oddhammer

Just posting this because maybe it will help someone...

I decided to try using a TextLayout component in a SWF loaded into a rather large Flex app that has been in development for some time.. well.. it blowed up.

Main Thread (Suspended: VerifyError: Error #1014: Class flash.text.engine::ContentElement could not be found.)

Here's the weird part...
- The SWF worked fine when viewed directly in the browser (as expected).
- If the SWF was loaded into the Flex app which was launched by "run" or "debug" from FlexBuilder... it broke (as expected, see error above).
- If the SWF was loaded into the Flex app which was viewed directly in the browser ... it broke (as expected, see error above).
- If the SWF was loaded into the Flex app which was launched by "Profile" from FlexBuilder.... it worked (aaahhhh?)

That last one threw me for a loop because the problem was the Flex project was set to compile for Flash Player 9 and the SWF being loaded in with the TextLayout is dependent on some Flash Player 10 tricks. So why then did it work when I did a "Profile" from FB? .. somewhere there must be a setting or some documentation for this (the profile feature probably relies on something FP10 specific) but I'm not looking for it since I'm beyond the issue now.

Anyway, the solution of course was just to set the Flex project to compile for Flash Player 10...

Here’s what it looks like when I click on symbols in the library in CS4..

Those could be symbols of cars, monkeys, baseballs..  it doesn’t matter.  I get horizontal lines. 

It’s been this way for a while and I’ve just been avoiding the inevitable reinstall and kind of enjoying the little bit of chaos that this brings into my workspace.  It’s time for it to end though.  I need to see what I’m about to drag out onto the stage instead of it being a surprise.  heh.  My library is a box of chocolates.. I never know what I’m going to get until I drag it to the stage.

A few months ago I finally upgraded my cell phone and went for a Samsung Omnia from Verizon. Before I bought it I read some reviews on it and tinkered around with others in the store and it was one of those “lesser of two evils” things where I couldn’t find anything that was perfect so I picked something that sucked the least. 

One of the things about the omnia that I didn’t like was it came with Flash Lite 2.1..  after 3.1 was released.  Ah well.  So I tinkered around some with packaging some little apps that I created and got 3.1 on it that way.. but it’s basically the “stand alone” player and not used for the browser.  I don’t develop mobile apps for my day job, so this sub-par Flash support was more of a nuisance when I was browsing for fun and not something I really needed.

Well, last week I got around to looking at upgrading Opera and saw loads of articles hinting that the beta version would use Flash Lite 3.1.. I downloaded and installed it..  and it still had 2.1.  oh well..  In the process of looking for info on the Opera beta I stumbled upon Skyfire.  It gives me full Flash 10 (10,0,22,87) support on my little mobile phone.  It has some pretty big quirks as far as UI (like entering text in Flash apps), but it’s nice to have another option.

So just for kicks I dug around and looked at some of my old performance tests and some other tests out there on the web..  and whoa..  I was shocked.  My cell phone ran the tests faster than my old XP rig (which I was playing Half Life 2 on not long ago..).  But on the graphics heavy tests it kind of freaked out..  an example is when I ran this test my little omnia was chugging along at 25fps and then sometimes it would jump to 30 or 35.  It wasn’t smooth at all.  When I added more objects for it to spin around things would get really exciting.  The graphics would freeze up, then the Flash Player would rush to display everything.  If I put 7 objects on there it would drop to 10fps for a few seconds, then zip up to 40fps, then stabilize at about 30fps for a few seconds, then drop back.  But.. . .  the ability to run Flash Player 10 on something I can fit in my pocket?  Wow. 

Now if the Omnia would just work a little better as a phone..  hehe.

I had a very strange thing happen to me today.  One of my old friends called me to see how I was doing and he asked if I knew any db workers looking for a job.  I had to kind of stop for a moment and pinch myself.  Many of you probably know where I’m coming from when I say that I know a LOT of good IT folks who have lost their jobs over the last year and are still unemployed.  I heard earlier today that many states are seeing unemployment over 11%, so hearing that a good paying job wasn’t bringing in loads of applications seemed odd.  It turns out that the job just hasn’t been advertised much, and my friend needs someone good to work with so I’ll do my part and try to get a few more applicants headed to HR so he has a better shot of getting someone with some decent skills.

The job is in Philadelphia, PA.  Pay is $60 - $65k

Here’s the job posting
Here’s their main job openings page