[...] Here’s a suggestion for Macromedia for making Central a success: scrap it.

Some thoughts in response from JD.

[...] I made a Tic Tac Toe game with the all the free time/days off I could using Flex, Flashcom, and Central. I learned a lot, and have the classic "I hate how I did this, I must redo it knowing what I know now because I at the time, I didn't know what I know now." I coded myself into a corner on the Flashcom side, and couldn't allow connection instances; meaning, all users share the same NetConnection instance; you all play the same game of tic tac toe, and have to share. You CAN chat, however, while waiting. She's buggy and sort of works, but I fixed all of the horrible crashes... that I couldn't find anyway. I plan on re-doing the core architecture in the future so you can play more than 1 game; I like how the UI fits, I like the Flex code, I like the Central code, I just don't like the Flashcom code, both client and server.

Back in February of this year, I started working on an XMPP/Jabber based instant messenger for Central 1.0. I worked on it for a good 3 months in whatever spare time I could afford, but then the project sort of died when other time commitments nudged their way into my life, and Macromedia started revamping their Central SDK and components in preparation for Central 1.5. The project, called XIFF Messenger, after the XIFF Library that powers it, has been going stale on my hard drive ever since. Considering the instant messenger works pretty damn well already, it’s kind of a shame.

So, in an effort to give it another chance, I’m releasing all the source code free to the community. Download it, play with it, tweak it … maybe you’ll find it useful. I’d love to see a real XMPP-based instant messenger for Central, but I don’t have the time or the dedication since I’ve started focusing on other things.

One of the most overlooked things about Central 1.5 is probably the fact that it is fully ActionScript 2.0 compatible. Combined with some best-practice design patterns it's now pretty easy to expand a Central application's field of operation into the browser - and vice versa.

• Feasible Impossibilities: Macromedia Central 1.5 Hits the Street (2004-09-16)
• Flashmagazine: Macromedia Central 1.5
• richinternet.blog: Some in-depth info on Central 1.5 (2004-09-17)
• Jonas Galvez: Central 1.5 looks good, but not quite… (2004-09-18)

[…] developed as a way for Independent Artist to expose their music to the masses. Central Stream is a free service to both the user and the artist.

AIMWatcher allows you to see the usage history of people who are in your Buddy List. It shows when they have been online, offline, idle, away, etc. You can set it to check their status at different intervals.

Daniel Dura (who works for Macromedia on the Central development team) explains it rather well:

The app is really quite simple but I have already found it extremely useful. Basically, it lays out the status of all your buddies in a timeline. Using this app, you get more of a sense of when their status did change, instead of just seeing who is online, offline, or away at the moment.

I face similar issues in my World Time application. The size of the XML data I use isn't quite insane, but large enough to cause a noticable pause when parsing. Luckily the data I need isn't regularly updated, so here's what I do:

1. Install Application
2. Locally cache XML data as part of the install process
3. Agent parses the cached XML (a WDDX file)
4. Agent attempts to save the parsed data to a Shared Object
5. Agent populates a LCDataProvider server in the with the parsed data
6. Use DataGrids in my app with LCDataProvider clients

On subsequent launches I look for the presence of the pre-parsed data in the Shared Object and use that, otherwise parse the WDDX data again and use that instead. It works okay, but I've got a feeling there are better ways of distributing local data for Central.

I have created an OS X version of my stand-alone Central Trace Panel. This basically allows you to run the Central Trace / Debug panel outside of the Flash IDE.

It's more useful than it sounds — the Central Debug Panel that ships with the SDK has a floating palette window-type, so whenever Flash isn't the frontmost application, the panel disappears. To watch the live trace output from Central, you had to run Central in the background. Now, you don't! What else is there to say? It works. Good job!

Sidenote: notice the subtle change in nomenclature? It's now a Trace Panel instead of a Debug Panel ;-)

[via Central MX]

[via Central MX]