FLASH ON MOBILE- ADOBE WAY

Watching TV on a mobile can be a frustrating experience

Adobe has announced a plan to try to get its Flash player installed on more mobile devices and set-top boxes.

Dubbed Open Screen the initiative lifts restrictions on how its multimedia handling software can be used.

Adobe will stop charging licencing fees for mobile versions of Flash and plans to publish information about the inner workings of the code.

In taking this step Adobe hopes to repeat on mobiles the success its Flash technology has enjoyed on the web.

Video deal

Adobe estimates that its Flash player is installed on more than 98% of net-connected desktop computers.

The Open Screen plan will build on Flash Lite - Adobe's version of its multimedia player designed for mobile gadgets - that is already on millions of handhelds.

The ultimate aim of Open Screen is to make it much easier for TV and film makers to send their content to mobiles and on other devices such as set-top boxes.

It aims to do this by creating one flexible player technology that can run on any small-form device but only demands that developers write code once for it.

At the moment trying to get games or video on to different devices can be frustrating because of the plethora of hardware and software quirks on each gadget.

Adobe's four-step plan involves ending license fees; removing restrictions on the use of files in SWF and FLV format; publishing detailed information about the program interfaces for its Flash player and opening up information about its Flash streaming technology.

The move is the latest in a series that are aiming to open up Flash and get more devleopers working with it.

It is also part of the larger plan for Adobe Air - an overarching code development system that aims to bridge the gap between web and desktop applications.

Adobe said it was working with Arm, SonyEricsson, Nokia, LG and other gadget makers on the Open Screen initiative as well as content partners such as the BBC, MTV and NBC.

Adobe faces competition from Microsoft which is trying to get Silverlight - its answer to Air - on to mobiles too.

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RED CAR TO RED CARPET. A QUICK PIT START FROM MS

"Retirement" is a relative term when you're the fastest driver in the world. Since stepping back from his Formula One career, seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher has remained a high-profile celebrity, often despite his best attempts to stay out of the limelight. When he's not under investigation for commandeering a taxi or dedicating buildings, he's competing ad-hoc in motorcycle races and coaching his son on a developing racing career of his own. Reports now suggest that Hollywood is offering Schumi a film on his life and career. According to reports, Schumacher himself could star in the film, while Bruce Willis has also been attached to the project to play race commentator Murray Walker. It wouldn't be Schumacher's first foray into film, following his cameos in kids' movies like Asterix and Pixar's Cars. Although Schumacher has yet to accept the offer, his longtime manager Willi Weber has confirmed that it's under consideration. If the project gets the green light, it could turn out to be the biggest racing film since Steve McQueen's Le Mans.

MENU MAKING IS LOT EASY FROM NOW.

Create more advanced, complex and exciting DHTML Menus with the press of a button by using the NEW “Multiple Rows and Columns” feature. added in the Group Style Editor’s <Type> property in AllWebMenus!

Examples:

Multiple Rows:

Multiple Columns:

Note: In this demonstration AllWebMenus DHTML Menu Maker version 5.1 build #734 was used.

The choice of AllWebMenus as your DHTML menu / JavaScript menu maker offers you the highest possible standards and qualifications:

• Powerful customization (hundreds of combinations) View examples of menus
• Cross-browser support
• Addins/extensions for popular html editors (view entire list)
• All UNICODE languages/symbols fully supported (international menus) new!
• Floating Images - Use this feature as extra decoration for a special occasion (anniversary, holiday etc) or as a part of a theme
• Multiple Column/Row menus
• Use HTML code on selected menu items to achieve enhanced formatting or advanced functionality
• Database-driven or programmatically generated menus on server-side environments, such as PHP, JSP, ColdFusion, ASP, ASP.NET, etc. (Server-Side Menus API)
• Web menu Theme Packs and Templates
• SEO (search engine optimized) menu implementations
• Innovative User Interface - Simplicity and ease of use
• Continuous upgrades and company commitment, accurate customer support

View complete features list as well as examples of menus you can create with our DHTML menu generator.

Floating Images can now be added to any of the items of your DHTML menu, allowing for even more creative menu implementations.

- The fact that a “floating image” appears above the item’s layer gives it the opportunity to exceed the item’s area!

- Have a look at the following examples, where we have decorated one menu for Christmas and another for the Basketball’s finals by just adding a “floating image” on the items you want and for any of the three states of the menu (Normal, Mouse Over or Mouse Click):

AND

GTA IV gets masterpiece as well as Mature rating . youth speacial from youthsprouts

Grand Theft Auto IVThe queues for Grand Theft Auto IV, which went on sale at midnight, seem justified judging by the rave reviews for the latest game from developer Rockstar Games and its publisher Take-Two. “Rockstar’s magnum opus is a modern-day masterpiece that could change the way the world views videogames,” said Gamespy. Its New York-based location “Liberty City is nothing less than one of the greatest videogame worlds yet conceived,” said IGN. “I now know how film critics felt after screening The Godfather …Grand Theft Auto IV doesn’t just raise the bar for the storied franchise; it completely changes the landscape of gaming,” said Game Informer. Metacritic, which provides a weighted average score for games based on a wide range of reviews, has rated the PlayStation 3 version of the game as a perfect 100 and the Xbox 360 version as a 99. The industry average for video games is around 68, with Nintendo games scoring highest at an average of 75, Sony following on 74, then Take-Two on 73 and Electronic Arts on 72. Metacritic is widely quoted by the industry and the Mature-rated Grand Theft Auto franchise’s excellence has to be one big reason why EA has bid $2bn for Take-Two. At its analyst day in February, John Riccitiello, EA chief executive, expressed his disappointment that EA’s Metacritic average had dropped 5 points in five years from 77 to 72. He set a target for its fiscal 2011 year of reaching an average Metacritic score of 80. EA is this year building better games than it has ever done, he believes, but just imagine the boost to those averages the addition of Rockstar would give.

google, yahoo, micrsoft and game is all done

The bidding for Yahoo!’s future took another twist today when it emerged that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp was trying to work with Microsoft to find a way they both could get their hands on Yahoo!. Yahoo!’s rejection of Microsoft’s $31-a-share-offer earlier this week did not please a number of Yahoo!’s investors. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster asked 20 of Yahoo’s Institutional investors their opinion and the majority said they would prefer to deal with Microsoft on that offer, than do no deal at all. The growing feeling among Silicon Valley investors is that a deal will be completed in the next 3-4 weeks. What that deal will be and what good it will be to whom, remains to be seen. Google is remaining omimously quiet although, Yahoo! is about to turn over three per cent of its US search queries advertising inventory to Google in a two week trial - clearly a little detail that - if you were cynical - might say is being done to annoy Microsoft during its pursuit. Difficult as it is to keep up with all the twists and turns - Jemima Kiss over at the Guardian has summarised key events here in a neat timeline.

Does Google have the key to monetising online video?

Google CEO Eric Schmidt came out earlier this week saying that he hasn’t yet figured out the perfect solution for making money from online video. His comments come after Google’s earnings report revealed that the $1.65bn acquisition of YouTube is yet to reap the kind of financial rewards that were hoped for.

But across the board, advertising in online video is something that still hasn’t been addressed properly, and the PCTV market is going through an interesting phase. Lack of content has already forced the once heralded Joost to retreat to the US and niche content areas. Hulu is doing well with content, but finding many of the same issues with advertising as the rest of the market. Meanwhile others such as Vuze are hoping that a technology advantage in delivering high-def content will help them gain cut-through.

But while different online video providers are fighting to carve out their own niche, none has yet addressed the major issue for driving advertising revenue - and that is finding a genuine format and solution that works for advertisers - and educating them about it.

Schmidt was typically cryptic about what answers Google has planned saying only that top secret new products would be launched this year and that the advertising format - whatever it is - will be valuable to consumers as well as advertisers themselves. He insisted they will go far beyond the in-line text ads, overlays and top and tail ads that are already common with online video.

Until then, plenty of others are just playing catch-up and trying to squeeze more value out of a model that is far from perfect. Warner Bros has just announced that it will offer its DVD film titles online, on-demand on the same day they release the DVDs, which is progress, but a long time coming… Will Google come to the rescue?

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Social Networking in Plain English (Licensed Version)

Post your comments

Podcasting in Plain English (Licensed Version)

Ellen discovers the Hula Chair

she discovered it for all ha ha ha ha ha ha amazing

WHAT'S RSS AND HOW TO SUBSCRIBE IT?

We’re often asked for a definition of RSS feeds. Instead of listing lines of definitions and examples, we thought this didactic 3.5 minutes video from CommonCraft provides with a good answer. Nice Job!

Click To Play

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Bollywood steals cricket Premier show

A light and laser show helped kick start the Indian Premier League

In the end, Bollywood and a spectacular opening ceremony won over cricket in the opening match of the world's first private million-dollar cricket competition.

The cricket in the Indian Premier League opener on a balmy summer evening at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Friday night was one-sided - the Calcutta team whipped the hosts Bangalore by an embarrassing 140 runs.

There were star players aplenty on the field - two stellar Indian captains, Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly, Australia's Ricky Ponting, India's new fast bowling sensation Ishant Sharma, South African star Jacques Kallis, and Indian pace bowler Zaheer Khan.

But the presence of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, also the owner of the Calcutta team, overshadowed the cricket.

King Khan

Fans gaped at their superhero as he blew kisses, cheered and danced precariously on the ledge of an upper tier stand.

There were a few serious cricket fans in the packed stadium

Men and women, young and old, whipped out their mobile phones to take fuzzy pictures of Khan as he opened champagne to celebrate his team's win.

When local spectators were asked by a television reporter who was the hero of the opening match, they screamed "Shah Rukh Khan".

As this worship of King Khan, as he his known by his legions of fans, continued, 26-year-old New Zealander Brendon McCullum decimated the opposition's bowling.

He scored 158 of Calcutta's 222 runs and single-handedly took the match away from Bangalore, owned by airline and brewery baron Vijay Mallya.

The game did not match the dazzling opening ceremony.

The 55,000-seater stadium was almost at capacity and was afire with cheerleaders from America and stilt-walkers from Holland.

A violinist performed in a blinding fog of laser and light show, in what looked like a cross between a corny musical and a Pink Floyd concert.

Websites gamble on their future

Good gambling strategies can pay off for websites

Running an online shop can be a brutal business because the net is the ultimate level playing field.

The sheer number of competitors selling any and every product or service means shop sites can struggle to make themselves stand out in the crowd.

In a bid to keep up with the pace an increasing number of websites are turning to insights that have emerged from studies of how to gamble on fruit machines.

Running an online store and gambling on a one-armed bandit may seem to have little in common - beyond the near certainty that you are going to lose money - but there is an affinity that might not at first be apparent.

Research into the so called "bandit problem" has produced techniques that ensure theoretical gamblers get the best possible return.

These techniques funnel most cash into the machine giving the current best payout. But they hedge this bet by pumping some coins into other machines to see if they produce a higher return.

FREE WEBSITE TEMPLATES

If you are not satisfied with ready-made blog and website templates and want to build your own design, having a bare-bone structure might make it easier. We’ve created a list of top ten tools to help you create that basic structure to kick-start your creativity.

CSSEZ

CSSEZ is an online template generator for Wordpress and Movable Type blogs. You need to register at the CSSEZ site in order to use the tool. There are some good features with which you can choose between one to four columns for your blog, define the column width, padding, margin, border, font and link styles. You can upload your background image or create one with the image maker.

dotemplate

dotemplate provides 12 free templates that you can choose from. You can choose one and go on to customizing your selected template by changing the color, font, text, position of text, etc. in the background, container, footer, menus, and boxes. You can apply effects like drop shadow, gradient, and round corners. When you are through customizing, you can download the template on your system. This is quite a convenient tool for those wishing to create their own templates without much HTML knowledge. However, an option for uploading your own images would have made this tool better.

Drupal Theme Generator

Drupal Theme Generator is a MS Excel based theme generator for Drupal sites you can use to create PHPtemplate and Xtemplate themes for your Drupal sites. The tool is free yet feature rich with some cool ones like random color theme generator, previewing your theme on your system, HTML color assistant, and integratingCSS, JavaScript, PHP , and HTML code in to the themes from an external file, etc. There are also nine themes that you will get when you download the tool.

Eris’ Template Generator

Eris’ Template Generator provides 11 skins for your blog with three column options for each skin. It supports Diaryland, Diary-x, Movabletype, old Blogger, Wordpress, B2, and a free HTML site templates. You can add your tagline, meta tags and include links to to the index, archives, email, notes, profile, buddylist, and last 5 entries for Diaryland, last 10 entries for Movable Type, calendar for B2, blogroll for Wordpress, XHTML compliant and content copyright notices, webrings, chat screen names, and buttons.

Firdamatic

Firdamatic is an online template generator for old Blogger and Movable Type blogs. You can select from the two column or three column options. Simply enter the information on the relevant boxes on the online form and click generate template. You can add your site name, title image, and choose the font and font color as well.

HTML PHP CSS Website Template Generator

HTML PHP CSS Website Template Generator is an online tool to create a PHP site template, along with its CSS and HTML files. You can customize the style sheet, header, sidebars, header, and footer by adding your font, color, margin and alignment preferences on the template generator’s online form. You can then generate the scripts, which you can copy and save for your use.

PsycHo

PsycHo is an open-source online template generator for the old Blogger, PersianBlog, and BlogFa platforms. You can set your page title, body background color, title background, description, text, spacing, and choose from four column options. You can preview your template and get the code in raw html. It’s simple to use and also works well for those without much HTML knowledge. The good part of PsycHo is that if your Internet connection breaks in between, you can still work on and complete designing your template. This is a good tool but needs to support more blog platforms like the new Blogger and Wordpress.

Templatr

Templatr provides you more than 20 layouts, and formatting options for various page elements including pages, header, footer, titles, margin, padding, border, and more for your Wordpress blog. It also provides you an upload tool with which you can upload your site graphics. You can download the template on your system once you are complete.

Weebly

Weebly is a neat site template generator with more than 15 pre-built designs. You can choose one of these designs and customize them by adding various elements like ads, feed icons, maps, contact form, define the text and picture layouts, columns, add Google and YouTube videos, etc. Once you are through, you can publish the site on your custom domain. Quite handy for all those who wish to make a quick personal site.

Wordpress Theme Generator

Wordpress Theme Generator is a cool online tool that will enable you to create your own custom made Wordpress themes without the need to know much html and css languages. The tool provides options to choose your blog name, site body size, sidebar location and size, add a third column, menu layout, color and text schemes, and add tag cloud, archives and search box. You can upload your site logo online and link to it from your template. Once you are through, you can preview your creation and download it in a zip file.

free obituary templates website templates

FIREFOX THE FOX WAY. SHOWS OUT THE FLASH URL EMBEDED ON WEB PAGE

www.youthsprouts.blogspot.com Like that embedded flash animation or game on a website and wanted to have it on your hard disk. You can do that if you are on Firefox. Its very simple, just load the webpage with the embedded flash animation on Firefox and go to Tools -> Page Info. Select the Media tab on the page info box. A list appears which lists all media contents on the webpage like images, sounds, flash etc with details like address of the file and the type. Scroll through the list and identify the flash file embedded on the page you want to save. One hint would be that its extension is .swf and it would be listed as 'Embed' type in the list. Once you find out the embedded flash file, select it and click on 'Save As' button below the list to save the file on your hard disk. __

Find a bug, to earn money. Very easy. greate easy money

www.youthsprouts.blogspot.com Do you keep checking out every new software that you hear of? Then here's an opportunity for you to get paid for your passion. Register with uTest and test new software and get paid for every bug you find and report.

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Free RSS/Feed Icons

www.youthsprouts.blogspot.com

If you are bored of the same conventional RSS/Feed icons, there are many different styles of buttons available which you can use for free in you site/blog. browse through the sites listed below and find the one button for you! Free Glass Style RSS/Feed Icons Web 2.0 style feed buttons Feedicons from zeusboxstudio Rss Icons Orb Standard Feed icons 30 Free Vector RSS Icons Buttons for RSS, Feeds, and XML in various styles.

FREE FREE FREE __