Am I the Only Facebook Developer in Utah?
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Okay, I’m really only doing this so I can beat Phil801 in Google ranks for “facebook developer utah”, but after talking to Paul Allen today it came up that I am the only result for “Facebook Developer” in Utah on LinkedIn. It is a new technology, only a month or so old, but I’m sure there are more than just me. If you are interested in consulting for your Facebook app, please contact me - I am definitely considering moving in that direction.
Speaking of Paul Allen, I have noticed he and I seem to be on the same page. I just recently looked at his blog, and while I was aware of his Facebook API Excitement, it seems we’re blogging in parallel, as he shares my excitement for Google Gears (notice I wrote mine first 
).
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:13 am
Oh, now it’s on brother
At least you let me know that we were competing for that term
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:27 am
Piece of Cake
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:32 am
You should compare our pageranks hehe
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:57 am
I’ve written a Facebook application, although I’m recent to the Utah part
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:23 pm
You mention Google Gears. What are your thoughts on Adobe’s AIR or the upcoming file system support in Firefox 3?
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:29 pm
I’m not that familiar with Adobe’s AIR - I will have to do some research. I am very excited for the filesystem support in Firefox 3. I really hope IE follows suite and incorporates similar in their browser as well. I think this is an exciting era, as when the desktop moves to the web, you need some sort of tie-in to the file system. Also, I should mention that Dojo also incorporates some ability to store on the file system, so I hear.
August 3rd, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Right, Dojo is using Flash ‘under the covers’ in order to gain access to the file system. Google Gears and Firefox 3 will be cool but all they’re essentially doing is providing offline database support: your ‘application’ still is dependent on the browser window and all (memory sharing, potential crashing from badly behaved pdfs etc). And, as I understand it, Gears and Firefox3 won’t have filesystem support.
AIR does have an SQLite db under the hood. You can have things like custom chrome (or modal, or always on top), native drag-and-drop to/from the OS and other systems, native clipboard support, native context menus, etc. It truly allows web developers to leverage their skills and build desktop applications - not just an RIA dependent on a browser window.
Not every application needs or should have a desktop presence. But my AIR app clients are amazed at how I’m able to take their brand and information needs and make them work in an offline environment. I think its a great platform (at least the HTML/Javascript development part - I haven’t played enough with the Flex 3 part to pass judgment on that).
August 5th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
That sounds very interesting - I will have to learn more. I have to admit, I tend to be a little skeptical about anything Adobe - I am not a big fan of one corporation controlling all the engine development. I prefer it be a community effort, with open access to all the code.
August 7th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Right, that’s understandable. But this isn’t your father’s Adobe reader we’re talking about. Adobe is undergoing a change, of sorts, to a more open, community driven focus. They’ve open sourced Flex as an experiment. They’ve launched their labs.adobe.com site to release free stuff back to user communities, get early eyeballs on releases, and act as a petri dish for new ideas. They’ve been long competitors with Microsoft and have seen Redmond’s failings; after seeing their multi-year road maps and talking with their movers and shakers they have no desire to repeat those mistakes.
As Novell has shown, just because a corporation is acting as a steward for a platform doesn’t mean the developer community receives jack for benefits.
September 11th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
[…] mentioned this earlier, and only learned about one other Utah Facebook Developer. Today the question was raised again as […]