Tagged: blackberry

How Do You Solve A Problem Like BlackBerry

Recently RIM contact developers asking for feedback on why we were or were not planning on developing for Blackberry 10.

I was paid $50 for my opinion - in Amazon vouchers. I hope this hasn't comprimised the honesty of my answers.

These are just my thoughts - I can't claim that they would solve RIM's problems, but I do think they would be a good way to help reclaim developer mindshare.

What are the main reasons why you are not planning to develop applications for the Blackberry 10 platform?

  1. Platform won't be available until 2013!
  2. Probably no Linux platform.
  3. Tiny marketshare unless majority of phones are upgradeable.
  4. Can't get any reference hardware / emulators to test on.
  5. Have to learn yet another development language! I know Java, ObjC, JS, C# - I really can't be bothered to learn another. I tried using JavaScript on the PlayBook and it wasn't a great success.
  6. Finally, and I hate saying this because I've had BB's since the the black and white days, will BB10 ever come out? Will there even be a BlackBerry.

What specific things could the Research in Motion developer relations team do or communicate that would make you more likely to develop applications for the Blackberry 10 platform?

  1. Linux based SDK and toolkit. I'm not buy a Mac or a copy of Windows just for you!
  2. Remove the ridiculous signing requirements. I don't want to have to use your signing server - especially with its atrocious uptime.
  3. Provide high quality, open source programs which we can build on. I don't want to have to start from scratch.
  4. Developer incentives. Microsoft are literally paying some developers to develop. Nokia are giving out hardware. Google already have great mindshare and yet still give out thousands of dollars of goods to devs.
    Reference hardware would be really useful. Paying me market rate for for several weeks development would be nice. Running competitions is a waste of time.
  5. Turn up at hackdays. I attend - and I'm not exaggerating - 100 developer events a year. BlackBerry rarely turn up. When they do, they do a presentation, give hardware out as a prize, and then disappear. They need to stay, teach people, talk through their concerns, offer prizes for software developed specifically for RIM.
  6. Don't offer money. (I realise this contradicts the above!) Most developers can afford a phone, a kindle, or most prizes. Offer us things we can't buy. Promotion in the app store, a meeting with your investors, a UI consultation with your best team, business advice from your CEO! The sort of stuff we can't get elsewhere.
  7. FIGHT THE FUCK BACK! Seriously - no one wants to go invest in a platform which looks like it's losing. I don't know how you do that - but make it convincing!

BlackBerry PlayBook and Ubuntu Linux - HOWTO with Screenshots

Here's a simple way to copy files to and from your BlackBerry PlayBook when you're using Ubuntu. This should work with any form of Linux.

This is a step-by-step tutorial with screenshots.

On The PlayBook

Plug your PlayBook into your Linux computer using a USB cable. You may see this screen (or similar) you can dismiss it.
PlayBook Windows or Mac

In the Settings menu, scroll down to "Storage & Sharing".

Ensure that the "USB Connections" is set to "Connect to Windows".
PlayBook file sharing setup

Scroll down and make sure that "File Sharing" is set to "ON".
PlayBook file sharing

Finally, still in settings, scroll up the left panel to "About" and select "Network"
PlayBook usb file sharing ip
Make a note of the USB IPv4 Address (in this image it is 169.254.144.217).

On Ubuntu

Open a terminal and type

sudo ifconfig -a

You may be prompted to enter your password.

Scroll through the results and you should see an entry of "usb0".
PlayBook Ubuntu USB

To connect to the PlayBook, click on "Places" then "Connect to server".

Select the server type to be "Windows Share". Enter the IP address of the PlayBook (found from the PlayBook's About menu).
PlayBook connect to USB server

If all has gone well, you should see this screen:
PlayBook connect to Ubuntu

Click on "media" and you'll have access to all of your PlayBook's storage space.
PlayBook connected to Ubuntu

That's It!

You should now be able to copy files back and forth. Unlike a normal USB disk, you don't need to eject or unmount the drive once you've finished copying files to the device.
Note - when you disconnect the USB cable and reconnect it, the IP address may change. You will need to go to the PlayBook's network settings to find the new IP address. I can't find a way to get a static IP. If you know how - or have any other questions - please leave a comment.

Update

You can set a static IP by turning on Development mode, or follow these instructions from Jarviser on the BlackBerry Support Forums

Forget the IP address, use Tablet Network Name which will always be the same...

In Storage and Sharing, after selecting Connect to Windows, touch Properties button.

You will find

Tablet Network Name - Use that instead of IP Address in Ubuntu. (Mine says PLAYBOOK-24B6)

You will then be asked for Username and Password, Mine is "playbook" and the playbook's sharing password. WORKGROUP is left unchanged.

The Perfect Phone

After the disaster that was my experience with the Nokia Lumia and the rather underwhelming time I had with the BlackBerry Torch, I've been thinking a lot about what my perfect phone would be.

I think I've found it...

Perfect Phone

My Photoshop skills are legendary!

Here are the things that I want - no one platform covers them all, so I've nicked the best bits from each.

Blackberry

Here's what BlackBerry provides that is missing on other phones.

Physical Keyboard

This is the big one. I've tried all of the touchscreen keyboards out there - nothing comes close to the physical click of keys.

I'm aware of a few Androids which have a keyboard - but they tend to be older models or underpowered and aimed at the teenage text market.
The Dell WP7 phone has a keyboard, but appears to have been abandoned by Dell.

Start up speed.

You never really switch a BB off, it just sleeps. That gives it a phenomenal start-up speed. When you shut it down, it also tells you when it's planning to wake up - either due to an alarm, calendar, or because you set an "auto on" timer.

WP7 does have a very fast boot time - much speedier than that of Android. But there's no auto-on / auto-off feature.

Deep Twitter Integration

I can't believe no other phone has this. If I receive an email which contains a hashtag or @name, I can click on it and my Twitter client opens up. Same in calendar, documents, and (ISTR) web pages. Even if the text isn't linked it was clickable.

Spell Cheque & Auto Text

Spell checking is available on WP7 - but not to the same degree as BlackBerry. The auto-text feature on BB is brilliant, I can type a short code and text is automatically filled.

  • dt - prints the current time & date, perfect for note taking
  • sig - prints my standard contact details
  • ht - (one I created) prints the hashtag of the event I'm following

Android

Android is my main device. It's not without its deficiencies - but here are the bits I wish others would copy.

Time of Day Email

Perhaps the best feature of the Samsung Galaxy S - and not something I've seen elsewhere. I can set a peak and off-peak schedule for my work email.

At 1800 during the week I stop getting work email - and it all comes through at 0800 the next morning. During the weekend, I get no work email. This is one of the major features which keeps me on Android.

FLAC and OGG

I've ripped all my CDs to FLAC. I hate the fact that I have to transcode all my music in order to listen to it on a portable device. All the high end Android phones I've tried play FLAC natively.

Open

I like the fact that I'm not tied down by the operating system. If I want to replace the lock screen, the email client, the web browser, I can. And I do.

If the device manufacturer abandons my phone, there's a huge hacker community who can keep it running.

WP7

I've not had the greatest success with a Windows Phone - but there are some elements that I love.

Interface

The Metro Interface is amazing. It's fast and fluid and generally really well laid out.

Camera

I found the camera to be very responsive - both at focussing and snapping. The integrated QR scanner was also a cut above the rest.

iOS

Media hype / Coolness

It's a little depressing that all the media and developer attention is focussed on a minority platform like iPhone. Just for once, I'd like a cool game like Whale Trail to come out first on something other than iOS.

Misc

  • Lanyard hook. Ever since smashing my BlackBerry, I've worn a lanyard strap.
  • Front facing camera. I'm the only one I know who likes video calling.
  • Trackpad. Even the best touch screen can't get the fine grained accuracy of a touch pad.
  • Removable storage. I like being able to choose how much I carry with me.
  • Mass storage. I'm not always at a computer where I can install "media transfer" software. I just want to be able to plug in a USB lead and copy what I need.
  • Call recording. Must admit - never had a phone that can easily do this. Always wanted it though!
  • Removable battery. When the going gets tough, I don't want to have to be chained to a wall-wart. The ability to buy higher capacity batteries is also handy.

What Hath Thou Wrought?

Essentially, I've created Homer's Car - a monstrosity no one other than me could love.

So, tell me what would be in your perfect phone?

The Death Of The BlackBerry

For years I was a BlackBerry fanboy. I remember snatching a departing colleague's 6710 and lying to the IT department that I was authorised to have my email on my phone. I never looked back. Despite a brief flirtation with the Nokia N95 - I was a BlackBerry Boy through and through. Until this happened.

Dead BlackBerry

In early March 2010, my beloved BlackBerry Bold took a tumble out of a cab and died. I've been an Android man ever since. Magic, Hero, Nexus, Galaxy - all great phones, but none could hold a candle to the 'berry.

Or so I thought.

A Torch In The Night

A good friend of mine - who updates his phones as frequently as I do - offered me his discarded BlackBerry Torch. How could I refuse a chance to get back to a real phone?
Give Up Android
The main thing that was bothering me about Android was the lack of a physical keyboard and the general instability of the platform and radio software.

The Torch is a phenomenal BlackBerry. The action on the slider is exquisite. The keyboard is a joy to pound away on. The email and calendaring are rock solid with a powerful and practical UI. The browser has improved immeasurably. The range of apps is much broader than a year ago - and includes the all important trifecta of Foursquare, Dropbox, and Expensify.

And I hate it.
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