Newman Zone

If you’ve ever used Firebug to debug Flash and Flex applications in a browser, consider using Danny Patterson’s FirebugTarget class instead. It hooks into the Flex Logging API, so the debug statements are omitted when you export a release build.

I also discovered that you don’t need Firebug and Firefox to take advantage of it: Google Chrome also has a JavaScript console. Simply choose Developer > JavaScript console, or press Ctrl+Shift+J on Windows. The JavaScript console opens in a new browser window. Very handy. 

You even get different icons for error and warn. Just remember to open the JavaScript console after you’ve loaded your app in Google Chrome.

The folks at Boxee have done it again. The new Boxee Remote app for the iPhone, which finally got approval from Apple, far exceeded my expectations.

Like Apple’s own Remote app for the iPhone — could this be the reason for the approval delay? — the Boxee Remote enables you to control Boxee from anywhere in your home. (In my case, Boxee is installed on a Mac Mini connected to an HDTV.) I’ve tried other iPhone remotes, such as Air Mouse and Snatch, but nothing handles Boxee better than Boxee Remote.

The difference is Boxee Remote’s intuitive Gesture mode. After a little practice, you can use it without looking at your iPhone. Dragging up, down, right, and left navigates the Boxee application. If you flick the Boxee logo, it scrolls a list on Boxee, much like flicking a list of artists or contacts on the iPhone.

If you click “Now Playing,” you get a thumbnail preview of your media, a volume slider, and a play/pause toggle button — even in photo slideshows. If you click the thumbnail, a second slider appears, enabling you to jump to another section of a song, movie, or television show. For me, at least, this feature doesn’t appear to be functional yet.

Check out the following video for a demonstration: