Papervision3D 2.0 (Great White) in Flex 3 (Part II & III combined) with source code
The purpose of this demonstration is to use Yahoo Map and Papervision3D as a base for creating/importing 3D Objects with reference to actual locations on planet Earth using the Adobe Flex framework.
In this post I will be covering how to integrate Yahoo Maps AS3 API as an Interactive Material in PV3D 2.0 and solutions to the following problems:
- Security sandbox violation when using Yahoo Map as MovieMaterial (i.e. BitmapData.draw problem)
- Mapping Longitude and Latitude values to X and Y coordinates of a PV3D material
- Dragging Yahoo Map in PV3D (avoiding the map panning collision with PV3D)
- Simple gauge component from the ground up using basic trigonometry
- Simple tilt component again using basic trigonometry
- Making a visual component using Degrafa
Demonstrations of these solutions are packed in this air application for which you can also see and download fully functioning source code.
Mash Note: Tumblweed: Tumblr blogging client written in Adobe AIR
I haven't tried to hide my ambivalence about Adobe's move into the RIA market. That's why I feel duty-bound to share my positive experience with a newish AIR application: Tumblweed, a desktop client for the Tumblr micro-blogging service.
Currently in beta release, with new iterations coming quickly, Tumblweed lets you post photos, quotes, links, audio and full blog posts - any of Tumblr's supported content types - without hitting your browser. None of this would be possible, of course, without Tumblr's http-based API. But props to Tumblweed creator David Merino for building an application that's minimalist yet user-centric.
Tumblweed currently supports a subset of the functionality you can access on-site. You can create posts, though editing or deleting them appears to be wonky (at least on my machine, a MacBook Pro running OS X Tiger). You can drag-and-drop photos instead of using a clunky, web-based upload mechanism. You can even copy images directly from the clipboard.
It would be nice if Tumbleweed provided better visual feedback about the image currently being uploaded. I expect such usability issues to improve in subsequent releases. In the meantime, thoughtful touches abound. For instance, the Snapshot dialog lets me take a photo using my Mac's built-in camera and upload it to Tumblr just like any other photo.
As a blogging client, Tumblweed already delivers value. As a showcase for AIR, it overcame my cautious cynicism about Adobe. The melding of webapp and desktop capabilities proves as compelling in practice as it did in theory at last year's Adobe MAX conference. It pains me to admit it, but I find myself eager to build an AIR app of my own.
