I have recently been looking into flash to find a cool way to display photos on a website. I found some really nice looking products out there, eg Flash 3D Wall and Piclens, however none of them would share their source code. So after some investigation I found a nice little 3D Flash framework called Sandy3d and I decided to build my own.
Click on the image above to see the first version of Photoflick in action. It contains dynamic xml file loading, support for low and high resolution photos, mouse over highlighting, head turn control and photo zooming.
This application has been written using action script 3. You may download the source code and use it under the Mozilla Public License (the same license as Sandy3d).
I've been living in Beijing more than 2 years now and have managed a few interesting experiences. I guess growing up in Canberra doesn't fully prepare for what China has to throw at you. Hopefully I can draw some useful information from these experiences and impart them in a meaningful way over the next few paragraphs.
I'd first like to break the Bejiing experience down into two groups - the local expat experience and the foreign expat experience. The line can sometimes blur however they can be generally distinguished through the following characteristics.
Local expats find their jobs locally through job agencies like thebeijinger.com and zhaopin.com. They can also come on internships, work experience, language study programs or teaching positions hoping to work their way up to fortune after gaining some 'China' experience. Through reduced wages they are forced to live cheaper lifestyles somewhat comparable to the average Beijinger.
Chinese English Dictionary is a light weight application that can translate words between Chinese and English. Here's a quick list of features
You can try out the demo dictionary.trevstephenson.com or you can just download the source and install it for yourself.
Well it's a shame that I can't be home this year to celebrate Christmas in Aus but I'm sure you'll be thinking of me while I'm working a 6 day week over Christmas - taking a training course which is going to be delivered in Chinese. I wish I could say my Chinese was that good but sadly after two years it's not and I'm probably going to be very very bored.
Now given that this email is going to reach such a varied audience, I'm not really sure that I want to be publishing all the crazy things that happened in 2007. However, at the risk of writing a boring letter let's just say that at least one of the stories in this letter is not true to allow my parents the comfort of denial :)
I think I've become a little more superstitious since living in China and I'd have to say that 2008 is promising to be a lucky year given a new Australian prime minister who can speak Chinese (I've listened to him on youtube and I'd have to say he's pretty good), a bunch of friends who are coming to visit me, the Beijing 2008 Olympic games and of course my sisters wedding (albeit to an Englishman - haha).
As an Australian Software Engineer with little previous knowledge of the working culture in the Asian technology business, in the early days it was somewhat of a challenge organizing teams of Chinese software developers to deliver products to Western clients in Australia, the UK, Europe and the US. The working culture, dynamic and expectations are radically different, and in order to bridge the gap between what is being done on the ground in Beijing and what SinoCode's clients expect requires strong process and sound, consistent methodology.
Selecting an appropriate methodology for team collaboration and customer communication has been one challenge, and has involved an iterative process of trial and error and project reflection, eg what is working and what isn't?
In my 'previous life' as a software developer in Australia, I found myself often adopting processes which supported the extreme programming approach and the agile development methodology. This was mainly brought about by evolving requirements in response to changing business direction of clients, something that occurs more often then not, particularly when working for smaller private software development companies that need to be able to adapt to changing market conditions quickly.
