Linux Multimedia Studio (LMMS) is a cross platform tool similar to Fruity Loops. Has a good set of features, and is pretty quick to jump into and create something. Has great documentation, and is really stable. Best of all it is free. If you have the desire to dabble in the audio end, this is a great way to start. Check it out at:
LMMS
Also of Note:
ZynAddSubFX - a nice open source synthesizer (great for creating sound effects).
DCF

Years ago, I was introduced to Open Office, and its OpenDocument format, which is XML based. The specs for this format were originally created by Sun Microsystems, and Microsoft clearly was not using anything like it at the time. To this day, you can read documents created in a newer version of OpenOffice, with an older version of OpenOffice. Basically, it meant that you might not have all the latest features, but you could at least read the document without having to upgrade.

Now Microsoft is supporting an XML format in its latest versions of Office. Somehow, it just does not seem right that Microsoft would hold the patent for such a basic concept that at one time was open and freely distributed. Microsoft has said they would not sue anyone who is using their patented markup language concept for documents, but who’s to say that this position won’t change. I guess it is simply business. If no one else claimed a patent for the file format, then why not? Still, it just does not seem right, and makes one wonder if this will happen to other open source software and techniques.

Thankfully, it was noted on the FlashDevelop site that it works well in VirtualBox. I spent the weekend figuring out the various idiosyncracy’s of VirtualBox, and finally was able to get it running with an instance of Windows XP. I now have FlashDevelop and Flash CS4 running under VirtualBox, and I must say that it really is not too bad. Flash being the resource intensive program that it is obviously is a bit slow, but I can get what I need done for the most part. I am quite pleased with how FlashDevelop is running, since that is where I spend most of my time. I gotta send that guy some money.

So after my nightmare of losing my Windows Vista setup, I’m back up with Linux, and access to Windows XP via VirtualBox. There is now no reason for me to go back to Windows as my primary OS. Might not seem like a big deal, but I’ve been using Windows since version 1.0. Up until this point, Linux was just a hobby at home, and used on the backend at the office. This is really a turning point for me. I still can’t see every day end users making the switch, because it still is not as friendly as Windows to get things working, but it is pretty close and with a little effort, you can have what you need for pennies on the dollar.

DCF

I needed to fix the master boot record. What used to be fairly easy in XP, is quite simply a nightmare in Vista. After failing to get the recovery disk working (which I had to find the hard way cuz it is not available from M$), I decided to re-install Vista. I then learned that I had no disk recovery partition due to a mishap that occurred when I had to get my hard drive replaced. I also did not have install disk, and I am out of warranty. What to do? Go Linux.

Here I sit running Linux on my home system and I am debating about going back to Windows. I can go through the motions of getting Vista or XP up, but now I wonder do I really want to? The only app now that I depend on that does not run in Linux or I can find a reasonable facsimile of is Flash. Granted, I can still run the Flex 3 alpha in Linux, but it won’t be the same as working on the Windows side. Other than that, I could easily stay Linux and make do with the apps it supplies. Perhaps I can get FlashDevelop running in Wine. That would be outstanding if it works, but I have not found any post out there with success with that.

This is all very interesting to me, because I can really see that were it not for Flash Pro, I could easily stay in Linux and not look back. I will go back to a dual boot just for convenience sake, but In light of the Windows 7 release, and the lack of joy I have had with Vista, this comedy of errors has proven very enlightening. With this whole concept of Rich Internet Applications on the rise, it seems Linux support for Flex/Flash would be prudent. It obviously would not immediately be profitable, but there would be a lot more people buying into the RIA concept via Flex if they could have a lower barrier of entry through Linux. Like I said, if I had full Flex support on Linux, I would never be going back to Windows on my home box.

-DCF

Why not you may ask? Well, simply put, for the very reason that Flash is great. The ubiquity and ease of installation of the Flash player and the UI capabilities of Flash far out shadow its short comings. I can’t justify the time split learning Unity, when I still have so much to learn in Flash/Flex, and that is where my money is being made.

I had some designer friends checking out the features of Unity, and some of the games out there done in Unity. Feature wise, they were very impressed. Unity player download is what they felt absolutely sucked. Not that it was a horrible ordeal, but that it took longer than expected and interrupted their experience. That is the attitude of the net: Don’t make me wait.

The general consensus:
‘No one but diehard gamers will take the time out for installing yet another player. If casual games are your aim, then you lose your audience, because the player is far from a “casual” download. Conversely, diehards will not be convinced that their time won’t be wasted on a browser based game.’

Ok, I could have argued with them, but they did have a point. There will have to be a huge culture shift in terms of the game platform being in the cloud and not the console. Until we nail down this broadband bandwidth thing, Flash is still going to look pretty good for the casual game dev simply in terms of ubiquity and scale. In other words, grandma can download the Flash player in no time flat, and play ‘Texas Hold Em’.

If all goes well, and the US infrastructure enrichment plans come to fruition, Flash will have to ante up in the game dev area (particularly 3d) to remain competitive in that area. Until then, Flash is sitting pretty, and will continue to do so. If it continues to target business apps and is adopted, then it becomes even more entrenched. Unity has to bide its time, keep building its following, and offer more UI features. If you can make a 3D game with it, then you can most certainly do Rich Internet Apps with it. When and if Unity hits 50% browser penetration, then I will be seriously looking at it. Flash better look out.

-DCF

The tutorial that really helped me out the most was this two parter created by Richard Bates. I needed to understand how to integrate ZendAMF and Flex, and his tutorial explains it very well. Enjoy.

Getting Started with Zend AMF (Zend_Amf) - Part One from richard bates on Vimeo.

Also Check out the Zend Framework, which is a wealth of PHP goodness.

-DCF

There are times when I need to do command line stuff in Windows that I can easily do in Linux with a script, but can’t do in Windows. Windows has a batch language that is good for simple things, but it often does not fulfill the need.
Case in point, I needed to be able to quickly find in some text based data files a particular string of data. Once found, I needed to be able to move those files to a separate folder. Once moved, I needed to be able to extract data from those files, and load that data into a database. Sure I could do it in C++ or C#, or even pull the whole shebang over to Linux and process there, but why bother when I got good ol’ PHP that can be executed from the command line right in Windows.

PHP supports a SAPI (Server Application Programming Interface) called CLI (Command Line Interface). With PHP, I was able to write a few scripts that quickly did exactly what I needed. They execute from the command line, and even runs DOS commands for file management using the shell_exec() function. One can even make desktop applications with it, and the CLI works on Linux as well. Using PHP’s CLI is simply a really nice way to automate system administration task in Windows.

Using PHP from the command line

-DCF