During my wonderful time at Adobe MAX, I had the pleasure running into Mike Potter of Adobe Developer Relations. We sat down for a few minutes to talk about Mobile Development using the Flash Platform. Check it out below. (I’m at the 2:00 mark)
Archive for November, 2010
I wanted to play around with some of the Blackberry Playbook Components, so I decided to use the List Component. This code below shows you how to bring in a Flickr feed into your List component and display each image once you click on an item. In this case I’m using the Flick Feed to Adobe MAX 2010.
Replace the YOUR_API_KEY with your own API key and everything should work fine.
Here is a link to the BlackBerry Developer Resources page. Some items of intrest is the Webcast series, a five week series to get you started with developing apps for the BlackBerry Tablet.
Update @renaun Another good article on Building BlackBerry Playbook Apps here
When you download and install the BlackBerry Playbook SDK, it automatically installs the BlackBerry class files into Flash Builder. If you are using Flash Professional CS5 to create BlackBerry Apps you have to install the classed manually. The classes are located in the BlackBerry Playbook SDK folder. They are in Framework/libs/qnx-screen/qnx-screen.swc. You have to tell Flash where the classes are located by using the ActionScript Settings in Flash Professional. View the video for more information. I haven’t fully tested to make sure all of the classes are installed, but at least it’s a start. Good Luck
Update. This is a good option if you do not plan on using some the BlackBerry Playbook API’s. Great for games and projects that do not rely on deep integration of the API’s. Some, but not all of the API’s are suitable for Flash Pro.
Update @renaun Another good article on Building BlackBerry Playbook Apps here
As of now, the only “built-in” option to compiling Blackberry apps for the Blackberry Tablet is using Flash Builder 4. This process if straightforward, but what if you do not have Flash Builder 4 or if you have it and not comfortable using Flash Builder. Let’s just say you are a Flash Professional Pro! During Adobe MAX, it was mentioned that Blackberry was working on an update for Flash Professional that will allow you to use Flash Pro to compile Blackberry Apps. But, right now if you are only using Flash Professional then you are sort of “in the dark”.
Well, this tutorial will give you some insight on a workaround, until the update is released. First lets start with some basics.
- Blackberry Apps have a “.bar” extension
- SWF files are compiled to a “bar” file
- You must use the Blackberry Tablet simulator
- You must use VMware Fusion for MAC or VMware Player for Windows
Installing and configuring you computer to run the BlackBerry Tablet Simulator here
- Install the Blackberry Tablet OS SDK for Adobe AIR. here
- Install VMware Fusion for MAC or Windowshere
- Install/Configure the Blackberry Tablet simulator. here
- Enable Development Mode on the Blackberry Tablet simulator. here
- Retrive the IP address for the BlackBerry Tablet Simulator . The IP addresss in the Simulator is used to transfer your BlackBerry App to the simulator. here
After the above steps are completed, you now can create and test your Apps on the BlackBerry tablet Simulator.
By default, our next steps would be to create a Flash Builder Project, compile and test it on the Simulator. But we are going to use Flash Professional CS5.
Overview – The steps to create BlackBerry Apps using Flash Professional CS5.
- Create a new .fla file.
- Set the stage size to match the resolution of the BlackBerry Tablet. 1024 x 768
- Create you Flash project as normal. Set your publish settings to Flash Player 10. (It is not necessary to set your Publish settings for AIR 2.5 or AIR for Android. The xml files that are generated from these publish settings are not compatible with the BlackBerry Tablet/Simulator)
- Publish your project to create a “.swf” file.
- Create a Adobe AIR Application Descriptor File. “appname-app.xml”. You can download a template of the XML file here. Save the file in the same folder of your “swf” file. You will have to change a few of the tags to match the name of your application. These tags are in different areas within the xml file.
- Create a folder called “icons” and create three “.png” files.
- Three sizes: 36 pixels, 48 pixels, and 72 pixels
- Name them: icon36.png, icon48.png, and icon72.png
- Using the command line, compile your application. Using Terminal on MAC or MS-DOS prompt on Windows.
- Navigate to the folder where your files are located.
- Run the following command, replace “appname” with the name of your application.
<id>appName</id>
<filename> appName </filename>
<name> appName </name>
<content>appName.swf</content>
The command will take your swf/xml/icons and compile it to a “.bar” file. It will then install it on the BlackBerry Tablet Simulator and run your application.
Happy Developing! Flash Rocks!
Adobe MAX 2010 Review
Nov 8
Max 2010 was incredible! Cool city, beautiful weather, and super quality sessions and keynotes. I stayed at the JW Marriott, it’s a newly constructed hotel that is connected to the Ritz Carlton. They were building it during MAX 2009 and I looked forward to staying there this year. The JW Marriott did not disappoint!
Hands down, The WP24 lounge had one of the best views of downtown LA and Hollywood. It was walking distance to all of the LA Live attractions and the LA convention center, where Adobe MAX was held. But enough about the hotel, let’s talk about MAX.
Adobe MAX 2010, was a very important conference due to fast paced change in technology, the expanding mobile development platforms and the controversy centered around Flash and HTML5. I was eager to hear Adobe’s plans and excited to learn more about Adobe AIR for Android/Blackberry/Google TV/…. Almost everything. Of course, I’m a little bias, as an Adobe Certified Instructor, User Group Manager, and this year a MAX Master Speaker, but with an open mind, I knew that I was going to be good and was it!!!
Sunday
I arrived Sunday evening, rushed over to pickup my MAX badge and speaker credentials. To my surprise, I received a special “MAX Master” ribbon, “icing on the cake”. Then off to the Community Party at Lucky Strikes Lanes. It was great to catch up with people you only see once or twice a year, the food and drinks were great, a lot of smiles and laughs.
Monday – Keynote
http://tv.adobe.com/show/max-2010-keynotes/
The keynote with Kevin Lynch was great as always. I bumped in to Martha Stewart in the hotel elevator, but I had no idea that she was here for MAX until Kevin introduced her. Some of the best things about the Day 1 keynote:
- The Martha Stewart demo (bunch of laughs)
- Blackberry Playbook demo
- And the Motorola Droid 2 giveaway.
Yes, unless you have been under a rock, Motorola gave every MAX attendee a free Motorola Droid 2!! Now along with my Nexus One, I have another device to test my applications. By the way, the Nexus One and the Droid 2 have different screen resolutions.
Adobe MAX Community Lounge
The MAX community lounge is always the place to be at Adobe MAX, between sessions, or just hanging out. It’s like a night lounge without the music and alcohol. And I mean that in a good way, it has all of the attributes that make you feel comfortable. Hopefully you had a chance to grab a robot.
MAX Device Lab
This was great, although I missed a few things. I didn’t know there were exercises by Paul Trani, until after I left MAX. But either way, I have developed one Market app and have two in the works. So this was a great opportunity for me to test my apps on many different types of devices. I tested it on the Galaxy Tab, and many other devices. And I learned quickly, that you must test and develop your apps for the many different screen resolutions. This is crutial!
Monday – Sessions
- Developing Adobe AIR apps for the Blackberry Tablet OS – Julian Dolce
This was a very good session, especially since I as on a special invite to receive a free Blackberry Tablet! - How to Develop AIR for TV Applications – Don Wodward
Monday Night – The Blackberry Mixer
The ambience of the party could not have been better. It was held on the rooftop lounge of the Grammy Museum. It was a beautiful night….. Until it was time for everyone to receive their free Blackberry Playbook. The Blackberry Mixer was a great way to see how chaotic it can get when someone is giving away free stuff. I think most people were more worried about getting the Blackberry Playbook then having fun at the actual party. Either way, I received my free Blackberry Playbook(voucher) and Torch 9800 and I have started working on some Apps for the Playbook using the Blackberry Playbook emulator.
Tuesday Keynote-
http://tv.adobe.com/show/max-2010-keynotes/
- Two words! - Hilariously Educational!!!
- It was one of the most creative ways of explaining technology. I think that anybody could have caught on. Some of my favorites were:
- “Get wowed! Acrobat Portfolio”
- “Techstreet” Flash & HTML 5
- It was really jam packed with information; if you want to catch all the laughs, check it out here.
- Oh, how can I forget? Google gave everyone a free Google TV!!!
Tuesday – Sessions
- Optimizing for GPU-accelerated Flash Player 10.1 on Android
- Getting Started with Flare 3D: The New Generatioin of Flash 3D
Tuesday Night – Awards and Sneak Peaks
I got to the awards, late, but was surprised to see William Shatner instead of Leonard Nimoy. But in my opinion, Shatner did a great job and I thought,
Tuesday Night – MAX Bash
The Party of the Year, well at least some of us. It was held on the Event Deck of LA Live. I thought this was a great idea. Last year the party was great, but having everyone scattered all over the place made it kind of hard to network and catch up with people. This year everyone was in one place, so it was better. I think the highlight of the night was the “Mystery Dancing Guy”, if you missed him. Check it out here and here . Ok, it may not look that funny, but you just had to be there.
Wednesday
My BYOL, labs where schedule on Wednesday, so I did not take any sessions.
- Getting Started with ActionScript 3.0 – 11:00 AM
- Getting Started with ActionScript 3.0 – 1:30 PM
Both of my session sold out weeks before MAX, but I saw a few people have a chance to get in and sit on the floor or stand. As always, I’m honored to speak at MAX, and this year so no exception. I’m glad to be a part of many individuals path to learn Flash and ActionScript.
This was my third year presenting and each year I received great scores and this year was giving the honor as a MAX Master. So I had my work cut out for me. Once I got over my speaker butterflies, things went well and it may have topped last year. I think the excitement of all the news added to my enthusiasm!
All in all, it was a fabulous MAX (words really can’t describe it). I even had time to check out the movie, “The Town”, great movie.
If you every have questions on attending MAX, contact me, I’ll give you the scoop!
The End, Till next Year.