Posted by Ben Jackson
Wed, 19 Oct 2005 22:54:00 GMT
I've been thinking a lot lately about the relationship between compilation time and developer productivity, and I've come to a conclusion: if you're waiting for more than 5 or 6 seconds from the time you hit the compile button to the time you receive the information you're looking for, you are short-changing yourself big-time.
Version 1.0 of my agency's website was built and compiled entirely in the Flash IDE. This was not a problem when I started the project: with a handful of classes and only a couple of sections for the first round of betas, compile times were not an issue, and I was able to move fairly quickly while adding new features and fixing the hoards of bugs that popped up as I got a handle on the process of developing in an environment which, until that point, had meant little more to me than a timeline and drag-and-drop scripting.
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Posted in Development, Flash | no comments | no trackbacks
Posted by Ben Jackson
Wed, 19 Oct 2005 21:37:00 GMT
A little background: last week my agency received word of a competition to design a calendar for the 60th anniversary of the SESC Rio de Janeiro, one of the most respected cultural institutions in Brazil. Being a competition, the project was entirely speculative, which would normally be an automatic deal-breaker, but the client is fantastic and the opportunity was too good to pass up. So, over the last 5 days, we embarked on a kamikaze mission to deliver a complete mockup by 3pm today.
The file was ready by 12. After spending half an hour downloading the email over a 5k/sec connection, 2 and a half hours with a wonderful group of 8 willing and able spur-of-the-moment helpers, and inhaling much more spray adhesive than my doctor would approve of, the dummy went out with a moto-boy who then proceeded to disappear off the map, taking the calendar and our chances of entering the competition (for which there were only two other competing agencies) with him. We are processing the delivery company and will almost certainly win, but any victory will be a poor replacement for a project that had everything going for it.
Posted in Business | no comments | no trackbacks
Posted by Ben Jackson
Wed, 19 Oct 2005 21:23:00 GMT
Not sure if anyone noticed, but I've been MIA for a bit due to some last-minute changes on one of our client projects. The last two weeks have been a flurry of corrections, server hassles, and general insanity. However, I'm happy to say that the Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro's Barra Branch is now live and the response has been great thus far. EARJ is a great school, and I'm excited to be able to contribute to the success of their new preschool. Stay tuned for updates as INCOMUM Design & Concept releases more of our upcoming projects in the next month.
Posted in Design | no comments | no trackbacks
Posted by Ben Jackson
Thu, 06 Oct 2005 01:47:00 GMT
My world has officially been rocked. Pandora is the internet radio to end all internet radios: enter a song or artist, and it puts together a personalized radio station with tracks that have the same characteristics. Kind of like Amazon recommendations if they were based on people's actual opinions instead of their purchases. Hope they don't charge too much after I've used up my first free 10 hours...
Posted in Design, Distractions | no comments | no trackbacks
