So what’s the solution? I haven’t found one but using Eclipse with the FB plugin would be more stable. That’s the case for me. So be sure to download the latest Eclipse when you face the same problem. It waste too much of my time & energy.

I have been quite an observer of these frameworks although I do not really like design patterns & MVC. A Model-View-Controller pattern sometimes really doesn’t work for me as a sole developer+designer. It just seems too much files, too much management and configurations. I never like overwhelming config/settings which at the end of the day produce little that I need.

I have tried Symfony. At first, I think that it is smart, yes all frameworks are smart. Over the time, I felt that Symfony really is too much for me to do such simple things. It makes me hate Propel and YAML. Of couse, I hate XML more. Then I give a tried on Code Igniter which was actually the 1st MVC framework I come to know. Well, it’s small & simple but then does not have the advanced features I need.

Later on I found Qcodo. I am really impressed with the code generation & form drafts it did in one single click. It is like ASP .NET, event driven programming on the stateless HTTP. Qcodo also comes with it’s cool components which is great if you are building forms. Ajax integration is awesome with just a change on the QServerAction to QAjaxAction. Relationship mapping is automatically generated by the code gen. Modifying the form draft templates is piece of cake which can be understood by a designer with no programming experience. Configurations? You just need to key in your DB info and directory paths. I can get started with it in 5 minutes after watching the demos.

There’s only one issue with it and I consider a serious issue — no integration with AMFPHP or WebOrb, you will get tons of errors when you try to. What’s the big deal? I am a Flash developer and I care! So I can’t really use Qcodo with AMF which leave me to stick with XML and HTTPService

I calm down and think about what I really need? Frameworks are great and that’s true. But each framework has its own uniqueness and workflow. If one doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t mean that the framework sucks, it is just that the framework doesn’t work for you! Don’t stick to it if it’s a pain to you! A framework is to make developers happy.

So, What I needed the most? I figure it’s Object Relationship Mapping(ORM) and preferably something that has some sort of authentication or automated CRUD features. I also need to integrate it with Flash/Flex. Then, Zend Framework 1.0.0 is out. It seems great, loosely coupled classes with cool mashup features. I also come across EZPDO which is another great ORM framework. I will give Zend_DB a try and then EZPDO. But then, what about some nice automated CRUD admin features?

Here is where I met Django - a web development framework for Python. It has a Model-Template-View (MTV) pattern rather than MVC. That’s something like Qcodo. Django even comes with its cool development server, you don’t need Apache to test it. What I like most is the admin feature in Django. It is the best I have come across. Easy and straighforward. Since I know Python, I guess this might be the BIG thing for me.

As for integration with Flash/Flex, there’s RTMPy in the Python world. RTMPy is a Twisted protocol implementing Adobe’s Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), used for full-duplex real-time communication with applications running inside the Flash Player. Python implementations of AMF encoders and decoders is included in the project. Sounds like Red5 at this point. It even has an admin interface in Flex, hah!

I have spent a day or more trying out Django. Well, it makes me happy! That’s enough to convince me to use it in future projects (though finding a host will be a problem). RTMPy will be the next thing.

*I forgot to mentioned that there’s a project call DjangoAMF. cheers!

*Guess what? Qcodo works with AMFPHP. Just discovered this.

FYI,  Pownce offers a service to send stuff to your friends. What kind of stuff? You can send just about anything: music, photos, messages, links, events, and more. You can do it all on their web site, or install our lightweight desktop software (which is an AIR application). Pownce is also built with Python Django which I am really interested in.

By the way, Pownce is brought to you by a bunch of geeks. Hah!

They have updated their website, cool stuff. http://www.creationonthefly.com/tools 

If you couldn’t wait for the release of the real BumpTop, you must check this out~  TileUI from Doug McCune. Have a look at the demo video if you are lost with the application. According to Doug, this will be an AIR application in the future.

This is built around with existing Flash open source projects such as Papervision 3d and APE engine. Well, the Flash community really rocks!

I manage to get a score of 5 out of 10 which I consider high for a personal website like mine. Mind you this is a full Flash website with some SEO tricks behind the HTML. Just view the source of my front page

I am happy that while you search for Flash developer or Flash designer in Google (pages from Malaysia), you would find my website on the top 3 pages.

Flash Designer search:

http://www.google.com.my/search?q=flash+designer&hl=en&cr=countryMY&start=20&sa=N

Flash Developer search:

http://www.google.com.my/search?q=flash+developer&hl=en&cr=countryMY&start=10&sa=N

Flash Freelance search:

http://www.google.com.my/search?hl=en&q=flash+freelance&btnG=Search&meta=cr%3DcountryMY

While searching for flash freelance developer or designer I got into the 1st page! Cool~ So design your page neatly for some search engine optimization

BumpTop is a fresh and engaging new way to interact with your computer desktop. 3D, physics, smooth and engaging controls & animations that would make you laugh .

I can’t find any words to describe it, so it’s better for you to have a look at it.

Cool stuff indeed, I hope there would be an OS based on this interface!

Website: http://bumptop.com/

Youtube demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0ODskdEPnQ 

roject. It is released under the MIT Open Source license, which means it is absolutely free for any commercial use. So what can you do with it? Check out the showreel. Cool stuffs.

http://www.papervision3d.org/showreel/publicbeta/

Aviary is a suite of rich internet applications geared for artists of all genres. If you are a person who creates, you MUST have a look at this. They have a tool for everything, e.g. image editing to typography to music to 3D to video. Yes, you can use it right in your browser!

Get the early bird invitations right away as you read this. http://www.creationonthefly.com . Remember to watch the cool teaser video too.

Here is a list of tools in the Aviary suite.
Phoenix
Image editor.

Toucan
A swatch generator tool and community in one.

Peacock
A pattern generator tool and community in one.

Raven
Vector editor.

Hummingbird
3D modeller.

Myna
Audio editor.

Roc
Music generator.

Hawk
Video editor.

Owl
Desktop publishing tool.

Penguin
Word processor (geared towards poets and writers).

Pigeon
Painting simulator.

Rookery
A free, unlimited distributed file system network that anyone can connect to and store data in. It also powers our search engine.

Eagle
A smart online application that can identify complex data about an image based on the pixel patterns (for example it can identify which specific camera an image originaly came from and whether it has been edited or not).

Crane
Custom image product creator, that can integrate with other websites.

Flex 3 beta is out! Adobe® AIR™ (formerly code-named Apollo) is here too! Plus, there is a new Flash Player update with cool features! This new update take advantage of up to 4 Cores for vector rendering and leverages DirectX on Windows and OpenGL on OSX in full-screen mode!

So get ready for some reading & testing.

http://www.onflex.org/

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flex/articles/flex3_whatsnew.html

http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Flex_3

http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/air/

http://www.kaourantin.net/2007/06/flash-player-update-3-beta-1.html

Go ahead and read more about them.