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    Bring back AIR on Linux

    Those who know me well know I’m not a big fun of Linux. Let’s say it’s not my favourite OS out there, nor can I undestand some of the ideological ideas behind Linux adoption. My choice of operating system is more business oriented: If you need work done, pick the best tools out there, whatever system they may run on. If it happens to be Linux, that’s ok. If it is Windows, that’s fine too, and so on …

    So, even though I’m not a Linux ambassador, I’m disapointed over the tratement Adobe gave to the Linux users. In particular, I’m referring to the decision of discontinuing the support for the Adobe Runtime (AIR) on that platform. The latest version is 2.6, and during a time when big changes are being introduced (stage3d, native code, etc) the gap is getting wider day after day.

    As a professional developer, even though I don’t work in Linux, the products I develop regularly end up on Linux platform across the globe. Removing Linux as one of the target platforms reduces number of potential customers, and in the end hurting income.

    My support for AIR on Linux is not because I want to take sides in an ideological war, it’s a pragmatic choice. I need AIR on Linux for keep my business running.

    I think there is a reasonable share of the market behind Linux still waiting to be explored. This is my way of publicly requesting Adobe reconsider their decision, and to reinstate the AIR Runtime on Linux.

    This letter is written under no copyright restrictions, and available in the Public Domain. If there are developers out there that agree with me, rather than only linking to it, show your support by copying it to your own website or blog, or write your own version of the letter.

    

    

    

    From its release, AIR has been presented as a multiplatform solution. From its release, AIR has been presented as a multiplatform solution, inheriting the “write once, deploy everywhere” philosophy from the Flash platoform. This was for us, the developers, arguably the key feature of the Runtime.
    
 Even with the recent updates by Adobe to the platform’s strategy, we, the developers, can read between the lines; you still desire to target as many platforms as possible.
    

    Unfortunatly, one platform is being overlooked; the AIR runtime is no longer mantained for Linux desktops. The last version available is 2.6, and the gap between that release and the current version is getting wider day by day. This is sad, especially seeing the lack of farsight by Adobe shown by no longer investing in such a promising ecosystem as Linux.
    

    We, the developers, believe that Adobe should resume delivering updates to AIR on Linux. We invested in what we considered in the beginning to be a multiplatform desktop solution, we want this statment be true again.
    

    

    

    

    
											
    

										
    

										

									
                  
	              
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    The Pineapple Technique – Chapter 1
    
	

    
Chapter 1 [42 min workout]
    
 
		
		

    1 - Lovebirds feat. Stee Downes – Want You In My Soul – Original Mix – Winding Road Records
    
2 – Fritz Kalkbrenner  - Layer Cake – Original Mix – Soul
    
3 – Maceo Plex – Under The Sheets – Original Mix – No.19 Music
    
4 – Nicone, Sascha Breamer – Dreamer – Edu Imbernon Remix - Stil Vor Talent
    
5 – Romano Alfieri & Luca Bear – Leave the Valley – Original Mix – Break New Soil
    
6 – David August – Hamburg Is For Lovers – Original Mix – Dynamic
    
7 – Siwell – Watching Above the Horizon – Original Mix – Sphera Records
    

    
											
    

										
    

										

									
                  
	              
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    Create Plants vs Zombies Clone: Week 2
    
	
    Deliver faster or die trying
    
The second week flew by quickly, with all seven days spent entirely doing research in several fields concurrently.
    

    When plagiarizing an existing game, there are a few tasks which are already done for you; you don’t need to rethink the wheel, it’s almost finished.
    

    In our case, I know there will be “Goodies” and “Baddies”. There will be resources produced by the Goodies (in the case of PvZ, the sun produced by sunflowers) that are used to place new allies (plants). The playing field is laid out in a grid, which the Baddies march into.
    
Although the mechanics are quite simple, humans are programmed complicate things (overengineerng is the most common example of this plague).
    

    The time I didn’t spend on game design was thrown away on finding a purist way to make the game multiplatform. Experience has taught me that multiplatform by technology is not a big deal, you are always constrained by the technology promoters. Personally, I was (and still am still) a Flash Architect.
    
Adobe has claimed many times that Flash is a multiplatform technology. Unfortunately, this definition is not accurate, and it’s becoming less accurate day by day. Flash is a famous example of how hard it really is to develop technology that is truly multiplatform.
    
When I say ‘Flash’, I’m usually referring to the Flash platform in general, comprised of the language (ActionScript 3), the virtual machine (Flash Player, AIR), and the tools provided. The last option, tools (which includes ide, authoring, etc.), should also be considered when evaluating a technology as multiplatform; not only the consumer, but also the developers need to be taken into account.
    
The Flash decline (if we can call it that) as a multiplatform solution started with the buzzing war if HTML5 paladins lead by Steve Jobs as Apple decided not to include Flash Player on their iOS devices. I’m not going to discuss this matter further, as many battles have already been fought upon this topic, of which I’m sure you are already aware.
    

     (more…)
    

    
											
    

										
    

										

									
                  
	              
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