Flash MX Magic Book

Just when you thought you’d got this Flash thing figured out Macromedia pulls a new version out of the hat with Flash MX Magic. The MX moniker tells you that the new stuff is sufficiently radical to justify more than a mere version increment from 5 to 6. Don’t panic, the 15 projects in Flash MX Magic cover the new MX features from every angle. The book is organised into four sections covering fundamentals, scripting tools, site management and advanced projects. If you went through it from cover to cover there’s not much you wouldn’t know about how to make MX fly.Each chapter introduction includes a difficulty rating and an indication of the time taken to develop the project, which not only helps you assess its suitability for your own skills level, but also provides useful feedback--if a two-hour project is taking you all day you’ve probably bitten off more than you can chew. This is no place for those without at least intermediate ActionScript skills.The projects themselves are mouth-watering. John Dalziel’s interactive time zone map, Mark Baltzegar’s immersive panorama; Aria Danika’s sliding tray menu, Jim Caldwel’s MP3 player and Jason Krogh’s movie maker application are merely the cream on a very rich cake (John Dalziel’s layer has nuts).The New Riders Magic format is perfect for Flash, each author brings not just their own specialised skillset, but a unique creative approach. Flash MX Magic is without doubt the most captivating route to MX mastery in print.--Ken McMahonRead More