Hosting.com has announced the availability of ColdFusion 9 in cloud deployments starting at $125 per month. (Although it looks like they have yet to update their Cloud Enterprise page to reflect this).

SitePoint has published an article by Kai Koenig entitled ColdFusion 9 at Your Service: Image Manipulation with AIR. Kai uses AIR and ColdFusion image manipulation functions to demonstrate CF9's new ColdFusion As A Service (CFaaS) feature.

A user just e-mailed me asking how to digitally sign e-mail messages sent using ColdFusion <cfmail> tag. Well, as it so happens, this was just added as a feature to ColdFusion 9. You can now specify the following, both as defaults in ColdFusion Administrator, and as <cfmail>attributes:

• KEYALIAS - Alias specifying which certificate and private key within the keystore to use.
• KEYPASSWORD - Password for your private key.
• KEYSTORE - Path to the keystore containing the private key and certificate.
• KEYSTOREPASSWORD - Exactly as the name suggests.
• SIGN - TRUE/FALSE flag specifying whether or not to digitally sign generated e-mail.

There you go, in case you needed it, one more reason to upgrade!

One of the most talked about MAX keynote demos was the FedEx Custom Critical shipment tracking dashboard as presented by FedEx's Adam Mollenkopf. And now RedMonk's Michael Coté has posted an interview with Adam where they look at the app, discuss the business case, and explain why the solution was built on the Flash Platform and powered by LiveCycle Data Services.

[Via Duane Nickull]

This one was a pain to figure out, so I am sharing it here in case others can use the info (or for the next time I need it myself).

iPhone supports syncing with multiple calendars, and displays them in a single integrated calendar using a different color for each. But have you ever tried to remove one of the calendars? There is no option to do so! And unchecking the calendar in iTunes simply prevents it from being synced in the future, but does not remove the unwanted calendar from the iPhone - all that left over data just sits there.

In my case I have an Exchange calendar and a local Outlook calendar on the iPhone, and I wanted to remove the local calendar and leave only the Exchange calendar. Here are the steps that worked for me (adapt them as needed):

1. On the iPhone, go to settings, select the Exchange mail/calendar, and turn OFF Exchange calendar use.
2. iPhone will ask you if you want to delete the Exchange calendar data, confirm the deletion.
3. Then turn ON the Exchange calendar.
4. iPhone will ask you what you want to do with the existing (non-Exchange) calendar data, giving you the option of deleting it.
5. Go ahead with the deletion.
6. As soon as Exchange syncs you'll have just that one calendar.

Pretty simple (although there really should just be a simple delete option!).

I've not posted any job listings since before MAX. Sorry about that. But, a total of 11 ColdFusion positions today:

• Nationwide Children's Hospital (Columbus, OH) is looking for a systems analyst. Requirements include ColdFusion development experience, as well as experience with SQL Server and .NET. Bachelor Degree in related Computer Science areas or equivalent experience required. Details posted online (search for "ColdFusion").
• ERA Europe (Orlando, FL) is looking for a ColdFusion developer. Requirements include experience with ColdFusion 7 or later, as well as experience with SQL Server and Fusebox. Details posted online.
• Fig Leaf (Washington, DC) is looking for two mid-senior level ColdFusion developers, as well as a full-time ColdFusion/Flex/AJAX instructor. Contact jobs@figleaf.com.
• AcisTek Corporation (Washington, DC) is looking for a ColdFusion developer for a technical lead position. Details posted online.
• REOTrans, LLC (Dallas, TX) is looking for five senior ColdFusion developers. Requirements include experience with ColdFusion Components, OOP with CFCs, MVC frameworks, JavaScript libraries, as well as advanced SQL and source control. They are willing to consider Senior Java developers looking to expand their skill set. Contact Adrian Moreno at REOTrans.

Fellow platform evangelist Miti Pricope has spent a considerable amount of time working on how to integrate PayPal Express Checkout with Flex applications running in Flash Player or in Adobe AIR. He has posted his thoughts and recommendations in a new ADC article entitled Integrating PayPal Express Checkout with Flex and Adobe AIR.

Pete Freitag has launched HackMyCF, a site that can test your ColdFusion servers for security holes, missing hotfixes and patches, and more. You simply provide a server host name and e-mail address, and the app runs a scan and e-mails you a report. Highly recommended!

Intergral has announced the release of FusionReactor 3.5. In addition to new features, this release also includes support for ColdFusion 9, Windows 7, and Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

We've created new simplified URLs for the public ColdFusion bug trackers:

• ColdFusion: http://www.adobe.com/go/CF_bugs
• ColdFusion Builder: http://www.adobe.com/go/CFB_bugs

Are you a Creative Suite 4 Web Premium or Master Collection user who purchased you software on or after September 1th, 2009? If so, you are eligible to use Adobe Flex Builder 3 at no additional cost. Details posted online.

Fig Leaf has published more than 12 hours of free hands-on tutorials for Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 on their training web site. These tutorials were built using Adobe Presenter and Adobe Captivate. Behind the scenes, Fig Leaf is hosting the tutorials on an Adobe Connect Server and a ColdFusion-based CMS which connects to it via the Adobe Connect Web Services API (to handle user account creation and authorization). The tutorial listing page pulls the list of content directly from the Connect server (again, using the web services API) and formats the response. This is a nice example of how all these products fit together into a compelling e-learning solution.

BFusion & BFlex '09 are two day long events coming up in Bloomington, IN. This will be the second year for BFusion and the third for BFlex. For $10 per event, you'll get a full day of sessions, learning, networking and more, and you'll get to learn from speakers including Doug Hughes, Mike Brunt, Matt Woodward, Matt Boles, Rich Tretola, and Kevin Schmidt.

Fellow Adobe platform evangelist Greg Wilson has posted some details about ChessJam, a new multi-user chess game he helped create. The client is a Flex based AIR application, and the back-end is a mixture of ColdFusion and LiveCycle Data Services. He has promised to post a follow-up entry with details of the technical underpinnings.

cf.Objective is just a few years old, but it has quickly earned the reputation as the most technical and enterprise centric event for hardcore ColdFusion developers. This year, for the first time, cf.Objective is heading down under, and Adobe is a proud sponsor of cf.Objective(ANZ). It's been several years since I last made is to Australia, but, I'm pleased to announce that I will be attending cf.Objective(ANZ), along with fellow Adobe evangelist Terry Ryan. I'll be in Australia for just a few days (and will also be visiting customers and partners) before heading to China. I hope to see you in Melbourne!

It's been a while since I posted an update on my home automation adventures. But, having spent some time tweaking my system this week, I thought it worthwhile to share what I've been up to.

But first, a detour. As many of you know, I am an aquarium enthusiast, and made the switch from freshwater to saltwater marine fish about 9 years ago (I've posted some pictures to Flickr). And recently my setup suffered a minor setback. I have a 180 gallon fish tank stocked with all sorts of marine life (including coral, anemones, shrimp, urchins, and of course, fish). I have another 100 gallon tank below, which is used for filtration, and it is home to biological filters, a protein skimmer, a UV sterilizer, and more. That lower tank is also where water is added during water changes. Well, a couple of months ago that lower tank overflowed for several hours, and the backup measures I had in place to prevent flooding failed. Besides from water in my basement, I also ended up with a drop in water salinity levels (as salt water was being replaced by fresh water), and that stressed out marine life causing them to spew toxins which in turn hurt lots of my invertebrates and coral. The tank has since recovered nicely, and in fact may be healthier now than it was before, thank goodness.

But this little adventure prompted me to look into how home automation technologies could have helped the situation, and prevent similar situations in the future. Obviously, a water sensor could have helped. These are typically little boxes that connect to a sensor that sits on the floor, and when the sensor gets wet a circuit is completed and an alarm goes off. These are cheap, readily available, and really easy to use, but useless if no one is around to hear the alarm.

And then I discovered the Shut Off Valve Kits created by OnSite Pro. Like other sensors, this kit is made up of a small control box and a sensor that is placed on the floor, under the device that could leak. And like other sensors, when water is detected, an alarm sounds. But this goes a whole lot further, it also actually cuts off the water supply to prevent further flooding. It does this via a motor controlled ball valve that sits in between the water feed and your pipe (so it sits inline in between the faucet and whatever is connected to the faucet). When water is detected, and the alarm sounds, the motor is activated, and the ball valve closes, shutting off the water supply. OnSite Pro creates several versions of the kit with different size adapters (for washing machines, dishwashers, ice makers, etc.) ranging in price from $80 to $140 or so. The water feed for my fish tank is actually a washing machine feed, so I used the washing machine version. The sensor is now on the floor right beneath the lower tank, and if the sensor gets wet, the alarm sounds, and water feed is cut off. This is a no-brainer and I'd recommend installing these for use with washing machines and more, installation is quick and easy, and if you ever suffer a burst hose or a leaking washing machine, you'll be thankful for the minimal investment that could prevent serious flooding. Seriously, even if you're not tinkering with home automation, this kit can save you lots of time, money, and aggravation - this should be installed standard with every appliance that uses a water connection.

But wait, it gets better. We can also introduce home automation into the mix. Why would you want a home automation tie-in to a cutoff valve like this? Well, you could have all the lights in your house flash when a leak is detected. Or you could have the system send you an SMS alert. Or you could sound a louder alarm. Lots of options, you get the idea. The Shut Off Valve Kits do not have any integrated home automation support, but they do have an ingenious little interface that makes home automation possible. At the bottom of the control is a little connector where you can attach two wires. These wires are usually part of an open circuit, meaning that they are like a switch in the off position. But when the presence of water activates the alarm and closes the water valve, it also closes this circuit, like turning on a switch. The use of this wire is optional (and not even properly documented in the kit), but it is the key to tying in home automation.

Which brings me to the next Insteon device you need to know about, the I/O Linc. This is a plug in device, (it plugs into any outlet, and provides a pass-through outlet so the outlet can still be used as needed) which contains a wire block at the bottom to which you can attach sensors and more. Sensors generally come in two forms, normally open (circuit broken, like switched off, so when switched on an event has occurred) and normally closed (circuit closed, like switched on, so when switched off an event has occurred). The I/O Linc essentially allows you to connect any device that exposes a change in circuit making it a sensor (and it can also take actions, but more on that in a moment). So, all I needed to do was plug in an I/O Linc near the water shut off kit controller, attach the little connectivity to wire to the control, and then connect the wire to the I/O Linc connectors for a normally closed circuit. Now, when the water sensor activates the alarm and closes the water shutoff valve, it also tells my I/O Linc that the sensor is active, and now that the home automation system is aware of the event, well, it can do just about whatever you can dream up (in my case it sends me an e-mail and an SMS message). Pretty slick.

I/O Linc opens up all sorts of possibilities. If you can find a sensor, chances are that it can be made to work with the I/O Linc. In fact, SmartHome sells sensors for everything from water, to light, to motion, to sound, to temperature, to rainfall, to RFID, to keypads and more. And they also sell a magnetic garage door sensor, which I just installed last night (and thus this post). The I/O Linc Garage Door Control And Status Kit contains the previously mentioned I/O Linc, a magnetic reed switch which acts as a sensor, and a strong magnet. The reed switch switches between two circuits, one that is normally open and one that is normally closed. When the magnet is close to the switch, the open circuit closes and the closed circuit opens. So, mount the sensor on the garage door frame and the magnet on the garage door itself, and now you have a sensor that indicates if the garage door is open or closed. (The I/O Linc also features a relay that can be connected to the garage door activation switch, allowing control of door opening and closing, too). Next, simply connect the sensor to the I/O Linc, and now your home automation system can react to garage door openings and closings. For my own setup I connected each garage door to an illuminated switch in the house, so the lights show me which garage is open and which is closed, and I can use those switches to open and close the doors, too.

And I'm just getting started. For less than $50, I/O Linc opens up all sorts of new options to home automation enthusiasts, and is both useful and lots of fun.

Title says it all. We've released a free iPhone client for Photoshop.com. Press release is here.

We recently launch the ColdFusion cookbook. To encourage recipe submissions, Ed Sullivan has announced that he's raffling a copy of ColdFusion 9, and all you have to do to win is be one of the first 100 to make a submission.

Most users buy ColdFusion electronically, they just download the software. But some users prefer physical media, and so we sell ColdFusion on DVDs, too.

And, we've been informed that some of the first ColdFusion 9 DVDs actually contain ColdFusion 8. If you downloaded ColdFusion 9, then you're fine. But, if you received a ColdFusion 9 DVD that seems to contain ColdFusion 8, see this post by ColdFusion Product Manager Adam Lehman.

In case you did not get to watch the MAX 2009 keynotes, or if you want to review them again, visit the MAX 2009 online site. Adobe Evangelist Ryan Stewart is your host, and you can watch both keynotes and select sessions.

I've run into, and commented on, TSA stupidity and ignorance before. But, this one is a contender for the #1 spot ...

My 13 year old was just stopped when walking through the metal detector at LAX because he was holding a Rubik's Cube. It was in his pocket originally, and while in line he took it out and started playing with it. The TSA agent told him "now that you've shown it to me, it has to go through the machine" (exact words). They made him go back, place it on the belt, and then go through again.

So, in TSA logic this means that you can carry non-metal stuff that fits in your pocket, so long as it is actually in your pocket and out of sight. But if you carry it in the open ... Wow, I feel safer already!

Hey, maybe next time I'll have him put it in a quart sized bag first!

[Updated]

Gartner's analyst Mark Driver (who joined us at MAX this week) has posted some thoughts on ColdFusion and is very impressed by what he saw this week.

ColdFusion 9 documentation is online, and includes:

• Configuring and Administering Adobe ColdFusion 9
• Adobe ColdFusion 9 CFML Reference
• Developing Adobe ColdFusion 9 Applications
• Installing Adobe ColdFusion 9
• Adobe ColdFusion 9 Language Reference

The beta ColdFusion Builder docs are here:

• Using Adobe ColdFusion Builder
• Installing Adobe ColdFusion Builder

The Adobe MythHackers video from this morning's MAX keynote, featuring Kevin Lynch and Johnny L, has been posted to YouTube!

I know I must be one of the last to blog this, but I've been buried with MAX keynotes and unable to get online until now. But ... yes, it's true, ColdFusion 9 is now shipping. And ColdFusion Builder Beta 2 is now on labs.