ColdFusion News :.
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Samsung Galaxy S Initial Review
For the past week I've been using a new Android phone, the Samsung Galaxy S (and specifically, the AT&T version of it branded Samsung Captivate). In general, the Galaxy S is a really nice phone, and is a very welcome addition to the growing list of high end Android devices. It's running Android 2.1 for now, but the 2.2 OTA update is scheduled for some time in September, so Froyo goodness and the ability to run Flash is right around the corner. So, after using the Google Nexus One since it came out, how does the Galaxy S compare? Here's the scoop: Pros
- The phone is fast, really really fast. It has a 1GHz processor, just like the Nexus One, but is unquestionably faster, and is far more responsive. And everything is faster, from web browsing to switching apps to scrolling contacts to Google Gestures reindexing, it's all fast fast fast.
- I'm also not experiencing any of the jumps or lags that Nexus One suffers from, that's huge!
- The Samsung Galaxy S is a big phone, it's taller and wider than both the Nexus One and iPhone. But it's also really thin, and has a very pleasing contoured back that makes it very comfortable to hold.
- The 4-inch Super AMOLED screen is spectacular, as good as HTC EVO and iPhone 4, maybe even better.
- Call quality (yep, I do use phones for calls sometimes) is superb. And far fewer dropped calls.
- Bluetooth support is just about perfect, and call quality via Bluetooth is one of the best of any phone I have used.
- Wi-Fi on the Galaxy S is superb. Side by side with the Nexus One and iPhone, the Galaxy S gets a better signal, connects faster, stays connected longer, and never seems to drop its connection.
- The Samsung Exchange mail client is orders of magnitude better than the one that comes with Android 2.2. However, it too does not allow messages to be filed in folders. Grrr!
- Built in Swype is really nice, and once you get used to it, Swype is blazingly fast.
- Battery life is great, I've not done side-by-side tests, but it is easily outlasting Nexus One, and by a significant margin.
- Way too much bundled AT&T software, much of which won't even run without forking out extra $s, some of which won't run at all, and none of which can be easily removed. Not cool.
- I really dislike the 4 soft keys at the bottom. I am fine with Samsung reordering them, you get used to that quickly. But the back-light is terrible, each time it turns off you can't find the keys until you touch one of them and inadvertently touch the wrong one. That's a serious design flaw.
- No external LED, so if you have sound turned off or miss an audio alert (text message, email, missed call) you'll not know by just looking at the phone, you need to actually power the screen. While I never really used the track ball on the Nexus One as a track ball, I am finding myself really missing it as a glowing LED.
- Pick up the phone and you can't instinctively feel which way is up and which way is down (contrast that to Nexus One with its trackball or iPhone with its single button at the bottom). I keep picking up the phone and trying to press the power button only to realize I am holding it upside down! Irritating.
- While it's nice to see Samsung using USB connectors for charging (instead of the ever changing proprietary connectors they've used in the past), they put the USB port on this phone under a little sliding door - which is fine, except for the fact that the port is therefore recessed so many USB cables can't reach in far enough to connect properly.
- The social networking integration just does not work properly, contacts don't quite sync up, and lists don't seem to propagate properly. This is very strange because Android 2.1 did this well on Nexus One, so I have to assume it's the Samsung mods that are responsible for this.
- Here's a bad one, so bad that it may be unforgivable (as in this is a deal breaker for me), the option to install apps from Unknown Sources has been removed! This may be an AT&T issue, not a Samsung one, but blocking app installation is outrageous. If I wanted to pay for a phone only to be told what I could and could not install on it I'd have bought an iPhone! Big fat fail!
(Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:04:00 -0400)
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I Won A MAX Unaward
And you can too! :-)
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:59:00 -0400)
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New Droid Ad In WSJ And More
Now this is a fun sight to wake up to. This ad is on page A9 of my Wall Street Journal. It's also running in other newspapers (including USA Today and New York Times).
If you can't read the text, here's what it says:
FLASH WEBSITES?
THERE'S A PHONE FOR THAT.
Introducing the new Droid 2 by Motorola.
Flash sites require Flash capabilities. Seemed pretty simple to us. That's why we created DROID 2. With Adobe Flash Player it gives you unrestrained access to Flash sites, videos and games. No more empty windows or half-loaded pages. And as a 3G Mobile HotSpot, it can connect up to 5 Wi-Fi enabled devices and conquer the World Wide Web. It's compromise-free web browsing. The way it should be.
(Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:47:00 -0400)
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Droid Users Getting Some Flash Love
A buddy of mine who has the original Motorola Droid just got an Android OTA update, and thus Flash Player 10.1. Droid owners, rejoice!
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:35:00 -0400)
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Give Yourself A MAX Unaward
Check out the new MAX Unawards, a new way to reward yourself for all your hard work (or for the lack thereof, or whatever else tickles your fancy). Fun stuff!
(Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:42:00 -0400)
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Computerworld: Why The Apple Crowd's Completely Wrong About Flash
Computerworld is running a story by JR Raphael entitled Why the Apple crowd's completely wrong about Flash about his experience with Android and Flash Player 10.1. I love this quote:
After installing Adobe's Flash Player onto my Android phone, the first thing I noticed was that I could suddenly access the entire Web.
Enough said!
(Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:28:00 -0400)
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Cumulative Hotfix 1 For ColdFusion 9.0.1 Released
Title says it all, Cumulative Hotfix 1 (CHF1) for ColdFusion 9.0.1 has been released.
(Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:29:00 -0400)
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SapphireSteel Releases Amethyst
SapphireSteel has announced the release of Amethyst, their Flex, Flash and ActionScript IDE for Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and 2010. Check out the features and the introductory video. If you are a Visual Studio user, Amethyst may be exactly what you need to bridge the worlds of Flash and .NET.
On a personal note, I've been in regular contact with the SapphireSteel folks as Amethyst has evolved. This project, especially the Amethyst Designer, was an enormous undertaking on their part. And so to Huw Collingbourne and the crew at SapphireSteel, congratulations on reaching this milestone, and thank you for this important contribution to the Flash and Flex world.
(Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:07:00 -0400)
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China Flash Platform App Contest Going Strong
The site is in Chinese, I know. But, in summary, the Adobe Flash Platform App Contest is a way for developers in China to build cool Flash and AIR apps and win prizes. ;-)
(Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:58:00 -0400)
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Deepa On Flex Hero
Hero is the codename for the next version of the Flex SDK. Deepa Subramaniam is the Flex SDK Product Manager, and she just announced that the first of what is planned to be semi-regular Hero builds has been posted.
(Sat, 28 Aug 2010 23:15:00 -0400)
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Wall Street Journal: Flash Skills In Demand
The Wall Street Journal is running a story about the increased demand for Flash expertise.
(Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:09:00 -0400)
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PopCap At MAX
Plants vs Zombies is one of my favorite casual games (my kids agree with me on this one). The original game was written in C++, and PopCap recently rewrote it in Flash. PopCap's Max Anderson will be attending MAX 2010 and will be talking about the port, and will be providing Flash performance optimization tips and tricks. This promises to be a fun and entertaining session.
Now, if they had an Android version ...
(Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:41:00 -0400)
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Bangalore Flash Summit Keynote About To Begin
Adobe Flash Summit Bangalore is about to begin. My fellow presenters Mark Doherty, Harish Sivaramakrishnan, and Anne Kathrine Petterøe are tweaking decks and testing demos. The crowds are starting to pour in ... here goes!
Follow us on Twitter.
(Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:29:00 -0400)
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John Farrar Updates His ColdFusion Book
John Farrar has updated his ColdFusion 9 Developer Tutorial. Congrats, John!
(Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:39:00 -0400)
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Become The Next Photoshop Evangelist
Here's how.
(Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:51:00 -0400)
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