In response to my previous post, Making Flash movies obey browser text size changes, someone asked in the comments whether this method works when Stage.scaleMode is set to “noScale” (like it is automatically in every Flex SWF, for example, and in many Flash applications.) Setting the scaleMode of the Stage to "noScale" lets Flash developers control the layout of a Flash application in response to a change in the size of the Stage. It's how you create liquid layouts in Flash.

The answer to the question is that, yes, this method will work when using noScale and you can decide exactly how to handle the layout of your SWF when the stage size changes.

Here's the example from the previous post, refactored with some custom scaling code: You can view the example online and download the source code.

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John Dowdell discusses the Top Anti-Flash Cliches, a topic I revisit regularly under the guise of "Flash Myths". Of course, accessibility makes the list (specifically, the perception that Flash lacks any sort of support for it.) How timely, then, to see Niqui Merret post a very simple example that demonstrates how to scale a Flash Movie in response to text size changes in the browser.

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Here's one reason: I'm trying to download IE 7 to test something out and I don't want to install it over IE 6. But does Microsoft provide a standalone installer that doesn't fuck up the rest of your system and overwrite IE 6? No. Could they? Absolutely. In fact, Jon Galloway has a tool that does this and Yousif has released a standalone installer for Internet Explorer 7 Release Candidate 1.

So, Microsoft, if you're wondering why people hate you, it's because of decisions like this. It's because it's blatantly obvious that your priorities are to squeeze every last dime you can from your locked-in customers as opposed to giving them a good user experience. If Yousif can create a no-hassle standalone installer for IE 7, so can Microsoft, if it wanted to act in good will. But apparently, it doesn't.

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Alan Williamson attends EuroOSCON and is left asking Are conferences necessary? (via Nil Desperandum). Having presented quite a few sessions at quite a few conferences now, I feel I can engage some of the points he raises.

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Angie Taylor, author of Creative After Effects 7 and fellow Brightonite, is going to be presenting Adobe After Effects in Brighton on October 10th as part of the Adobe Fully Loaded tour. I've seen Angie present at Spark Europe and also Adobe Live and she really knows her stuff. The Fully Loaded Tour is free to sign up for and will be so be hitting Nottingham (14 Sept), Liverpool (19 Sept), Edinburgh (3 Oct) and Sheffield (19 Oct).