aSnippet is an Adobe AIR app for coders (especially Flash, Flex and ActionScript) to save, share and chat about code snippets.

Keeping these snippets accessible on your local machine while coding using the AIR application or download a panel for direct access within the Flash IDE, smart.

You can share your code with other visitors and use what they post, too. Directly from inside Adobe Flash or the Desktop AIR Application

All the standard features are here. Search can be narrowed down to your own code snippets or those from other contributors too. The application is fast at getting data from it’s server and the snippets are listed and pageable. Clicking the title bar opens up to show you a description and the code snippet.

You can copy the code to your machines clipboard with a single click plus if you are a registered user (free to register) you can rate the snippet out of 5.

Registering which can be completed within the app opens up the chat and contribute features of aSnippet. You can invite people and send messages that appear in their inbox.

I just wish the developer used the AIR install badge. No one likes downloading a ZIP file then having to rename it just to install. AIR gives you such a seamless install that doing stuff this way creates problems and causes confusion.

Design eye

Nice simple design that does the job without being over fussy. The ability to increase the text font manly for the code snippets would be a nice feature. Also offering a different contrast version, say back on white for those coders who prefer that could be a great addition.

It took me a while to work out what the third icon from the top right was as no tool tip was present. Turns out it sets the aSnippet app to be always infront.

Technical eye

Built using Adobe Flash and the AIR framework.

In summary

A nice app for keeping any snippets organised with the added bonus or sharing and searching contributions from others. Use the comments and let us know what you think of aSnippet.

Tagged with: developer, development, flex, productivity, social

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Readefine is a new way to read your RSS feeds from Google Reader and other sources. It can load content from the web, a file on your computer or via copy-and-paste. Readefine supports content in RSS, HTML or plain text format.

Beautifies RSS, Google Reader articles, plain text and HTML for easy reading. Text layout is fully customizable and can be remembered.

This application displays your RSS feeds in a newspaper style format rather than the usual RSS Google reader type affair. Using the new text rendering features of the latest Flash Player to it’s best the display is very crisp and clear.

If you have not come across these new techniques you will be amazed how much flexibility you have over the display. Columns can be resized and the text flows smoothly between them. Text ligatures can be added for extra oomph if desired as well as line-height and full justification.

That said it really does make your feeds look like a newspaper including the side navigation for moving between feed items.

Linking in with Google Reader which requires external authentication works well.

Utilising some of the great new text rendering features of Flash Player 10 and Flex 4 (Text Layout Framework)

In someways this is similar to the New Your Times reader (which is also built upon Adobe AIR and uses the new text frameworks) as reviewed previously here on RefreshingApps.

Design eye

Textually the app is very beautiful and does have a bit of a wow factor when you first open it up.

There are some usability issues under the skin of Readefine though. The submenus especially for adding and choosing feeds don’t work particularly well and could do with a redesign loosing the combo box.

Technical eye

Built using Adobe Flex and the AIR framework.

In summary

Try something new for your feeds, if you like the newspaper feel and typography you will love it. Get Readefine today.

Tagged with: google reader, rss

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Flickroom is a perfect Adobe AIR application for Flickr users. Those interested in photography will recognise the AIR application is trying to forge the data from Flickr with the UI and app feel of Adobe’s Lightroom.

Flickroom is an Adobe AIR based application that provides the rich browsing experience Flickr users have long deserved. The dark theme ensures that your photographs look better than ever before! You can now receive instant notifications for any activity on your photostream, upload photos by just drag-and-drop, add comments, mark faves, add notes, tweet about your photos and also chat with other Flickroom users.

Having previously reviewed DestroyFlickr here on RefreshingApps.com it was a different and welcome interface onto the Flickr data. Flickroom takes a more usual approach and following the UI of Lightroom is a sensible idea as photographers are familiar with the style of interaction.

Flickroom packs a punch with it’s list of functionality the latest release 0.30 beta includes localisation into six languages, grid view, system tray operation, commenting and other great features.

You can authenticate Flickroom with Flickr so that it has full access to your photos and associated data. You can then upload photos, comment and do all the things you do on Flickr when logged in. The new version of Flickroom allows you to browser collections without authenticating which is great if you just want to try the app out.

Map view is a great quick way to view images on a geo located map provided by Google, fun but it’s there with just a click of a button.

Design eye

Presenting the photos on a grey background will be a welcome to many photographers so you can fully appreciate the colors and composition, unlike the white of the standard flickr website.

While dark UI’s are not to everyones taste it has been used here for a reason, following Lightroom’s lead. Some of the iconography can be a bit misleading, but hovering over it for a short while shows a tooltip.

The UI is nicely laid out and you can quickly get a feel for where the major elements are, dive deeper and you will uncover a nice useable and fully functional desktop application for Flickr using Adobe AIR.

Technical eye

Built using Adobe Flex and the AIR framework using an adapted Darkroom Flex skin from Scalenine.

In summary

If you use Flickr and are passionate about your collections and photos give Flickroom a try

Tagged with: flickr

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Focus booster App is a simple and elegant Adobe AIR application designed
to help you eliminate the anxiety of time and enhance your focus and concentration. This technique is getting quite a following and I even wrote about it on my personal blog back in June 2009. You can see the original Pomodoro Technique website here for more detailed background on this productivity management system.

focus booster is a digital pomodoro timer to help you implement the Pomodoro Technique as quickly and efficiently as possible. Use it with ease and no fuss to focus on the things that are important, ignoring the distractions.

Personal productivity management is key to getting things done especially when working on your own, think of it as a tool to enable your personal productivity program.

The app offers alarm and buzzer sounds for indication of your session timeout. The visual bar will slowly change color as time passes by and nears the end of your pomodoro session.

Focus booster App is also available as an in browser tool as well as an Adobe AIR desktop app.

Design eye

Very simple and elegant solution and Focus booster App is better for it. A separate window handles the apps preferences for your pomodoro session.

You can resize the app slightly and watch how the scale resizes too, nice.

There is a really nice compact mode although the button to activate it is rather on the small side having this ‘always in front’ of your other apps simply ticking away really works.

Technical eye

Built using Adobe Flex and the AIR framework.

In summary

So if you have not checked out the Pomodoro techniques to enable your personal productivity management system then try this app out today and get productive!

Tagged with: productivity

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Doit.im is a cross platform task management application built on Adobe AIR. As is common with these types of application you have the usual Inbox, Projects completed tasks etc. But with Doit.im you can also sync your tasks with the server.

Doit.im conducts you to have your head cleared, to get rid of various pending ideas on your mind, and helps you organize tasks and focus on items in hand, so that you can closely track the process of your work and feel easy when faced with bulks of complicated projects.

Upon install you are prompted to immediately create an account which I did. Problem was that it emails you a password. I waited over 45 minutes for my password to arrive before I could use the app, problem was Gmail thought it was spam.

I can see why but i’m not totally in favour of forcing a new user to register. I know this is a free application, but why not allow a new user to play with the app try it out then if they want to sync to the server, offer them the ability to register.

A nice touch is that you can add invite your friends to join in even using your Gmail contacts by entering your details. an offline mode is also available, as well as a forced sync to server.

This is the Adobe AIR version and there are other platforms like Android supported too using the newly released open API.

Design eye

Design wise Doit.im has obviously taken clues from OS X applications and it does look good when you eventually get in. However the modal popup windows are styled like actual moveable windows but you can’t drag them around. The integrated form inputs and labels while nice could confuse people initially.

Apart from a few UX quirks it is a nice looking application, even though the UI is heavily influenced by the OS X application Things in my opinion.

Technical eye

Built using Adobe Flex and the AIR framework.

In summary

There are many players in this task management / to do list area many on the Adobe AIR platform. Doit.im has some serious competition but does have some stand out features.

So if you are in the market for a task management solution then try out Doit.im.

Tagged with: productivity, to-do list

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Colabolo is an issue tracking AIR application for small teams and personal use. This is the AIR client and there is also an iPhone application available. There is a 2 week free trial available, but the application is

Do you need to delegate tasks to your team members? Are you drowning in too much email?
Introducing an easy to use, light-weight issue-tracker for small teams and personal use that combines the ease of email with the power of workflow and efficient notifications to boost your team’s productivity

It aims to simplify the way you deal with tasks within your tea. By taking an email style of approach in both workflow and visual UI design this app has a strong following.

Issues can be acted upon by other invited members of the team, along with drag and drop files. Emails sent to your chosen support or issues email address can be automatically converted into notification within the systems inbox. This alone can seriously reduce the amount of support emails you could have flying around your company. It’s also worth poining out that the system has push notification capabilities.

The full pricing for the application and associated services can be found here.

Design eye

The design of Colabolo is quite bare upon startup although it does mimic the UI of an email client which is the look I guess they are after.

That said it does have some nice skinning although the many popup windows could do with a little more attention to detail on the styling side.

Technical eye

Built using Adobe Flex and the AIR framework.

In summary

This is a hot market to be entering with some stiff competition. Colabolo has some great features.

So if you are in the market for a complete issue tracking solution then try out Colabolo.

Tagged with: development, productivity

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Livebrush is a fantastic new organic drawing application built on Adobe AIR by David Fasullo. Not just a desktop application but also a design community encouraging the creation of organic art together with extensions to the application by the community.

This is a paid for application but you can try and play with the lite version before making that purchase of $10 for the full Livebrush Pro app.

Livebrush is a drawing application. It employs an easy-to-use brush tool that reacts to your gesture. By combining simple motion controls with brush styles, Livebrush offers a fun and unique way to create graphics

The best way to describe Livebrush is as a line drawing tool on steroids. There are an overwhelming number of options available for your brush strokes including a standard set of 100 styles and decorators. Each of these can then be customised and tailored to suite your style and project.

You control the speed, angle width and other parameters for your brush stroke. Detailed colour options are available to really enhance that drawing.

See some example artworks in my flickr account here and here. I’m sure you can all do a lot better than this! The Livebrush flickr account is located here.

Video review

Design eye

The interface follows some common conventions for such drawing apps like Photoshop, Illustrator etc. Although I found some standard interactions were not there. Resizing the app smaller chopped the artboard and no scrollbars were created. The iconography on the layers palette was a little non intuitive. Where I was expecting a trash can for delete I had a cross on a button in the middle. Also the lack of tooltips as a guide made heavy work of the UI.

Also Don’t assume that I want the application to open up to the maximum width of my screen.

In some instances I found there were just too many options especially for a beginner like myself. A simple task like finding out how to change the line / brush colour was not as clear as it could be. The status text at the top ( Project New Project as an example) really look like buttons, I was trying to click them to create a new project.

Interface woes aside this app produces some truly stunning pieces of art that you can export as SVG, or PNG. There is an export layers option too.

Technical eye

This is a comprehensive Adobe AIR application built using FLash CS4, ActionScript 3 and the Adobe AIR framework.

In summary

Try this Adobe AIR application for some truly different organic type art for your projects. I can see this begin useful for backdrops to websites, posters and music promotions. When combined with your work in Photoshop this will be invaluable.

Being a paid for application costing only $10 USD you can’t really go wrong. Try it today.

Tagged with: designer

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This is an interesting Adobe AIR application by Adobe. It’s a great way of listing all of the shortcuts for your Adobe applications like the Creative Suite (excluding Flex Builder!). It’s also used as a bit of an advertising vehicle for the Adobe student editions but don’t let that put you off.

Can’t remember your shortcuts? No worries. Introducing the Adobe Shortcut App, an amazing new tool from Adobe that lets you find and gather the shortcuts you need on your desktop. So they’re right where you need them, when you need them, allowing you to create your masterpieces with ease.

YOu can flick between the various apps based upon the elements logos and create your own favourites list. The app detects what operating system you are on and adapts the AIR app listings accordingly.

Another nice feature is the link off to an online PDF version of the shortcuts which is great for printing off and pinning to your wall at work.

Design eye

Nice app with a small footprint. Ignoring the advertising students area it’s a workable and useable AIR app. I would like the ability to increase the height a bit so that the important info, the shortcuts, are more visible.

I’m not sure about the app icon, I don’t get what it is (am I missing something?) and doesn’t appear to match the app.

The loading screen is very Adobe and matches the rest of the CS. Clicking the share link drops down a panel but clicking the link again does nothing you have to hunt for the close button in grey.

Technical eye

Built using Adobe Flex 3, Adobe AIR.

In summary

Cool accompaniment to the Creative Suite and I for one can never remember some of the shortcuts for programs I use infrequently. The PDF versions of the shortcuts are a great addition. Try it today.

Tagged with: productivity, developer, designer

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TinyUploads is a really simple Adobe AIR application that work in conjunction with a website of the same name. The concept is that you drag images into the AIR app they are then thumb nailed and resized then uploaded to the TinyUploads website. You are then given a shortened URl to view your images in your browser.

TinyUploads lets you share your photos fast! Resize images and upload online in just one click! Share pictures with your friends by embedding them in your blog or a variety of other ways!

The result is not shown within the AIR app but instead it fires a browser window to show your URL’s and shared images. Why not do this within the AIR app?

Design eye

A very simple UI going on here. The only way to get images into the app is to drag them in. Best practice would be to include a way to browse for files on your system using a standard file dialogue window, it’s so simple to do this should be included in the next release.

Also there is no confirmation when deleting the images. A select all option would be a nice addition too. A custom size setting for the image resize options would be good, I guess the resizing is done on the server which limits this option.

Technical eye

Built using Adobe Flex 3, Adobe AIR and the TinyUploads closed API.

In summary

Nice simple way to visually upload and resize images to this service. The sharing URL’s and ability to see your images using a lightbox style overlay works well. Not full of features but then that is not the point of this AIR app.

Tagged with: productivity, developer, designer

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Portfolio Viewer by Mental Echo (Pete Michel) is an Adobe AIR based desktop application for tracking the performance of your financial investments.

It is not intended to be a replacement for software like Microsoft Money or Quicken, although it does approach the topic with similar features this is a dedicated desktop app. But the big advantage here is that it is free!

Some key features of Portfolio Viewer are the ability to track multiple portfolios, it works both on and offline and Import and export features along with dynamic charts to visualize your investments.

Design eye

Simple design with minimal skinning, I think the colours on the left column area are a bit too dark with the red a little hard to read. The standard Flex charting is easy to view with legends. The app resizes well and adds scrollbars as required.

The left accordion appears to contain both the menu for adding portfolios and then creates additional accordion items for each added portfolio. Not sure this is the best UI to handle the interaction.

Technical eye

Built using Adobe Flex and Adobe AIR.

In summary

Firstly portfolios are not my strong point by any measure. That said the app offers up some interesting features and if portfolio management is your thing then give it a crack, after all it is free.

Tagged with: productivity

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