Announcing TiddlyFlash!
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Paul Downey (psd)
Apr 1, 2009, 3:01:08 AM4/1/09
to TiddlyWiki
Hi There!
I'm a big fan of TiddlyWiki, and have enjoyed using it for a couple of
years now, even being motivated enough to develop the odd patch and
plugin! All well and good, but I have noticed a few fundamental
weaknesses with TiddlyWiki which I think I've managed to address in a
new product which I've been quietly working on in the background. It's
something I'm really quite proud of, and which I'd like to share with
you all today!
So I hereby announce TiddlyFlash - a clean-room implementation of
TiddlyWiki written in Adobe ActionScript and targeted at Flash Player
10.
TiddlyFlash has a number of advantages over the current HTML/CSS/
JavaScript version of TiddlyWiki, notably:
* Flash is universal where as capable browsers are becoming harder to
find. Using Flash gives developers a write once, run anywhere
experience, freeing them from worrying about cross-browser issues.
Everybody loves Flash and has it installed and enabled on their
desktops, laptops and phones.
* TiddlyFlash users benefit from a number of advanced features such as
animations, sound, videos, control of web cameras and 3D bump-mapped
texture and shading. These are essential for most wiki use-cases and
heralding a new era of animation, slick-shading and other "Because I
Can" developments not possible with current browsers. This
particularly important for those of us who use the current browser of
choice, Internet Explorer.
* SEO is a solved problem for Flash now Google indexes the text inside
many Flash files.
* Accessibility is a solved problem for Flash: it's simple to add key-
shortcuts and you can always keep a separate copy of the text for use
in screen readers.
* it is possible, indeed trivial, to hide the TiddlyFlash content
inside a binary Flash file, allowing TiddlyFlash to hide text from Web
and desktop searching technologies. This is particularly useful when
running a guerilla TiddlyFlash on a machine with Google search or
Apple Spotlight installed and you don't want people to find your
content.
* furthermore, it seems feasible to implement Digital Rights
Management (DRM) for TiddlyFlash text, essential for building business
critical documents.
* offline mode, something which we know has been tricky for some
browsers, is now a simple matter of downloading the Adobe AIR platform
and running a version compiled, packaged and made available for this
ubiquitous environment.
* browser cookies are easily cleared and are often blocked by some
people overly cautious about privacy. Such people aren't as aware of
Shared Local Objects (LSO)* and it's unusual for them to be cleared,
greatly assisting the more sticky storage of TiddlyFlash options.
* whilst it's true that there are few viable ways of building Flash
applications with free software, the excellent Adobe Flash CS4 is a
very reasonable $699, so it's actually better than free to write and
distribute Flash programs. It is true that there are some minor
licensing things to worry about, but in many cases it doesn't cost
anything to distribute Flash programs.
* view-source of TiddlyWiki has introduced a number of security issues
and has been an obstacle to anyone wanting to develop commercial
TiddlyWiki plugins. TiddlyFlash brings the advantage of a closed-
source ecosystem, protecting my and plugin developers revenue streams.
* the unconventional Open Source nature of TiddlyWiki can be an issue
for certain users, notably those within enterprises, therefore
TiddlyFlash will be delivered as a trusted-source binary. Of course
there will be a conventional EULA to OK to protect your supplier from
errors, inadvertent or otherwise. I may consider providing paid-for
support contracts given that shouldn't be too onerous to meet the
expected standards for a typical commercial software product, and can
probably be outsourced.
* trusted-source code means we can have a TiddlyFlashStore, where you
will be able to buy quality controlled TiddlyFlash software and where
developers may upload their plugins and verticals on a reasonably and
non-discriminatory fair revenue share. Registration will of course be
subject to my approval and at a nominal fee of, say $99 USD per
application.
* ActionScript is a much nicer version of JavaScript, and coming from
a single vendor, means it is more coherently designed, stable, better
documented and with an understandable roadmap than the supposedly
standard ECMA JavaScript. Anyone who decides to join the TiddlyFlash
Developers' Programme will find writing plugins and extensions far
easier and more satisfying. (Note, I may keep some of the more
advanced developer features hidden, depending if I decide to write my
own plugins. I may also run premium developer courses for those
wanting to upskill from JavaScript to TiddlyFlash ActionScript.)
* the future of the Web is Rich Internet technologies such as Flash,
not in the current mish-mash of competing ad-hoc and Open Source
browsers and the current limiting constraints which put greater value
in documents and hyperlinks over cool interactions and effects. I
think most everybody here must agree that browsers are an antiquated
technology, subject to diminishing interest from developers and Web
designers. I for one am happy to abandon TiddlyWiki and leave it with
the browser to wither on the vine!
Going forward, I'm pretty certain it's feasible for TiddlyFlash to be
ported to Microsoft Silverlight for similar advantages but for those
who prefer Microsoft, possibly for those who worry Adobe may not be
around forever or trust them not to exploit their status as a single
suppler. So if anyone is interested in porting TiddlyFlash to
TiddlySilverlight, I'm more than happy to discuss terms. Feel free to
shoot me an email and I'll get my lawyer pass on an NDA, which you can
sign and fax back to me before we proceed further with negotiation for
a source code license terms, i.e. business as usual!
I think you must agree this is very promising avenue. I'm almost ready
to launch subject to resolving a number of small issues, for example
cutting and pasting text, high CPU use and permalinks to Flash-
tiddlers has turned out to be much harder than you'd imagine, but
these somehow feel less important as time goes on.
As you can imagine, I'm very excited by this project, as indeed I was
by the idea of a mainstream TiddlyWiki for the Enterprise** last year.
Aren't you?
Paul (psd)
--
http://blog.whatfettle.com
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Shared_Object
** http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWikiDev/msg/78a55a4cc9c66630
I'm a big fan of TiddlyWiki, and have enjoyed using it for a couple of
years now, even being motivated enough to develop the odd patch and
plugin! All well and good, but I have noticed a few fundamental
weaknesses with TiddlyWiki which I think I've managed to address in a
new product which I've been quietly working on in the background. It's
something I'm really quite proud of, and which I'd like to share with
you all today!
So I hereby announce TiddlyFlash - a clean-room implementation of
TiddlyWiki written in Adobe ActionScript and targeted at Flash Player
10.
TiddlyFlash has a number of advantages over the current HTML/CSS/
JavaScript version of TiddlyWiki, notably:
* Flash is universal where as capable browsers are becoming harder to
find. Using Flash gives developers a write once, run anywhere
experience, freeing them from worrying about cross-browser issues.
Everybody loves Flash and has it installed and enabled on their
desktops, laptops and phones.
* TiddlyFlash users benefit from a number of advanced features such as
animations, sound, videos, control of web cameras and 3D bump-mapped
texture and shading. These are essential for most wiki use-cases and
heralding a new era of animation, slick-shading and other "Because I
Can" developments not possible with current browsers. This
particularly important for those of us who use the current browser of
choice, Internet Explorer.
* SEO is a solved problem for Flash now Google indexes the text inside
many Flash files.
* Accessibility is a solved problem for Flash: it's simple to add key-
shortcuts and you can always keep a separate copy of the text for use
in screen readers.
* it is possible, indeed trivial, to hide the TiddlyFlash content
inside a binary Flash file, allowing TiddlyFlash to hide text from Web
and desktop searching technologies. This is particularly useful when
running a guerilla TiddlyFlash on a machine with Google search or
Apple Spotlight installed and you don't want people to find your
content.
* furthermore, it seems feasible to implement Digital Rights
Management (DRM) for TiddlyFlash text, essential for building business
critical documents.
* offline mode, something which we know has been tricky for some
browsers, is now a simple matter of downloading the Adobe AIR platform
and running a version compiled, packaged and made available for this
ubiquitous environment.
* browser cookies are easily cleared and are often blocked by some
people overly cautious about privacy. Such people aren't as aware of
Shared Local Objects (LSO)* and it's unusual for them to be cleared,
greatly assisting the more sticky storage of TiddlyFlash options.
* whilst it's true that there are few viable ways of building Flash
applications with free software, the excellent Adobe Flash CS4 is a
very reasonable $699, so it's actually better than free to write and
distribute Flash programs. It is true that there are some minor
licensing things to worry about, but in many cases it doesn't cost
anything to distribute Flash programs.
* view-source of TiddlyWiki has introduced a number of security issues
and has been an obstacle to anyone wanting to develop commercial
TiddlyWiki plugins. TiddlyFlash brings the advantage of a closed-
source ecosystem, protecting my and plugin developers revenue streams.
* the unconventional Open Source nature of TiddlyWiki can be an issue
for certain users, notably those within enterprises, therefore
TiddlyFlash will be delivered as a trusted-source binary. Of course
there will be a conventional EULA to OK to protect your supplier from
errors, inadvertent or otherwise. I may consider providing paid-for
support contracts given that shouldn't be too onerous to meet the
expected standards for a typical commercial software product, and can
probably be outsourced.
* trusted-source code means we can have a TiddlyFlashStore, where you
will be able to buy quality controlled TiddlyFlash software and where
developers may upload their plugins and verticals on a reasonably and
non-discriminatory fair revenue share. Registration will of course be
subject to my approval and at a nominal fee of, say $99 USD per
application.
* ActionScript is a much nicer version of JavaScript, and coming from
a single vendor, means it is more coherently designed, stable, better
documented and with an understandable roadmap than the supposedly
standard ECMA JavaScript. Anyone who decides to join the TiddlyFlash
Developers' Programme will find writing plugins and extensions far
easier and more satisfying. (Note, I may keep some of the more
advanced developer features hidden, depending if I decide to write my
own plugins. I may also run premium developer courses for those
wanting to upskill from JavaScript to TiddlyFlash ActionScript.)
* the future of the Web is Rich Internet technologies such as Flash,
not in the current mish-mash of competing ad-hoc and Open Source
browsers and the current limiting constraints which put greater value
in documents and hyperlinks over cool interactions and effects. I
think most everybody here must agree that browsers are an antiquated
technology, subject to diminishing interest from developers and Web
designers. I for one am happy to abandon TiddlyWiki and leave it with
the browser to wither on the vine!
Going forward, I'm pretty certain it's feasible for TiddlyFlash to be
ported to Microsoft Silverlight for similar advantages but for those
who prefer Microsoft, possibly for those who worry Adobe may not be
around forever or trust them not to exploit their status as a single
suppler. So if anyone is interested in porting TiddlyFlash to
TiddlySilverlight, I'm more than happy to discuss terms. Feel free to
shoot me an email and I'll get my lawyer pass on an NDA, which you can
sign and fax back to me before we proceed further with negotiation for
a source code license terms, i.e. business as usual!
I think you must agree this is very promising avenue. I'm almost ready
to launch subject to resolving a number of small issues, for example
cutting and pasting text, high CPU use and permalinks to Flash-
tiddlers has turned out to be much harder than you'd imagine, but
these somehow feel less important as time goes on.
As you can imagine, I'm very excited by this project, as indeed I was
by the idea of a mainstream TiddlyWiki for the Enterprise** last year.
Aren't you?
Paul (psd)
--
http://blog.whatfettle.com
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Shared_Object
** http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWikiDev/msg/78a55a4cc9c66630
Saq Imtiaz
Apr 1, 2009, 3:55:22 AM4/1/09
to TiddlyWiki
This sounds awesome Paul. Thank you for all your hard work. I'm very
very interested but only if TiddlyFlash can be used to write
applications for Facebook, with the assurance that it will not be
possible for that data to be extracted by anyone else for mashups etc.
I really think we need to be moving towards more secure environments
like Facebook where once we put data in, we know it's not going
anywhere. As a developer I want to own the data that people put into
my apps in the sense that I don't want to make it easy for them to
defect to a different platform. TiddlyFlash sounds like it could be
the ticket to doing just that.
Saq
On Apr 1, 9:01 am, "Paul Downey (psd)" <paul.s.dow...@gmail.com>
wrote:
very interested but only if TiddlyFlash can be used to write
applications for Facebook, with the assurance that it will not be
possible for that data to be extracted by anyone else for mashups etc.
I really think we need to be moving towards more secure environments
like Facebook where once we put data in, we know it's not going
anywhere. As a developer I want to own the data that people put into
my apps in the sense that I don't want to make it easy for them to
defect to a different platform. TiddlyFlash sounds like it could be
the ticket to doing just that.
Saq
On Apr 1, 9:01 am, "Paul Downey (psd)" <paul.s.dow...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Russ Thomas
Apr 1, 2009, 6:13:57 AM4/1/09
to Tiddl...@googlegroups.com
2009/4/1 Paul Downey (psd) <paul.s...@gmail.com>
As you can imagine, I'm very excited by this project, as indeed I was
by the idea of a mainstream TiddlyWiki for the Enterprise** last year.
Aren't you?
Paul (psd)
No, I'm not. It's bloody dreadful. I got all excited and installed it straight away. It worked great, fantastic, a flash based TW... amazing!
That is, until I opened a tiddler with an embedded flash object which is programmed to scan for all tiddlywiki files held locally. Which it did. And found itself - the one it was running in.
I now find myself at the bottom of a very deep gravity well caused by this idiotic idea of yours. Pretty soon I expect to be reduced to a singularity. Contact CERN somebody - tell them I've done it!
Oh wait... "Stack overflow"
phew, that was close.
;)
Morris Gray
Apr 1, 2009, 8:06:11 AM4/1/09
to TiddlyWiki
Choosing to be out of my depth again I am very interested. However is
there TiddlyFlash for dummies? I followed the links above and found
nothing to download or try. Searching http://blog.whatfettle.com for
TiddlyFlash returned nothing.
AIso I discovered Chumby about an hour ago http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumby
http://www.chumby.com/ and wonder if TiddlyFlash or something
associated with it would interface with it somehow. It is a gadget now
but I think it might be a forerunner of appliances for the internet
that is long overdue. i.e. something my 92 yo mother could use, email
only reader, directories, crossword dictionaries, etc.
I wonder if you could (assuming no knowledge at all) start from the
beginning and explain, show, demonstrate what you are talking about?
Morris Gray
http://twhelp.tiddlyspot.com
A TiddlyWiki help file for beginners
On Apr 1, 9:13 pm, Russ Thomas <russgtho...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 2009/4/1 Paul Downey (psd) <paul.s.dow...@gmail.com>
there TiddlyFlash for dummies? I followed the links above and found
nothing to download or try. Searching http://blog.whatfettle.com for
TiddlyFlash returned nothing.
AIso I discovered Chumby about an hour ago http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumby
http://www.chumby.com/ and wonder if TiddlyFlash or something
associated with it would interface with it somehow. It is a gadget now
but I think it might be a forerunner of appliances for the internet
that is long overdue. i.e. something my 92 yo mother could use, email
only reader, directories, crossword dictionaries, etc.
I wonder if you could (assuming no knowledge at all) start from the
beginning and explain, show, demonstrate what you are talking about?
Morris Gray
http://twhelp.tiddlyspot.com
A TiddlyWiki help file for beginners
On Apr 1, 9:13 pm, Russ Thomas <russgtho...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 2009/4/1 Paul Downey (psd) <paul.s.dow...@gmail.com>
Eric Shulman
Apr 1, 2009, 8:19:12 AM4/1/09
to TiddlyWiki
> AIso I discovered Chumby about an hour ago
> http://www.chumby.com/
Chumby's have a built-in Linux OS, and can definitely run Flash, but
I'm not sure it permits local file I/O. A friend of mine has one (and
is also a Un*x expert with over 30 years experience), so perhaps he
can experiment...
In the mean time, here's a fun Flash app that runs on the Chumby.
http://crapules.tv/chumby/ZenMaker.swf
(click on the glowing spheres to make 'music')
In addition to using this on the Chumby, you can also you can also
load it directly into a regular web browser window (just like any
other ".swf" URL), which I recommend, if only because your computer is
likely to have much better sound output than a Chumby.
enjoy,
-e
Eric Shulman
TiddlyTools / ELS Design Studios
tims...@googlemail.com
Apr 1, 2009, 8:30:06 AM4/1/09
to TiddlyWiki
I'm wondering if it would be impossible to embed a tiddlyflash wiki
swf, password protected of course, as a data uri inside an ordinary
tiddlywiki.
I could see real value in this, so that multiple highly graphical
flash wikis can be rendered safely off an ordinary TiddlyWiki
swf, password protected of course, as a data uri inside an ordinary
tiddlywiki.
I could see real value in this, so that multiple highly graphical
flash wikis can be rendered safely off an ordinary TiddlyWiki
Dave Parker
Apr 1, 2009, 9:21:58 AM4/1/09
to TiddlyWiki
I went you your site looking for this thing, and found the genius that
is Paul Downey.
Congratulations on a fabulous product! - keep up the good work!
is Paul Downey.
Congratulations on a fabulous product! - keep up the good work!
smartrics
Apr 1, 2009, 9:19:17 AM4/1/09
to TiddlyWiki
Can I run Java Applets in TiddlyFlash?
Mark S.
Apr 1, 2009, 11:54:59 AM4/1/09
to TiddlyWiki
Any chance of incorporating Oracle 9i or higher into the framework? TW
is lacking a true database engine. This action alone would create an
adaptive zero administration process within the context of a bi-
directional application, harnessing paradigm-shifting energies into a
nexus of a semi-open-source scalable knowledge base.
Deployed on a server, the licensing costs probably wouldn't exceed
50,000. Since its now SEO compatible, this cost could be recouped by
selling advertising terms inside the TiddlyFalse environment.
-- Mark
Måns
Apr 1, 2009, 5:51:35 PM4/1/09
to TiddlyWiki
Is it just Morris and I who cannot find a link to tiddlyFlash
anywhere??
Would someone please point in some direction - I can't wait to see
what it is capable of..
YS Måns Mårtensson
anywhere??
Would someone please point in some direction - I can't wait to see
what it is capable of..
YS Måns Mårtensson
mck
Apr 1, 2009, 6:49:12 PM4/1/09
to TiddlyWiki
Måns
Apr 1, 2009, 7:00:50 PM4/1/09
to TiddlyWiki
Thanks :-)
I eventually got the message...
It was worth it ..
YS Måns Mårtensson
I eventually got the message...
It was worth it ..
YS Måns Mårtensson
the kettle sings
Apr 3, 2009, 1:19:41 AM4/3/09
to TiddlyWiki
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