Dreamweaver adds connection incudes at the top of the file using code similar to the following:

<?php require_once('Connections/localhost.php'); ?>

If you add code above the connection includes using require_once(), or include() and you use single quotes around the file name, then Dreamweaver will mark the Recordsets in the ServerBehaviors panel as broken. If you try to inspect the recordset to fix it, once you click OK, the include is removed (or the first include is removed, if you have more than one include at the top of the page).

FIX: If you switch to using double quotes around the file names, then the recordsets aren't marked as broken, and the require_once() and include() aren't removed, as in the following:

<?php require_once("myinclude.php"); ?>

Today the Macradobians made history.

For those of you still hiding under a rock (just kidding), the team at Adobe Systems Incorporated just announced the release of a dizzying plethora of software and resources under the umbrella called Flex 2.0, which includes Flex Builder, Flex Data Services, Flash Player 9, the Flex.org resource center and the Flex Developer Center.

After being in development for nearly 2 years, and in public beta for a considerable portion of that time, Flex 2.0 has finally been released, to the accolades and cheers of a great many people in the Flash and RIA (Rich Internet Applications) Development community, including myself.

Some of you may be asking yourself at this point, "what is Flex," and "what does this mean?"

Flex is next step in evolution for the Flash Platform (yes, it's not just a plugin anymore, it's a "platform" now, doncha know?) Flash has gone through a great many changes over the years, and each new version has heralded new capabilities and powers. To list some of these, in Flash 4 (1999) it was, um... bad intros? :P  In Flash 5 (2000) it was Object-Oriented Programming and XML. In Flash 6 (MX) (2002) it was the Drawing API and Components. In Flash 7 (MX 2004) it was ActionScript 2.0, Class Packages and v2 Components. Flash 8 (2005), featured a whole new set of tools around bitmap rendering and effects, as well as a file up/download API.

Now hold on to yer pants folks, it's about to get interesting.

Now we have Flash Player 9. But no Flash 9 IDE (Integrated Development Environment). What we have, instead of the gradual evolution between Flash 7 and Flash 8, or even the big step between Flash 6 and 7, we have a quantum leap. The Flash 9 IDE would be the next step, but in fact the Flash 9 IDE isn't due out until sometime in 2007. So Flex could be called Flash 10. Only it isn't. It's Flex.

The Flash Player 9 capabilities are so radically different from its predecessors, that they have effectively split the Flash Player in two: (Virtual Machine) VM1 and VM2; think two flash plugins-in-one. VM1 is Flash 8 and below. VM2 is Flash 9 and up.

The reason Adobe needed to do this is because ActionScript has not only gotten a facelift, it got rebuilt from the ground up, and is now known as ActionScript 3.0, or as I like to affectionately call it, "Uberskript 3.0" ;). In remaking ActionScript, they eschewed compatibility to a certain extent, but they gained so much more.

Some of the features that excite Flash developers about Flash Player 9 and ActionScript 3.0 are:

• a Just In Time (JIT) compiler that provides a x10 speed improvement in code execution;
• Built in raw data socket support using binary sockets, which means that the Flash Player can accept raw binary data, which combined with the 10x faster code execution, leaves the field wide open for some serious mathematical heavy-lifting with custom parsing, cryptography and compression algorithms in Flash;
• ECMAScript for XML (E4X);
• regular expressions;
• a standardized DOM event model, including event bubbling;

Gone are all the inconsistencies, the hacks you needed to make, and more importantly, the timeline architecture centred around the Almighty Movie Clip. That's why Flex is so different: there is no spoon, er, I mean timeline. There is no timeline. ;) Which means that everything is class-based and OOP, by default. Bringing ActionScript development in line with most other mature programming languages out there.

The developer community shouted, "give us a robust coding environment for flash," and they listened. And so we got FlexBuilder 2 as the authoring app, which is actually a 'plugin' built upon the Eclipse environment. In FlexBuilder and with Flex Enterprise, you can author an XML document in a markup language called MXML that greatly accelerates RIA development with rapid prototyping and development capabilities. The Flex Server can dynamically compile an entire application comprised of multiple SWFs from a series of MXML documents, similar to what ColdFusion 7 can do now with Flash forms (the Flex release also includes a ColdFusion 7.0.2 Update). With Flexbuilder you can author Flash applications using only ActionScript 3.0 class files, with or without Flex Components. Or you can develop using MXML. Or even a mixture of both, with ActionScript inside your MXML. The key to all this magic is the Flex Framework, or component architecture.

In summary, Flex is:

• Flash Player 9
• ActionScript 3.0
• MXML
• MXMLC (standalone compiler)
• FlexBuilder (Eclipse-based IDE)
• Flex Data Services (enterprise server)
• Flex Framework (component architecture)
  
  (did I forget anything?)

Basically, Flash has arrived. It is all grown up now and ready to take on the big boys like .Net, Java and C++. It is a robust, rapid-prototyping, server-complied, RIA development tool. Combined with other Adobe technologies like Media Server and Remoting, we got a serious rich applications development environment on our hands, of a calibre never before seen. And let's not even get into Apollo, which is set to usher in another revolution if Adobe plays its cards right.

In 2004 we saw the split between Flash Designer and Flash Developer with ActionScript 2.0. Now we will be seeing the birth of a new Flash specialty: The Flex Developer.

The interesting part about Flash now, as is that it's not going to be the designers who will push the envelope for Flash anymore. Not even the designer/developers. That day has passed. It'll be the Java, .Net, C++ programmers who've been stymied for too long, and discover a much more powerful tool for RIA development in ActionScript 3.0. We are seeing that now even.

At this point I must mention, as Ryan Stewart so eloquently pleaded, Flex is not for websites. It is an applications development tool. Which means a component-based architecture. Which means you would not develop a site like this using Flex.

Despite that Flash is already considered by the ubercoders to be a 'legacy' implementation (at least until Flash 9 comes out in 2007), Flash still has a very large place in the scheme of things. In fact many Flex Developers are, even now using both Flash and Flex simultaneously: Flash to create the FLVs and Rich Content, and Flex to build the application framework. Personally, I love Flex and it's very cool to make stuff with it, but Flash will always be my first love. Flash 8 has barely come out, it seems, and we're on to the next thing. Hey, I've been waiting for three product versions for the features in Flash 8! So for me, there's still too many cool things to discover in Flash before I move on to Flex. For now.

I guess, at heart, I'll always be a programmer who loves to design.

Announced just yesterday! MAX details:

When: October 23 - 26, 2006
Where: Venetian Resort Hotel, Las Vegas, NV

Adobe will have over 90 different hands-on and workshop sessions presented by Adobe experts and other industry leaders on best practices and coming technologies. Currently, there are six tracks:

• LiveCycle and Acrobat
• Web Development
• Rich Internet Applications
• Mobile and Devices Applications
• Vertical Market Solutions
• Web Design

It doesn't appear you can register just yet, but you can sign up for email updates to notify you as information is available.

You would have thought no one ever saw someone eat 3 lbs. of crabs before...

Hey folks... I've been back from TODCON almost a full day now (got back into Washington DC at 7:00pm last night). So I thought I'd give you a brief synopsis of my trip and what I did, what I thought and what I experienced the last couple of days at TODCON.

Thursday (leaving for Orlando):
My one big purchase for this trip was a Washington Nationals baseball jersey. I promised myself I wouldn't purchase any Nationals merchandise until Major League Baseball got their proverbial act together and named an owner and, since they did that two days before I had to leave, I was good to go with my capitalistic morals still intact.

Got to the hotel a few hours earlier then everyone else, so I got my room and walked around the lobby where I ran into Ray and Danielle Mickey. So, we helped Ray set up the registration table with all the books, t-shirts and name tags for all the TODCON attendees. For the t-shirts, I PROMISE I'll put the t-shirt design up on my web site today or tomorrow (I swear!). While Danielle and I were organizing the name tags, I grabbed Tom Green's name tag and re-inserted the generic name tag sample that comes with all the plastic holders. You've seen them before... they generally have a picture of man or woman with the office supply logo on them. So, in essence, Tom's tag has his name on the front and a picture of some generic secretary-looking lady on the back. I made a bet with Danielle to see how long it would take Tom to discover this. I won the bet with "half a day".

Later that night, many of us went to Roy's - a Hawaiian restaurant where Vicki Berry blinded us with her digital camera. The women is dangerous with a camera, folks! She's posted some of her TODCON pics here.

Friday:
After the sessions for the day, a group of us went out searching for a good ribs place. Unfortunately, after walking endlessly around the strip mall, we found out the place went out of business so we opted for a steakhouse instead. By that time though, I was too hungry to notice what the name of the place was but they had some gooooooood steak.

One of the TODCON attendees that came with our group was Hassan Ellis. Eating and talking with Hassan is an example of one of the nicest and coolest things about TODCON - it's a chance to meet your peers and "talk shop" in an intimate and pressure-free way that no other conference can. As Paul Davis is fond of saying: You sometimes learn MORE from the "after sessions" then you do DURING the actual sessions. TODCON gives you a chance to discuss and compare each other's working habits, techniques and general advice to one another.

By the end of the evening, we came to the conclusion that Hassan was "separated at birth" from the actor, Richard T. Jones ("Judging Amy) and we all had a good laugh about that as others at the conference told him the same thing (even though Hassan didn't know who Richard T. Jones was).

Saturday:
The morning session, we all got to talk with Scott Fegette and Paul Gubbay (formerly of Macromedia and now Adobe) about all of our "wishes" for all the tweaks, changes, improvements and other things related to the Adobe line of products. My "big wish" was that if we were all going to play "Taps" for Freehand, at least make Illustrator a lot more "Freehand-ish" so it's much more intuitive and easier to use. That and I wanted them to add "bendable triangles" in Fireworks so triangles can be manipulated the same way they currently are in Freehand.

That night, it was decided that seafood would be the place of eats that night. At first, I was reluctant to go since Ray said the place didn't have crabs - imagine that... a seafood restaurant that didn't serve crabs!!! Talk about the horror! But I decided to go any way.

Thankfully, the restaurant did, indeed, serve crabs. In fact, they had three main choices of snow crab legs to choose from: 1.5 pounds, 3 pounds or all-you-can-eat. To everyone's utter horror and shock, I chose the 3 pound selection and casually explained to all the dropped jaws at the table that I come from a long line of crab eaters and in the Flick family, we take our crab eating VERY seriously. Three pounds of crabs is nothing but I chose that instead of the all-you-can-eat selection because I would still be eating there if I did.

I'm telling you... it's like people never saw someone eat crabs before! Amateurs.

Later on, many of us decided to take the Trolley back to the hotel since it was about 5 miles away. Me? I decided to get off 4 miles away from the hotel. Mainly because I had to do some "tourist shopping" to bring back something for my wife and kids.

And... walking four miles wasn't a bad way to burn off three pounds of crab.

Later on that night, I went swimming at the hotel with the Interakt gang where two ducks decided a hotel pool was a nice place as any for a 1:00am dip as any!

Sunday:
Sunday was the debut of the Orlando Jumpstart. I designed the layout while Zoe, Sheri and Jim helped organize and put together. As in Las Vegas last year, we wanted to show a preview of the Orlando Jumpstart and give everyone there a taste of how it was put together and what some of the things you can do with it.

All in all, it was a great session and my first since speaking at MX North a few years ago. Quite a few people came up to me and told me how much they enjoyed my particular part in explaining the design process and commented that they would certainly be interested if I decided to ever do a full session on something at future TODCON. So if you were at this year's TODCON and attended our Orlando Session, what are some things you might like to see from a guy who mainly uses Photoshop, Fireworks, Freehand and Dreamweaver? TODCON 9 is, sadly, a full year away but like I always say, you can never start preparing too soon!

Anyway, that was some of my memorable moments at this year's TODCON. What were yours?

Adobe released an updater for Dreamweaver 8 to push the version up to 8.0.2. Included in the 8.0.2 release are updates to server behaviors that prevent SQL injection. The updater can be found in the Dreamweaver support center. For those that interested check out the release notes to see what has been changed.

Dreamweaver MX 2004 users can update their code by following the directions for: ColdFusion
PHP
ASP VBScript
ASP JavaScript
JSP

This just in... It's official -- Adobe is not killing MAX. At least not this year. There are no venue details yet, but mark your calendars for:

Las Vegas, Nevada
October 22 - 26

Don't know where. Just know when. Keep your eye on this spot for information as it's released.

If you frequent the (former) Macromedia News Groups, you're going to start seeing a new designation in the volunteers' signatures.

Effective February 27, the Team Macromedia (TMM) designation has been replaced with Adobe Community Expert (ACE). This was not some arbitrary decision on Adobe's part either; TMM members were polled and the popular opinion leaned to this new identifier. We even got a cool new logo. I like the name (although I'm a bit too modest to be completely comfy with the abbreviation)

I think the new name is a good sign of what Adobe thinks of its customers and the developer/designer community. One thing Macromedia always did well was engage its users. It looks to me that Adobe is going to maintain this sense of community and corporate outreach. I think it puts a friendlier face on a very large company.

As Martha would say, "It's a good thing."

Yes, it's finally happened. Someone thought I was worthy enough to be interviewed. That person is Dan Smith. Dan and I got to know each other from being members in Webweavers - a Google Group e-mail list for everything related to web designing (and ruled with an iron maiden thumb by our very own Stef! LOL!).

Anyway, Dan hosts and creates audio interviews on his blog. He thought it would be interesting to let people know what I sound like and had the crazy notion others might be interested in hearing what my thoughts were on the wide variety of topics we discussed. It took a while to get all the logistics worked out, but you can finally hear our interview today.

The interview consists of a wide range of topics such as how I got into web design, information about the two books I helped write with Tom Green, the 'Bots autistic benefit book I participated in (and wrote a blog about not too long ago) as well as some of my thoughts about web comic strips - including CMX Suite! - and a whole bunch of other stuff!

So if you're interested in hearing what I sound like, now your curiosity can be appeased. :-)

- Chris

You may have already heard that the Dreamweaver 8 updater was released yesterday. You can go to the updater page to download it. It fixes some niggly bugs, as they always do, but this one has two other benefits as well.

First, if you have a trial of Dreamweaver 8, it will extend your trial for another 30 days. This happens even if your trial has already expired. So if some of the bugs at release time affected you -- and stopped you from purchasing Dreamweaver 8 -- this gives you another chance to try it on your system and see if those are now resolved.

The other helpful issue (to me) is the new options for template updating. If you read my blog post about the Changes to Dreamweaver 8 Templates, you're aware of an issue that smacked some of us up side the head. We now have the option of either leaving it "as is" (if you learned your way around it) or reverting back to the old behavior.

After installing the updater, open a site where you have the template directory problem. Open the site definition (in advanced mode) and notice on the left, in the list of categories, there's a new option -- Templates. In that panel, by default, Template Updating is checked. This tells DW not to manage the relative paths within templates. This is "the old way" of doing it. And that's how it's set by default. If you prefer the "new DW 8" way, feel free to uncheck that box. You can read more about it in this technote at the Adobe site.

Happy Updating!

Dreamweaver 8.0.1 updater has been released, check out the Dreamweaver Updaters download page for are a link to the updater.

Read over the Resolved Issues in case you're one of those, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it crowd" to see if it'll help you with any problems that you're experiencing.

Also, before you install, or if you have installed and ran into a problem or two, make sure to check out the Dreamweaver 8.0.1 Updater installation issues page.

MMUG Chicago, The Chicago Area Macromedia Users Group presents:
"XSLT Authoring with Dreamweaver 8"

Unless you have been snoozing, you know that the use of XML is growing by leaps and bounds, especially with RSS rapidly taking off. Briefly, XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) is a way to format and display XML documents.

Join us Monday January 23rd when Danilo Celic, of Team Macromedia, will explain exactly what XSLT is, why you'll want to use it. Danillo will demonstrate how you can use the new XSL tools in Dreamweaver 8 to assist you in creating content for your pages with data derived from XML sources. In true Dreamweaver fashion, these new features enable you to visually edit your XML derived content with drag and drop ease.

MONDAY, JANUARY 23rd, 2006
Illinois Institute of Art Room 234
180 North Wabash Chicago, IL
Doors open at 6:00 meeting starts 6:30PM
FREE

Parking garages around the area and accessible from the Randolph/Wabash EL stop, or Lake Street Red Line Stop.

http://www.mmugchicago.org

Most of you likely heard the news about the close of the Macromedia acquisition over the weekend. And this morning there's a new site in place of the old Macromedia site. Honestly, it gave me an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach this morning.

The lists I frequent are abuzz with concerns, excitment and confusion. And thankfully, it seems Adobe engineers are trying to be proactive and answer what they can. So far, this is what I've culled out of the discussions and my reading (in no particular order):

• For now, the products will be sold under the Adobe Company name, but will have Macromedia appended on the front. ie: Macromedia Dreamweaver
• Any changes and/or integration will be in the next product release cycle (Approximately 12-18 months).
• At this time, all products from both companies will continue to be sold.
• Some Macromedia developers have proclaimed their happiness at finally being able to "come out of the closet" about their Adobe product usage habit. (I've been known to open Photoshop from time to time -- usually related to photo optimization. But Fireworks is my very favorite web vector program and I've got my fingers crossed for it still.)
• If you happen to be an Adobe CS user as well as a Macromedia Studio user, you can upgrade both packages as one combined "Adobe Web Bundle" at a discounted rate over what they would cost separately. It's $1899 -- but let's face it, that's a lot of products.
• Adobe will continue to maintain and run "all websites, tutorials, forums and other resources formerly run separately by Macromedia and Adobe."
• Many developers are unimpressed with the new Flash banner and tagline, "Revolutionizing how the world engages with ideas and information."
• Lynn Grillo (Application Engineer for Adobe) is an Italian from New Jersey and is not a quiet person. ;)

There's an informative FAQ on the Adobe site with more information and links.

I have hope for the future of my favorite products (and friends), but it's still a sad empty feeling to watch the changes as they happen. It's like when your best friend is moving out of state. You watch them pack up the truck and you're not sure when/if you'll ever see them again. I realize Macromedia still exists on some level -- enveloped within the larger Adobe corporation -- but I don't know if I'll have the same contact and connection I've enjoyed over the past few years.

Goodbye Macromedia, my friend. I'll miss you.

I figure since my last post was on the announcement of the acquisition that I may as well post the news of it becoming final. From Macromedia's Press Room: ADOBE’S ACQUISITION OF MACROMEDIA EXPECTED TO CLOSE ON DECEMBER 3, 2005

Of course, until we hear through the offical channels what changes are to be made,  I'm sure a lot fo folks will be on edge (especially those with jobs in the line of fire), but I'm not so worried. This world is full of change and we'll keep going onward and upward.

Here's to Macromedia! Here's to Adobe! (raises first of several beers of the night)

MarketWatch is reporting that the acquisition of Macromedia by Adobe has won US Antitrust clearance. It appears if things continue as planned, Macromedia will no longer "be", as we know it, by the fall.

The article goes on to show Adobe in "a graphics light" and Macromedia in "a web light." Of course, this is fairly accurate -- but the fact that the DOJ didn't force either company to divest itself of their nearly matching graphics programs doesn't speak well (to me) about the future health of Fireworks and Freehand.

I've read articles giving us hope that Adobe, with all its money and muscle, will develop our favorite products even further. For me, of course, that's Dreamweaver (and Fireworks), and I'm not really fearful about DW's continued existence. What I'm most saddened by is losing "the spirit of Macromedia" ... or is it the Macromedia experience? I've heard the reports about how Adobe wants to keep the open communication MM has with their users. About how they value the community Macromedia has built. And I believe they mean it. It rocks! But what remains to be seen is whether a company of that size can actually do it.

Will they really value and foster the input of the community in the earliest alpha/beta stages. If the input is still sought after, will it actually hold the same kind of weight it has with Macromedia. Will they reopen closed issues because the community says it's important to them -- that they want their tool to have some particular ability or for some legacy bug to be fixed? Will they keep their wits about them when developers criticize something they've worked hard on -- and then try to make it right?

All these traits are strong in the people that are Macromedia. Macromedia listens and reacts. It's almost as if, by using their products, we are a part of Macromedia. In fact, some days, they almost feel like family. Adobe -- are you listening? You may be a giant, but you've got some big shoes to fill. I truly hope you're up to the task.

For now, I remain optimistic -- maybe we're just increasing the size of the family. But I can't help but get those twinges that feel like I'm "losing a friend." A company is its people and the people that comprise Macromedia are truly some of the best. Now before I choke myself up, I've got to go pack. I've got a whole lotta friends to see at MAX.

There are several upcoming events in the next week that those of you in the Los Angeles area should be aware of. On Saturday, October 15th is a day of events at the LA Flash Factory (Venice, CA) which includes:

• MiniMAX3 - 4p-6p, put on by the New Orleans User Group
  Speakers include: Adam Bell, R Blank, Tom Green, Jesse Rodgers, Kevin Schmidt and Stephanie Sullivan.
• LAFlashapaloozastock - 6p-8p, put on by the combined three LA-based Flash User Groups
  Speakers include: Grant Skinner and Jennifer Shiman.
• Pre-MAX Shindig - 8p-12a - music, networking, relaxation and refreshments

All events are free but registration IS required. Go to the appropriate sites above to register.

And of course, beginning the next day, Oct 16-19 is Macromedia's MAX Conference. Three days of learning and fun -- and a wave goodbye to Macromedia as we know it (that part chokes me up). It's not too late to register for MAX now. And if you come, stop by one of my sessions on Advanced CSS. I hope to meet you at one of the events.

I'm sure most everyone wants the new Studio 8. It rocks! But maybe you just recently broke down and purchased Studio MX 2004 (or any of the products contained therein) and you're just not ready to fork over more cash just yet. Well -- maybe you don't have to. If you purchased on or after July 8th, make sure to read Macromedia's page with the upgrade rules. You might be pleasantly surprised!

Also, don't forget that if you own Dreamweaver, Fireworks or Flash, you can upgrade and get the whole Studio 8 package for the normal studio upgrade price ($399USD). That's quite a generous deal. Not sure you want to upgrade? Take the 30-day test drive -- you may become addicted like I did and not be able to return to your previous versions.

(BTW, I make no money whether you upgrade or not. I just love the stuff. ;))

I've seen a few confused posters on the various Dreamweaver forums since the release of Dreamweaver 8 that relate to templates. These templates were created in Dreamweaver MX or Dreamweaver MX 2004 and now they're not acting/updating the same. Jesse Rodgers, from University of Waterloo, and were trying to figure this out today. I had ran into a similar situation to the one he was dealing with with one of my personal sites.

The issue stems from the fact that DW MX and DW MX 2004 let us be sloppy. If we linked to our CSS in the template using this syntax - href="scripts/local.css" DW said, "Hmmm, I'm sure they don't really want to link to a folder and file within the Template directory, so I won't change the path of this link." And it worked perfectly for me. I took advantage of this by creating links to site assets this way when I wanted the item I was linking to, to actually be in the directory the child file was saved into.

A perfect example is my KS Pope site. This client wanted each directory to have a different color and picture. I put the CSS files for the basic structure of each page into the script directory in the root and all XHTML documents link to that. The template link was written - href="../scripts/structure.css" and when the file was saved, it showed up linked into the scripts directory in the root. However, each directory also had a scripts directory within it, where I placed the local CSS file that brought in the color and individual picture for each directory. I was very happy in my ignorance.

And then I needed to update the site with DW 8. Oh my. Suddenly, all my pretty colors are gone and on viewing the code for the child pages, I see - href="../Templates/scripts/print.css". Defintely not what I had in mind. On discussing this with people at Macromedia that understand the changes, Jesse and I found the following -- shared with you to save you hair-pulling and other mindless madness. :)

You can use template expressions or template parameters to keep DW from changing your link paths. This applies to includes, CSS, images and links (anchors). I'll paste the info in below. Hope this helps!

For INCLUDES

1. Without using template parameters:
   1. Simply change double quotes to single quotes for the include file path. This only works for ASP and .NET templates. For example: <!--#include file='include.inc' -->.
   2. Use template expression:
      PHP: <?php include("@@('include.inc')@@"); ?>
      CFM: <cfinclude template="@@('include.inc')@@">
      JSP: <%@include file="@@('include.inc')@@" %>
      ASP & .NET: <!--#include file="@@('include.inc')@@" -->
      (NOTE: include.inc is the real file path, not the template parameter, so it has to be quoted.)
      
2. Using template parameters:
   1. Create a template parameter in the head section of the template: <!--TemplateParam name="inc_url_param" type="text" value='file="include.inc"' -->
      (NOTE: the parameter is given the "text" type)
   2. Change the include in the template to: <!--#include @@(inc_url_param)@@ -->

For other dependent files -- CSS, IMAGE, and LINK (<A> anchor)

1. Without using template parameters, change the css link or image tag to:
   <link href="@@('styles.css')@@" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
   @import url("@@('styles.css')@@");
   <img src="@@('image.gif')@@" />
   <a href="@@('link.htm')@@">link text</a>
   (NOTE: styles.css, image.gif and link.htm are the real file paths, not the template paramters, so they should be quoted.)
2. Using template parameters:
   1. Create template parameters in the head section of the template:
      <!--TemplateParam name="img_url_param" type="text" value="image.gif" -->
      <!--TemplateParam name="css_url_param" type="text" value="styles.css" -->
      (NOTE: the parameter is given the "text" type)
   2. Change the css link and img tag in the template to:
      <link href="@@(css_url_param)@@" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
      @import url("@@(css_url_param)@@");
      <img src="@@(img_url_param)@@" />

No, I'm really not calling Bruce Chizen a horse. Far from it. But I did find it interesting to read this News.com article yesterday, interviewing him. Though we've all read the tiny bits of information that came out when the acquisition was first announced, this interview develops it just a bit more -- basically discussing and confirming the reasoning behind it.

I particularly liked his candidness about the "why Macromedia" question:

Every year we go through our previous strategy plan...When we sat down this year, we talked about how to give users more of a rich experience, more animation, more graphics, more video and more collaboration around Acrobat. Then we took a look at Macromedia and said, "Jeez, if we had Macromedia as part of our asset base, we could speed up our execution against our strategy." Without that, we might have been late. That was driving me more than scale.

Stephanie's translation: We realized we needed to give users a more rich experience. We realized Macromedia had already done that. We decided to shortcut the process and acquire them instead of taking the time to develop it all ourselves and risk being left behind by Macromedia.

A smart strategy really. Another confirmation of the "Macromedia shortcut" was this:

My view is (that) more people will view, consume and interact with information on non-PC devices than PC devices. It is going to be less on a PC and more on mobile devices. Two to four years from now it will be through an HDTV that has a satellite box or a video game or a cable box or maybe just natively has computing capability ... It means that even though most of our customers will want to create and manage and deliver that information using their PC, we have to make sure that that information can easily be consumed on a non-PC.

With Macromedia's obvious goal of putting Flash in every non-PC device, I'm sure it was a no-brainer for Adobe as to where to go with their business goals.

Since the survival of Flash and Macromedia's Flash-based programs is a given, all that's left for us non-Flash developers to wonder about is -- What's going to happen to our favorite graphics programs? Personally, I didn't see the removal of Freehand from the Studio as a sign of the end. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it was a smart move on the part of Macromedia, and should have been done with or without the upcoming Adobization. Contribute and Flash Paper, which didn't exist when the Studio was first created, are much wiser choices for a web developer. Letting a print program remain in its own realm is simply a logical business move (how many print-only creators care about purchasing the whole Studio). Giving web developers Contribute, allowing them to administer client sites without having to purchase it as a stand-alone, will likely help Macromedia sell a great deal more single licenses. There won't be any more excuses as to why they're not going to recommend it for thier client's simple web updates. (I personally love Contribute and have many of my clients using it to take care of content changes.)

As to the development of Freehand and Fireworks through Macromedia/Adobe, we can only speculate now. I love Fireworks, and I can't lose my vectors. So if either program is divested, I pray it is to a loving home. One that will develop them to the level they each deserve.

Read Bruce's full interview, Adobe under construction, at News.com.

Another baton -- good thing it's the weekend and my one day off.

I have to say though, reading Kim's list and a couple of his comments, there's some cool stuff floating around out there. And I don't have it. I don't have hats or lap blankets and I've never seen a kite. Wow! Maybe there's still time before the proposed merger. ;~) I have to agree with JD though, I'm liable to go obsessive-compulsive on this since it's so hard to remember, but here goes anyway...

Total Macromedia Shwag in your possession:

7 t-shirts (I love my "goto and play" and </hassle> shirts)
1 long sleeved dress shirt
1 Dreamweaver backpack
1 Macromedia backpack
1 MM zippered shoulder bag
2 CD car visors
1 CD case
1 Flash drive (64MB)
3 Notebooks (one of my favorite items)
3 Pens
1 heavy folder/notebook pen holder
MM branded Power bars
MM branded Energy water
MM branded coffee candy
1 Macromedia Hot Sauce
1 large plastic water container
1 tall thermal coffee mug
1 glow/flash MAX mardi gras beads
1 brightly-colored button for each product (nabbed at MAX -- they SO remind me of the 80's)
(And yes, I keep popping in and adding... told you I'd get all obsessive compulsive about it. ;~))

Oldest Macromedia shwag in your possession:

Not sure. Might be my </hassle> t-shirt (a fun one).

Last Macromedia shwag you received:

It was a group of things. A Macromedia backpack filled with the coffee mug, water container, flash drive, CD holder and travel-sized notebook/pen set.

Most Unusual Shwag:

Not sure I have anything too unusual. I suppose the Energy water, Power bars and coffee candy was rather unusual. Of course, they're no longer "in my possession" since I consumed them immediately.

Shwag you wear/use most often:

I love my Dreamweaver backpack and when I leave the house/office, I carry it. But in the office, it would have to be my Flash drive (so easy to transfer files between computers) and notebooks.

5 Favorite Macromedia shwag items:

Undoubtedly, the winner is my Dreamweaver backpack. It's rather like a messenger bag and has lots of compartments. It's more stout than my regular MM branded one (so I let my husband borrow that one after his got stolen at a conference).

The next would be my new Flash drive. I had never broken down and bought one -- it's quite handy.

Then, though one of the less expensive items, I love my Macromedia MX notebook. Not just for the cool cover. :~) The paper inside is so stout and smooth. I hate that it's almost empty (more notebooks MM?)

I also find my CD car visor to be a handy dandy item. As long as I can keep a couple of my CD's in there and it doesn't get filled with my teenagers music.

Of course, I can't leave out my thermal coffee mug -- I almost ALWAYS need coffee when I leave the house. (And Jim, I have to say I use it as often as my CMX partner one -- only because the MM one holds more.) And the water container makes a perfect addition to my beach bag which got quite a workout the past couple weeks with my friend Ginger here. Of course we didn't always fill it with water. ;~)

What I wish I had? Shirts that were baby doll Tee's or tank tops. A Macromedia-branded iPod -- now that would rock!

5 people I'm passing the baton to:

It would be good to take this outside the realm of the CMX partners I think. Hmmm... Who's got cool shwag (besides Macromedia employees) -- How about:

Robert Hoekman

Adam Bell

Chris Georgenes

Linda Rathgeber

Jesse Rodgers

C'mon people -- show us whatcha got!

With all the news of mergers and acquisitions going around, one constant seems to be how much all our Macromedia gear may be worth on eBay some day. I thought it might be fun to take an inventory on what everyone else has out there. Admittedly I have a fair amount from attending conferences, my time as a member of Team Macromedia, working with the Macromedia Education Leaders group, and other stuff that I'm not allowed to talk about, but I'm sure there are plenty of other folks who proudly wear the "M" log, and will miss it when (and if) it goes away.

To that end let's pass the baton.

Total Macromedia Shwag in your possession:

10 t-shirts (My brother once asked me if I owned any shirts that didn't have the Macromedia logo on them.)
2 ball caps
1 backpack
1 lap blanket
1 CD car visor holder
1 CD case
2 Flash drives
1 fleece jacket
4 polo style shirts
1 long sleeve Team Macromedia shirt
Various and sundry pens, notebooks, and doodads

Oldest Macromedia shwag in your possession:

A white t-shirt with the two-color MM logo circa version 4 of Dreamweaver/Fireworks/Flash. It's been relegated to the lawn mowing t-shirt pile, but I haven't brought myself to part with it yet.

Last Macromedia shwag you received:

Macromedia ball cap

Most Unusual Shwag:

The lap blanket is pretty unique. I think it goes to big shots who visit the MM mothership for sales meetings. At least that's how I got mine. :-)

Shwag you wear/use most often:

The Macromedia backpack. I use it everyday carrying stuff back and forth to work and for whatever laptop I'm using at the moment.

5 Favorite Macromedia schwag items: 

Fleece jacket. I don't get to wear it that often, but it sure is comfy when things cool down.

The original "</hassle>" Contribute shirt. I have four of those, and they're in constant rotation.

The backpack of course. It's just the right size to hold the common things I carry around--iPod, magazines, Tums, Advil, notebook and other odds and ends I don't want to be without.

Team Macromedia long-sleeve cotton shirt. Great fishing shirt. Really. Nice and cool.

Ball caps. Keeps that patch of bareness on the back of my head covered in the sun and looks cool to boot.

 5 people I'm passing the baton to:

Oh let's see. Might as well stick to the Community MX gang to start with. How about:

Stephanie Sullivan

Tom Green

Jim Babbage

Tom Muck

and one ringer:

John Dowdell 

There you go folks. I doubt that this will get the traction that the musical baton got a little while ago, but it might be fun.