time you launch Fireworks.
Would you like your tip published? Submit it to tips@communitymx.com.
That's it for this week. Stay tuned for the next CMX newsletter!