Bummed out over AIR’s HTML component
For perhaps obvious reasons, I've been trying to make a web browser using AIR's HTML component. I made some really quick assumptions about how this component was going to work and how much functionality Adobe would be putting into it. My assumptions are partly based on an entry in the AIR Developer FAQ. It reads:
Q: Is Adobe AIR a web browser?
A: No. Adobe AIR is a cross-operating system runtime that runs outside of the browser. Theoretically you could build a web browser on top of Adobe AIR.
Naturally I thought: "Wow, what a sweet possibility!" I could make a cool little custom browser with some rad built in features. But it wasn't until after hours and hours of trying to create a general purpose browser, I've come to a breaking point. I should have realized this earlier, but its just not made for general web browsing yet. I mean, a quick Google search reveals that no one else out there seems to be trying to make a browser on top of AIR. Not to mention you can't open links that use an "_blank" target or open Javascript created windows.
It's my own fault really for making the assumption this was possible. So now I can only hope that we get something more robust in the future.
FlashForward & Books
We've been wickedly busy over the past couple of months. Outside of rocking our day jobs ( at Schematic & Rokkan ), we've been co-authoring a book on Adobe AIR with Todd Anderson ( of Schematic ).
On top of this, we're presenting at FlashForward, Boston in September. Our presentation is entitled, "Designers vs. Developers: How to Avoid Fights on the Playground." As the name implies, it's going to be focusing on how Designers and Developers can work together better by understanding some helpful tips and tricks of each of the disciplines. Matt & I are originally from a design education, but as it turns out, we've both weaseled our ways into programming/development roles in our respective companies. As such, we constantly rack our brains on how the two different sides of the office can work together better, or how designers could learn the basics of programming easier.
We'll hopefully talk more about these things in the upcoming months, as we get closer to launch dates.
Oh Boy! Safari on PC (complete with immediate problems).
So if you haven't heard, Apple released Safari 3 beta for XP and Vista today. I can't say that I'm all that stoked about it because, for one, I think Safari is a crummy browser. Aside from rendering stuff really fast, I've never heard anyone talk about how good it is at rendering things properly. All the CSS and Javascript guru's at ROKKAN have nothing but ill feelings towards the browser. But of course, the two mac users, think its the best thing since sliced bread. The reasons for this are obvious, and I won't get into them because it will, and it always does, turn into a big shouting match.
At any rate, I downloaded and installed the browser immediately so that I could give it a whirl. Naturally, since I'm a Flash developer, I checked out all the recent Flash sites I've worked on to see how they faired. The first one being one on an internal development server in which we use .htaccess password protection on...CRASH! Apparently it doesn't like .htaccess. That immediately bummed me out. But an even bigger issue for me was that SWFAddress does not work properly. Apparently, from my first observations, whenever the hash variable is updated via SWFAddress the browser clears the hash variable and reloads the entire page. Total bummer! On the upside, the Flash Player was prepackaged and I didn't have to install anything.
I was really excited to be able to test on Safari without having to get out my chair, but now my big question is, are we going to have another browser to account for? I certainly don't imagine many PC users will convert to Safari in large numbers, but who the heck knows.
Oh, and two other things. 1) I really hate programs that don't use the default chrome because now UltraMon util buttons don't appear! 2) When I put Safari on my 2nd monitor and try to maximize it, it disappears!