Flex

It's possible that AsFusion was bitten by the app bug. Soon after releasing Conqu, we decided to create another app called OnePound. OnePound is a weight tracking app for Android tablets, BlackBerry PlayBook, and the Nook.

One of the components that is very common in a mobile app is the Switcher component. The on/off switch is usually available on IOS and Android devices. This component is like a toggle button but with a skin that makes it look as a Switcher.

This is part 5 of my series on item renderers. As you may know, the Mobile Flex Framework does not have a DataGrid, mostly because a DataGrid control uses a lot of real state and the phone has a small screen. But, we have tablets too and a Grid makes complete sense. However, the regular flex DataGrid will not work as it is too heavy for that. We also want gestures and bouncing like the mobile List has. So the workaround is to make an ItemRenderer that mimics a grid.

This is part 4 of my series on item renderers. This time we have a more real example that includes two states (selected and up) plus and avatar image and a bunch of text fields.

What I choose as the example is a TweetRenderer that shows the picture of the user, the user name and the content of the tweet.

This is Part 3 of the series "Mobile ItemRenderer in ActionScript". This time we are going to use a different option to add the drop shadows to the text. We will be using a filter instead of having an extra text field.

This is Part 2 of my series "Mobile ItemRenderers in ActionScript". This time I will explore how to apply drop shadows using a second TextField.

If you are starting to do mobile development and are used to create all your ItemRenderers in MXML, you may notice that the small devices like phones and tablets do not perform as well as the desktop does and you need to start looking closely to different ways to optimize you app.

The idea for Conqu was hashed long before the Android or Blackberry tablets were even a rumor. However, the idea sat on the back burner for several years until finally the first production tablet devices were on demo at Adobe MAX in late 2010. At that point the hardware finally caught up to the requirements of such an app. It was time to un-shelf the idea and put forth the effort to create an exceptional app for the Blackberry Playbook.

A couple of weeks ago, Adobe launched an AIR application called Adobe Enterprise Cafe:

The Adobe Enterprise Café AIR app helps you stay in touch with Adobe teams and the enterprise community, receive news, find information, and aggregate content related to the entire enterprise community knowledge base. This is great place for all partners to receive timely news and stayed informed.

I am happy to say that we developed the news section of the application in Flex using the Mate Framework, and its backend, which is powered by Mango Blog. 

MAX is less than a week away. There will be tons to do and see, so we hope to see you there.

It will be an honor to present Mate along side other framework creators and experts and Christophe Coenraets. The session is called "Using Flex Frameworks to Build Data-Driven Applications", where the same application will be built using four different frameworks. This session will be given Tuesday (1PM) and Wednesday (1:30PM), but it is almost sold out.

I will also present about Mango Blog at the ColdFusion unconference (Tuesday 4:30PM). It will be an overview, but I am planning to have a longer Q&A section for more advanced questions or any other question people may have.

Finally, Jeremy will be presenting at Mini-MAX (right after MAX) about skinning in Flex.

I think the event went very well. The setting was a little strange, with round tables and small screens spread out in the room, many of them looking away from the speaker. I was happy to see some more advanced presentations, so there was a little for everyone, I think. I'd like to thank Brian Rinaldi for his hard work and invitation.

If you don't know, there will be a Flex Camp in Miami, in only two weeks. These one-day events are a great way to get a taste of Flex and to have the opportunity of attending a "mini" conference, close to where you live. So if you are in Florida, don't miss it!

I'll be giving a presentation about Mate there. As part of a series of interviews for the event, Brian and I had a little chat where we discuss Mate and Mango blog.

I hope to see you in Miami!