Today, the world lost a great man. Steve Jobs was a brilliant businessman. He was a natural salesman. Beneath it all, though, Steve was a geek.

He knew what we, as geeks, wanted. He knew what would get our brains moving and hearts pumping. He understood that power, speed and functionality could be beautifully packaged in such a way that all the world would want to have it as their own. He knew and understood because he was one of us.

As I look around my house, I see so many things that are directly attributable to his pioneering vision and unquestionable leadership. An Apple TV in the entertainment center…a 5th generation iPod Classic lying next to an iMac…an iPhone 4 on the kitchen counter…an iPad in my lap…and, of course, the iPhone 4 on which I write this.

I will not lie. It brings a tear to my eye. No, I will not weep. I will not mourn. You may call me a fan boy, but I will not mind. I was…and always will be…a fan of Steve. He changed my life, through his technological vision. He changed the way we communicate. Through all of these things, he essentially changed the way we “think”.

Lest we forget, he was more than a CEO. His family has lost a father and husband. His friends and close colleagues undoubtedly suffer, as well. You and I have lost, too. Yes, Apple will go on. Steve’s legacy will live on. Sadly, though, it will never be quite as magical without him.

Rest in peace, Steve. Thanks for everything.

It’s official. The next generation iPhone is the iPhone 4S. Though Steve Jobs and his trademark, black turtleneck were noticeably absent, Apple new CEO, Tim Cook took the stage and delivered the much-anticipated details regarding what will undoubtedly become the company’s next big money-maker.

Much to the chagrin of many, the iPhone 5 didn’t appear. That doesn’t mean the iPhone 4S doesn’t come with noticeable improvements over its predecessor, the iPhone 4. Of course, the show included reports on Apple’s recent financial successes, store openings, etc. That said, we know that’s why you’re here, so we’ll get straight to the list of specifications and features that were unveiled during the big Apple event.

iPhone 4S Specifications

• Design, size and physical layout is the same as the iPhone 4 (Hence no iPhone 5)
• Dual-core A5 chip processor
• CPU up to 2x faster than the iPhone 4
• Dual-core graphics that are up to 7x faster than the iPhone 4
• Up to 8 hours of 3G Talk time, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 9 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, 10 hours of video playback and 40 hours of music playback
• Dual antennas intelligently switch back and forth to transmit and receive data. Theoretically doubles download speeds seen on the iPhone 4.
• GSM and CDMA are now available in one device.
• Camera upgraded to 8-megapixels (3264 x 2448), with additions such as facial detection, backside illumination, improved white balance, and a five element lens.
• Video taken via the iPhone 4S camera will be 1080p HD and include video image stabilization and noise reduction.
• AirPlay Mirroring allows users to view their games on the big-screen without cumbersome wires.
• Siri (Live Voice Recognition) allows users to hold down the button and ask questions about the weather, program the next day’s alarm, check stock prices, find local restaurants, and read your messages aloud. On top of all that, Siri is designed to understand natural, conversational language (English, French and German) and work with all built-in apps. Yes, that means you can dictate natively on the device.

New and Improved Features and Native Apps in iOS 5

• Notifications – Users can now swipe down from the top to see a listing of alerts for mail, calendar, SMS, etc.
• Cards – Allows users to create, print and mail greeting cards from the device. ($2.99 US, $4.99 Worldwide)
• iMessage - Finally, iOS users will have a built in IM client similar to the BBM that BlackBerry users have had for years.
• Newsstand - Similar to iBooks, this app will allow users to purchase and read magazines.
• Reminders – It does exactly what it sounds like. Users can configure to-do lists and set a reminder for when it needs to get done.
• Twitter – Finally, the iPhone will have a native Twitter app that also shares photos right from the camera roll.
• Camera – As expected, the camera app will not include an icon to access it from the iPhone’s lock screen. The volume up button can now be used to take the photograph, as well.
• Game Center – The app will now allow users add photographs of friends, share achievement points and include friend recommendations
• Safari - An updated version of the browser includes reader functionality to save items for later, as well as the long-requested tabbed browsing feature.
• Mail – The new version for iOS 5 will include the ability to use rich text formatting, indentation, rearrangement of addresses and message flagging.
• iCloud – The much-discussed replacement for MobileMe allows for automatic uploading and backup to the iCloud for documents, photos, contacts, calendar items, etc. iCloud also lets you re-download previously purchased apps. (Available October 12, 2011; 5GB free for iOS 5/Lion users)
• Find My Friends - Similar to the Find My iPhone feature, users can now allow their location to be known, so their friends can easily find them. (This may or may not be a good idea, but at least there are built-in parental controls.)
• iTunes Match – For $24.99 a year, users can scan and match their iTunes library, upload songs that were missing to their iCloud, stream music from the iCloud, and upgrade songs to 256 Kbps AAC DRM-free versions. (Available toward the end of October 2011)

Pricing and Availability (with 2-year carrier contract)

The device will be available on AT&T, Verizon and…(drum roll)…Sprint.

• iPhone 4S (16Gb) – $199
• iPhone 4S (32Gb) – $299
• iPhone 4S (64Gb) – $399

Preordering for the iPhone 4S will go live on October 7, 2011. The device will become available in the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan on October 14, 2011.

To buy or not to buy?

See? We got straight to the point and skipped all of the fluff and opinion. If you’re a current iPhone 4 owner who isn’t eligible for an upgrade, the iPhone 4S may not be cost-effective. If you’re lucky enough to have a mint condition iPhone 4, though, you may be able to sell it for a good price and offset the full price of the iPhone 4S. For iPhone 3GS owners and non-iPhone owners who have held off on buying an iPhone 4, it would appear that the time has come to take the leap. As always, the decision is yours, but let’s face it. Who doesn’t like to have the newest toy, as soon as it comes out?

October 4, 2011 is finally here. As any respectable tech geek knows, today Apple is set to unveil the next-generation iPhone. Will it be called the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 or, perhaps, the iMegaPhone. Okay, that last one is a stretch, but it has to be something exciting, right? While you may not have received a personal invitation from Apple to attend the event, you can join the connected masses who will be among the first to know its specs and features, through the techno-magic that is live-blogging.

For whatever reason, Apple decided against live-streaming the event, via its own website. There’s no need to worry, though, since there is no shortage of tech sites who will be live-blogging for your bandwidth-consuming pleasure. As in the past, we’ve put posted the schedule for various time zones, as well as a list of sites on which you can watch. It’s always advisable to get in early, turn on the auto-refresh, so you don’t miss a moment. It also doesn’t hurt to open up a few different live-blogs at the same time because…lets face it…some of the live-bloggers don’t post as quickly as others.

What time will it happen?

No need for pesky differences in time zones to make you miss the big show. Below are some of the most common time zones from around the world, with their local show time.

07:00 AM – U.S. Hawaii
10:00 AM – U.S. Pacific
11:00 AM – U.S. Mountain
12:00 PM – U.S. Central
01:00 PM – U.S. Eastern
06:00 PM – United Kingdom/Ireland/Portugal
07:00 PM – France/Germany/Spain
08:00 PM – Finland/Greece/Israel
09:00 PM – Moscow
02:00 AM – Japan/North Korea (October 5, 2011)
03:00 AM – Australia (October 5, 2011)
05:00 AM – New Zealand (October 5, 2011)

Where can I watch it live?

These are just a few of the many sites that will be covering the event. If you know of another reliable one, share with other readers, via comment. After all, you know you wouldn’t want to be left out on the day of an Apple event.

Engadget Liveblog

Gizmodo Liveblog

Ars Technica

SlashGear Live

MacNN

TUAW

TiPb

MacLife Liveblog

Some of these sites have taken things a step further this year by also hosting live tweeting, pre-shows, and Ustream feeds. You’ll definitely want to take a look at each one, so you can find the right feed for you. Now you know where to go and when to be there. All that’s left is wait for the show to begin!

Yesterday, Nintendo announced, via press release, that the next update for the Nintendo 3DS will include the ability to record video in 3D. Additionally, the company also touted the upcoming release of a new slidepad accessory for the device and new games like Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7 and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

In a separate press release from a few days earlier, Nintendo lauded the fact that sales of its first 3D gaming device increased by 260 percent, since August 12, 2011, over the previous month’s sales. With the new accessory, games, device features, and sales increase, one would assume that things were great for Nintendo. Upon closer inspection, though, this might not actually be the case.

While a few of the major tech and gaming news sites reported on the new accessory and forthcoming games, one of the only outlets that reported potentially negative news for Nintendo was Reuters. In a post dated today, the news wire reports that, overall, the 3DS may still be considered a flop, in terms of financial return and the company’s value.

Specifically, Reuters points to the fact that, while sales did increase greatly, from July to August 2011, it only happened after Nintendo reduced the price of the Nintendo 3DS by up to 40 percent. This may have resulted in a knee-jerk reaction by consumers, who previously wanted the device but weren’t interested in paying for it at the initial retail value.

According to Reuters, market analysts are still not very positive about Nintendo’s current and future performance in what has become a very competitive gaming market. In addition to previous competitors like the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation, Nintendo also has to work arduously to keep pace with mobile phone operating systems. With increased processing power, memory and storage space, devices like the Apple iPhone, as well as the various devices running the Android OS, are often more attractive gaming platforms for adult, casual gamers and younger games. For both of these groups, the convenience of being able to play games with excellent graphics and features and get them at much lower prices, on a mobile device that also provides voice and data communications, may very well trump the ability to play traditionally popular games and record 3D videos.

With the gaming-friendly tablet and smartphone devices continuing to release new devices and improve others, via operating system updates, Nintendo faces a continuing, uphill battle to maintain its attractiveness to gamers. We’ll have to wait and see if Nintendo’s plans to revitalize the DS legacy pan out. As with most companies who live and die by profit  margins and stock prices, success or failure will depend on the whim of the often fickle, gaming consumer. Until the final quarter numbers are released, after the Christmas 2011 season, Nintendo will remain a 2D company with 3D plans.

Sources:

Nintendo faces end of era after 3DS flop

Nintendo 3DS gets 3D Video Recording and Two Great Mario Games for the Holidays

Nintendo 3DS Sales up 260 Percent Following Price Reduction

This morning, Bloomberg broke the news that the U.S. Department of Justice, via, for lack of a better term, its parent company, the U.S. Government, formally filed a complaint to stop the proposed acquisition of T-Mobile assets by AT&T. Back in March of this year, GSL published a post on the proposed acquisition and detailed how we thought customers could emerge as the real winners.

For better or worse, though, it appears that the U.S. Government feels that such an acquisition would constitute a violation of U.S. Antitrust laws. Specifically, the complaint cites that a completed and approved deal would “substantially lessen competition” among the companies that make up the U.S. wireless market.

Officially filed as U.S. v. AT&T Inc., 11-01560, in a District of Columbia federal court, the U.S. Government seeks to block the merger in its entirety. A ruling in the their favor could spell trouble for AT&T. Though the company already has a strong firmhold in the U.S. wireless market, thanks to popular smartphone offerings from Apple, RIM, and other handset manufacturers running Google’s Android OS. Despite this fact, planned upgrades and expansion of its current wireless infrastructure could be negatively affected.

Although AT&T stocks dropped by a little more than $1, in typical knee-jerk reaction to possibly negative news, there is certainly no reason to believe the filing or, for that matter, a permanent blockage of the acquisition will send the company’s stock prices spiraling downward. It is also likely to have little effect on quarterly or yearly earnings, since estimates are generally based on what the company currently has and not what they might acquire within the period.

Based on the fact that the proposed acquisition was initially announced nearly six months ago, a review of and ruling on the complaint could likely be months away. There is no doubt that AT&T has already assembled its bevy of lawyers to begin planning a defense that they hope will eventually result in the company placing more bars in places throughout the United States.

It’s been a few months since Google launched Google+, its latest venture into social media. As is usually the case, sides were immediately chosen. Some lauded Google+ as the next big thing. On the other side, critics claimed it was no more than a feeble attempt to emulate Facebook. What was expected was for the debate to fade away, leaving Google+ users to post animated .gifs to their heart’s content. Of course, the critics would move on to their next target.

That isn’t the way it has really played out, though. No, Google upped the ante by quickly disallowing private profiles. I posted a piece on the private profile policy back on July 6, 2011. I expressed that it didn’t really matter, since one could choose to populate their profile with real or false information. I still thought it would all work out fine. Then came Google’s decision to begin suspending profiles with pseudonyms. This seemed a bit dicey, but there did seem to be a mechanism in place to request a review and validation of one’s pseudonym of choice. If favorably reviewed and determined to be for non-nefarious purposes, the person could keep using their pseudonym. It seemed simple, right? It was…until Google became an active combatant in the Identity Wars. The only problem is that it’s still difficult to discern who Google views as the enemy.

The Identity Wars

In an interesting Op-Ed piece published on the CNN website yesterday, Mashable founder Pete Cashmore discusses why he doesn’t believe Google+ will give up any ground on it’s no pseudonym policy. In his post, he examines some individual components of Facebook and how they and the system as a whole are easily connectable to other sites and services around the web. He also goes on to explain his view that Google sees identity validation and non-repudiation as a key to the acceptance and success of Google+.

“So why wouldn’t Google allow for pseudonyms in some cases? Or perhaps offer to hide your real name from public view for privacy reasons? My guess: Google is concerned that doing so would make its identity system less reliable than the one Facebook has already implemented — a system that insists on real names.” – Pete Cashmore, Mashable

Whether one agrees or disagrees with Google’s policies, Cashmore’s analysis of them make sense and seem to be the result of actual critical thinking. The only part that doesn’t make sense to me is his statement that Facebook insists on real names.

Facebook doesn’t care who you are

I can personally attest to the fact that, as long as it doesn’t contain special characters or seem suspicious to their automated validation tool, Facebook doesn’t care who you are. I have never used my real name on Facebook. On that platform, I am ‘ThatGuy Justin’. Facebook requires a name, email address and date of birth. Everything else is optional. Even the required information doesn’t require one to provide a copy of a form of identification with photo or links to reputable websites, like Google+ currently does.

There is little doubt that Facebook has its privacy issues. What we tend to forget, though, is that a good portion of the blame rests with users who choose to put much more and detailed information regarding themselves and allowing ‘Everyone’ to see it. Yes, back-end applications and advertisers being given unencumbered access to profile data is heinous, but Facebook users quite often voluntarily give out far too much information than they should.

Google+ versus the User

In the interest of objectivity, I must disclose that I have had my own ‘Geek Shui’ profile flagged, reviewed, re-reviewed, suspended, and reviewed again. As of the publication of this post, I am still awaiting a response from the Google+ Support Team. To be honest, I don’t expect one to arrive. Why? In my last rebuttal, I provided the team with an email from a member of their own team, in which my pseudonym, ‘Geek Shui’ was actually approved for use. Unfortunately, my profile was never reactivated. When I inquired about it the first time, there was no response at all. Within days, though, my profile went from flagged for review to suspended. Being a bit of a stubborn geek, I resubmitted my original justification for the use of my pseudonym, as well as the favorable review notification. I am waiting. It is likely that in a week or month from now, I’ll still be waiting. It’s a bit disappointing, but it’s true. What could they really say? They’re certainly not going to be tell me that it’s vital I use my real name, so that they can ensure their product is viewed as reputable to and desirable by other users, and increase their virtual and real market shares.

Another truth is that, at this point, Google hasn’t gained even an inch of ground on Facebook. The people who only used Facebook will not be enticed to switch, en masse, to Google+. They don’t generally have a problem with Facebook. There is only a cross-section of social media users (myself included) who have used Facebook, Twitter, Buzz, etc. and have a yearning to see some of Facebook’s functionality, as part of another, less privacy invasive platform. In the end, it seems that Google chooses to focus on millions of Facebook users who have never even heard of Google+, instead of carving out its own, original niche among the millions who are still reluctant to use Facebook.

Yes, Google is so entrenched in the technology and internet theaters of operation and hyper-focused on a goal of mythic proportions that retreat is unlikely. They will not be deterred by a few thousand complaints because they know that, ultimately, many users will concede defeat and use their real names. Even if they don’t, Google has enough eggs in their digital basket to ensure that their profit margin remains high.

It would seem, then, that we worked our way toward the answer to our original question. Who is the enemy? No, it’s not Facebook because Facebook doesn’t care and isn’t fighting. That leaves you, me and millions of other social media aficionados. Specifically, we, the vile pseudonym users, stand in the way, but we won’t for long. Google will see to that. They will soon suspend the non-compliant into oblivion and charge forward. When the dust settles, though, Google will still see Facebook, securely nestled in its digital castle on the mountain and blissfully suggesting new friends to its fiefdom. There will be a fairy tale ending. It just won’t be the one Google envisioned.

Let me first get this out into the open first. I don’t see Google’s removal of the option to have private profiles as an issue. That’s right. I’m saying that I don’t care. For that matter, you shouldn’t care either.

Users have never been required to provide government-issued documents to validate the date of birth, gender or uploaded avatar. No, people have always been free to omit biographical information, make things up and use an alias. Isn’t that what Dateline NBC’s ‘To Catch a Predator’ series taught us? From an Infosec standpoint, full disclosure of your information on any site, to include those with supposed ‘private’ profiles, is never recommended. Whether publicly available on the web or hidden from general view, the data you input and files you upload still reside on someone else’s server and can be exfiltrated by authorized admins or unauthorized third parties, via exploitation of unmitigated vulnerabilities, brute force attacks, and similarly scary methods employed by recreational and professional hackers.

In any event, once you hit ‘post’ or ‘upload’, your data is no longer yours. After it hits the web, you may have the option to delete it from your view, but it can never be considered truly deleted, since you can’t actually verify it has been deleted from the server, inline storage devices and server backups. Instead of subscribing to the knee-jerk reaction of indignation, I would, instead, encourage users to use Google’s decision as an opportunity to…well…Google yourself. If you have old, dormant accounts on sites, deactivate or delete them. It’s also a good idea to look at your publicly available profiles on sites you do use. Don’t just use the site’s option to view how the public sees you through internet searches. Take the extra step and actually log out. Then, search yourself and verify you’re not sharing more than you thought. Of course, no security check would be complete without verifying, option by option and setting by setting, how you allow the public, friends, and connected web applications to access and use your information on platforms like Facebook and Google+.

When you’re done checking up on yourself, do the same for your wife, husband, significant other, children or anyone else about whom you care. If you don’t have access to their accounts, be sure to let them know what you find. Very often, people know just enough about a platform, especially social media ones, to get themselves into trouble.

Finally, I recommend using Google’s option to create custom notifications about yourself. In reality, you can configure daily/weekly email notifications for any query. In this case, I’ll use myself as an example. Anytime someone publishes or posts anything publicly with the phrase “Geek Shui”, I get a notification. I have similar queries for my real name and other pseudonyms I use. In addition to using this method to see what others may be saying about me, I have also used the method to catch and respond to instances where someone tried to plagarize content from Geek Shui Living. From a parent’s perspective it’s a good idea because one can verify their kids aren’t posting things that could get them (or you) into an unsafe situation or legal trouble.

Granted, these may not be the most entertaining things to do on the web, but they are of tantamount importance. In the end, regularly investigating yourself and your profiles can help to protect your privacy, reputation, your identity and, in some extreme cases, your life. So, stop bashing Google and start investigating. You may be surprised what you find. Just be sure not to publish your findings on the web.

Anyone who has an iPhone or iPad will likely tell you that Airplay is a great feature…if you have an Apple TV. Thanks to the developers of a new tool called Banana TV, Airplay can now be achieved from iDevices to Intel-based Macs. How does it work? The good news is that it doesn’t require a jailbreak or any potentially painful tweaks to the iPhone or iPad. Installation and configuration is surprisingly simple and is done entirely on the Mac.

Does it sound intriguing? If so, you’ll want to take a minute to watch the demo video from Banana TV. Of course, we go a bit more in-depth and explain the minimum requirements and how it works further along in the post.

The first step is to pony up $7.99 for the Banana TV software. Truthfully, though, it doesn’t even feel like software, as much as a plugin. This is to say that, once downloaded, the user simply drops the package into their Applications folder (or wherever else they would like to keep it). From there, a double-click opens it and adds a taskbar icon of a bunch of bananas. If one wanted to keep it “always on”, Banana TV can configure it to automatically open upon login by navigating to System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items. Then click the + sign and locate the package. This will ensure the Mac is ready to stream Airplay content at a moment’s notice.

Of course, GSL had to test it out before telling readers about it. The most important requirement is that the iDevice and Mac must be on the same wireless network. (It will not work from 3G to another network.) In less than 90 seconds, we installed and sent a video from the iPhone camera roll to play  on the Mac. The iPhone automatically detected the Mac as an Airplay-capable device. Tapping the computer name of the Mac immediately sent the video from small screen to big screen.

The same concept works for photographs in the camera roll. After sending a photo via Airplay to the Mac, we could then swipe left and right to move through the other photos and videos on the camera roll. The current release doesn’t have an option to have photos switch automatically, like a slideshow, but being required to manually swipe on the iPhone can’t really be called work.

There are a few configurable options available by right-clicking the Banana TV taskbar icon. These include the ability enable video playback controls on the Mac, open content in full screen, and open videos in the Mac’s QuickTime Player. There really isn’t much else that Banana TV actually needs, since it’s doing exactly what it says it will, with minimal effort from the user.

As mentioned above, the camera roll portion worked almost flawlessly. Overall and when considering other Airplay-enabled apps on the iPhone, the performance is good. We did experience a few glitches with larger videos (1 Hr+) from the iPhone’s onboard iPod. To be fair, though, we couldn’t be certain if it had to do with memory availability/allocation on the iPhone or the iMac. Smaller videos, though, did stream without problem. To this end, we were also able to stream a video from the iPhone’s YouTube app to the iMac without any lag in playback.

Banana TV is great, but it won’t stream everything via Airplay. This is because not every app (e.g. Netflix) currently supports Airplay. Hopefully, future iOS and third-party app updates will include the ability to Airplay content. Regardless, there are many people who would be happy to see the family photos and videos on their iPhone or iPad on a larger screen, without going to the trouble of cabling up, exporting, and opening them in iPhoto.

We have to say that we’re pretty impressed by the ingenuity and functionality of Banana TV. To put it into perspective, the price of the Banana TV app ($7.99) is more than 10x cheaper than that of an Apple TV ($99). Ultimately, if all someone wants to do is see a few videos and photographs on a bigger screen, Banana TV is definitely a cost-effective and easy way to go. Of course, if you just want to spend $99

Minimum Requirements:
Apple iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad with iOS 4.2 or higher
Intel-based Mac
Wi-Fi connection accessible by the iDevice and Mac

For more information or to purchase it, visit the Banana TV website.

It has been a little over 4 weeks since I first posted my intentions to attempt creating an application for the PlayBook in 9 days. I figured that I owed it to you guys to post a final word on it, and update you on the last few things.

For those who haven’t followed along, I decided to challenge myself to create an application, from scratch and with no prior programming experience, in 9 days. The endeavour ended up spanning a full 4 weeks, from start to finish, even though I succeeded in coding a fully working application within the 9 day timespan.

The last update I posted brought you up to speed on the fact that I had managed to submit the application before the deadline, and that I was patiently waiting to hear back from RIM. There was so much more to it than that, which I didn’t even realize at the time.

First of all, have you ever waited for something? Of course you have, whether it be for a holiday, vacation, or to find out if your lease/mortgage has been approved. The wait was excrutiating, never knowing when I might get an email to give me word on my application, and no definite date in sight that I could count down to. I helped distract myself by getting started on optimizing the code I had written, and planning out the update I had intended. Finally, I ended up sending an email to RIM to see if there was any problems I could assist with to speed things up.

After having waited for over two weeks since I had submitted the application, I was informed by reply to that email that the delay was due to my application not being properly signed. Once I finished freaking out, I did some more research on the issue and discovered that the tools I was using (supplied by RIM) were known to fail silently during the signing process. I am more informed now, and this will not be an issue in the future, but having no idea that this had happened really stressed me out.

Thus began the next few days of agony. My original code that I had submitted was long gone, modified to a point that I could not recover in order to sign and send the original application again. My update was not yet finished, so I was unable to simply submit that in lieu. In a long session fighting with command line commands, I attempted to sign the old .bar file, in the hopes that it just might work. Somehow, I managed to invalidate my signing keys in the process. When i tried to order new signing keys, the system was down, so it wouldn’t generate my order. Frustration was at a peak, and I ended up shutting the laptop down and walking away in disgust.

The next morning, on a whim, I attempted the signing key order again. It worked, and this one tiny thing that went my way got me going again. By the time I had left the office, I had a new batch of signing keys, and a determination to get my update finished, signed, and submitted that night. After a fairly intense session, I had that done. Back to waiting.

About 9am last Friday, I got the first of the emails I had been waiting for. My application was approved for distribution in BlackBerry App World! A pretty damn proud moment for me, and quite validating. Then, on Monday night, I got THE email. After all that, I had qualified to receive my free BlackBerry PlayBook. Based on tweets, it looks like I should be getting a tracking email this Friday, and my shiny new gadget should be in my hands next week.

Wrap up:

This has been an awesome, frustrating, validating, exhausting experience. There are a few thoughts and tips that I have taken away from this that I wanted to share.

If you are considering getting into PlayBook development, but are perhaps a little gun-shy, do it. It is intensely rewarding, and while it is difficult, I have anecdotal evidence that it can be done in a short time span by someone who really applies themselves.

RIM Developer Relations needs to step up their game a bit. While they do provide a wealth of information, there are small, but not insignificant gaps in their documentation. A simple paragraph in the signing documentation making developers aware of the bug with signing in Flex Builder Burrito would save tons of headaches. One page on “How to Confirm that Your App is Signed” would have saved me two weeks of anxious waiting. The information provided is solid, if you are familiar with the process. If you’re doing it for the first time, those little things can trip you up in a heartbeat, stalling you for hours.

Command Line is your friend. I personally hate using a command prompt, and avoid it at all costs. But during this process, I can honestly say that it was the easiest, most foolproof method for signing, and one I will stick with even when the tools are updated to make it easier.

If it’s your first time, order a spare set of signing keys. Measure twice, cut once, if you will. That backup set can save you a lot of time.

I am proud to say that I am a BlackBerry PlayBook Developer. I will be equally proud to tell anyone the story of how I got my PlayBook (bragging rights, so to speak). I’ll be putting up a post in the next couple days on the application itself, in case anyone is interested. It’s free, by the way, so I’ll make sure to include a link for anyone who wants to download it.

During my recent crash course in PlayBook development, I spent a lot of time with my nose in books, and exercising every ounce of my Google-Fu to glean as much information as I could. In the process of doing so, I accumulated a large number of bookmarks, and a couple new books that have aided me greatly.

Since sharing knowledge is part of the fundamental belief system here at GSL, and part of my natural inclination, I figured that it might help one or two of you if I collected some of the links I used here in one post. Not all of the links I collected would help in a general sense, since some are specific to what my goal was, so I’ve omitted them. By no means is this a comprehensive guide, but it might serve to get you started when you are staring at your screen wondering where to begin.

The most fundamental link to get you started goes right to the BlackBerry website itself, since it’s the most logical starting point for anyone looking to develop for the PlayBook. Here you’ll find step-by-step instructions and download links for all the components and programs you’ll use when developing.

BlackBerry Tablet Development

Choose your development path, whether it be the Adobe SDK or the WebWorks route, and you’ll be presented with a full “Getting Started” guide that will help you get set up. I chose to use the Adobe SDK, so the majority of my resources pertain mainly to that path.

You will also find links to various tutorials, Webinars, and sample code, which will get you off to a good start.

Since the Adobe route requires a working knowledge of ActionScript 3, the next stop is the Adobe website. This link will take you to Adobe’s “Getting Started With ActionScript” page, a solid read of the basics of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) and ActionScript itself. I highly recommend dedicating some time to reading through these pages, as it will give you a pretty good understanding of the basics, as well as introduce you to much of the terminology you’ll come across while learning.

“Getting Started With ActionScript”

Another great resource direct from Adobe is the API reference library. If you’re new to coding, and following the links in this article in order, this will be complete gibberish at this point. Nonetheless, bookmark it for future reference, it will help immensely later.

ActionScript API Reference

Now, I’m ironically a bit analog-dependent when it comes to learning, so I went and acquired a couple of books to use. Out of 7 I grabbed, there were two that were immediately helpful in getting to understand the basics, syntax, and overall implementation of all the knowledge I was cramming into my head. I’ve included Amazon links below, but these may also be available at your local bookstore.

ActionScript 3.0 Bible

Object-Oriented ActionScript 3.0

Now, you’ve armed yourself with knowledge, and have spent days cramming it into your brain until you are dreaming in ActionScript. You want to apply that knowledge and get right into coding, and more power to you. However, as with anything new, you might run into problems. Whether it is simply a matter of your grasp of a particular concept, or if you just haven’t gotten that far in your learning, at some point you might get bogged down with a problem.

Thankfully, there are some excellent places to go to get help. The first is the BlackBerry forums specifically set up for Tablet development. Here you’ll find a wealth of information to read, and some extremely helpful people willing to give you information on how to solve your problem. Better yet, most won’t simply give you the answer, but will help you learn why, so you learn how to avoid the situation next time.

BlackBerry Support Forums for Tablet (Adobe SDK) Development

The second place, and just as valuable a resource, is the Adobe Developer Connection, which includes articles and resources spanning the variety of Adobe products, including Flex. Here you’ll find information on developing for the PlayBook direct from Adobe, and links at the top right will get you to the Flex forums where you can get some help.

Adobe Developer Connection

I hope that the links above have helped, I know that it was difficult collecting information I needed, and I spent a lot of time on Google searching for the various resources. I highly recommend the books I referenced above, as having a hard copy can make all the difference when you need to go back and check something.

One final piece of advice for any would-be developer. You aren’t going to do this in a day. Be patient, take your time, and be willing to get up and walk away for a break, sometimes your brain just needs a reset. As frustrating as it is, the feeling the first time your program compiles and runs the way you want it to is like no other. The rewards far outweigh the difficulty, at least for me. Good luck, and rest assured that we here at GSL are cheering for you.

If anyone reading this is a PlayBook developer and has a link or resource to recommend, feel free to hit me up. I’ll update the post with the information so that everyone can benefit, and you’ll get full credit for your contribution.