Adobe has listened to the feedback (screams) regarding being excluded from the Flex Developer Derby and now there is going to be a local version of the contest up and running for the user communities of Australia!

I am pleased to announce The Adobe & Builder AU Flex Developer Derby

It looks like the Adobe Sydney office is sticking to their word and is seriously committed to the local developer community down here.

Now let's see what you can do with Flex Beta3!!!

Unfortunately, one of our developers, Andy is moving to greener pastures, so we now have yet another spot for a ColdFusion developer.

Got Talent? Think you can cut it working with a very fast moving development team? We do at least one release a week so there is defiantly no time wasted.

We also play just as hard as we work, Andy has just come back from a shark dive and I have just taken a classic MGB away for the weekend all on the company's dime.

Sound interesting? Read on for the formal bit..

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For those of you who have been hiding under a rock, Adobe have launched a new website combining all of the old Macromedia and Adobe content under one roof.

After the experience, Adobe's WebDev team got together and produced a breezo of their experience, check it out, it is well worth it http://adobedev.breezecentral.com/p56798444/.

About four years ago, after the merge with Allaire they did the same thing, so it is good to see them keep up the tradition...

Oh, and if you have any feedback on the new site, they are looking for that too! You can send it to: webfeedback at adobe dot com.

Not to be outdone by Adobe's Flex 2 comp, Rocketboots have announced a flex 2 comp for everyone else! The the RocketBoots Rest of World Flex Developer Space Race is on and there are six iPod nanos up for grabs!

Well webDU is over for another year, Geoff and the folks from Daemon have done themselves proud once again and have managed to put together possible the best web conference on the planet. If you missed, well you missed out. Here are just a few highlights that were squeezed into 2.5 days of fun at the casino

• Nectarine's world famous intro animations
• Adobe's pin stripe shirts and their renewed commitment to all things cool (flex, cf and their wedding vows)
• Gavin Elvis Cooney fantastic Elvis impression and some very disturbing photos on flickr
• Robyn Hilliard Singing karaoke and the Rocketboots massage pallor
• 7 great sessions (I only made it to seven of them - sorry if I missed yours)
• Running into Wayne Smith (Ex macromedia Dreamwaver god) and finding out he now works for Microsoft running their Expression product range
• The entire Allaire Australia team (circ. 1999) being in one place at one time, again.
• Microsoft buying the beers all night Thursday night and then very thoughtfully buying breakfast Friday morning (don't believe everything you hear, MS are nice guys!)
• Stunning Mike Kear in to silence in my presentation by remembering his name.

Well it looks like the rumors were true. Macromedia announced Studio 8 on the 8th of the 8th.

Now we just have to relearn the product names all over again, as it appears that they have dropped the 'MX' from everything in studio...

I wonder when if someone will send me a free copy to evaluate....

I love reading the register, they have the best headlines! This one really made me laugh!

As any Macromedia groopie will tell you, the flash player isn't shipping on iPods just yet. It would be very cool if it was.

Unfortunatly they we discussing solid state based mp3 players... http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05/04/apple_flash_share/

well there you have it. Only four days after I leave the company, look what they have gone and done!

Mike Chambers has posted on his blog that Adobe has aquired Macromedia.

see what happens when I go away??

So, what does this mean? well hopefully some really cool stuff, but I guess we will have to wait and see!

Yep, it is one of those Mondays where you just want to go back to Sunday. It was sunny on Sunday! On a rainy Monday, I get to tell folk that I have decided to leave Macromedia and go and hunt the mighty development experience challenge!

It has been a great ride through Allaire and Macromedia but it is time to go back to my roots and actually write some code for a change!

Thanks Macromedia it was a blast!

PS: If you are looking for a developer, let me know! (agency need not apply)

SYS-CON Media has opened voting on their Eighth Annual "Readers' Choice Awards" and there are some very cool things up for voting!

If you feel so inclined....and I hope you do ;-) Voting is at: http://www.sys-con.com/mx/readerschoice2004/vote.cfm

I know, you couldn't afford the time off work, you needed to ship that big project... well now, via the wonders of the internet, you can watch the general sessions from MAX 2004 via Flash and FlashCom!

MAX 2004 General Sessions

Oh and if you wanted another example of why flash and flashcom are cool technologies, well just use this app and jump arround through the general sessions!