Augmented Reality Christmas Card [Flash, Papervision, FlarToolkit]

Happy Holidays from The Basement!

Todd, Amy, Dan, and Joseph have been very busy these past few days getting their heads wrapped around placing Papervision into FlarToolkit and coming up with a Basement Christmas Card: Check it out.

Dan took the lead on sound. Joseph did the 3D modeling and Animation. Amy designed the 2D aspects of the site. Todd brought it all together in Flash.

Special thanks goes to the Papervision team as well as Saqoosha and the Spark Project for their open source contributions.

Flash Freelancers Needed

2010 is looking as though it will be a busy year for The Basement. We are looking to add Flash designers/developers to our current entourage of freelancers. If you are interested in working with us, please submit the following information to mark[AT]thebasement[DOT]tv

1. Name
2. Location. Anywhere is acceptable; however, bonus points will be given to those in Indianapolis and are willing to work in house.
3. Portfolio
4. What types of projects are you most qualified for? Banners, Microsites, Websites, Games, RIA, etc.
5. What types of projects are you most interested in working on? (See list from #4)

That is all we need at this time. Once projects start coming down the pipes we can get into the nitty gritty details.

Feel free to send any questions or hit me up on twitter.

Flash Break Out - Indianapolis Flash Event

*Update* We will be meeting upstairs in Theory room 13. Park wherever and there should be signs pointing to the room. Also, ITT has opened one of its labs for us. If you don't have a laptop, no worries, bring your work in on a flash drive or e-mail it to yourself and you should be fine. Thanks!

Flash Indianapolis is going to kick off the new year with something a little different. Instead of meeting for an hour during a weeknight, we will be holding a Saturday afternoon event. Instead of having a speaker, we are going to let everyone to bring their laptops, their work, and their questions. We will focus on collaboration and discussion. It will be an open room, anyone can request help on understanding a topic or a specific problem they are working on. People can branch off into side tables to discuss things they are interested in. Some people will be answering questions, some asking, some both... there will be no assigned roles. Questions can be anything, but please try to tie it into designing and developing on the Flash Platform.

Feel free to get the discussions started on the forums as we will get much better answers if we have time to prepare and collaborate before the event.

Anyone is welcome to join. You do not need to be a member of Flash Indianapolis nor do you have to even live in Indianapolis. Feel free to spread this around and invite your friends.

Day:
Saturday - January 30th

Schedule:
1:00pm: Doors open.
4:30pm: Wrap up and Recap. Share findings.
5:00pm: Head to Rock Bottom for Dinner and a Beer

Location:
ITT Technical Institute has graciously offered Theory room 13 and Lab 12 for us to meet in. Their building is located here:
9511 Angola Court
Indianapolis, IN 46268-3160

Feel free to RSVP here.

Adobe Clears air on Flash Player 10.1 Runtime Restrictions

One thing you can't deny about Adobe is that they are listening. Be it a forum question, a blog post, over even a tweet. If you have a genuine question, they will do their best to give a genuine answer. For that, I highly respect Adobe.

Earlier this month I was confused about how Adobe could promote the Open Screen Project while they were still using an End User License Agreement that stated you could only run Flash on a PC.

Adobe responded in force:
John Dowdell said he understood the rule to mean that one can no redistribute the Flash Player without a license and that the device needed to be able to update the player.

Tom M Nguyen, Product Manager for the Adobe Flash Player, added his take on the forums by saying the main restriction is that the device needs to be able to update the Flash player since non-update-able devices would be detrimental to the user's experience.

Emmy Huang, Group Product Manager for the Adobe Flash Player, ended the debate by saying the EULA I was referencing was dated February of 2008 and will be updated once Mobile builds are ready for beta. Here is her response in full:

The EULA and distribution agreement have not been updated yet. We don't have mobile builds posted anywhere since they aren't in beta.

If you check the date, the EULA is from Feb of 2008.

Also, keep in mind that Adobe may not be the ones distributing the player binaries. Through Open Screen Project, partners can license source for porting in which case the EULA does not come from Adobe.

Also note that OSP royalty free terms are for open systems with the goal of providing a consistent runtime for web browsing and applications. Closed systems do not qualify for royalty free licensing. If you have a question about whether your use case qualifies for OSP terms, you can contact OSP here http://www.openscreenproject.org/contact/

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That should clear up the debate. As long as your device can download the player and update itself then you will be able to use Flash Player 10.1 without a special license or fee. So back to work everyone, continue planning your mobile devices and non-PC content.

Hypocrisy -> Adobe Flash Runtime Restrictions for Player 10.1

Update: Adobe Clears the Air

I am confused. Not a first, I know... or a last for that matter. But follow me on this one and see if this makes sense to you:

1. Adobe leads Open Screen Project initiative to "Enable consumers to engage with rich Internet experiences seamlessly across any device, anywhere". (Sources: OpenScreenProject, Oct. 2009 Press Release)
2. "Adobe Runtime Restrictions. You will not use any Adobe Runtime on any non-PC device or with any embedded or device version of any operating system." They go on to list mobile, digital signage, TV, etc, as examples. (Source: Flash Player 10.1 End user License Agreement)

#1 seems clear enough. Everyone use Flash Everywhere! Yeah Flash!

#2 also seems clear. Flash is only for the PC, otherwise do no pass go, do not collect 200 dollars.

Hmmm. The press release states that Flash 10.1 is going to be geared for desktop AND mobile. The 10.1 EULA states that you need to contact Adobe Licensing for more information on obtaining a license on non-PC devices... including mobile.

After a quick Google search, it seems I am not the only one confused. Even 'Expert Digital Signage Consulting' is confused. AND they are experts! (and consultants!)

In the comments of the post you will notice that Bill Gerba, of WireSpring states:

We have been told -- in no uncertain terms, by Adobe legal themselves -- that if you want to use an Adobe-provided Flash player for digital signage, you HAD to license it from one of their special licensing agents, regardless of operating system, size of screen, or any other factor.

This can't be right. Open Source for all devices yet you need a license for digital signage???

Adobe, hear our plea! Clear this hypocrisy up please!

Hire me, Headblade (Based on the true story of Eric Romer)

Many people are on their way to becoming professional job searchers. They have their application process down to a science. When a new job gets posted they proceed with their usual routine:

1. tidy resume/portfolio
2. customize cover letter template
3. cross their fingers and hope for the best

Professional job searcher, in this context, becomes somewhat of an oxymoron. The better you get at your routine, the more times your routine has failed. Maybe it is time to break the mold?

Take this job posting from HeadBlade for example:
Interactive/Social Media Marketing Manager

HeadBlade, Inc. is seeking an Interactive Marketing Manager to strategize and execute online marketing initiatives and engage social media networks to further extend the brand and reach new customers. HeadBlade’s best known product is a proprietary head shaving razor on wheels that has revolutionized head shaving and received accolades for its design.

Eric Romer, a proud user of HeadBlade, found this job posting and felt it would be a perfect fit. He lists his specialties on LinkedIn as the following: "online brand management, search marketing, SEO, corporate blogging, integrating traditional advertising with new media".

Sounds good to me. His specialties match the job description, his experience meets/exceeds the requirements, and the fact that he has been using the product for four years doesn't hurt either.

If he sent in his resume & cover letter and then followed it with a strong finger cross he may have a chance. However, Eric decided to break the mold. Hell, Eric shattered the mold. Here is his approach:

1. Invent a unique identity for himself... a brand or slogan if you will: "Hire me, Headblade"
2. Create a twitter account: @HireMeHeadblade
3. Create a Facebook fan page.
4. Buy "hiremeheadblade.com" and tie it all together with a clean site & blog.
5. Proceed to apply for the Social Media job THROUGH Social Media outlets. His fan page is gathering steam. He has tweeted to HeadBlade directly and encourages others to do so as well. He was even able to get Lance Moore, wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints (for all you non-fantasy football players out there), to support his cause.

Where does the story go from here? I am not sure. However, if you were on the hiring end, would you go for the guy who is crossing his fingers or would you go with the guy who bought "hiremeheadblade.com"?

Update: Campaign was a success. He was hired during his visit this weekend. Begins working in 1 month!