Some dude makes 10k a month off an Android app

Okay, here they come. The first (I’ve read) of many inevitable articles to come about dudes or dudettes making serious coin off Android apps. Check it out, and shed a quiet tear that this isn’t an article about YOU. I know I did, which is why I’m gonna move onto something less sad, but also very sad…

I just read about this cabbie in NY that got knifed. He lived, and I know there’s far worse crimes that go unmentioned here, but this hits home a little because I lived in NYC for 4 years and always had a great time talking with cab drivers. Its a tough business to be in, and from what I gathered it was like an indentured servitude where these guys come over here and don’t realize how little they’re gonna make.  Also I’m a School of Visual Arts grad, and I’m embarrassed that the kid who stabbed this driver was attending SVA. Now, many SVA students ARE crazy, but not hate-crime crazy. I don’t want to be the old guy that blames the violence of the young on scary  druggggs, but dagnabit, that might explain something like this. Is there a stabby new drug or what? And if so, where’s Robocop already.

In better news, I’ve got some fun stuff to show off later today. So stop back by later. We can tell Robocop stories in the comments section.

Code Cheat Sheets!!

Alright, here’s my kind of non-video-based learning: cheat sheets. And this site QuicklyCode.com has plenty. They take user submitted cheat sheets and users rate the best. Which really is a fantastic idea for a site. Its like Am I Hot or Not for homework.  So there’s a whole variety of approaches to remembering that one thing you never can. And if you have a printer, you can print a ton out, paste them on the walls and start making abstract connections among them to uncover elitist conspiracies… (seriously do that, you’ll find something)

Also I’ve mentioned this before here, but  I’m still using a fantastic app called Snippet for remembering code. Worth checking out if you’re on a mac.

Now of course nothing beats high definition video training . Ughghh (Krusty groan). Its shameless I know, but hey, I gotta work on my SEO some of the time here.

If you couldn’t afford a Smithmada painting before, you’re in luck…

Many CartoonSmart students are familiar with Adam Smithmada’s work because I’ve used images of his paintings in many tutorials, and now he’s got a ton of signed prints for sale on Etsy. And they are only $30!  Of course, no one needs to know you only paid 30 for these beauties. Most art prints of this quality sell for $100 on up, but Adam told me he’s letting these go cheap to get them seen by as many people as possible. And speaking of which, for all of you in the dating scene, “wanna check out my art”, is the new “wanna come in and have a cup of coffee”. Start the art tour in the living room, and be sure you have at least one piece in the bedroom.

Also Adam is a great friend, rising star in the fine art world, and Iraq War vet, so I’d love it if you guys would check out his work. Click the pic below for his Etsy site, or here for his main website.

Web Site Staging Area.

Well here’s a really cool idea for a site which specializes in cool ideas for other sites. Check it out… Area 51, Stack Exchange . So someone proposes an idea for a site, and then other people commit to using it. When a proposed site reaches 100% Commitment (I’m not sure how many people that is) it goes into the Beta stage, where the site actually gets a temp domain and people start contributing real topics.

Also there’s no shortage of cool graphics throughout the site.

Gutsy Animation

Gutsy and bloody. And has a shamefully low view count (371) at the time of this posting. If Jet Blue hires back Steven Slater, this is probably how they’ll be using him…

Nice work, Matthew!

Iconic Poster Design

Our super-friends over at GoMedia have put together a great 30 minute tutorial on their 18th vector package. Have a looksie…

Also I’m a big fan of their Vector Packs. They are very useful in a pinch. Or when you can’t draw at all =)

There’s a god game genre?!

Thats news to me after watching this game trailer…

Looks like a pretty cool game for a Life Science class, what with all the action packed eroding going on. I want my character to be a volcano. I would slowly ooze up on so many natives that came by.

What I’ve been working on…

So in the final part of this tutorial, I mentioned I was working on a version of the project where the CPU actually attacks the player. If you want to see how its coming, here’s a preview. I’ve probably only got another 300 hours to go… =)

Oops, I just noticed the CPU doesn’t do much attacking in this vid, but the level is set to easy right now. When its set to hard, its pretty brutal to keep up

Flash + Airplanes = Cool

Here’s pretty sweet Flash piece someone just showed me. Takes a while to load, but its worth a look. Actually I just checked the size, its only 2.2MB, so I’m wondering if their server is a little slow to deliver. Or maybe my connection is slow. Or time itself is slowing. Anyway, good work…

Mickey cooked some bad cookies

Welp, Disney is getting sued for tracking people apparently….

Walt Disney’s internet subsidiary and several of its partners have been sued for allegedly using cookies based on Adobe’s Flash Player to track highly personal information about their users, many of whom were minors.

I know almost nothing about this other than those words above, but my BS thermometer is in the red. Wait, maybe I’ll research more….

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against Walt Disney Internet Group, Clearspring Technologies, Warner Bros. Records, and several other companies, alleges that the companies shared cookie tracking information and failed to warn users regarding the information sharing agreements. Using Flash cookies to re-identify users overrides this control, with little available redress for users,” the complaint  states. “Although users may arguably protect themselves by periodically deleting their Flash cookies as well, the means for doing so are extremely obscure and difficult even for savvy consumers to use.

The thermometer is starting to crack now. I’m all for privacy on the internet, as in “god I hope no one suddenly shows up in my office right now”, but the notion that you are completely anonymous while web browsing is crazy. Its like walking into a shopping mall and expecting people to treat you as if you’re invisible. Then when someone offers you a backrub or free cookie sample, you get huffy because you’re entitled to your invisibility (that never existed to begin with).

So here’s some of the possible information that could have been collected and used to target the consumer with (god forbid) customized advertising. Tell me if you agree or disagree with these possible cookies, and how they could be used.

• Video quality viewing preferences – Good, remember what I like. In fact, if you play a trailer at 480p when you know I like 720p, I’ll be mad.
• Gender - I love being a dude. I’m probably interested in your dude stuff for sale.
• Age – If you got some stuff only a 33 year old (dude) would like, I’m probably interested
• Number of Children - It’ll cost how much to fly with 2 children?!? Wait, thats a good deal.Tell me more.
• Education Level – I’m not even sure of this, but I think I’ve got a Bachelors in something or other. If I don’t see an ad for a high school Trapper Keeper ever again, I’m good with that.
• Household Income – This could be used to show me an ad for a Golf Resort Timeshare or 2-For-1 Laser Tag coupon. How nefarious.
• Geographic Location – I’d much rather see a local Atlanta ad than one for a national campaign. Case in point, Dali is at the High Museum right now. Remind me, because I’ll forget again in an hour.
• Sexual Preference – I think everyone would prefer to have this saved (correctly) and remembered on every cookie on every website forever. Oh if you’ve got the Number of Children I have and their Gender (boy), show them what I like.

Okay those are the no-brainers I think. Here’s the challenge ones.

• Race – I’ll admit it would be a pretty uncool, racially un-diverse world if every ad I started seeing had only white people. But here’s an interesting usage you might agree with. Music. What if the website or ad you were viewing had music targeted to you culturally.
• First Name - You won’t scare me if I visit a site and my first name welcomes me on the homepage.
• Last Name – Okay, now you are scaring me. Unless you use it to sell me some kind of bathrobe monogramming. In which case, the lettering should have more flair.
• Email Address – Well, there’s already TONS of spam laws in place for how email addresses get shared and used, so if you save me time on a form by autofilling in my email, I can forgive that. But we are certainly getting into questionably turf now.
• Telephone Number - Ditto the above.
• Health Conditions – Okay, okay, internet privacy advocates, you win this round. I don’t want Disney telling anyone I can only urinate if I smell bacon cooking in the other room (don’t laugh, I read that someone really had that problem)

Anyone, my point here is that I just don’t see many lawsuit worthy infractions that could be possible from using Flash cookies, but this will be a fun case to hear more about. I’d love some specifics.