Since everyone else seems to be doing it, here is my intended schedule for Flash on the Beach: Day 1

• Mike Downey - Flash and the Adobe Engagement PlatformCraig Swann - ..and now for something completely different…Mike Chambers - Understanding ApolloAral Balkan - Memo to the CEOEric Natzke - Keep Interest(ed)

Day 2

• Mike Jones - The Devil is in the DetailJoey Lott - AS3 Design PatternsRick Shupe - Vecmaps and BittersEdwin van Rijkom - Screenweaver haXeFrances Bourre - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Game Development But Were Afraid To Ask

Day 3

• Geoff Stearns - Flash in a Web 2.0 WorldSascha Wolter - Enterprise FlashMichael Ninness - Photoshop to FlashChris Pelsor - The Power and Problems of PrototypingMario Klingemann - Mashup Baby!

See you all there! (more…)

Well, in little over an hour I’ll be departing for Heathrow Airport for yet another business trip to the States. First stop this time around Phoenix, which should be nice given that its been cold, windy and rainy over here these past few days. I wonder if they have caught the serial killer yet…Kind of excited to be heading back out there (the 10 hour flight should help quell that!) but at the same time I think that I would be just as happy staying in the UK for the next month or so - since I got back from my last trip, I’ve seen lots of friends whom I haven’t caught up with in ages, plus have been to wonderful conferences such as dConstruct - all of that is going to make me miss being at home… Oh well… hopefully next year my role will have an International focus (non-US) as opposed to the current “everything under the sun” focus that it has at the moment.On a slightly unrelated note, keep an eye out for new versions of BumbleSearch and GTDGmail - due next week. BumbleSearch has undergone some changes since its last release, and there will be even more changes toward the end of the year. GTDGmail now supports SeaMonkey and has a few more nice things such as keyboard shortcuts. Also on the horizon is our next project, delving into the world of XXXXXXXXXXXX, and also (hopefully) becoming cross platform and cross browser, can’t say much more at the moment! (more…)

Well, I had an interesting conversation today with a Website Marketing type person…Me: “So, now that we are building lots of Web apps using rich media, and technologies like Flash, I was wondering where we stand on accessibility? It looks like its going to become more of a legal issue now that precedent has been set in the US with Target. Where does accessibility figure in our strategy for 2007 and beyond?”Marketer: “You mean availability?”Me: “No, accessibility - ensuring our site is accessible across different browsers, and regardless of things such as disabilities, so we don’t discriminate against our customers in the online services we offer”Marketer: “Oh, I get ya. Good question… Really good question. Well at the moment we have a few pages in Spanish and Chinese, the problem is we have to go off and create them separately, and its a pain to keep them updated. A colleague mentioned the Target thing the other week, I should have really found out more, but I suppose accessibility isn’t our highest priority compared to something like user experience.”Me: “Oookay….”I’ll leave the reader to draw their own interpretations. (more…)