Flex: I'm lovin it so far!

After reading about the well praised Adobe Flex on several tech blogs, I gave it a shot last weekend. Its simplicity and ease of development took me by surprise. No prior experience with Flash is required to get started on Flex.

Adobe® Flex is a cross-platform development framework for creating rich Internet applications (RIAs). With flex, I can create powerful good looking webapps in less than an hour. I'm lovin it so far! Ajax is sooo old fashion. Quite a lot of web2.0 sites were developed in Flex. Check them out at Flex showcase.

The Flex SDK is free, but the FlexBuilder (an Eclipse based IDE for Flex) will cost us a bunch. I plan to get a lot done during the 60 day trial period of FlexBuilder. We can learn Flex in a couple of days using the Getting Started Guide from Adobe website. There is also a Video Tutorial on how to develop and debug a very basic application.

This weekend, I will probably get my hands wet in developing a flex version of my search mashup FundooWeb. I also found a great Javascript IDE called JSEclipse that is supported by Adobe, and is free for personal use. Great find Ah!

UPDATE (2/2/08)
Here is my first Flex application! It comes 2 sizes: Wide and Slim. Below is the wide one!

Feel free to grab this widget (Wide OR Slim), and embed it on your site.

This Week's Link Love

Some great useful sites that I found this week... Some are fun, some intuitive and others are useful.

Web 2.0

1. Revision3 : Nice videos to watch from the comfort of your computer chair ;)
2. MicroPlace : Invest money, and end poverty
   
3. OpenID wins the support of Yahoo and Google. Hurray!

Lifehack

1. What’s Stopping You from Getting Started (and What to Do About It)
2. 10 Secrets of Success: Same old stuff, but good to be reminded.

Startup Tips

1. How to choose Mentors
2. The Launch of 5PM: Casestudy of a web startup
   
3. Collaboration between Startups: Mutually help each other succeed is the way to go!

India

1. The Zero Rupee Note: A new way to show your finger to the corrupted idiots in India
2. Provoked at Perth: Great victory for Indian cricket
   
3. Taare Zameen Par : An excellent movie that should be watched by parents
   

Add Life to Years

Here is an excerpt from Swami Vivekananda that can give us the strength and vigor to make this new year 2008 blissful.



I admire the swamiji for the following qualities that we should all strive to develop:
1. Daring
2. Sincerity
3. Steady Mind
4. Selflessness

This year, my goal is to consciously take these four striking qualities to a whole new level.

Here is a quick thought on Sincerity. The path we take to achieve a goal should be as pure as the goal itself. Resorting to illegal or unethical means to achieve a worthy goal is NOT a sincere approach. The satisfaction that we get on living life with a set of noble principles cannot be equaled by anything else.

Dareness is usually a side-product of being sincere & honest. When there is nothing to hide, there is nothing to fear. Steady mind can be achieved only by the path of yoga and meditation. We can selflessly spread love, care for each other, and make this world a wonderful place to live.

Lets add LIFE to years, and not just years to our life. Happy New Year to all... Have a fabulous year 2008!