@garthdb do you know if flash builder is so fundamentally different from Flex 3 that getting a 3 book would be a waste of time?

So Adobe recently released a beta for Flash Builder 4, the latest iteration of Flex Builder. It is a fantastic build and we raved about it on the Summer of Flash Podcast at InsideRIA, but Flex Builder 3 isn’t so far off from Flash Builder 4. The real question is less about the IDE and more about the SDK.

There is a certain level of confusion caused by the names of the Flex products. Flex Builder is an application designed as the integrated development environment (IDE) of choice for developing RIA for the Flash Platform, while Flex usually refers to the Flex Framework and standard development kit (SDK). The confusion is understandable and is most likely the main motivation for the name change to Flash Builder.

So although there aren’t major differences in the Flash Builder application it does come with the Flex 4 framework and SDK. The Flex 4 framework is drastically different from Flex 3. It is incredibly powerful and will change the way Flex developers work. However at the time of writing this post it is still in Beta and the learning process is a bit more rocky. There is not a Flex 4 book you can pick up as most publishers will wait until the final product launches.

This brings us back to the initial question – should you spend your time learning Flex 3 or Flex 4. I guess the answer to that depends on what you are planning to do and how you learn best. If you are learning in your free time and are happy to experiment and play I would recommend jumping in to Flex 4 head first and enjoy the deep new feature set. However if you are working on a project for a client or prefer to learn from a book structure you should probably spend your time with Programming Flex 3 and the Flex 3 Cookbook. It will not be wasted time. It would help you nail down the basics, but there will be a certain amount of relearning when the Flex 4 final product is released.

One final thought to add: although Flex 4 is very different from Flex 3, they are both based in ActionScript 3 and having solid AS3 knowledge will help in either framework. I would really look at The ActionScript 3.0 Cookbook and Essential ActionScript 3.0. They are both excellent for learning and reference; I usually keep them close.

TheSixtyOne is an excellent music discovery site with some rpg style leveling up, but like all internet radio I often close the browser accidentally and lose my music stream. Fluid to the rescue!

Fluid lets you have a dedicated browser (for web apps) that is isolated from the rest of the browsers and acts like a desktop application. To make it complete I created an icon specifically for TheSixtyOne and I thought I post it for anyone else.  Sorry PC, Fluid is Mac/Universal only.

Download the icon and AI files here.

Here is one of my favorite songs I found using TheSixtyOne

I submitted a link to The Awesomer and was mentioned on the front page. I’m now famous.

I have been using 43Things.com for a little bit now. Not sure how social it is for me yet, but I enjoy having a public place to put my goals and progress. The site design isn’t perfect, but it is an all around solid site.

My favorite part is that it can publish goal entries to my wordpress blog when I publish them.

I found this PlayStation 3 Dualshock 3 Wireless Controller on Amazon for $9,999.00. There is only one left in stock.
It’s either a typo or this thing is made of gold and painted black.

This is one thing I had not seen about the new Flash Player 10. I’ll be trying this out later today.
Check it out at flexexamples.com.

Nothing sucks about free.

If you are in town and want to check out the NAB Show use the code below to get free exhibit-only tickets. This means you’ll only be able to attend the Keynote and the exhibits.

Free Exhibits Passport Code: TP01
This pass includes access to the exhibit floor and the opening keynote – a $150 value.
Feel free to pass this along and visit http://nabshow.com/passport to redeem.

So, the Ascii Art Generator does pretty much what it should. Although it is a very simple idea, I was impressed by the amount of creative that came from something as limited as Ascii Art.

I was especially impressed with the 3d style.

Check it out here.

Why didn’t I teach my girls about video games before animal noises.

This man is a hero.