Fuzzy Orange Ltd - Fuzzy Orange

Fuzzy Orange @ Adobe MAX 2010

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:59:00 -0000

Adobe MAX, the annual showcase conference for all things Adobe takes place October 23-23 in Los Angeles, California. Registration for the conference is already open, and this week the official Session Scheduler has been released. I'm delighted to announce that Matt Gifford and myself will not only be there, but we'll also be delivering a BYOL (Bring Your Own Laptop) lab on "Search made Easy: Full-Text Document Search with ColdFusion". In this lab, we'll be getting hands on and demonstrating ColdFusion and Solr; how to configure Solr, it's advantages over Verity, how to manage Collections, how to index files and query objects, and ultimate how to build a slick search interface. You're going to love Solr once we're finished. The Lab description says Windows, but we can guarantee it also works on the Mac as that's what we've built the code on. And there's no reason for it not to work on Linux as well, so not matter what operating system you're running, you'll be able to join in.

We <3 Scotch on the Rocks

Fri, 14 May 2010 08:31:00 -0000

Scotch on the Rocks is now less than 5 days away. If you haven't confirmed your place or purchased your ticket for the event yet, don't hesitate and secure one now from the official SOTR site: www.scotch-on-the-rocks.co.uk

We <3 our sessions

Covering two days, with two tracks per day, there are currently a total of 22 sessions, bringing to you a wide range of content and topics covering ColdFusion, frameworks, working methodologies, Flex, AIR and HTML5.

We <3 our speakers

No conference would be complete without the experts and 'purveyors of knowledge' standing up and providing the content for the sessions. This year is no exception, and we are really excited about the 19 speakers we have lined up.

We <3 our badgers

moving on..

We <3 our Reachies

For the first time in SOTR history, we are holding what we hope to be an annual awards ceremony, 'The Reachies'. The large number of EMEA developers work hard at what they do, and provide fantastic content, open source or not. The ColdFusion community across the globe is one of (if not) the best, open sharing communities, and we wanted to take the opportunity to highlight that fact and reward developers for their efforts. There are five categories in this year's awards, and if you haven't voted, or are still unaware the awards even exist ( shame on you ), head over to the nominations page on the SOTR website to view the categories and place your nominations. There ARE prizes for each category winner.

We <3 our sponsors

The Scotch on the Rocks events rely on the input and support from other companies and organisations in various formats. It is with this important support that the conference has been able to grow and progress year after year, and attendees have been able to enjoy the wealth of knowledge and fun of the event. A massive thank you to the sponsors of the 2010 event.

We <3 the attendees

Most importantly, a conference simply would not be a conference without people turning up, and we're very lucky to have a fantastic group of developers and attendees who join us for each event. Ultimately, SOTR has always been undertaken with the attendees in mind, and it will continue to cater for you/them at every turn, every year.

We <3 doing it again

I'm really excited about this years conference. A lot of work and planning has gone into the event this year ( whether the attendee's realise it or not :) ) and we've already started planning the event for SOTR2011. We must be mad, so why do it? Simple. We love it. Ever since SOTR was brought to life by Andy Allan and Fuzzy Orange in 2005, it's been a boost for the RIA and ColdFusion community in the UK and Europe. Bringing together like-minded individuals and developers is essentially what the conference is about. Whether you are there for business reasons, development ideas, educational purposes, networking, or purely as a chance to catch up with old friends and colleagues and to enjoy a beer or five, Scotch on the Rocks has always been and will always be happy to have you.

We <3 choice

On a final note, yes, the bar at SOTR 2010 is open and drinks provided for you. There's nothing better than relaxing with a beer or two afterwards and networking, chatting, catching up with mates and having some fun. The only choice is what drink to order from the bar. :)

Fuzzy Orange get FOWD

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:28:00 -0000

2009 is most definitely a year of conferences and events for us.

The latest event to be thrown into the mix is the Future of Web Design (FOWD). I've been lined up to speak at the Glasgow event on September 14th, and will present on "Getting Started with Adobe AIR".

There are still a few early bird tickets left, as well as student tickets. So, what are you waiting for?

Fuzzy Orange at cf.Objective()

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:59:00 -0000

2009 is already shaping up to be a hugely busy year for Fuzzy Orange.

Project wise we're extremely busy, but as I've posted before, one of the objectives for 2009 was to get out on the road and speak more.

Well, we've added another event to the list for 2009, and I'm delighted to say I'll be jetting out to Minneapolis in May to speak at cf.Objective().

I'll be posting more in the not too distant future about the different topics I'm presenting on.

ColdFusion Insider Workshop, Edinburgh

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:28:00 -0000

We've been working with Adobe to bring the ColdFusion Insider Workshop to Scotland, and I'm glad to say that we've managed just that.

On March 16, the workshop will come to Edinburgh, and it will be hosted at Adobe's Edinburgh office.

Head over to http://www.englebert.be/blog/index.cfm/2009/1/18/ColdFusion-workshops-tour-2009 to see the full list, and for details on who to contact for more information.

Fuzzy Orange will obviously be presenting at the Edinburgh workshop (in addition to the previously announced London workshop).

Fuzzy Orange presenting at ColdFusion Insider Workshop

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:31:00 -0000

I'll be heading to London at the start of February to present at a half day workshop laid on by Adobe covering ColdFusion.

I'll be presenting on:

Beyond HTML: Using Ajax, PDF, and More to Create Engaging Applications with ColdFusion 8
The ColdFusion 8 Server Monitor

These workshops normally have an entry fee, but if you fill in the attached PDF provided by Adobe, you will receive a voucher entitling you to free entry.

Speaking at CFUnited 2009

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:25:00 -0000

One of our company objectives for 2009 was to get out on the road and speak at more events.

With Scotch on the Rocks I've been reluctant to give a session for a variety of reasons but 2009 will see that change, and in addition to speaking at Scotch on the Road, I'll also be speaking at CFUnited.

I'll be giving an updated version of my 'ColdFusion and PDF: Improving Your Workflow' session, which I presented at ColdFusionCamp in November last year.

I've attended CFUnited before, back in 2006, but this will be my first time presenting. Really looking forward to it!

Web Designer Mag Issues 144 and 145 - More ColdFusion Tutorials

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:47:00 -0000

Web Designer Mag has featured a number of ColdFusion tutorials by myself, and Issue 144 and 145 have the fourth and fifth tutorials in the series.

Issue 144 covered how to build an administrative interface using the CF8 Ajax Datagrid, whilst issue 145 takes the Ajax integration that bit further by showing how we can us FCKEditor (which is included in CF8), and how we can implement our own "Autosave" feature, ultimately leading to a basic Web mail interface.

The 5 tutorials so far have really focused on targeting those new to ColdFusion, or those who are just a tad intrigued by what the fuss is all about. Hopefully I'll be writing some new tutorials for Web Designer that will take our focus that bit deeper.

Scotch on the Rocks 2008 Article - Web Designer Magazine

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:47:00 -0000

Issue 146 of Web Designer Mag features a review of this years Scotch on the Rocks.

Go pick up a copy!

Fuzzy Orange: Taking Over an Office Near You

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:19:00 -0000

My report of Scotch on the Rocks has been somewhat delayed due to Fuzzy Orange taking over offices all over the world.

Scotch on the Rocks

Tue, 27 May 2008 15:59:00 -0000

We'll be out in force at Scotch on the Rocks next week, meaning we won't be manning the phones, though calls will be forwarded to mobiles. However, as this is "our" conference, we'll be somewhat busy.

I'm really looking forward to catching up with guys like Doug Hughes, Scott Stroz and Joe Rinehart, all of whom I met a few years back at CFUnited in Washington.

It'll be nice to see the Adobe crew again, including Jason Delmore, Kristen Schofield, Adam Lehman and Ben Forta.

There's a bunch of new folk that I can't wait to meet, such as Luca Mezzalira, Peter Elst, Neil Middleton and Neil Webb.

And last but not least, Gert Franz. We took Gert and the Railo crew out for lunch last year after the conference and introduced them to Haggis so I'll need to see what I can subject them too this year.

For everyone attending, make yourself know to me - I'll be the main idiot wearing the kilt - and who knows, maybe you'll end up with some extra swag, free drink or even some free training or consultancy. I get generous around conference time, so who knows .....

Third ColdFusion Tutorial for Web Designer Magazine

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:18:00 -0000

The third in my series of ColdFusion tutorials for Web Designer magazine is now available at a newsagent/bookstore near you.

This tutorial is on PDF Generation and Form Manipulation, Image Manipulation and Presentations on Demand.

May's edition will revisit the CF8 Ajax grid, and building a CRUD interface, whilst June will tackle the CF8 PDF features in more depth, and how you can build an online order system.

Open BlueDragon Steering Committee

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:28:00 -0000

Alan Williamson announced earlier today the folks who will make up the steering committee for the Open BlueDragon (OpenDB) project.

Having known Alan for 4 years now, since I first asked him to present at the ScottishCFUG, I was aware that OpenBD was on the cards.

The members of the committee should be known to most of the community, and as Sean Corfield points out, not all of them have enjoyed a "friendly" relationship with New Atlanta in the past. However, that just goes to show the level of interest and commitment to the OpenBD project, and ultimately what it could achieve.

If you want to get involved in the project, then please join the community mailing list, which can be found at http://groups.google.com/group/openbd

If you want to experience OpenBD firsthand, then the initial release of OpenBD should take place at this years cf.Objective() conference, and 6 of the Steering Committee will be at Scotch on the Rocks;Alan Williamson, Andy Wu, Sean Corfield, Matt Woodward, Mark Drew and myself

We're planning something special for Scotch, so stay tuned!

Scotch on Air, Dublin, Ireland

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:35:00 -0000

I'm heading out to Dublin on Friday for the ScotchOnAir event.

This is a half day event put together by Scotch on the Rocks and MMUG Dublin.

Dublin was originally part of the Adobe onAir tour, but due to "unforeseen circumstances", the Dublin date was cancelled and Scotch's very own Kev McCabe jumped into organise something.

Kev has managed to arrange for Adobe's Ryan Stewart and Ted Patrick to come along and give talks on Air and Flex respectively, whilst Kev will be talking about ColdFusion and Flex.

I'll be doing my damnedest to plug Scotch on the Rocks and in addition to the swag Adobe have given us to raffle off, we will also give away a full 3 day pass to Scotch, There may also be a few other Scotch bits and bobs kicking around, and maybe some Fuzzy Orange swag too.

Now, if I can just survive my flight with Ryanair!!!

Second ColdFusion Tutorial for Web Designer Magazine

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 01:48:00 -0000

The March edition of Web Designer, features the second in a series of ColdFusion tutorials by myself; The Basics of ColdFusion Coding.

Not very interesting for the seasoned ColdFusion developer, but then these tutorials aren't for you (though be sure to pick up the mag anyway, and give it support. If we want ColdFusion to have more exposure in the non-CF press, then we as a community need to increase their sales. No, I wasn't paid to say that heh). These tutorials will hopefully tap into some of the other development communities, and at the very least, offer some exposure of ColdFusion to them. If a few decide to give ColdFusion a go - not to necessarily dump their existing skills in favour, but more to give them another tool in their belt - then it's a job well done.

My third tutorial, due April, exposes some of the new features of ColdFusion 8 including; PDF Interaction, Image Manupulation and Presentations on Demand.