MAX Barcelona 2007 Flash Lite Mobile Guide

Paul Lamonby has made this new MAX Barcelona 2007 Flash Lite guide available for a free download - great work Paul.

Developed in Flash Lite 1.1 to work on all available handsets, the guide has quick and easy access to all sessions over the 4 days, with links to a conference center map and further details about each session. Dont worry if your phone clock is not set to Barcelona time, the guide will adjust to the local time to show you exactly what sessions are on whenever you need to know.

Back in BrisVegas - thank you Chicago

A lot of my colleagues have already blogged their post-MAX conference posts, but mine is a little late. Mainly because after travelling for 20 hours to get home from Chicago, we arrived to find that 2 of our 3 daughters had chicken pox, and so the jet-lag recovery has not happened just yet! I'm feeling a bit better today though I must admit, but I think it's more the caffeine than anything else.

Well what can I say, MAX 2007 was fantastic for so many reasons, but mostly for the times spent just hanging out with other members of the Flash Lite community. The sessions were great, don't get me wrong, but these types of events tend to hinge on the social aspect of colleagues from around the world getting time to meet and find out more about each other. So, to Darren, Evan, Matt P, Alessandro, SJ, Mariam, Bill, Adam, Evan C, Keldon, PG Lover, "Sally" (see video for some explaination), Duane, Leo, Matt B, Greg, and the many, many others who made MAX a special event - thank you.

I must tell you though that the trip ended on a high - I visited a Star Wars exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. Full of original movie props, models and costumes, I got see a whole stack of really cool Star Wars nerd stuff ... and ... got to meet Anthony Daniels in person (C-3PO) ... what a way to finish off a full-on 11 days in the US!

MAX'ing it up in Chicago

Well MAX has officially started today with myself, Alessandro and Mariam helping out James Talbot in his Flash Lite full-day training course. Got into Chicago yesterday with a quick flight from Pittsburgh (after surviving some nasty airport security ladies at Pittsburgh airport!) and got settled into our nice hotel room.

Spent last night hanging out with some of the visiting Flash Lite crew at one of the hotel restaurants, but still got an early night. Tanya left early this morning to go and visit some friends in Bloomington, and will also be singing at a church there before coming back to Chicago on Tuesday afternoon.

Got a big day today with the training session, then a couple of dinners/parties tonight and catching up with some Adobe guys. Phew .... going to be sleeping well tonight!!

Rockin in the USA

Well, after 3 days in the US, I'm finally starting to feel like being in the swing of things. We arrived on Wednesday morning (after leaving Brisbane on Wednesday morning) and got straight into hanging out in Hollywood and LA with my wife Tanya. We visited a musician friend of ours in Hollywood and tried to get over the jet lag as best as possible. What was also cool was that our hotel was smack bang in the middle of the movie studio precinct - we could see into the MGM lot from our balcony! But no stars were spotted ...


Thursday morning it was onto Pittsburgh, and after leaving the hotel at 8.30am, we arrived at 7.30pm local time - another different timezone! Hotel here has been cool - stayed up late watching The Office, and seeing ads for the new season of Heroes which hasn't started in Oz yet (way cool!). Today I delivered a presentation at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Centre. These kids are seriously talented, and are the game developers of the future for EA, Sony, etc. They actually all really got into Flash Lite, and many of the them came up to me to ask about taking existing Flash games of theirs onto mobile. Some even asked me if Moket was hiring ... maybe some developers for a future Moket USA office perhaps ?!

So I'm back at the hotel now, deciding whether or not to head off to the Pirates v Cardinals game down the road, or going down to the Hard Rock for dinner and getting an early night. Tomorrow morning is onto Chicago for MAX (finally) and hoping to meet up with some FL guys for a drink. MAX has also sold out this year now, so I'm expecting a pretty full-on next week or so, but it's going to be great.





More to come!

Agenda for MAX Mobile and Device Boot Camp

Adobe MAX 2007 Chicago is about one week away. This year in addition to the Flash Lite and Mobile sessions there will be a special session: The Mobile and Devices Boot Camp, on Wednesday 9AM-12:30PM. The managers of the seven Adobe Mobile and Devices User Group put together the event with some great content and presenters.

The idea behind the "MaD Boot Camp" is to allow anyone interested in Mobile and Flash Lite to ask questions and share their ideas. The format of the session will be pretty informal with presentations, discussions and Q/A. We think that it's going to be great and we invite anyone to join us and bring your Flash Lite content to show to others.

Here is the tentative Agenda:

• Mobile and Devices Boot Camp introduction
• Adobe Mobile and Devices User Group Introduction
• Show Cases
• Tools and integration
• Adobe MAX Awards Mobile and Devices finalists
• OEM: Nokia, Chumby
• Flash Lite content aggregators
• Adobe Mobile and Devices team
• Open Discussion forum
• Q/A

Hope to see you there!

The Mad Dash to MAX

With one week to go before I'm on a plane to the US, things are getting a bit hectic here!

Fortunately for me, with the winding down of web-development studio I don't have the "client" headaches I normally have when going away for an extended period of time like this. This will be one of the first times in 6 years where I won't be worry about who's website has crashed and trying to get it back online for the Aussie timezone :)

I'm also in the fortunate position of now having a growing team to leave behind (sorry guys, maybe next year!) to continue development of our next range of products. On that note, I'd like to welcome to the team our recent additions of James Lee (animator) and Sam Boss-Walker (Flash Lite/Flex/AS3 developer) . We also have 3 interns from Qantm College starting this week, so welcome Tegan, Tom and Jonathan.

Before I leave next week there are a couple product launches to announce or "hint" at, a couple of new game titles to complete and several more to start, new computers to set up, and some presentations to write.

I'm very much looking forward though to MAX and catching up again with the wider mobile / Flash Lite community. There are some larger efforts being put into mobile this year (e.g. MaD Boot Camp) which will gives us all a better sense of growth in the area of Flash Lite, and a chance to neet new guys being attracted to the platform. Honestly though a big part of the trip will be my wife and I just getting away from the kids for a little bit - we need a holiday!

MAX Mobile Session Summary

MAX is only weeks away, so I wanted to remind everyone of the fantastic Flash Lite / Mobile sessions that are going to be available to conference goers. "Tickets still available!" as they say ...
Introduction to Flash Lite 2 (Training Day)
Sunday 30th Sept - 9.00am - 5pm
This session is a deep-diving workshop on developing Flash Lite content and applications. We'll begin with a general Flash Lite tutorial and then move on to more detailed information on how to develop content for mobile operators, including Verizon Wireless.

From Desktop to Mobile: New Revenue Opportunities
Monday 1st Oct - 11.30am
Wednesday 3rd Oct - 1.45pm
Learn how you can make money by selling your Flash Lite content through various mobile content aggregators worldwide. If you already know Flash, then you have the potential to create Flash Lite content and generate recurring revenue for your creativity and ideas. In this session, we'll explore the entire workflow for mobile content creation, from concept development and design to determining addressable devices, selling your content, and getting paid on a recurring basis.

Creating Flash Lite Multiplayer Games
Monday 1st Oct - 11.30am
Tuesday 2nd Oct - 1.30pm
The market for multiplayer games is growing. Learn how you can take your existing desktop Flash skills and leverage them to create multiplayer Flash Lite games using Flash Lite 2.1 and Flash Lite 3. You’ll learn the process involved in developing, testing, and deploying your multiplayer games to consumers worldwide.

XD: Designing Engaging Mobile Experiences
Monday 1st Oct - 2.00pm
Wednesday 3rd Oct - 3pm
This session will cover the guiding principles for designing engaging mobile experiences, an entirely new class of mobile services. Engaging mobile experiences put the user experience first. As a result, these experiences prioritize usability, offer new services, and deliver content instantaneously. More importantly, they build a powerful affinity with the user. They provide experiences that are expressive, memorable, and more desirable. Come learn the fundamental aspects of such experiences.

Creating Flash Cast Channels for Verizon Wireless
Monday 1st Oct - 2.00pm
Tuesday 2nd Oct - 9.15am
Be among the first to build and monetize Flash Cast channels for Verizon Wireless. Use Flash CS3 Professional to deliver compelling content to North America’s second largest mobile operator. Learn the process for creating and testing Flash Cast channels and how Verizon Wireless plans to enable a Flash Cast ecosystem in North America.

Flash Lite 3 Development.
Monday 1st Oct - 3.15pm
Tuesday 2nd Oct - 4.00pm
The newest version of Flash Lite introduces support for FLV and many other exciting new features. Learn how to create compelling content for multiple devices, from smart phones to consumer electronics devices. Be the first to see Flash Lite 3 demos on the latest and greatest handsets.

Mobile Workflows with Creative Suite 3 Web Premium
Monday 1st Oct - 3.15pm
Wednesday 3rd Oct - 10.30am
Discover how to create and reuse web content such as video and images for mobile devices using Adobe Device Central CS3, the all-new mobile authoring and device intelligence tool that’s integrated across Creative Suite 3. We'll touch on Flash CS3 Professional, Photoshop CS3, Dreamweaver CS3, and more. Learn tips and tricks to design, preview, and test engaging mobile content across various handsets.

20 Tricks to Improve Flash Lite Development
Tuesday 2nd Oct - 9.15am
Wednesday 3rd Oct - 1.45pm
Boost your efficiency and speed time to market with these 20 tips and tricks for improving Flash Lite development. Flash Lite experts will teach you how to optimize content, streamline workflows, and take full advantage of Adobe Device Central CS3, the new mobile authoring and device intelligence tool integrated across Adobe Creative Suite 3.

Flash Lite Success Story
Tuesday 2nd Oct - 2.45pm
Wednesday 3rd Oct - 4.15pm
Design Assembly, one of the top Flash Lite studios in Europe, has published several high-quality Flash Lite games enjoyed by consumers worldwide. Find out how this small company with a passion for Flash created a growing business on Flash Lite, and discover the many go-to-market opportunities available to Flash Lite developers.

Mobile and Devices Boot Camp
Wednesday 3rd Oct - 9.15am
Boot Camp provides a mixture of short presentations, workshops, and free-form coding. The Mobile and Devices User Group managers are planning an exciting and interesting three-hour collaborative session. Make sure to bring your laptop, your best questions, your most desired features, your coolest projects to share, and be ready to learn something new.

My MAX travel is booked

Chicago here I come! Always feels a lot better once you have actually booked the flights when you're going somewhere big, and this afternoon we finally got it all sorted. Brisbane -> LA -> Pittsburgh (speaking at ETC) -> Chicago and home again, phew!!

Best of all, I'm bringing my beautiful wife Tanya along with me for the trip. It was our 10 year anniversary in July, and this is kind of our big trip together even though I'm working half the time :) Leaving the kids with our folks and heading off for 11 days of adventures (and conferences). **If anyone has a contact for getting Oprah tickets, I would be very interested in hearing from you!** My wife doesn't care about Flash or CS3 or anything else in Chicago ... except for Oprah :)

MAX + more speaking gigs in the US

As many of you may know I've been fortunate enough to be invited to speak again at this year's Adobe MAX conference in Chicago in October. Things are coming together for the session Alessandro and I are doing together, and also for the Mobile and Devices Boot Camp. If you haven't decided on going yet - get cracking and get yourself there!

To add to my speaking duties while in the US, I've been invited to deliver a session at Entertainment Technology Centre in Pittsburgh, part of the Carnegie Mellon University.

The Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) at Carnegie Mellon University offers a two-year Masters of Entertainment Technology degree, jointly conferred by Carnegie Mellon University's College of Fine Arts and School of Computer Science. Carnegie Mellon is relatively unique among U.S. Universities in being able to offer this kind of degree, as we have both top-quality fine arts and top-quality technology programs.

ETC has a campus in Adelaide (Australia) as well, and Moket recently hosted a group of students and faculty at the Moket offices, giving them an insight into mobile gaming and Flash Lite. It was a great afternoon and met some very talented young game developer superstars of the future. I'm honored to be asked to come and give a repeat performance to the Pittsburgh student body, and to keep sharing the Moket / Flash Lite vision.

Oh, and they also introduced me to Tower of Goo - on par with Desktop Tower Defence as one of the more addicitive online games I've played!

Where's Bill? Sign the petition!

Have you seen the homepage to MAX 2007 for Chicago? They have the random banners there with quotes and photos from some of the Adobe stars like Mike Chambers and Ben Forta.

But I want to know where's Bill Perry!?!?!

I think Bill would be great one one of those banners! I mean Mike Chambers doesn't even look happy to be there ... and Ben Forta has the same "Adobe glow" as he always does. Bill Perry should be the poster-boy for Mobile and Devices and should have his own homepage banner, simple as that!

So, sign the petition and we'll forward it to the Adobe MAX web team to see if we can get Bill added.

PS. Just so everyone knows, this is all just a bit of fun - I'm not cheesed off at MAX or anything like that:) But just look at Bill here ... c'mon ... he's front page material ;)

My gig at Adobe MAX 2007 in Chicago

The Adobe MAX 2007 site posted up the speakers last night and I'm happy to say that my name was on it. It's like getting picked for the basketball team all over again ... ahh the memories. Anyway, I'm going to be doing a new kind of session this year - tag team presenting with my mate Alessandro Pace of Biskero.org fame for a session called "20 Tricks to Improve Flash Lite Development". Should be a lot of fun!

The at-a-glance agenda has also been posted.

I'm going to be helping out James too with his pre-conference training day on Flash Lite 2. I did this last year too for James, and it was like running with the bulls - casue of the limited time and amount of content, he gets through the training like he's on speed, and everyone in the room (including his teaching assistants!) just have to hang on for the ride :) Love ya work Kim Chi.

Also at MAX this year, there are a number of product "boot camps" - basically they're like 3 hour birds-of-a-feather sessions that go into detail on various aspects of specific products. A lot of the mobile user group managers from around the world will be involved in the running of the Flash Lite / Mobile and Devices Boot Camp. This is a great initiative which will allow us to get some good visibility at a conference which will be dominated by AIR, Flex, PDF and LiveCycle.

Really looking forward to the end of Septemer :)

MAX pre-conference training announced

The pre-conference training sessions for North America MAX 2007 have been announced on the MAX blog. They include sessions on:

• Unlocking Cross-Media Workflows
• Introduction to Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium (Windows Lab)
• Introduction to Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium (MAC Lab)
• Introduction to Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web
• Introduction to Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production
• LiveCycle ES: Building
• Flex 3: Integrating with ColdFusion
• Flex 3: Integration with Java
• Flex 3: Developing Rich Client Applications
• Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR): Bringing Rich Internet Applications to the Desktop
• What's New in ColdFusion 8
• Building ColdFusion Applications around Design Patterns
• Introduction to Flash Lite 2

Head to MAX 2007 registration to get on board!

Adobe MAX 2007 Registration for North America now open

Registrations are now being taken for Adobe MAX 2007 for North America. I can't believe that things are gearing up again - it seems like only last month that we were all hanging out in Vegas at the last conference! This year is looking like being a ripper - it's in a very cool town (Chicago), there's been some cool advances on the product front (think AIR, Flex 3, Flash Lite 3, all the CS3 stuff), and it's always fun when you get to catch up with people from all over the world.

I can tell you that there's going to be some cool mobile stuff happening as well (stay tuned) so there'll be plenty to get excited about for the Flash Lite'rs who can make it. Then of course there's Europe (Barcelona) and Japan (Tokyo) MAX in November as well!

Watch the Adobe MAX website for updates.