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First print ads, now I'm on TV! Ok, so it isn't regular TV, it's SYS-CON.TV but its still TV...
On Tuesday (October 18, 2005) at about 5:45pm I was interviewed by SYS-CON.TV's Jeremy Geelan, live and unscripted. The interview was recorded at MAX 2005 right there in SYS-CON's booth. The interview appears to be completely unedited*, lasting a bit over 5 minutes.
*The interview is a bit of a blur, I was so tired at the time. To the best of my memory, everything recorded is being played.
I think the camera added a good 10lbs., I say "um" and "uh" a whole lot, and my grammar could have been better if I'd thought a bit more before answering, but otherwise it was pretty good for me. (I'm probably my worst critic...) Once you watch the interview, feel free to leave a comment here on my blog to let me know what you thought.
Posted by ~Angela | Comments (4) | Add Comment | Permalink
Today I gave my Dreamweaver Killer Tips session twice at MAX. During the second session someone asked about changing the order of files once they're open. I joked about how Adobe has that technology and since a merger is pending there's hope for that feature in the future, the audience all chuckled and that was pretty much that...or so I thought.
After the session, Jen Taylor (Dreamweaver Product Manager) and Alain Dumesny (Dreamweaver Engineer) came up and informed me that the feature is there; Alain added the ability to drag document tabs to reorder them as a last minute new feature. Way to go Alain! I'm glad it is in there (even if it isn't obvious since there's no gripper indicator or other visual queue... hint, hint, wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
I would not have minded one bit if Jen or Alain chimed in to say the feature was added in there at all. I love learning new tips as much as my audience. If I didn't, I wouldn't be doing what I do...
Most importanly I'm hoping that the 300 people in the room forgive me for my mistake! I am blogging this for you in hopes that I've made it up to you.
I'm truly sorry I missed that feature, but hopefully your feedback to Macromedia will help show them that there needs to be some little enhancments to make the feature more obvious. (Click-n-hold an open document's tab while dragging it where you want. Release your mouse when the filename tab is where you want it.)
Thank you Jen, Alain, and all of the Dreamweaver product team for all the "lesser known" features in Dreamweaver and even a few of the "bugs" which I consider to be "undocumented features" (like docking the Code inspector to the right or left of the document window).
The team has done a great job listening to the community. For that I thank Macromedia for hearing us and I also thank everyone who fills out the wish form to report both features and flaws. Keep up the good work!
Posted by ~Angela | Comments (0) | Add Comment | Permalink
Comment from Eric on 10/24/2005
We continue to be wholly unworthy.
Not worthy? Puh...
I just did a Google search for your name and "not worthy" and just as I suspected, it seems there's many who feel that way about you Eric. ;-) ~Angela
Comment from Rob on 10/23/2005
I enjoyed your interview. I'm glad I learned about being able reorganize the document tabs. As far as how you looked on camera, i've always thought you were beautiful, and now seeing you on camera, even in black & white, I know you will always remain so, though I never had a doubt. I'm glad you're there. You've been very helpful to me, including with Cartweaver. Great job on your interview.
Rob
Thanks Rob, that's very nice of you to say. I'm glad to hear I've been of help and that the tip on reorganizing the document tabs was if particular interst. Talk about a hidden feature!
I've replied to a few people with your same first name in the Cartweaver forums and via support email. So please excuse me for not "recognizing" you so easily. You've an unfair advantage in that regard! :-)
At any rate, thanks again for the kind words...
~Angela
Comment from Michael on 10/23/2005
Angela,
You were being overly critical. The camera angle alone adds weight to anyone from that sightline. Don't sweat it.
Your grammer was fine. You umm'ed and uh'ed less than most CNN anchors do. It is tough to control those 100% when doing live Q&A. Very well done and well spoken.
I agree with your comment about Flex builder's similarities to Dreamweaver. I see that as two fold. 1. Why recreate the wheel with new code, etc. 2. Make the transition more familiar to DW folk to come to flex.
Macromedia had no trouble taking tons of resources and coders off of Director and focusing on flash years ago. As a director user this was somewhat upsetting to see weak updates and to see flash get all the love.
I see this exact transition from attention on DW to Flex as the future. Think of all the Web 2.0 stuff just covered. Macromedia didn't demo Dreamweaver 8. They demoed Flex. To me that was a pretty clear message as to where they will focus the bulk of new development energies.
Now of course DW will continue to be updated. Heck it is the standard in the industry. But I'm not going to ignore the transition this time around. I hung onto Director and the hopes Flash wouldn't continue to suck all the attention and R&D dollars every year, but it did. Max and Web 2.0 saw the Flex push. I think I'll pay attention this time around.
I'm not preaching, I'm trying to pay attention closer to the message this time. And Director didn't get thrown in the trash just like DW won't either. But the big guns and big new features push was Flash all those years after the first year they showed where the focus was going to be.
What's funny is how I've seen people mentining what can be done in flash now and with the coming AS3. I see Director blogs quoting Flash guys getting all excited about new features and abilities with Flash and Flex and then I see them say "...you've been able to do that in director for 8 years". and.... "Director was able to do that since version 7.".
I use Fireworks and Dreamweaver weekly, Director monthly. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and take a serious look at Flex and AS3. I'm not excited about yet another learning curve to undertake, but I think I'm finally learning that when Macromedia heads in a new direction... they run with it. (like Flash Video)
Michael
Hi Michael,
Thanks for the kind words. I had the feeling I was my worst critic! :-)
You know we're pretty much on the same wave length (with the exception of your insights as they relate to Director since I never used it). Flex Builder 1 (a.k.a. Brady) was Dreamweaver. Macromedia could have continued to build on that but they chose to go with a whole new IDE.
Sure, it would take a lot of work to bring Flex Buiilder all the features that Dreamweaver encompasses. I can't dispute that at all; I don't have the expertise or inside knowledge to know if it would be easier/better/smarter for Macromedia to retrofit Dreamweaver to optimize its current code base or if it would be better for them to build upon what they've started with Flex. It just doesn't seem like much of a stretch to me for Macromedia (soon-to-be Adobe) to move Dreamweaver in that direction. I can't ignore that possibility...
I've barely touched CFEclipse but I have seen it demo'd and it was impressive to say the least. If Dreamweaver was rebuilt on the Eclipse platform it wouldn't hurt my feelings! I can certainly learn to extend Eclipse just as I did Dreamweaver, so there's no worries there for me.
On a somewhat unrelated note... I must admit that even if Dreamweaver gets an extreme makeover, I'd hate for its name to be changed or its color. Five years ago I thought that "Dreamweaver green" as I call it, was a putrid color. Now its become somewhat of a sick obsession like that of a wacky fanatic.
Ok, back on track now... Dreamweaver is what it is today because of the hard work that many Macromedia employees put into it, but also in large part what it is because the feedback given by those who use it. Director didn't go away and neither did HomeSite because people needed them. Macromedia does listen and I'm hopeful that Adobe will too.
So, like you I'm keeping my eyes open for changes and am going with the flow. Whether Dreamweaver keeps growing or gets a complete overhaul, at this piint I intend* to be part of its evolution.
Flex certianly looks interesting and AS3 wouldn't be too much of a stretch for me, so I may be headed that direction too. Only time will tell...
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me and my blog's readers Michael. It will be fun to look back on this post and its comments in a year or two to see how it all turned out!
~Angela
* I am a woman and as such reserve my right to change my mind! ;-) ~Angela
Comment from Abdul Qabiz on 10/23/2005
Cool! I think, I saw you while during one of the sessions. You were doing something in dreamweaver :)
Never realized I would see you on TV...
-abdul
Thanks! Yes, it was Dreamweaver Killer Tips. (No worries; I know how conferences can easily become a blur,) ~Angela