These are basically 2 improvs in a row that I like a ton. Thanks for checking them out.
MFA Hodis 09 highlights

1. http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flex/videotraining/ Adobe’s free Flex in a Week area. Man, i wish this existed when i started coding in Flex. These videos and files teach a very nicely seperated method to create Flex apps. I am surprised this is not more hightly promoted.
2. http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596529857/ The Flex 3 Cookbook. This book is chock full of stuff you don’t learn ‘at school’. Just reading through the chapters of problems and solutions reveals all sorts of hidden Flex powers.

After almost 2 years, I went out to Colorado last week and played three shows with my long time band Motion For Alliance. It was super cool to be able to just go out and throw down. We didn’t get a recording of Thursday’s show at Tahona and Friday’s show at the B-Line (which was spectacular, thanks to all the colaborators) didn’t come to well in my recording.

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Flex definitely continues to gain popularity. It’s popping up in more and more public websites and as a buzzword for SaaS and RIA corporations the world over. But, as it gains fame, there are more people who don’t understand what Flex is, exactly. It’s not their fault. Simply put, Flex confuses people because it is more than one thing.

First, lets set the record straight about what Flex is not. Flex is not a file format. There is no such thing as a .flex file. When Flex applicaitons are compliled the output is a .swf file (most of the time) so as far as output goes, the final product is a .swf - a flash file.

• Flex IS A Software Development Kit (Flex SDK) that can be downloaded and used for free to create .swf files. This can be used to compile Flex projects, but it is also often used to compile other ActionScript 3 projects such as Flash based games, slideshows, artwork, advertisements, etc…
• Flex IS ALSO a Framework, or set of components, that are used to create applications, such as buttons, labels, drop down lists and even charts. The Flex framework is part of the Flex SDK.
• Flex IS ALSO An Integrated Development Environment (IDE) called Flex Builder which is NOT free. Flex Builder provides a design view into the applications that a coder is creating.

Hopefully that helps set the record straight for someone, or at least starts a discussion about this topic.

I have not made a ton of full tracks this year, but what I have done is below. I update this page as often as I can. Don’t hesitate to let me know what you think.

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