After two weeks of downtime, BeyondSecond.com is back up!

What happened?

Roughly two weeks ago, Beyond Second’s hosting provider migrated to new servers. The hosting provider resells RackSpace (one of the biggest and most reliable hosts in the business), so the hardware wasn’t the issue, however, our hosting provider apparently didn’t prepare for the DNS changes associated with such a move. In the end, what this meant was that the site went down, and we couldn’t even access the site files to download and move them.

So what did you do?

We were finally able to access the site files after four days–even though the site was still not displaying at the Web address. Ultimately, this oversight by our host, compiled with the fact that we were exceeding our hosting limit (and would have had to pay extra for more space), made us decide to change hosting providers. We settled on Bluehost, one of the largest shared hosting companies out there. Besides their reliability, they offer unlimited hosting space, so B2 won’t be running out of space in the near future (if ever!).

But what took so long?

There were a variety of issues, starting with establishing old account info with Bluehost (B2 actually had an account on Bluehost back in ’06), to permissions issues (1600 photos were stubbornly not backing up). Trust me, this couldn’t have occurred at a worse time, as work has been really busy and my wife’s technically due with our next child as I write this.

It was really cool hearing from those of you who immediately noticed the site was down, and I apologize for the delays. Once things settle down a bit here, I’m hoping we can add some new features to the site to further support the community. In the meanwhile, happy posting, and if you notice any issues please ping me!

With the last manager leaving the area, I offered and recently became co-manager of the Central PA Flash User Group (CPFUG). Frankly, based on the last few meetings, CPFUG was dying, but I hope it’s something I can help reverse. I’m not much for managerial positions (especially with my time about to be soaked up by a new baby next month), but my time attending FlashCodersNY meetings made me appreciate the wealth of a dedicated user group community.

I have a few ideas that I hope can help spurn interest, but I also hope to reach out to the local Flash/Flex community and determine what it is that would make the meetings more valuable.

To start, we’re moving our meeting location–and considering a revolving meeting place. In the past, meetings have been held at JPL and PSECU. I don’t know about you, but by the end of the day, I’m not interested in sitting in another meeting room, and I think a casual setting’s just the right place.

Our next meeting is scheduled for 6-8pm today at Appalachian Brewing Company in Harrisburg (upstairs). We’re going to start a series of meetings covering “Actionscript 3.0 Animation: Making Things Move!” by Keith Peters. Attendance is free, though you’re encouraged to bring a copy of the book and a laptop with Flash installed (if you have either).

Also, feel free to bring Flash-related questions or suggestions you may have for group. Hope to see you there!

The Senators have had their first few series at the new ballpark, and I made it a point to catch the opener, as well as the Harrisburg debut of the Nationals first-round draft pick.

Name aside, the new Metro Bank Park is an immense improvement over the old park–it somehow makes the game feel more professional. It definitely has me second-guessing my decision to buy that Orioles ticket package (sadly, the worst team in the majors as of this writing, though I think I saw more Orioles fans on City Island than in Baltimore).

Metro Bank Park’s seating is still affordable and remains nice and close to the action. It’s nice to see an official team store, though I think those Strasburg jerseys are going to be outdated any day now.

I’m a sucker for ballpark promotions, but to me, this year’s promotions are a little sparse. It would have been nice to have someone sponsor a statuette of the new ballpark (to accompany the one I received last season), but alas, it looks like the money was spent on flatscreen TV giveways (the affiliation to baseball I’m still struggling to understand). I also question the $2 drafts on the boardwalk . . . Why make them exclusive to the boardwalk and force people in seats to make the trek?

Strasburg’s Harrisburg debut was impressive, both for his performance as well as the turnout. my only complaint? The Senators’ Twitter feed didn’t provide first pitch updates. Through two rain delays and a power outage, it’s the least they could do for their fans. Regardless, I’ll be back, so long as I can find people to go with.

Personally, I had a lot of fun at BarCamp Harrisburg 2, and got to meet a lot of people in-person for the first time, which was great (I hope to see everyone again next year!).

I noticed there were a lot of tagged mentions on my topic, and I feel like I need to set the record straight. Most of the tags said something along the lines of “HTML 5 – the death of Flash” when they should have said “HTML5 – The Death of Flash?”

The idea to present on this topic revolved around Apple’s decision to omit Flash from their mobile products. In some ways, I think it’s a good decision for the iPhone but childish for the iPad. While researching the topic, I was actually surprised to discover how much HTML5 actually could replace Flash. As a Flash designer/developer, I’d love to see a standardized video format hit the Web (though, unfortunately, it looks like OGG won’t be it.

In my presentation, I predicted that Adobe will either make Flash export to an HTML5 canvas or will build a new tool that does just that. Besides that, my conclusion was that Flash isn’t going anywhere for a long time. Some of the reasons:

• Better production tools (HTML5 will catch up)
• Bigger community (HTML5 will catch up)
• Ubiquity and consistency (HTML5 will catch up, but browsers will take years to meet standards consistently, plus the HTML5 spec won’t be finalized until 2022)
• Creativity – <canvas> doesn’t appear to support filters, or tie in effects with video like Flash does
• Video cue points – not built into H.264
• Fonts – there’s the Web Open Font Format and TypeKit, but neither are a part of the HTML5 spec. Me, personally, I’d rather use sIFR over images of custom fonts.
• Browser independence – I’m not talking about Adobe AIR (which, aside from Tweetdeck, seems silly due to the double install), but Flash runs on a variety of devices in standalone form and needn’t sit in a Web page
• Code privacy – perhaps not such a good thing, but compiled SWF files protect their authoring code from being viewed. A <canvas> element would be available via view source. It makes me wonder how long an HTML page will become with really complicated HTML5 canvas-based apps…

In the end, we all ultimately choose the best tool for the job, and my ultimate point was that if you look at the evolution of the Web, innovation isn’t standard.

It looks like this message is making the rounds, but in case any photographers around here missed it, The Yellow Wall Gallery (located in the Midtown Scholar Bookstore), is accepting submissions for their upcoming exhibit, “Summer in Winter: A Visual Escape”, February 5 – March 26, 2010. More details are available at the The Yellow Wall Gallery’s Website.

I’m a little late to post this, but BarCamp Harrisburg 2 has been officially announced. It’ll be on Saturday, April 10, 2010 from 9am to 5pm at Harrisburg University. Attendance is free–just make sure to bring topics to discuss! I was hesitant to begin promoting this so far in advance, but there’s already been a decent amount of signups, plus we already have more sponsors at this point than last year (to be announced soon).

Hopefully, the weather will be better this time around (for those not in attendance, BarCampHarrisburg 1 was held in January during an ice storm). The venue has changed, too–Harrisburg University has a tremendous facility, and the wireless and projector hiccups from last year will won’t be an issue here. Frankly, it’s awesome that they’ve been so open and enthusiastic about hosting the event.

Also new is the Website and registration process. Gone is the confusing Wiki signup, as we’re now using Eventbrite (I’ll confess to cherry-picking some of the features of BarCampPhilly’s Website approach, as it’s one of the few examples of Websites hosted outside of barcamp.org).

A common question asked by potential attendees unfamiliar with the format is whether or not they will be forced to present. The answer is no. Personally, though, I hope we have so many attendees that it’d be impossible for everyone to present. Even if Especially if you’re not in the tech or education industry (but have interest in it or the social aspects of the Internet) I recommend you check BarCamp Harrisburg 2 out.

I made sure to make it back from a grad school reunion in NYC to attend Harrisburg’s first Cupcake Cup. Kudos to Erica Streisfeld for organizing the event, which took place at the Midtown Scholar bookstore and raised a few hundred dollars for the Central PA Food Bank. Sadly, the cupcakes weren’t documented thoroughly, so I’m not even sure which delicious one I had. I guess I’ll just have to wait for next year.

Well, the stars definitely weren’t aligned for the first attempt at a Beyond Second meetup in 2009, as the meeting place (Café Di Luna) abruptly closed and the alternate (Midtown Cinema) was booked out.

Fortunately, Café Di Luna has reopened and is available, so we’re going to try this again. I hope to see a good turnout for the Beyond Second Meetup.

Judging by the the bump in Twitter followers and the number of phone calls I’ve received this past week, I probably don’t need to share this link, but I/Hauck Interactive was featured in this past week’s Central Penn Business Journal.

(Yup, a little late with the link. I’ve been a bit busy)

Field trip for Twitterers, anyone?

Following the feedback I’ve received from people I’ve spoken with at Twitter meetups in Harrisburg, I’m proposing an open invite to see the “Jim Henson’s Fantastic World” traveling exhibit at the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pa on Saturday, September 19, 2009.

It takes roughly 2 hours to get to Doylestown from Harrisburg, plus the exhibit will be timed entry due to anticipated popularity, so here’s what I’m proposing:

1. Buy Tickets for Saturday, 9/19 at 1:00 pm. If 1:00 pm becomes unavailable, go for the 1:30 pm.
2. Comment on this post with your @twitter name saying you’re in (or e-mail me/ reply me @mandalatv if you’re sheepish)
3. Meet at the Starbucks in Union Deposit (3901 Union Deposit Road Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17109) at 11 am.

Based on the number of people coming, we’ll determine the car pool situation from there (hey, I can fit 4 ).