3 big problems using Flex.

After playing Flex 2 for a while, there are 3 parts I don't like the product.

1. Unable to load animated gif file, the only place I saw the possibility is paying money. (though it is not expensive.)

"There is an updated product page with full information. This is a commercial component for sale for $50.
I’ve updated the API a bit, released the ASDoc documentation, and put together a small Apollo application that will let you test the component to see if it will work with the animated gifs you want to load."

I just can not understand why Adobe can't make it as a part of their product. SWFloader is fine, but comparing with normal AJAX application, animated gif now is easy to produce.

2. Memory leading by using Flex. After running Flex for 1 - 2 hours, memory would go up to 1-1.5 Gb. Even after killing flex, memory is not destroyed.

3. Why not introducing Table in Interface design?

Using Flex 2 to Build RSS Feed.

Recently, I spent a few days working on a Flex application for RSS feed. Well, I must admit it is a hard job.

If using HttpServies, Flex can consume the result easily and a few lines a code can do the job well. But it has a major problem, it can not read our all feeds provided by various provider.

So, I decided to go through a hard way, by consuming web services, and Asp.net to read website and provide web services. xmlTextReader class is quick reading xml from other webpages. Again, it comes to the quesetion, how to write a generic code catering for various node format.

Looking at Google Reader or Google AJAX Blog Feed, it is so powerful to translate the different language well and display it well. -- To make it practically useful, it is really taking lots of efforts.

Security Setting can turn your AJAX off.

Today, I spent my whole day figuring out how MS AJAX toolkit work. Well, it was a such easy process as specified in its video tutorial. Having a video showing how to do it step by step, I thought it is just invisible, would be super fast.

1. After installing toolkit, I found it is not working though AJAX partially worked. OK, let me reading its release notes thoroughly.
2. After reading release notes, it is recommended to install service pack for Visual Studio.
3. Downloading the service pack is 450Mb, thank you Microsoft.
4. Installing the SP1, take me around 4 hours. Why it is just that sloooow. In the middle, C drive run out of space. Then I rushed to move some stuff to D.
5. Thank you, SP1 installation eventually finished. Try it again, not working...
6. Figure crossed, what can runs wrong, Oh, need to un-install AJAX entension, then reinstall.
7. Oops, after the step, not working.
8. Try the copy in Microsoft site, why it works, mine not worked.
9. Try the copy in another server, which I know it worked before. Bingo, today, it was not working!!! But nobody touched it recently.
10. Try Firefox, it worked locally and for the server copy. Well, I know what is wrong, the damn browser.
11. OK, my Explorer was corrupted, reinstall it Explorer 7. Not working.
12. OK. It must be security setting, after some changes, it worked fine.

Because MS site is trusted site, same code worked there but not for me locally or my company server. Took me a day.

Google Developer Day Sydney 2007 - Australia

Virtual sex in Second life

"And sometimes when people are talking across a table, that leads to sex. In real life and in Second Life, too. " This is the conclusion from review "Sex in Second life".

30% of second life economy is related to sex. Haha, why so, in real life, how much economy is relate to sex. In virtual life, avatar does not need to eat, does not need to sleep, so can always have have energy to have sex. Maybe this is one of the primary reason second life is so popular. Unlike World of Warcraft, its great animation and violence attracts people. In second life, its freedom, different lifestyle which you can not achieve attracts people. Well, people will get what you want, sometimes including people's dark side.

Not only individual, many big well-known companies took part in, hopefully 'not in sex'. Playboy will enter 'second life' in early of June, for sure, this would attract some new comers. Just wondering, how many more first-life jobs will be outsourced to second life.

Google Developer Day 2007

I had a few trainings recently, Asp.net, MS SQL, IBM Domino 7.0. Also I attended a few sessions for Macromedia in recent years. I likes MS ones. Well, the most exciting one, is Google developer Day, so many people are eager to go. In Sydney, its initial seminar was fully booked 1 month before the events. I was pleased knowing the room was changed to hold more audience and my late booking was accepted.

Rather calling it Google day, it is better calling it AJAX day. Back in 2005, after knowing Google map & Google suggest, I tried to use 'suggest' for my enterprise staff lookup. It worked great, I was so amazed to see how fast and powerful it can be used, but it took me very long time to configure it.

Since after, enabling AJAX is much simpler, for example PowerWeb is a nice tool allows developer to develop much quickly. Microsoft's Atlas now (AJAX) is also easy to use. Microsoft's samples make life easy, though not all of them are AJAX.

MS and Google, good work.... Great innovation and make developer's life better.

Google AJAX Search API - Access Google search results from JavaScript apps.
Google AJAX Feed API - Download and mashup public feeds in JavaScript.
Google Data APIs - Read and write data to Google services including Google Calendar and Blogger.
Google Gadgets - Write simple mini-apps for the Google homepage and Google Desktop.
Google Maps API - Embed Google Maps in your own web pages.
Google Web Toolkit - Write AJAX apps in the Java language

Today 100 million Chinese are trading Share

China stock accounts has exceeded 99 million weeks ago. It is reported, every day new accounts openned are more than 300,000 people, according to the cumulative rate, today it breaks 100 million mark. Thanks to the benign environment, people are becoming richer.

Stock market skyrocketed, the people involved in the stock market this year are also enthusiastic with a sustained manner. Since January this year alone, the new accounts as high as 20 million, that is, the market is as high as 20% of total people involved in the trend.

How many more people can pull into the bubble, and how high index can it go. Shanghai index now is 4,300, not long ago it was 1,000. Some expert claims reaching 6000 is not a dream in 2008. But in reality, it is very unlikely more capital can be invested into the market.

Actually, 1.3 billion people play with 1,300 shares. Sounds not a surprise why share index can rise that fast.