Adobe has announced the release of Acrobat.com Presentations, a Flash-based presentation application. This looks to be a capable, albeit average presentation tool. Although they beat Microsoft to the cloud with a presentation solution, I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s best of breed. When you stack it up against the likes of third party solutions like SlideRocket, it doesn’t even come close.

This wouldn’t be the first time Adobe’s pushed out a solution that falls short of what third parties are doing with the same technology/platform. Take Photoshop.com, for example. When compared to Aviary, the differences comprise a rather wide chasm. In the case of Photoshop.com, I’ll give Adobe a little slack, since the target audience is distinctly more consumer-oriented and it wasn’t marketed as a pro design solution. Nevertheless, why couldn’t they have released a basic AND pro version?

The days of the big dogs dragging their feet are coming to a conclusion. Releases like Acrobat.com Presentations will be met with little to no fanfare, particularly when the little guys are releasing great things utilizing the same technology. Of course the likes of Adobe and Microsoft can, and likely will, assimilate these little guys and their technology, as is typically the case. But it’s a bit embarrassing for them when they don’t exercise the foresight to do the acquisition before releasing a product.

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Whether taking a quick note on a random task or idea, or banging out a chunk of markup for an enterprise-scale application, I often find myself relying on Notepad++ as a quick and easy way to capture stuff.  For braindumps, nothing beats it.  For those not already familiar with Notepad++, you can get more info here.

When it comes to utilizing Notepad++ as a full-fledged solution for web development, it falls short of IDEs such as Dreamweaver, Visual Studio, or Eclipse.  Each of these applications contain a host of powerful functions, utilities, and file/asset management resources that are not native to Notepad++.

For the freelancers of the world, small dev/design shops, or even established teams within larger organizations, the cost of upgrading or purchasing licenses may simply be too high.

On the other hand licensing may not be the issue at all, particularly with Eclipse.  Instead, performance, configuration, or memory-consumption headaches may be what plagues your team.  Now, before a flame war ensues on the merits of Eclipse, let me just clarify that I’m a big fan of the platform.  But, I do know I’m not the only one who’s encountered their fair share of headaches trying to get plugins (Subclipse, I’m talking to you) to behave reliably, particularly on team projects where synchronization is essential.  This also certainly isn’t to say that Dreamweaver and VS are free of such issues.

If you’re looking for a lightweight IDE that is fast, functional, and free, then rolling your own with Notepad++ might be just the solution you need.  In the following steps, I’m going to show you how to re-purpose this great little app as a self-contained IDE capable of tackling the most demanding projects.

Step 1: Download and Install

To get started, let’s first download and install all of the things you’re going to need.  I won’t go into the details of setting up a subversion server in this post since there’s plenty of documentation out there on the subject.  But if you encounter any major hurdles with it, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll see if I can answer your questions.  So, let’s get everything downloaded and installed:

• Notepad++ (executable)
• Notepad++ Explorer Plugin (dll zip)
• Notepad++ Compare Pluging (dll zip)
• Notepad++ FTP Synchronize Plugin (dll zip)
• Subversion Server
  
• Tortoise SVN Client

Once you’ve got everything downloaded and installed,the next step is to create a repository for your project files.  Once you’ve done you’re initial commit and your project is running happily in subversion, you’re ready to start tweaking Notepad++.

Step 2: Configure Notepad++ Settings

Enable Auto-complete

There are a few adjustments you can make to get Notepad++ to behave more like the big commercial IDEs.  The first is to enable Notepad++’s auto-complete (aka IntelliSense).  Go to: Settings -> Preference… -> Backup/Auto-completion.  Check the option Enable Auto-completion on each input and make sure the radio option is set to Function completion.  Now, when you begin typing in markup, you’ll be greeted with a convenient auto-complete menu to speed things up.

Adjust Language Support (optional)

Although Notepad++ supports a LOT of languages, some developers may find it necessary to make some adjustments to the syntax highlighting in order to accommodate languages not natively supported.  For example, if you open a .Net-based ASPX or ASCX file, or a file in Adobe Flex’s MXML format, you’re not going to get syntax highlighting.  No worries, we’re going to fix that right now.

What you’ll want to do is open C:\Program Files\Notepad++\langs.xml.  The langs.xml file is where all the syntactial magic happens.

The easiest (although not totally 100% perfect) method to get Notepad++ to play with your language is to find a language that’s similar to the one you need support for.  For example, I work with ASPX files quite a bit, but most of the elements within those ASPX files are straight up HTML.  So, all I have to do is scroll down in Langs.xml and find <Language name=”html”></Language>.  In the ext param, add the extensions you want to support.  In this case, I’d add aspx and ascx (e.g. ext=”html htm dhtml xhtml shtml ascx aspx”).  Save Langs.xml and re-open any of your ASPX or ASCX files Notepad++.  You’ll be pleased to see syntax highlighting working as expected.

There are instances where this quick-and-dirty approach won’t quite work because a language simply has too many unique tags/rules/etc.  In this case you’ll want to create your own language definition in the Langs.xml.  But that’s for another post.

Step 3: Configure Notepad++ Workspace

Now that we’ve got the core settings taken care of, the last thing remaining is to adjust the workspace.  First, go up to Plugins -> Explorer -> Explorer.  This will pop up a pane that enables you to browse your local file directories without having to leave Notepad++.  Next, go up to Plugins -> FTP_synchronize -> Show FTP Folders.  This will add a tab in your file explorer view for FTP connections.  Enter your FTP login details and you can then transfer files directly to/from your web server via Notepad++.

Step 4: Get To Work!

Now it’s time to get coding.  But, you’re probably wondering about the other two things you installed (Tortoise SVN and the Compare plugin).  Now is the time they come into play.

As you begin creating and editing files in your project, Tortoise enables you to commit changes to your subversion repository, roll back changes, branch, merge, so on and so forth.  The cool part is, now that you’ve got your file explorer displaying in Notepad++, you have access to all of the Tortoise menus directly in Notepad++ as well.  Simply right-click on any file and you’ll get the Tortoise source control menu options.

Finally, the compare plugin will come in handy when you need to compare versions of a file.  Whether it’s comparing a working copy against a repository copy, or duplicate files in a local folder, the compare plugin is pretty adept at displaying differences.

That’s it!  Everything’s configured and you have yourself a shiny new IDE.  And best of all, it’s totally free.

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This month’s NY Tech Meetup drew a record audience that filled FIT’s Haft Auditorium. So much cool stuff was showcased, that I’m not going to go too far in-depth here. Nevertheless, I’m breaking this out into two parts to keep things a little more manageable and readable. For full video coverage, click here.

It was also Internet Week here in NYC, and if you haven’t checked it out yet, make sure you do next year. It’s a great event.

UpNext

UpNext is an incredibly cool mapping and search application. It’s perhaps better described as a virtual rendition of the real world. One of my favorite features is the ability to click on any building in the 3D interface and get a listing of the businesses at that location.

In my brief test for accuracy, it did come up a bit short however. When I searched for my company, Mimeo, I was presented with two results. The first result was telling me my office is on 12 W 27th Street in New York. The second result dropped me onto 460 Park Avenue.

The actual address for Mimeo is 460 Park Avenue South. That may not seem like a big difference, but when you’re dealing with a city like New York, the difference (see map below) is about 1.5 miles and 26 streets. If I was on foot and relying on UpNext to find Mimeo, I’d be a tad annoyed by the time I hit 57th and realized I should be on 31st.
View Larger Map

When I searched by Mimeo’s actual address UpNext found the correct building. But when I clicked the building for a list of the businesses inside, Mimeo wasn’t there.

So, yeah, it needs some polish, but the core application is really impressive. With some updates to their business directory, and with the addition of a feature enabling users to add/update/correct information, I think UpNext could be something great. I’m really looking forward to seeing how they evolve this app.

The application runs on Java and is currently only covering the Manhattan area. There is a mobile version available for iPhone users.

UPDATE: Danny Moon, co-founder of UpNext, reached out to let me know they’ve already corrected the issue I described in this post. So on top of having a cool product, they’re highly responsive to customer feedback. Thanks for the update, Danny.

Centrl

You can imagine that UpNext would be a hard act to follow. That’s especially true when you plan on demoing another maps-based application, and one that’s merely 2D.

Enter Centrl, a location-based social networking service designed to help users find and connect with friends based on their location. The system helps you identify where friends in your network(s) are, share favorite locales, and discover new people and places.

Centrl also features “coupons” which are essentially deals happening in and around your general vicinity. You can redeem a coupon by displaying it from your mobile device when you reach the participating vendor.

The integration of these coupons into the over-arching social networking theme seemed a bit cumbersome. It left me with kind of a square-peg-in-a-round-hole feeling. Perhaps it’s a hint at a more transaction-focused service that capitalizes on the network. Right now, it still feels disjointed.

One of the problems I found with this demo was that the majority of it was a cutesy PowerPoint presentation. It had its novel ha-ha moments, but it rambled on about generic “Web 2.0″ cultural stuff that really had nothing to do with the application or service. It was more effective at reinforcing exactly why NY Tech Meetup prohibits PowerPoint presentations. I wonder how these guys got away with it.

The unfortunate byproduct of the lengthy PowerPoint presentation was that Centrl had precious little time to paint a compelling picture of their application. The demo was short and failed to deliver a cohesive vision of the product.

The Centrl service runs on the iPhone, Blackberry, and Android devices. Their site claims to support integration with Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Hi5, Ning, Orkut, Bebo, and Friendster.

Centrl is worth keeping an eye on. There are some interesting ideas floating around there, but they need to congeal more.

NYSenate.gov

Ordinarily, “progressive” isn’t a term you’d associate with the online presence of a state or federal body of government. That’s all changed. At this month’s Meetup, the NYS Senate demonstrated what governmental websites can and should be.

Taking a note from the considerable changes Obama has already spearheaded on the web, Andrew Hoppin, newly-appointed NYS Senate CIO, is delivering to the public an engaging platform for political participation. The focus is on transparency and communication to provide citizens with a forum for sharing ideas and getting more involved in legislation.

The revamp to the NY Senate website and the underlying infrastructure was no small initiative. Mr. Hoppin and his colleague detailed an array of fundamental shifts in technology and culture they had to achieve in order for the redesign to be successful. They scrapped all legacy hardware (internal, under-powered web servers) and software (LotusNotes, a command line CRM, etc.) and architected an entirely new solution utilizing open source technologies and popular social networks. The outcome is a website with a wealth of information and media, a website that encourages communication and collaboration, a website that is, dare I say, fun!

Below are some of the more interesting aspects of the NYS Senate site. I encourage you to visit and explore all of the features and services for yourself, particularly if you’re a resident of New York State.

Find My Senator – A complete index of NYS senators. Each senator has a dedicated site with announcements, a calendar of events, legislation information, photos, videos, and contact information. On top of that, the majority of senators also provide Twitter and Facebook info. That’s pretty damn cool…

Your Ideas – A section of the site dedicated to providing the public with a means of sharing ideas directly with legislators and participating in decision-making. According to the site:

@NYSenate asks YOU to share your ideas on how New York State can be better using Crowdsourcing.

Crowdsourcing tools leverage the “wisdom of crowds.” By creating a forum where large numbers of people can submit ideas and vote on them, a crowdsourcing application can gather new ideas from beyond the walls of the Capitol to make the Senate a more effective lawmaking body. Crowdsourcing will be used by the Senate’s Policy group to tap into the public to generate ideas and feedback on certain legislation. By doing so, the Senate will encourage citizen participation in the legislative process.

Be it Property Taxes, Ethics Reform or Campaign Finance the New York Senate wants to hear what YOU have to say. Share you ideas on Crowdsourcing “portals” below.

The main subjects you can participate in are:

• Campaign Finance Reform
• Property Taxes
• Ethics Reform

NY Markup “Legislation Markup allows the public to comment on legislation that is under consideration. It is the virtual version of a session where legislative committees amend bill texts similar to the Federal site, www.publicmarkup.org.”

NY State Senate Blog – The blog appears to be a “catch-all” for the general happenings of the NYS Senate. Looks informative, but I find it odd they don’t provide an RSS feed. Hmmm, think I might have to tweet our new CIO on that one.

Live Senate Videos – This looks to be a pretty exhaustive index of video content. And some of the video looks pretty exhausting to watch. I’m certainly not complaining – it’s awesome that it’s there. From the mundane and tedious to the fascinating, enraging, and exciting, this archive thoroughly captures our governemnt at work.

Open Data Project – This project is a multi-part effort to increase transparency within the NYS Senate. The Plain Language Initiative simplifies legal and governmental jargon into laymen’s terms. The Open Data effort will provide the public with data in formats that are easy to download and manipulate and “empower independent people and organizations to do their own research and analysis.”

A couple other interesting tidbits I noticed about the site:

• Running jQuery (1.2.6)
• Designed for current Class A browsers, and only deprecated support (alternate theme/CSS) for IE6. Yay.
• The site is at least partially running on Drupal CMS.

To Be Continued…

This wraps up the first half of the NY Tech Meetup June 09 Recap. Check back soon for Part 2.

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