PlayBook or Bust – Day Two
Day two of my personal challenge to create an app for the BlackBerry PlayBook in 9 days, and I’m significantly the worse for wear. I spent the day yesterday searching the internet for various tutorials, guides, and basic programming instruction manuals. Surprisingly, the best resource I was able to find so far comes direct from Adobe, and includes a pretty decent walkthrough of some of the basics. I also managed to find a pdf version of a programming manual for beginners, which I converted into an eBook and loaded on my BlackBerry for easy access.
My synapses are fried, and it’s only a matter of time before I start dreaming in actionscript. However, I have found that thus far, I’m retaining and grasping a lot of what I’m absorbing, and have begun scratching out my own pseudocode, with two separate apps starting to take form on paper. After spending four hours last night and another four already today doing nothing but reading theory, my brain is crammed full of possibilities. I sat down today on a knowledge high, attempting to start the process of actually coding, but I have found that translating my grasp of theory into practice is a bigger leap than expected. I quickly ground to a frustrated halt.
PlayBook or Bust – Day one
Today is day 1. I spent the evening last night in the BlackBerry Developer Zone, downloading and installing all the various components required for me to develop an app for the BlackBerry PlayBook. I also sent my request in for my signing keys, and I’m still waiting to be contacted back by RIM as to whether I have been approved as a Vendor.
Setup and configuration took me almost three hours, following the instructions on the BlackBerry website step by step. A little lacking in a few areas, like perhaps telling you that the exe you are going to run is only going to put an iso file on your hard drive for use with VMWare. Kinda missed explaining that step, but got it figured anyway.
Biggest issue I ran into out of the entire process, I couldn’t get VMWare to install. After half an hour of wrestling with it and Googling, I finally managed to get it to install. Turns out the exe doesn’t run on Win 7 SP1, you have to use command line to extract the contents and install via the extracted setup file. A small warning about the compatibility would have saved me some time, but no matter, it’s done. Maybe it’s a form of encouragement, giving you a real sense of accomplishment before you have even coded a single module, because you managed to get everything set up properly.
Calibre eBook software, a multi-function client for virtual bookworms.
The paperback is a bit of a dying breed when it comes to books these days, following the way of much of the print media that has been so traditional. eBook readers are becoming more prolific, and it has become standard practice to release a novel in both print and eBook formats. Depending on which eReader you choose to use, each has their own proprietary formats, and their own strengths and weaknesses.
Another branch of the eReader family are the smartphone applications such as MobiPocket Reader or the Kindle application for various platforms. As a BlackBerry user, I love the Kindle app for BlackBerry, which is functional and eminently useful, although it does seem to be perpetually stuck in beta. I am hoping that the developers can iron out the kinks in time and bring out a fully fomed client, but until then, it’s stll my number one choice for reading eBooks on my device.
PlayBook or Bust – A new developer’s journal
Here’s the deal. I have been lusting after a BlackBerry PlayBook since it was first announced months ago. Recently, I have had discussions with some great people on Twitter, via email, and right here on the GSL blogs, which all really kicked off with this article here. One of the main points that has been tossed around the past few days is the availability of apps for the PlayBook on release.
The BlackBerry platform has long been heavily criticized as being one of the most difficult to develop for, and a result many developers have been turned off developing for BlackBerry. In anticipation of the PlayBook’s launch, RIM developer relations had a stroke of genius, opening a program whereby anyone who can develop and submit an application (with some restrictions) to App World by March 31st, and have it approved, will receive a FREE 16GB PlayBook.
Playbook retailers and dates announced – does having a date affect your tablet choice?
I woke up this morning to find that overnight, BlackBerry had sent out a press release detailing the various retail outlets that will be carrying the BlackBerry Playbook when it launches. After so many months of waiting for some word on a release date, we finally have some concrete information to go on, with sites like Best Buy and Future Shop already accepting pre-orders for the PlayBook. The sites are showing an estimated ship date of April 19th, and Future Shop has all three WiFi models up for pre-order when I checked this morning.
For the past week, we have been having a running discussion here at GSL regarding the PlayBook and the various factors to be considered when deciding on a tablet purchase. The full article can be found here, with some great insight to be found in the discussion on the various highlights and advantages of the various available platforms. One thing we haven’t really touched on, but that RIM has been heavily criticized for, is the lack of a release date.
Twitter changed its stance on 3rd party clients – are they biting the hand that feeds?
By now, those who are plugged into the tech scene may be well aware that last week, Twitter’s platform product manager released a statement regarding an update to the Twitter TOS as it relates to 3rd party client apps. This update brings a high standard into place for existing developers, and sets the bar extremely high for any wishing to break into this rapidly growing network.
This move will stifle the production of any new apps designed to allow users to access to Twitter, whether it be from their smartphone or computer of choice. On the other hand, it provides a prime environment for the official applications acquired and developed by Twitter itself to flourish. What better way to make sure your own product succeeds than to tell everyone duplicating it that they have to make their product exactly the same. It takes away one of the major factors in the development game, trying to set yourself apart from the competition.
BES in the Cloud
Some big news for business came out on Thursday, with RIM detailing their new cloud-based BES offering, apparently to be available in 2011. The thrust of this new service is to cater to companies that want BES-like control, without the cost and upkeep of having a full on-premise BES.
This will ultimately help cut costs and IT time for businesses able to use the service, with all support provided by RIM themselves, and with all components being physically hosted at RIM instead of on-site at the business. However, this is really a slimmed down version of BES, similar to the BESX offering brought out by RIM in 2010, with a few important differences. This new cloud-based BES will still require users to be on a BES plan through their wireless carrier, whereas BESX allows use by those running on a standard BIS data plan. The extra cost per month of the wireless data plan would be offset by the savings of a hosted BES, with no hardware or IT personnel required to run it.
Revive or refresh your PC with Jolicloud
If you have a decrepit/obsolete PC, or you just really don’t need all the extraneous Windows functions hogging CPU usage when you only need Windows part of the time, you may want to take a look at Jolicloud. I run it as part of a dual boot on my desktop PC, along with Windows 7.
Sometimes all you need to do is web-based, whether it be some simple surfing, research, or even writing a blog post like this one. At times like this, I really don’t need access to Photoshop, Angry Birds, or even my various installed games. All I need is internet access. Or, you might have a dusty old laptop that is sitting in a closet, but barely runs Windows XP. You can’t bring yourself to get rid of it, so why not make it useful again with a lightweight OS, capable of turning it into a functional web-based PC again?
PlayBook and iPad2, an unexpected conversation.
I had an awesome experience yesterday, having the unexpected delight of having one of our readers reach out and email me for my thoughts on a Tablet purchase. This first email ended up turning into an entire lengthy conversation, and I asked her for her permission to post it, so that others might benefit. Her questions were so perceptive, she had me arguing both sides of the PlayBook vs iPad decision with some serious discussions on the pros and cons of each.
It is extremely hard to give advice to someone on what to purchase when it comes to technology, we all tend to have our own bias. I did the best I could to answer the questions she put to me objectively, in the hope that by doing so I could help her make an enlightened choice, whatever my recommendation. Ultimately, we all have to decide what’s best for us, no matter what anyone else says. Portions of the emails have been edited to protect the innocent 
, but I left the meat of the argument there for you to see.
Xobni takes a step forward in it’s conquest of the Inbox
Xobni announced today that they were opening up a private beta of their newest offering, Xobni for Gmail and Google Apps, and set up an invite request list for the iPhone and Android betas as well.
Xobni originally started out as an Outlook plugin, and has been installed on my PC for an extremely long time as a result. Given the sheer number of emails I receive in a day, it doesn’t take long before finding almost anything is a chore, but Xobni keeps everything I need a quick keystroke or seven away. I have currently converted my entire office to Xobni, and rely on their products heavily myself.
Last year, Xobni unleashed their client for the BlackBerry platform, which I was lucky enough to get a spot testing very early. It has rapidly become one of the most essential applications on my BlackBerry, and was made even moreso by the addition of Xobni One, the previous sync solution between Outlook and BlackBerry versions. Being able to launch the app on my device and access both work and personal contacts at once has been a lifesaver on many occasions.
A couple of months ago, Xobni launched a free version of their BlackBerry app, and a new service termed Xobni Pro. Xobni Pro replaces the Xobni One service, and paves the way for this latest development, by creating an all in one cloud for your Xobni account. Being able to sync across two devices was handy, imagine those of us who are polygadgetrous being able to access the same integrated contacts no matter what platform we are using.
Xobni took the Outlook environment by storm, and has used that momentum well. Their conquest of the Inbox moves another step forward today, and I can’t say I mind one bit. Now, all I need to do is wait patiently for my Gmail invite, and all of my various email addresses with be harnessed under one service.
In the meantime, I’ll just put my Xobni t-shirt on and make a few sacrifices to the geek gods to speed up the process. If you want to get in on the fun, you can sign up at the links below.
