Adobe MAX 2011 - Rock and Roll!

In case you've been hiding under a rock for the past decade, you should know that Adobe MAX 2011 is going to be the best tech event of the year. This year, Adobe MAX 2011 will be held at the Los Angeles, CA convention Center for the third straight year. I will be on hand to present tons of new materials, concentrating on only hands-on code camps with Bring-your-own-computer sessions.

The first one I want to tell you about is the 480-minute long session  PB1300 - 

Deploying cross-vendor, cross-OS mobile applications with Adobe AIR

The description of this session is not really on track but here is what you will learn in this full day lab session.  The title should be Developing cross-OS mobile applications with Adobe Flash Builder, Flex, AIR, and ADEP.

- Setting up your development environment.  Note that we will send out a full preparation guide in advance that will explain how to set up Flash Builder with the new Adobe Digital Enterprise Platform (ADEP) and the plugins and tweaks to build applications for BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet OS, all Android devices, and iOS.

Rather than the session title of "Deploying", at Adobe MAX 2011 you will be "Building".  This means a full day of hands-on coding with two instructors (myself and Garth Braithwaite) as well as some great TAs such as Matt MacKenzie and Stacy Young who we hope to entice into teaching some of their expertise.

In this MAX 2011 lab you'll get up and running building mobile applications with Adobe Flash Builder, using both the Flex Framework and Adobe AIR. The lab will focus on the smartphone form factor, so bring your devices. We'll do an introduction to AIR for mobile and then dive into the Flex Framework to see how it makes building standalone applications easy. You'll learn how to use native device features like the camera or the accelerometer plus how to create and manage views, data, and layout within your application. You'll also get a hands-on look at how to debug, optimize, and deploy to devices using Flash Builder and connect to remote services from ADEP.

This special Adobe MAX 2011 preconference session is only run once on Sunday 9:00 to 5:00 PM!
https://max.adobe.com/schedule/by-day/

Tutorial: Accessing Microphone on Android in Adobe AIR

This video is the latest in a long series of tutorials on how to use the new Flash Builder for Flex Mobile Development.  This particular exercise targets Android however the same code can be run on iOS (cross compiled using 4.5.1) and BlackBerry Tablet OS.  Here is the video:



The project will be released shortly to the Android marketplace along with the full source code and some great new graphics thanks to my brother Paul Trani!  If you want the project source code for Flash Builder 4.5.1 + in the meantime, please email me direct dnickull at adobe dot com.

This will be part of the AIR Mobile Code Camp at Adobe MAX 2011 in October!  Sign up now!

Adobe MAX 2011 - A Special Deal for Loyalists!

Have you attended Adobe MAX in years past?  If so, you should know about this special promotion for our loyalists (defined as people who have attended MAX previously).  Until May 31st, 2011, you can use this special URL and token to register for Adobe MAX 2011 here.

Please help us spread the good word via twitter too!    Here is a cut and paste tweet (below) or just use the tweet button on this page.  We need help to reach all the loyalists.

Previous #AdobeMAX goers, register before 5/31 for a discount! http://adobe.ly/maxloyal

What is cool about Adobe MAX this year is the fact there is a second event running in parallel with MAX.  The Adobe Digital Enterprise Summit 2011 will take place October 3rd and 4th. Why should you attend?  For starters, I will be speaking at this event.  Second, staying at the forefront of enterprise architecture requires constant exposure to new technical innovations and an understanding of industry trends.   Come to this event and connect with a thriving ecosystem of thought leaders, partners, and technology solution providers. If you are a business decision-maker, technology leader, or marketing professional interested in deepening customer intimacy and extending brand value within your organization, this event is for you.

See you there!

ciao!

New Tutorial - Build a new mobile application (RSS Monitor) in 30 minutes

The written version of the tutorial is now online.  This tutorial will show you how to build a mobile application for reading the Slashdot RSS feed using Flash Builder 4.5. In order to complete this tutorial, you will need Flash Builder "Burrito" and the sample files, which include two Flash Builder projects:

The starter project [contains icons and other assets]
The completed project [the finished project that you can use as a source code reference]

This tutorial is brought to you courtesy of the Adobe Evangelism team. You may reproduce, modify, and use these materials for just about any purpose as long as you respect the copyrights of the owners involved [including Slashdot and Adobe]. You may use this to teach courses in mobile development.

Link:  http://www.adobe.com/devnet/air/articles/mobile-rss-reader.html

Adobe in the Enterprise, HTML5 and LiveCycle ES

This is an interview I did in Los Angeles during the Adobe MAX event.  From the description:

"In this interview, we cover a wide range of topics with Adobe's Duane Nickull during the Adobe MAX 2010 conference.  Nickull looks at the state of the mobile web, HTML5 and it's role at Adobe, Flash Builder and the ease of deployment to multiple form factors, PDFs and their growing utility for the enterprise, and Adobe's involvement in cloud technology."

Free Android App with source code

James Ward and I collaborated and wrote a simple demo app called "Scribbler".  It demonstrates some really simple concepts such as detecting screen capture and saving to the local file system on Android.  This application is a regular Flex applications that uses standard Flex 4 components (Not the new Hero/Slider framework) hence demonstrating that in some cases you can use MXML to build mobile apps.    The application is available now on the Google Android Marketplace.  We made this lame icon with "Sp" based on an indecisive moment of what to call the damn app.  If you end up having to explain it to someone say SP stands for "Sribbler Pad".

The full source code is downloadable from here.  Have fun with it!  Please tweet this (button is below) if you think others might like it.  More to follow if we are encouraged properly!

AIR for Android Tutorial (Part 2)

In the first AIR for Android tutorial, we showed just how to get started.  This tutorial is a complete video along with the source code.  This blog post includes the necessary instructions for building your first application and then adding a transform gesture.  With many smartphones using touch screens, the desired behavior is to allow an application to scale upwards but never scale below a certain minimum size.  This tutorial and the accompanying source code or Flash Builder 4.1 project explain how to accomplish this task.

Untitled from Technoracle on Vimeo.

Source Code: (download)

Three great LiveCycle@MAX picks

For the LiveCycle@MAX pick of the week for Oct 11, I am going to break tradition and highlight three separate sessions instead of one.  The links lead directly to the formal descriptions and registration. 

This first is a case study based on repeatable patterns.  I am a huge fan of case studies as they give attendees the opportunity to not only learn what went right, but also to learn what could have gone better and avoid making the same choices.  The session entitled “Delivering Repeatable Solutions with Deloitte Consulting and Adobe Enterprise Solutions" is bang on with a deep dive into real world experiences. In this session, attendees will learn how the $26B company drives the success of its customers using Adobe LiveCycle, the Adobe Flash Platform and more.  Deloitte has a long history of working with Adobe in the enterprise, specifically around LiveCycle ES, and their expertise is something we can all learn from. 

The second case study is more specific to an individual enterprise. “Transforming the Value of IT for Government through Modernization” will give attendees insights into the experiences of the South African Revenue Service and learn how this historically rich country leveraged Adobe LiveCycle and the Adobe Flash Platform to implement one of the first and largest Adobe AIR applications ever delivered.  

The third case study is entitled “Improving the User Experience: Contract Servicing Improvements at Northwestern Mutual”.  This one I want to attend myself to learn how this $21B company is transforming how it does business with its independent brokers using Adobe LiveCycle. 

Speaking of LiveCycle, the LiveCycle@MAX tracks are over half sold out.  The word seems to be getting out that LiveCycle developers are in ultra high demand and MAX is the one place per year where a complete LiveCycle training program is available for developers.  See you there!

LiveCycle ES Pick of the week for Adobe MAX 2010

This week, Technoracle is picking a session that is related to LiveCycle ES yet very specific to the client technologies. In fact, this is probably one of the more important sessions for Adobe LiveCycle Developers to attend given the rise in exploit attempts based on the ISO PDF standard. Join product experts Steve Gottwals and Suchit Mishra as they help separate fact from fiction in the buzz around Adobe Reader security. They will outline the motivation behind Protected Mode and give a demonstration of Reader running in the sandbox. They will also discuss how Reader Protected Mode works and how it can protect end users from Internet attacks via malicious PDF files.

Sandboxing Adobe Reader: Protected Mode

Join Suchit Mishra, Acrobat lead security researcher, and Steve Gottwals, group product manager, as they help separate fact from fiction in the buzz around Adobe Reader security. We'll outline the motivation behind Protected Mode and give a demonstration of Reader running in the sandbox. We'll discuss how Reader Protected Mode works and how it can protect end users from Internet attacks via malicious PDF files.

Tracks: Envision, Design, Develop
Audience: Architect, IS/IT, Application Developer, Business Decision Maker
Skill Level: General Audience
Product: Acrobat
Speakers: Suchit Mishra, Steve Gottwals
Times:
Wednesday, October, 27th, 8:00 am - 9:00 am

Also - please don't forget that Technoracle is giving out 99 special LiveCycle developers tattoos!  If you want one of these, you have to:

1. Register and attend at least one LiveCycle session;
2. Find Duane Nickull in the hallways; and
3. Say the pass phrase "Canada won the Gold"

See you there!

Adobe MAX AIR Code Camp - Second Instance Added!

Adobe MAX 2010 staff informed James Ward and me that our AIR 2 Code Camp sold out last week.  While we were stoked, we realized that this means there is a lot of people who will miss out on it.  To solve this problem, Sarah Eaton added a second instance of the lab.   The second instance was added this morning and is already starting to fill up as space is limited.  If you want to take this course or you're even just thinking about it, we recommend you book it now to reserve a seat.


Adobe AIR Code Camp
Attend this mega-lab for a comprehensive, hands-on dive into Adobe AIR for Flex 4 developers. You'll learn how to use the latest features of AIR by building several applications on your own computer, and leave with source code for more than 12 applications. We'll cover using the microphone class, writing to a local drive, launching a native process, and more. The lab includes a sneak peek at developing AIR applications for the Android OS. The courseware is modularized so beginners can follow along.


Tracks:    Develop
Audience:    Architect, Creative Designer, Application Developer
Skill Level:    General Audience
Products:    AIR, Flash Builder, Flex
Speakers:    James Ward, Duane Nickull
Times:   
Tuesday, October, 26th, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm (SOLD OUT)
Wednesday, October, 27th, 1:30 pm - 5:30 pm

UPDATE!

The second instance is now also sold out.  After Adobe MAX, I promise that the assets will all be shared via this blog including complete access to source code.

Serge launches MAX Un-awards!

My friend and fellow evangelist Serge Jespers has just released a new "widget" for MAX.
It's not really a traditional widget anymore but a personalized interactive video where you can create a MAX un-award. I have already won awards, most notably for "Hardest Working Evangelist" and "Most Timid Developer".




Every video generates its own tweet so if you see a cool video in the player, just click on the share menu and post it on Twitter or any other social network.

Have fun! See you at MAX!