I feel like I’m really behind in the loop here using Flash 8 components over the new, supposedly easy-to-use Flex components, but I figured I’d share this little tidbit, since it was nearly impossible to find online.

If you’ve ever worked with Flash’s built-in DataGrid component, you’ll quickly discover how difficult it is to customize: there’s theme files to edit, there’s styling, and there’s classes (such as RectBorder). Unfortunately, none of them helped me to set the background of the DataGrid component to transparent.

The closest solution I found was on FlashGamer, but I soon found that any buttons or MovieClips being placed into my DataGrid via the cellRenderer API were being set to transparent as well. So, I spent some time figuring out how FlashGamer apparently figured it out:

I went through the class files in the Flash 8 Application/First Run/classes/mx/controls/DataGrid.as to discover that Flash was using the drawing API to generate the background (I could have fixed it here, but didn’t want to do anything questionable in the eyes of the license agreement).

Then, I published an SWF and checked out Debug > List Objects to see the MovieClip structure of the DataGrid. What I found I wanted to hide was my _dg.content_mc["listRow"+i].bG_mc. Like FlashGamer, I discovered that it takes about half a second to render the DataGrid (I’d test based on amount of data, though), and, oddly enough, the rows started at 10. So, I reused the while() loop generously offered, but rather than use a custom frame-based timer class, I used the undocumented global setTimeout() method (for documentation, check out FlashGuru’s setTimeout() post).

So, to set your DataGrid background to transparent, pull a DataGrid component onto the stage and name it “my_dg” and place this code on frame 1 of the _root:

import mx.controls.DataGrid;

//Create a dataProvider to add some data to the Datagrid
var data_array:Array = new Array();
data_array.push({Model:"Ford", Year:0});
data_array.push({Model:"Dodge", Year:1});
data_array.push({Model:"BMW", Year:2});
my_dg.dataProvider = data_array;

// set border_mc to transparent
my_dg.border_mc._alpha = 0;
/**
* Hides background of DataGrid.
*/
function hideBgd():Void {
trace("hideBgd")
var i:Number = 10;
while (my_dg.content_mc["listRow"+i] != undefined) {
my_dg.content_mc["listRow"+i].bG_mc._alpha = 0;
i++;
}
}
// call hideBgd in half a second
setTimeout(hideBgd, 500);

Hopefully, this’ll save someone the time I took looking around.

Okay, so without sharing too many secrets, like my previous logo post, I will say that Dave and I finally agreed on a new logo for Beyond Second.

I’m not tremendously opposed to the original logo, though the new one matches a new color palette, simplifies the design, and integrates what has become Beyond Second’s tagline.

I don’t want to reveal anything more, just to say that Dave’s working on a redesigned site with plenty of surprises. Stay tuned.

Every once in awhile I feel compelled to put my writing shoes on . . .
This time, it was in response to a blog post I read in the Central Penn Business Journal regarding the brain drain.

I suddenly found myself wasting over an hour structuring a response that ended up being too long, so I’m trying to legitimize my time by posting the unabridged response here. Bear with me.

I tend to agree that this article would have been stronger without the blatant name-dropping. I’m also disappointed that the suggestions offered in Mr. Hartzler’s post are so vague.

Why not talk about how WebClients negotiated with ValueClick to keep young talent in Central PA? Couldn’t that prove to be a positive, community-building model for certain Central PA business owners reading this?

Why not encourage these Web firms to get more involved in the surrounding area? None of the companies listed in this post, or in these comments, mention internship programs on their respective Web sites (I’ve only counted 1 with an open FT position, though I realize this isn’t as controllable). When I was a Web design instructor at HACC, I was never approached by Central PA-based firms to establish a relationship between students [potential employees] and the local market. It’s no surprise that my students felt forced to look outside of Central PA, and I think some sort of program is definitely worth investigating (or at least blogging about here).

I agree that Harrisburg needs to “focus on residential development, retail shopping, multiple entertainment venues and other amenities and resources found regularly in larger cities,” but why not paint a picture of the pros, cons, and realistic possibilities of mixed zoning within the city? Explain why Midtown’s Capitol Heights look like a suburban, cookie-cutter ghost town–while downtown seems to only support similar bars with revolving names.

Talk about how these firms have affordably and culturally benefited by setting up shop in the city rather than outside of it. Perhaps more importantly, point out how the community has benefited from these firms. In either case, don’t compare where they set up to a larger city. It’s not the market’s potential that keeps firms in Central PA so much as it’s the climate of home to the employees.

My response above may be overtly critical, but I am a statistic of your brain drain (under 30 with a master’s degree now living in the NYC area), and I have seen friends in that area move to larger markets because such questions weren’t being answered, much less asked.

I found myself commuting to meet with people that weren’t in the office due to the MLK holiday. Feeling a little unmotivated, I decided to take the opportunity to finally visit the MoCCA. Granted, it’s a small museum, but their exhibit on Saturday morning cartoon shows really took me back. Who knew the Smurfs were French? Who knew that in 1971 Frankenberry was taken off the shelves because it was turning kids feces bright pink?!

Umm, on the other hand, who needed to know that?

Last month, Nokia made a Neilsen report available on the Evolution of Mobile Gaming. We’re not playing Final Fantasy on our phones, that’s for sure, but I was surprised that 40% of the U.S. respondents play cell phone games daily. Furthermore, over half of Americans play multi-player mobile games monthly.

Now I commute via bus and subway, and I rarely see people playing on their phones (though I have seen it!), much less playing a multiplayer game. As for me, you’ll catch me on my DS before I start playing with my phone.

I guess I just wish their methodology covered a slightly broader range. I feel like such a dinosaur since I don’t play with my Nokia S60 smart phone.

As I do every 3 years, I made it over to the Cooper Hewitt to check out the National Design Triennial. This year, the tagline is “Design Life Now.”

This particular Smithsonian Museum is housed in a gorgeous mansion, and while I’ve never enjoyed their exhibits as much as the Design Museum in London, the gift shop sure is cool

I found some of what was to be expected—Joshua Davis Flash animations that were chugging veeeerrrrryyy slowly from being left on too long, A door decorated with some really cool Chip Kidd book cover designs, Processing (well deserved, too), Hunter Hoffman’s works (who knew video games could relieve pain?!), and the incredible work of PSYOP.

Besides having the PSYOP videos make me wish I was a video designer, I thought to myself, “if Nike is their client and is truly the one financing the design, why isn’t Nike here?” After all, it’s those hip companies like Apple, Target, and Nike that are paying people like me to do what I enjoy.

Eh, I was swiftly answered in the next room by a case of shoe soles.

Adjacent to the Pixar display I found a glass case decorated with Kid Robot toys, and here is my one problem with the exhibit—Kid Robot toys are ART, not design!

How is it that we decide what are and aren’t design toys, anyway? I love Kid Robot, but the toys certainly aren’t for kids, and while they’re “designed” by designers, are they really answering a problem like good design should? Even Kid Robot founder Paul Budnitz mentions in his podcast that people have a hard time differentiating whether his toys are “art” or “design.”

I’m taking a stand. They’re art! And while I admit to shopping at Kid Robot and do enjoy their pieces, I say that artsy riff-raff doesn’t belong in the DESIGN museum!!!!

Price? Ridiculous. Worth it? Definitely.

My back just kept hurting with the Costco-bought leather chair I purchased. I have short legs, and they just barely made it over the base of the chair, which meant no lumbar support.

It was around this time that I noticed that just about EVERY NYC Web design/development firm that I sat in had these black mesh chairs. With how comfortable they were, I figured I’d get one.

Did I think I was on the verge of spending $1000 on a Herman Miller reclining instrument? No.

I guess I’ve been out of the loop, as the Aeron chair has had a storied history. At one point, it was a measuring stick for success—or failure—of a DOT.com business. I suppose the Aeron chair has it’s haters, but I’ve found that investing in an ergonomic chair in my field is definitely worth it. It’s exposed the fact that I lean in too much (the back can be set to follow yours when leaning). It’s also a custom fit—you choose the chair size according to your own dimensions.

Now, if I could just upgrade that $50 IKEA desk.