I'm currently wading my way through Colin Moock's Actionscript 2.0 (O'Reilly). I say wading because I'm finding it particularly heavy going. I really want to read it all but I'm finding that I put the book out on the bench or a nearby table and say 'I'll just do x and then will sit down and tackle you again'... 'Let me finish y and I'll be with you'... 'Really - I'm nearly there'...
I had no problems with his earlier tome, Actionscript for Flash MX, which is a brilliant reference book that I use all the time, but this one is giving me the heebies. I am picking it up, but reluctantly.
It's very technical and has a consistent, annoying approach of 'About Foo: to understand Foo properly, you need to understand Bah. Bah is covered in chapter 999, but here is a section on Foo anyway'.
I'm willing to reserve final judgement till I get to the end (presuming I make it that far) but at the moment I feel really stupid. I mean, I've used Flash for a few years now and written some pretty funky Actionscript considering I've got no programming background at all, but I feel that the writing style is different in this one. It seems to be repetitive without necessarily adding clarity. And so far, up to about page 50, lacking in real world examples - there are examples but they are of the 'ball' type.
I'm not whinging, just sharing how I am feeling at this particular stage of the reading process. I truly want to conquer it. This is going to be my year of finishing all those books and teaching myself all those concepts I've been moaning about not knowing for so long, so it's time to wrap the ninja bandana round my head and strike a pose.
Wish me luck! Hai-ya!
Tags: Flash Actionscript 2.0 Moock
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Web Developer Toolbar updated - yay!
1. Chris Pederick does it again by updating the Web Developer Toolbar to version 1.0, and it's available for Firefox, Flock and Mozilla. The list of features shows how useful this little doovey is for us developers!
2. Kathy Sierra writes... Learning Increases Resolution: "Learning adds resolution to what you offer. And the change happens not within the product, but between the user's ears. The more you help your users learn and improve, the greater the chance that they'll become passionate.
So, what can you change for people? Or rather, what can you help others change for themselves? How can you increase the resolution of the products and services you offer--without touching the products? That doesn't mean you can take any old piece of crap and by teaching people to become expert, magically transform it into a work of art. But if there's potential for a richer experience--an experience the non-passionate don't see, taste, hear, feel, smell, touch, or ever recognize...why not see if there's a way to help more people experience that?"
3. Very funny competition to win an iPod: design a movie poster featuring Steve Jobs.
2. Kathy Sierra writes... Learning Increases Resolution: "Learning adds resolution to what you offer. And the change happens not within the product, but between the user's ears. The more you help your users learn and improve, the greater the chance that they'll become passionate.
So, what can you change for people? Or rather, what can you help others change for themselves? How can you increase the resolution of the products and services you offer--without touching the products? That doesn't mean you can take any old piece of crap and by teaching people to become expert, magically transform it into a work of art. But if there's potential for a richer experience--an experience the non-passionate don't see, taste, hear, feel, smell, touch, or ever recognize...why not see if there's a way to help more people experience that?"
3. Very funny competition to win an iPod: design a movie poster featuring Steve Jobs.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
nuvvo is groovo!
A Learning Management System for individual instructors - and it's free!
From the Website:
Now it is easier than ever to create your own online learning portal from which to create multimedia hubs for classrooms, post prep. and follow-up for live sessions, or run stand-alone courses online. With simple yet powerful content-creation, communication, and evaluation tools, Nuvvo is broadening the horizons of online education.
The Savvica Development Team wanted to create a way for instructors and trainers to teach online without the massive institutional support required to deploy and maintain an enterprise LMS. The result was Nuvvo, the first LMS for the individual instructor.
Nuvvo is deployed on-demand, and delivered through your web browser. Sign up in minutes at www.nuvvo.com and gain immediate access to your personal online learning portal. Creating an account, setting up your courses, and building content is all completely free. Students can access your course for free too, or you can choose to charge for access using the simple and completely integrated e-commerce tools.
Don't let Nuvvo's compact design fool you. The Personal LMS features enterprise-grade content creation, course management, and grading tools. Use our powerful, usable UI to build courses block by block with rich text, multimedia, and files all integrated on the same page. Grade and record quizzes automatically, or provide extensive feedback. With Nuvvo's easy-to-use, focused interface, you'll see new possibilities and grasp how to achieve them.
From the Website:
Now it is easier than ever to create your own online learning portal from which to create multimedia hubs for classrooms, post prep. and follow-up for live sessions, or run stand-alone courses online. With simple yet powerful content-creation, communication, and evaluation tools, Nuvvo is broadening the horizons of online education.
The Savvica Development Team wanted to create a way for instructors and trainers to teach online without the massive institutional support required to deploy and maintain an enterprise LMS. The result was Nuvvo, the first LMS for the individual instructor.
Nuvvo is deployed on-demand, and delivered through your web browser. Sign up in minutes at www.nuvvo.com and gain immediate access to your personal online learning portal. Creating an account, setting up your courses, and building content is all completely free. Students can access your course for free too, or you can choose to charge for access using the simple and completely integrated e-commerce tools.
Don't let Nuvvo's compact design fool you. The Personal LMS features enterprise-grade content creation, course management, and grading tools. Use our powerful, usable UI to build courses block by block with rich text, multimedia, and files all integrated on the same page. Grade and record quizzes automatically, or provide extensive feedback. With Nuvvo's easy-to-use, focused interface, you'll see new possibilities and grasp how to achieve them.
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