Old ASVGuy::SWFBlog at Typepad

Silverlight in the Past Tense... Another Flash Killer bites the dust!

Interesting news came from Microsoft's PDC (Professional Developers Conference): Microsoft: Our strategy with Silverlight has shifted, by Mary Jo Foley.

(Read more at Microsoft’s Silverlight dream is over, by Tim Anderson, or a summary at Is Microsoft Turning Off the SilverLight?, Harry McCracken).

In short, Silverlight is now retired from its position as Flash Killer, coined about 3 years ago. MS thinks HTML5 will be the webs future, and it will be sufficient. Silverlight lives -not officially dead but will transform-, just like .NET... Here is what I wrote in May 2007: Silverlight must Live!

Flash is stronger than ever, as proved by the recent Adobe MAX 2010, and another so called Flash Killer is now gone...

Update: More on the Web:

Is Silverlight Done? Microsoft Shift in Strategy to html5 at *drawlogic

Microsoft Has Seen The Light. And It’s Not Silverlight at TextCrunch

On the “death” of Silverlight by Keith Peters

PDC and Silverlight announcement at Silverlight Team Blog

Silverlight Questions by Scott Guthrie (Nov 4, 2010)

What MS guys say doesn't change the current situation a bit.

Online Chromatic Guitar Tuner with Flash

It was 1994, me and me brother were into music and computers (in that order). It was the year we created a MIDI driver for Windows 3.1 (Windows 95 was still in beta at the time).

The device driver converted audio input to MIDI notes. We could directly record from line input to MIDI sequencer software. It effectively converted our regular electric guitar to a MIDI guitar, provided that we played single notes at a time.

It was a good start but certain things and life prevented us working more on it. Anyway, the pitch detection algorithm we used was something my brother worked on...

Back to 2010... Now that microphone data is accessible with Flash player 10.1, we decided to make use of the algorithm and provide a free online chromatic guitar tuner. 

A quick search reveals that there are only a couple of similar online tuners with pitch detection but they are all Java. Ours is proudly Flash.

It's not open source, but we encourage you to peek at the source, using AS3 Sorcerer...

1994 seems so back in the past now, ancient. Yet at the same time it feels it was a blink ago... We still do plug in our axes from time to time, actual C source of the 16 bit device driver is lost long ago, but the algorithm, XAMDF, lives on...

Hope you find it useful. Happy tuning...

(Officially) Announcing Azoth [at version 1.02]

"Azoth is a free  'Alchemy Opcodes Injector', a Windows console (Win32 command-line) application, for AS3 Flash programming, that lets you replace method calls to a certain AS3 class (included with Azoth) with equivalent Alchemy opcodes in a SWF file. This provides superior performance for accessing a ByteArray as memory, than you can achieve with AS3 alone".

We released Azoth on April 20th - but didn't find time to announce it, officially. Philippe Elsass made the introduction better than I could, by also actually comparing currently available solutions. [AS3 – Fast memory access without Alchemy].

Yesterday we released 1.02 update, and now Azoth is officially announced. Hope you find it useful...

Some of my fav tweets so far (#3)

Google is kicking Apple's nuts repeatedly.... #googleio #io2010
-oscartrelles (May 21, 2010)

Google I/O Keynote day 1 had 25,000 concurrent live viewers online. Flash just doesn't work, crashes browsers and kills kittens.
-stefanrichter (May 21, 2010)

Annnd there goes another 20 minutes of my life to Robot Unicorn Attack... though I did get up to 3 dolphins this time!
-waxpraxis (May 21, 2010)

Vic Gundotra at @googleio: “It turns out that on the Internet, people use Flash”
-ivanski (May 21, 2010)

Apparently VP8 is: not as good as h264, a patent minefield and a crappy codebase. http://bit.ly/bc1mcS
-elsassph (May 20, 2010)

If someone emphasizes "open" in something that is open already it means that this someone prepares for "closed", "locked" or "censored".
-quasimondo (May 20, 2010)

Just realized articles about "H.264 vs Flash" make me feel the same way "Silverlight vs AIR" did. Not quite "Bicycle vs Fish", but close. :(
-jdowdell (May 20, 2010)

grape juice flowing nicely. I think the grape juice has had it though, tastes a bit like wine.
-undefined (May 19, 2010)

It'd be great if wi-fi was open and standards-based. Then all those connectivity problems would go away. Oh, wait.
-parkerkrhoyt (May 19, 2010)

Google IO shows why Flash is important - to innovate features that later can be standardized and mainstream. All good.
-bryngfors (May 19, 2010)

I get it, #GoogleIO shows off all the tech that makes #Flash obsolete, then asks #Adobe to come on & talk about supporting the legacy crap!
-TheFlashBum (May 19, 2010)

If you spend more time planning code than coding, you may be happier in a foreign, remote location doing something boring.
-debreuil (May 18, 2010)

An API should only allow one way to do something, and that should be enough.
-debreuil (May 18, 2010)

RT@codinghorror I suspect some of you Mac users are not Thinking Different™ enough. Think DIFFERENTER, damn you!
eco_bach (May 17, 2010)

but notice that for all apple's slickness, it only ever got around 10% of the market. android has now surpassed iphone in numbers.
bit101 (May 17, 2010)

lots of android vs. iphone posts today. pc vs. mac all over again. make the hardware and control the software, it's easy to be consistent.
-bit101 (May 17, 2010)

I find it kind of funny that no one names Flash when celebrating YouTube's 5 years birthday. I think Flash was a big reason for its success.
-bryngfors (May 17, 2010)

for the first time in a few years i am glad i get payed in dollars and not in euros
-cwahlers (May 17, 2010)

I think auteur theory spills over into electronics, such as how the news makes it sound like Steve Jobs built the iPad himself. Yeah right.
-benheck (May 17, 2010)

...though Steve Jobs beat me for the "Most Influential Person in Flash" #FATC award - should have Kanye'd him. :)
-gskinner (May 16, 2010)

If you stick your head far enough up your ass can you blow yourself from the inside? Apparently yes.
-debreuil (May 16, 2010)

Woot! Just won my first Star Craft II game.
-mesh (May 16, 2010)

Having a 32GB CF card in my SLR is awesome. Never have to worry about running out of space!
-mdowney (May 16, 2010)

Just got word that Facebook has lifted the restriction on Feathers Visage (http://feathersvisage.com). Your apps should start working again.
-aral (May 15, 2010)

Apple, the company that got us excited about copy and paste. Now we can't wait for them to give us folders!
-bryngfors (May 15, 2010)

NEWSFLASH: Flash Player is no more secure than the browser it's running in. Flash content has *more* security restrictions than HTML/JS.
-troygilbert (May 15, 2010)

Today It's 10th Anniversary of ASV...

Yay! 10 years ago today ASV version 1.0, the first decompiler for Flash, was released.

One thing Twitter taught me is that long posts are not always the best, so I will keep this really short.

As @elsassph said: We're getting old :)

Some of my fav tweets so far (#2)

Java is going to the dogs. It nags more often than the Adobe updater and then it even tries to sneak in the Yahoo toolbar during updates.
-quasimondo (May 14, 2010)

Dear Facebook, you email me every time one of my friends scratches his bum, but you can't email me when you disable my iPhone app?
-aral (May 14, 2010)

Flash Player 10.1 Factoid : Flash Player 10.1 can support as many touch points as the underlying operating system supports.
-mesh (May 12, 2010)

Man, I am constantly amazed by how much people will ignore logic and reality in order to make things fit into their world view.
-mesh (May 12, 2010)

Html5 is meant to be a codec agnostic wrapper format, but in reality it's not.
-lisamarienyc (May 11, 2010)

How far off are we for html5? CBS: 'the idea is exciting'
-lisamarienyc (May 11, 2010)

If clients won't require users to upgrade to F10, they're certainly not going to ask them to change browsers. This HTML5 nonsense ends there
-stevensacks (May 11, 2010)

I think life would be better if all sentences using future tense would blink red.
-debreuil (May 11, 2010)

What HTML5 really needs is Javascript 2
-pauliusuza (May 10, 2010)

#Gianduia by #Apple: it's not a Flash killer, it's just another *proprietary* JS framework for Apple devices.
-pauliusuza (May 9, 2010)

you'd think that a room named the "business center" would have certain business related amenities. like, maybe, i don't know... electricity.
-bit101 (May 9, 2010)

"It is estimated [... that HTML5 will reach a W3C recommendation in the year 2022 or later." -- http://bit.ly/79cKe5 (via @tekool)
-peterelst (May 9, 2010)

@cwahlers the constant shortage of flash devs is due to the constant claim it is about to be replaced by some half baked xml based system
-debreuil (May 9, 2010)

@jdowdell i wonder if any of those people who claim html5 will kill flash have at least a tiny clue what they're talking about?
-cwahlers (May 9, 2010)

When do you become too lazy? When the time spent searching for a tool outweighs the time it would require to write it. Like 30 mins ago
-obwez (May 9, 2010)

don't see how Apple's Gianduia framework is supposed to innovate -- an abstraction layer is only as strong as its underlying technology
-peterelst (May 9, 2010)

"Animation can be a little jumpy the 1st time around..." no problem they will invent pre-loader in a year or two ;)
-tekool (May 9, 2010)

If this http://is.gd/c0wd4 is any indication of #HTML5 replacing #Flash our jobs are very safe! Extra points for not working in FireFox!
-TheFlashBum (May 9, 2010)

It's ironic that the URL page showing Apple's "flash killer" Gianduia (sounds like an STD) just crashed my browser.
-j0eflash (May 8, 2010)

Apple is getting completely out of control in a scary way. Making Ellen apologize for making a joke about them is disgusting.
-mdowney (May 9, 2010)

I made it to Buraks (@ASVGuy) fav tweets list. Yay! Seriously, some great tweets collected there. Good read.
-bryngfors (May 7, 2010)

Using the iPad I just realized it's not the death of Flash, it's the death of HTML. Browsing is boring, it's all about the apps.
-bryngfors (May 6, 2010)

And 3 bonus news-tweets:

I am in love with my new phone :)
-thibault_imbert (May 14, 2010)

Nexus One! :)

Victory! Implemented full SWC+ASDoc AS3 and MXML code completion for FlashDevelop. No more intrinsics.
-elsassph (May 14, 2010)

Celebrating the fact that Monster Debugger has been downloaded over 40.000 times! - http://bit.ly/9kaVTC
-MonsterDebugger (May 13, 2010)

Some of my fav tweets so far (#1)

Scribd (HTML5) does look far better than it's previous version. Their flash implementation was never done right, now they blame flash.
-abdulqabiz (May 7, 2010)

American politics is pretty messed up, but at least we're not alone in that.
- bit101 (May 7, 2010)

Opera's Flash bashing is dubious. Who asked them to do this? Probably the company that allowed their 2.2% browser on some kind of phone.
-joa (May 7, 2010)

What does Google want from the partnership with Adobe? Quick distribution of the VP8 codec would be my guess.
-bryngfors(May 7, 2010)

Almost done bypassing the new Amayeta SWF Encrypt update. Putting negative values in count fields is not a protection mechanism!
-swfdecrypt (May 7, 2010)

OK guys, I can cope with the "May the 4th be with you" jokes, but the "revenge of the 5th" has to stop. #starwarsday #stopthemadness
-AmmoniteInk (May 5, 2010)

am I the only one who missed http://www.buraks.com/azoth/ by @ASVGuy ?
-makc3d (May 3, 2010)

Flash 'vs' H.264 demystified http://bit.ly/ap5skq
-lisamarienyc (May 2, 2010)

@Natzke the problem these guys have with Flash is that if they would accept it as a standard they'd practically be out of business.
-quasimondo (May 1, 2010)

I was shocked to learn today that the media can be biased, and that it disproportionately favors Apple. Shocked I tell you.
-debreuil (May 1, 2010)

If u think there is a viable solution for an open source video codec u are fooling yourself. They're all covered by patents
-mdowney (May 1, 2010)

@aral laughin. welcome to Apple. innovation thru forcing hardware upgrades. y do u think their OS is better than winblows ;) conditional ftw
-kbunch (April 30, 2010)

@aral I agree with what you may or may not be implying in some unreleased iPhone OS that may or may not exist in tangible or intangible form
-eric_dolecki (April 30, 2010)

I'm still cracking myself up with this Steve Jobs's draft letter: http://www.phillipkerman.com/blog/images/sj.png
-phillip (April 30, 2010)

Anyone who claims that Apple understands UI and UX has never used iTunes before.
-stefanrichter (April 30, 2010)

Steve Jobs is becoming the Hugo Chavez of the tech world.
-lordalex (April 29, 2010)

Steve Jobs has some things right, but there´s a lot of lies and half lies. The problem is that few will check up the details.
-bryngfors (April 29, 2010)

html gets a lot of credit for what javascript and backend languages do. Like a shit goalie with excellent defense.
-debreuil (April 29, 2010)

The most *URGENT* enquiries that apparently *NEED IMMEDIATE HELP* very quickly quieten down when I mention my consultancy rates.
-stefanrichter (April 28, 2010)

Made what may be the best programmer art ever. I used to make-a-living as a graphic designer. That person has now officially died.
-debreuil (April 24, 2010)

People want things they own to be closed, and things they do not own to be open. Bloggers and idealogues just don't own much. (via @mheard)
-rabois (April 24, 2010)

fyi, calling me a "wanker" is considered an off topic comment on my blog post. There seems to be some confusion over that.
-mesh (April 21, 2010)

I really do not understand why these know-it-all loud-mouthed total dicks are always on the other side. And then I do understand.
-quasimondo (April 20, 2010)

I have to admit, I lost a copy a confidential copy of Contribute CS5 in a bar. Hopefully, nothing on Techchrunch yet. What a relief!
-thibault_imbert (April 20, 2010)

Everything's amazing and nobody's happy! c/o @cspelsor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r1CZTLk-Gk
-seb_ly (April 17, 2010)

Tired of popup Flash ads? Well, with HTML5 you'll get popunders and more which can't be blocked since it served from the DOM tree.
-bryngfors (April 16, 2010)

Too true :) RT @elsassph: Now that @ASVGuy is listening: ASV/UAE/ASR totally rock! They saved my life more than I'd like to admit.
-mikedotalmond (April 16, 2010)

Now that @ASVGuy is listening: ASV/UAE/ASR totally rock! They saved my life more than I'd like to admit.
-elsassph (April 16, 2010)

I'm now on Twitter

I'm still trying to get the feel of it, but I've decided that I like it. You can follow me or tweet me a welcome.

Thanks to the warm welcome I have already received.

BTW, 'Go screw yourself Apple'*.

Happy New Year!

I wish you all a happy, healthy and wealthy 2010!

2009 has been the year I've learned by experience that health is the most important of all there is. So, take care!

'Apple App Store is an ongoing karma leak'

"How did Apple get into this mess? Their fundamental problem is that they don't understand software."

An excellent essay by Paul Graham.