After seeing myFeedz and looking through the API, I figured I'd build something visual out of it, and this Tag Viewer is what came out of it. Some of the features include:

• Tag cloud and related post visualization
• Favorite tag list
• Tag search function that continually updates with tags
• Drag scroll UI

For me, the most interesting aspect was the drag scrolling and experimenting with different ways to scroll things horizontally and vertically. I've started to port it over to Flex, however, the one big obstacle I ran across was trying to get drag scrolling to work with existing containers (unfortunately, when you turn off the scrollbars, you also lose the ability to set V and H scrollPosition).

I noticed that the api urls tend to be quite slow in returning data (not sure exactly of the reason), so it's not as zippy as it could be. Also, the api really is currently limited to fetching tag clouds and posts, so it doesn't do everything that you can do through the myFeedz site.

Give it a try!

Our resident Senior Flash developer, Kingston, has written a detailed tutorial on how to create a preloader while also applying knowledge of BitmapData and Tween classes. Kingston has taught Flash at various technical institutes so he understands how to transfer his knowledge in a way that's easy to understand.

View the final preloader

Download the tutorial files

This year's day 1 keynote was chock full of amazing stuff. Here are some of the key points for developers along with links. If you want to follow MAX with up to the minute news, get MAXimizr, an AIR app we built for those who aren't able to be in SF.

• Flash Platform - Umbrella terminology for all things Flash. Pretty sure this isn't a new term, but maybe to reiterate the centrality of Flash player in all of this. Flash Platform Home.
• Flash Catalyst - The app formerly known as Thermo promised to vastly improve designer/developer workflow. We should be seeing a lot more of it before MAX is over. Unfortunately, it won't be available on labs until early 2009. Catalyst on Labs. Catalyst Blog.
• Gumbo (Flex 4) - Not really breaking news as builds have been available on Labs for quite some time, but it is tightly connected with Catalyst so it deserves a mention. Gumbo on Adobe Open Source.
• AIR 1.5 - Updates include support for FP10 features, encryption in local databases and updated WebKit for faster html based rendering. Intro Article. Download the runtime. Download the SDK.
• Tour de Flex - a desktop application for exploring Flex capabilities and resources, including the core Flex components, Adobe AIR and data integration, as well as a variety of third-party components, effects, skins, and more. Download it.
• Cocomo - a "platform as service" that allows Flex devs to easily add real-time social capatilities to their apps. Cocomo on Labs. Developer Portal.
• Wave - a desktop notification service built in AIR allowing users to receive notifications from publishers that they specify. Wave on Labs.
• Flash player 10 for mobile - hopefully I'm reading this correctly, but they're shooting for a fully functional FP10 for mobile devices. Fantasic news for developers. Obviously hardware may be a limitation, but demos were shown on Symbian, Win mobile and Android (sorry, no FP on iPhone yet...that's in Apple's hands)
• Distributable Flash Lite player - another awesome piece of news! Apps can be deployed with the ability to install Flash Lite if required (over the air).

Also, not sure if this was directly touched on in the keynote, but Flash Media Server 3.5 was announced. Read about it here. Get it.

Can't wait to see what the Day 2 Keynote brings.