Latest News from ADOBE FLEX JOURNAL

How Do You Qualify Something as "Cloud Computing"?

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:00:00 EDT

Practically every one with an online business model is now referring to their service as cloud computing - starting from your average Joe hosting firm all the way to the SaaS/S+S vendors, every wants to ride the next buzzword wave, and this distorts the cloud computing term all together. Part of the reason being that historically the term "cloud" loosely referred to anything that’s available online/on the Internet. Ask a bunch of geeks and you would get a different explanation of cloud computing from each person (if you ever asked a bunch of people what Web 2.0 is you know what I mean). So how can we qualify if a service is really leveraging the cloud computing model?

Clear Toolkit for Flex Goes Private Beta

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 06:41:00 EDT

Clear Toolkit 3.0 is a set of components, code generators, and plugins created by software engineers of Farata Systems that they were using internally in multiple Flex enterprise projects. This toolkit will be available free of charge.

Keys to Success When Load Testing Today's Flex Applications

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:30:00 EDT

In today's complex web application world, developers need to test applications that go beyond simple HTTP-based pages. They need to test Rich Internet Applications that incorporate complex technologies like Adobe's Flex. Adobe Flex applications may be different from applications you worked with previously. With applications that deliver HTML as the user interface, the server does all of the processing. Users simply page back and forth to the server.

Flex 4 SDK News

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:00:00 EDT

Yesterday, a new component architecture and feature specifications were provided to the Flex SDK open source developer community. The Flex team targets three primary teams: design in mind, developer productivity, and framework evolution.

Little ISV Sues Google for $1 Billion

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:30:00 EDT

A little Chicago ISV called LimitNone is suing Google for nigh on to a billion dollar charging it with misappropriating its trade secrets to beat back Microsoft Office. Seems a year ago March LimitNone shared its mojo for migrating Outlook users and their calendars and contacts to Gmail with Google and according to LimitNone's story the widgetry turned up in Google Apps despite Google's assurances that it had no intention of developing a similar product.

Integration Between Flex and AJAX Made Easy

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Flex is a great way to introduce rich Internet applications to your enterprise. However, in the real world, you often have to do it gradually. Most business units of any enterprise that are sold on RIA would prefer adding Flex-based components to their old but working Web 1.0 applications one at a time. With DreamFace-Fx, it's a trivial process.

Upcoming events for Flex developers

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 09:00:00 EDT

AX 2008 conference is the main event for people interested in the software made by Adobe. MAX North America will take place in San Francisco MAX-2008 in November and the session schedule is published. This year its agenda includes more fifty sessions about Flex. Two more Flex events are scheduled this year.

The Art & Science of SOA: How Governance Enables Adoption

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Melding a stable enterprise architecture with the right level of technical and organization transparency involves two different perspectives. An architect can lay a SOA foundation that enables development teams to build new functionality leveraging Web Services. However, without a librarian's perspective, the interaction between service providers and consumers sharing SOA assets can lead to your SOA projects stagnating. In this session, you?ll learn how Volvofinans brought together these two perspectives to accelerate SOA adoption.

Hypervisor Breaches: Myths vs. Reality

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:30:00 EDT

There has been much speculation about the security posture of virtualized environments. One identified vulnerability is the 'hypervisor' threat in which a hacker can break out of a guest OS and onto the host OS of a server. How great a danger is the hypervisor threat? What security barriers should IT erect before and after they implement their virtual environment? Virtual security expert Hezi Moore will help attendees separate the virtualized wheat from the real chaff.

Real-Time Virtualization for the Connected World: From Back-End Datacenters to Front-End Devices

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:15:00 EDT

Today, many organizations hear the term virtualization and still only think of the technology used in a datacenter. While this might be where virtualization started and has received a lot of attention, the next wave of virtualization is happening in connected devices through embedded technologies. When applied, virtualization allows organizations and developers working with front-end connected devices such as mobile phones, set-top boxes and WiMax base stations, to experience business benefits such as reduced bill-of-material costs, faster time-to-market and richer, more functional designs that feature reduced power, improved security and greater reliability.

INetU Premieres Citrix Virtualization Offering

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:00:00 EDT

Application delivery infrastructure firm, Citrix Systems' XenServer, has been chosen by managed web hosting company, INetU, for the launch of its new virtualization offering. INetU will be managing virtual servers for clients running Microsoft Windows and Red Hat Linux. Virtualization technology offers a myriad of benefits for the clients of managed hosting including simplified server migration, backup and restoration through snapshot technology and the ability to maximize investments in hardware. INetU chose Citrix XenServer after extensive research and testing.

Virtualization of Web Applications

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:45:00 EDT

This presentation will compare and contrast Web application virtualization solutions such as WebSphere Extended Deployment and hardware virtualization solutions. Particular emphasis will be provided on how the two solutions can be combined to provide the most flexible Web application hosting environment.

The Business Drivers for Virtualization

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:45:00 EDT

There is plenty of discussion about virtualization, but who does it really benefit? How can enterprises adopt virtualization technologies to address real business problems? Is virtualization just another consolidation technology? How are other businesses using virtualization? Is there more that it can do to drive competitive advantage, business efficiency, security and compliance? Drawing on the industry's most in-depth independent research into virtualization to date, Andi Mann, senior analyst from Enterprise Management Associates, will help you to understand what are the key business drivers for virtualization, where to expect significant benefits and how to make sure that virtualization delivers strategic advantages.

Yahoo Cuts Deal with the Devil

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:45:00 EDT

After failing to come to terms with Microsoft, and with antitrust regulators hovering in the background, Yahoo has gone and cut that death-defying deal on search advertising with arch-rival Google saying the agreement could clear $800 million in annual revenues. The deal is non-exclusive, applies only to paid search and text ads, and is supposed to run for four years with an option to renew for up to 10 years.

Astaro to Exhibit at SYS-CON's Virtualization Conference & Expo

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:45:00 EDT

Astaro Corporation is a provider of Unified Threat Management security solutions. Its flagship product, the Astaro Security Gateway, simplifies Email, Web & Network Security and protects over 30,000 networks in 60 countries. Using the proven quality of a hardened Linux platform, the Astaro portfolio integrates open source and commercial security products, powerful management and reporting facilities, and is rounded off with a front end that has ease of use.

Implementing a Highly Distributed, Real-time Data-critical SOA Application

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:30:00 EDT

SOA implementations are increasingly reliant on streams of data that are time-critical, reliably delivered and sourced from mixed infrastructures in a highly distributed environment. Data formats, delivery mechanisms, fault tolerance capabilities and stateful semantics embedded in data are often inadequately considered when architecting and implementing large scale real-time SOA applications. This talk will introduce several real-time data-centric technologies that specifically address the challenges of wide-scale, real-time data distribution, as well as how these technologies seamlessly integrate into existing SOA frameworks. Examples will be drawn from military and aerospace applications that are already seeing success with real-time, highly distributed SOA applications.

AppStream Now Part of Symantec to Exhibit at SYS-CON's Virtualization Conference & Expo

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:30:00 EDT

The patented, proven AppStream Management Suite offers virtual delivery, virtual execution and rule-based management for applications, serving end-user systems on the LAN, WAN and Internet from a central management console. AppStream's pull-based, on-demand software distribution platform combines the benefits of server-based computing (self-service access and centralized management & control) and distributed PC computing (disconnected application use and distributed processing), providing a 'best of both worlds' solution. Software deployment via streaming is perfect for remote delivery across the Internet or low-bandwidth extranets because it streams only the application functions that an end user actually needs, when those functions are needed, rather than delivering the entire application in advance. AppStream is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA with offices in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

WSO2 Named "Silver Sponsor" of SYS-CON's SOA World Conference & Expo

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:30:00 EDT

WSO2 is an open source middleware company founded by pioneers in Web services and of members of the Apache Software Foundation Web services community. WSO2 delivers a new, entirely open source middleware stack that is optimized for Web services and SOA and built on Apache Axis2. WSO2's first products are the WSO2 Web Services Application Server (WSAS) and WSO2 Enterprise Service Bus (ESB), which are built on the WSO2 Web Services Framework. The company maintains operations in the United States, United Kingdom and Sri Lanka.

SOA World Conference - "Facelift Your SOA with Rich Internet Applications"

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:15:00 EDT

We are entering an era of Rich Internet Applications (RIA) and enhancing the user experience of consumers of the services becomes an important part in designing and implementing SOA. But if you decide to develop rich clients, you'll be facing the dilemma - which way to go - remain with tried and true Java or .NET or experiment with such newcomers as AJAX, Flex, Silverlight, or JavaFX. While the Internet brings a lot of noise where 'it's cool' is the most popular definition, this presentation is an overview of what's out there on the enterprise RIA market. We'll talk about the pros and cons of using various techniques and technologies for the development of the front end for complex SOA distributed systems.

Virtualization Conference - Essential Requirements for Storage Virtualization

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:45:00 EDT

Storage virtualization introduces a level of abstraction that sits between application servers and physical storage resources to provide centralized volume management and non-disruptive data mobility. These capabilities help storage managers improve productivity, capacity-utilization and service levels. Its unique position between application servers and storage resources demands the highest levels of availability, performance and data integrity. This session will review the benefits of virtualization and how it improves productivity, capacity utilization and service levels. It will also discuss how second generation, network based storage virtualization can be used to meet the demands imposed by its central position in the I/O stack.

How the Delivery of Virtualization is Changing

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:45:00 EDT

As virtualization becomes more widely deployed, and enterprises look for new ways to leverage this revolutionary technology, the consumption and delivery of this technology is changing. It is no longer one-size-fits-all and confined to a specific area of the data center, but instead is proliferating within the data center and out to the user via the desktop and applications. This session will provide IT organizations with a short - and long - term roadmap by focusing on the new delivery models for virtualization (including embedded hypervisors and managed services), what's available today and what can be expected in the future, and best practices for deployment.

Red Hat Named "Platinum Sponsor" of Virtualization Conference & Expo

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:00:00 EDT

Red Hat is a trusted open source provider. Red Hat offers enterprise customers a long-term plan for building infrastructures on the quality and innovation of open source. Combining open source operating system platform, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, together with applications, management, and Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) solutions, including the JBoss Enterprise Middleware Suite.

JNetDirect to Exhibit at SYS-CON's SOA World Conference & Expo

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:15:00 EDT

JNetDirect provides software products for improving their customer's connectivity, integration, management and security to their data resources. Products include JDBC drivers, Business Intelligence, Database Management, Disaster Recovery/Backup solutions and Password Management applications. Below is a brief overview of some of these software applications. JDBC Drivers - Since 1999, JNetDirect database drivers have set the industry standard for performance and stability. Their JDBC drivers are deployed worldwide -- in virtually every conceivable Java configuration -- giving organizations unparalleled connectivity to their critical data sources.

Virtualization's Missing Link: Data Center Automation

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:45:00 EDT

Virtualization is not a new story; its technologies allow companies to meet new business needs and say goodbye to underutilized hardware platforms, power consumption, server sprawl and spiraling IT costs. The technology is here and the benefits are already proving to be fruitful. However, these benefits are only possible if effective management tools are in place. This session will discuss virtualization's missing link - data center automation - and how organizations can use it to create an agile, policy-based environment to automate and orchestrate virtual machine lifecycle management. For without proper management, companies only have a piece of the virtualization puzzle.

Virtualization Conference Session - "The Future of Virtualization"

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:45:00 EDT

As virtualization platform vendors strengthen and expand the feature sets of their respective offerings, it is almost a certainty that the data center in the future will include a heterogeneous mix of virtualization platforms as well as physical platforms. For organizations that are moving to virtualization, choosing the correct platform for their needs is only the start. For certain, organizations also will need to obtain a set of virtualization utilities to assist in moving to, and managing, one or more virtual platforms in their data centers. These utilities must not simply be ?repurposed? tools from the physical world, but should also be specifically designed to leverage the efficiencies and unique characteristics of the virtual platform. Virtualization utilities will be required for converting P2V, V2V, monitoring and optimizing performance of VMs, enabling backup and disaster recovery strategies, and reducing the costs of backup storage. The solutions needed to perform these tasks must not only be feature-rich and easy-to-use, they must also be multi-platform in order to support efficiencies in the data center and promote the highest ROI for virtualization projects.

Adobe Releases Significantly Enhanced LiveCycle ES

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:00:00 EDT

Adobe has released a substantially enhanced BPM/RIA solution. While LiveCycle suite isn't new software, its popularity increased in June of 2007 when the entire suite started to run on the same J2EE server and the RIA components were introduced. Today, over 5,000 enterprises use LiveCycle in financial services, government, manufacturing, and other verticals. Flex developers will enjoy easier integration with this powerful BPM software.

Flex Is Strong Because of Java

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 06:00:00 EDT

I received an email stating that AOL finally abandoned the ugly Java applet that was used in the ICQ2Go, the Web version of the hugely popular (about 30M users) instant messaging system. The person who sent me this email also wrote, 'IMO this was the last popular Java applet. Now the king is dead.'

White Paper: "How to Improve .NET Application Performance"

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:45:00 EDT

Many .NET applications fail to meet user requirements because they do not provide optimal access to underlying Oracle, Sybase, or DB2 databases. The root cause is often unmanaged ADO.NET data providers shipped by the database vendor or from Microsoft. In this paper, SQL Server MVP and SSWUG co-founder Stephen Wynkoop explores common misperceptions about data access technologies, describes the optimum architecture for ADO.NET data providers, and highlights key selection criteria for developers.

AJAX World RIA Conference News - Towards Ubiquitous Computing Using Flex

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:15:00 EDT

Nicholas Thomas, co-founder and COO of Finicity, believes that Flex + AIR via any desktop + Mobile (in one or more technical forms) can take us a step towards the vision that Mark Weiser presented in his original works on ubiquitous computing. As the primary client for a consumer web-based SaaS product, Flex has both advantages and disadvantages, according to Thomas.

Fresh Notes After Taking the Flex Certification Exam

Fri, 30 May 2008 23:45:00 EDT

Yesterday I realized that Friday's calendar was wide open, so I decided to take the Adobe Flex 2 Developer Exam. I knew plenty of other ways to kill a Friday, but I had to take this exam. I had no choice.

AJAX World - Google Web Toolkit RC1.5 Ready To Pop

Thu, 29 May 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Google's Web Toolkit Release Candidate 1.5 will be available later this week. That's the stuff programmers can use to develop and debug web applications in Java and then deploy them as highly optimized JavaScript. That way they're supposed to be able to sidestep common AJAX headaches like browser compatibility, and enjoy significant performance and productivity gains.

JNetDirect to Exhibit at SYS-CON's SOA World Conference & Expo

Thu, 29 May 2008 14:15:00 EDT

Where is 64-bit Linux support for Flash Player?

Tue, 27 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT

I run 32-bit Linux but there is a very vocal group of people who really want 64-bit Linux support for Flash Player. Today there is a decent workaround for running the 32-bit Flash Player on a 64-bit Linux system using the nspluginwrapper. From what I've heard it works fairly well on most distros but I haven't heard yet how well it works with the new Flash Player 10 beta.

Xsigo Expands Virtualization Channel Relationships

Fri, 23 May 2008 15:15:00 EDT

Xsigo Systems announced that it has added two new channel partners in the United States to distribute its I/O virtualization technology to enterprise customers. By using Xsigo's technology, it is estimated that users can lower their server-related operating expenses by up to 80%, cut capital costs by 50%, and use 70% less cabling -- resulting in 100x faster server management.

AJAX, RIA, SOA & Web 2.0 Mashups - Mash What?

Fri, 23 May 2008 14:15:00 EDT

It's what you don't see about the emerging Web that has everyone excited these days. Namely, it's the powerful application programming interfaces, or APIs. APIs are nothing new and have been traditionally cryptic and difficult to use. However, the advent of Web services along with the notion of mashups has changed the way we consider and leverage APIs going forward.

Good News for AJAX – The Browser Wars Are Back!

Fri, 23 May 2008 14:15:00 EDT

After years of dominance by a single browser, Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE), and few advances within IE, the world has changed. There is now healthy competition among multiple browsers over standards compliance, AJAX features, AJAX performance and trustworthy computing. The competition is reaching beyond the desktop to include the emerging world of mobile browsing. This healthy competition will result in important new capabilities within AJAX toolkits and will help accelerate the adoption of Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 technologies.

Yahoo Director Quits; Company Postpones Annual Meeting

Fri, 23 May 2008 14:15:00 EDT

The Yahoo board is one short. Edward Kozel, a former Cisco CTO and now a VC and a Yahoo board member since October of 2000, tendered his resignation Thursday saying he meant to leave in February but stayed on because of Microsoft's unsolicited acquisition proposal. Now he's going to do what he intended and spend more time with his family, including relocating them to Europe this summer.

AJAX RIA News Desk - TopQuadrant Delivers TopBraid Live 2.0

Wed, 21 May 2008 16:45:00 EDT

TopQuadrant has announced the general availability of TopBraid Live 2.0, a semantic application deployment platform that simplifies the creation of web services to a 'click and connect' process. Users can connect data from RDF stores, relational databases, spreadsheets, email, RSS feeds, as well as data in HTML and XML formats, without the need to understand programming languages. A new Flex API creates graphical 'information spaces' as the output, which allow users to browse dynamic information by following graphical links.

Adobe Flash Player 10 Public Beta Now on Adobe Labs

Thu, 15 May 2008 07:00:00 EDT

Today, Adobe announced the immediate availability of Adobe Flash Player 10 beta as a free download from Adobe Labs. Adobe Flash Player 10 beta, code named 'Astro', builds on the capabilities of the world's most ubiquitous application runtime with new support for custom filters and effects, native 3D transformation and animation, extensible rich text layout, and GPU hardware acceleration.

Flex 4: My Wish List

Wed, 07 May 2008 07:00:00 EDT

Flex 2 was released in the Summer of 2006 and it was a mini-revolution in the RIA space. Almost nobody knew about Flex 1.5, but now almost everyone has at least heard about this software. Flex 3 was released in early 2008. It has a number of useful new features, but it was not a major release. In my opinion, a more modest 2.5 would suffice. We are expecting more now. Flex 4 will come out to the world next year and while the Flex team has announced a number of very interesting syntax improvements, I'd love to see more fundamental improvements in this great RIA tool.

Additions to My Computer Book Shelf

Fri, 02 May 2008 10:15:00 EDT

Many young programmers don't read books anymore. They google. They argue, 'When I need to find a solution it's just a click away. Why bother purchasing books that are outdated by the time of printing? Real programmers learn by doing - trial and errors'. I do not agree with this.

Adobe and Industry Leaders Establish Open Screen Project

Thu, 01 May 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Today, Adobe announced the Open Screen Project, supported by a group of industry leaders. The project is dedicated to driving rich Internet experiences across televisions, personal computers, mobile devices, and consumer electronics.

Responding to the "Adobe Flex Shortcomings" Java Blog

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:15:00 EDT

Vectors supporting types are the part of next release - and are billed more of performance/coding help then language enhancement. Most of the Java 5 constructs are not really applicable to ActionScript 3 - for fair comparison you need to use Java 7/8 with dynamic scripting language support - and then the way you speak that language changes. Compare how enum support evolved in Java over the years - starting with patterns - and you would think of language as of evolving environment. I was coming to Java in '97 from C++ and I thought of it as a very poor language. 10 years made it almost tolerable - but I still miss ability to redefine operators - does it really matter to anyone who never did it in first place?

Adobe Reorgs: Mandels and Ramadan Gone, Lynch in Charge of the Whole Magilla

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:15:00 EDT

Told ya Adobe was gonna reorganize and put its mobile/devices operation in with its platform operation in the name of moving to a single technology platform and runtime for PCs, handsets and consumer devices. Adobe's new CTO Kevin Lynch, the creator of AIR, is basically in charge of the whole magilla now. Gary Kovacs, VP of product management and marketing for the mobile and devices business, will be general manager of the unit, reporting to Lynch, replacing Al Ramadan, who is leaving.

"Apple Should Buy Adobe," Cringeley Thinks – And He Explains Why

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 21:00:00 EDT

Robert X. Cringely thinks Apple should buy Adobe. In an article published on the National Public Radio website discussing Apple's future, he lays out some goals for Apple on its quest to desktop dominance: an important link in this chain, according to Cringeley, is the aquisition by Apple of Adobe Systems.

New Major Release of Flex Is Due This Summer

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:00:00 EDT

This caught me by surprise. Isn't it a bit too soon? One of the most interesting features of this Flex release is configurable modules. This new release also features lots of new controls. I like the grooved panels. The Web site to promote the new Flex is done in Flex too (finally!).

The Heck With What Steve Jobs Thinks: Adobe

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 05:30:00 EDT

Apple CEO Steve Jobs may think Flash is junk, but Adobe says it's creating a media player for the iPhone anyway using the software tools Apple just released for third-party use. Once built, Adobe intends to distribute the thing through Apple's iTunes store, according to what Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen told Wall Street when Adobe released its quarterly results.

Flex on Wall Street

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EDT

If you are evaluating technologies for your next rich Internet financial application, do not miss this one day event 'Flex on Wall Street' that will take place in New York City on April 18, 2008.

Communigate delivers Pronto!

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EDT

CommuniGate Systems, the leader in carrier-class Rich Media Internet Communications, today announced the availability of Pronto! 2.0, the latest version of its powerful, yet lightweight Unified Communications user interface framework built with Adobe® Flex® 3, deployed in the browser with Adobe Flash® Player and to the desktop with Adobe® AIR.

Application Built in Adobe Flex and Adobe AIR

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Verb Exchange announced a deal with interface design specialist, Nitobi, to develop the desktop and web interfaces for Tabrio, a new way to stay in touch with anyone, anywhere. Verb Exchange and Nitobi will work together to enhance the Tabrio user experience, making Tabrio feature-rich.