[app_Developer]

Since the OP was very clear that the problem a year ago was that the NDK API wasn't released to developers a year ago, I have to wonder... Has this TAT/Cascades API been released to all the developers? Skype, Netflix, Kindle, Draw Something, Instagram developers?

Or, are we waiting for BlackBerry World/Jam to hear about when this API will supposedly be released? Sometime... later.

It has not been released to all developers, and we don't know if it will require a user update. At this point we don't know if the finished release will require BB10.

Personally I doubt we see a finished release next week. I think it's still in rough form, what other companies might call a developer preview. Either way, I'm really looking forward to some schedule that tells us when we will be able to put a real Cascades app on App World, so we can all plan our work around that date.

[BackDaws]

Im not holding my breath.

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Tapatalk

[biggulpseh]

Hmm, didn't realize this thread was still alive!

Well, hate to say I told you so, but I just saw this little tweet exchange between Alec Saunders (head of developer relations at RIM) and somebody else (not me) talking about Cascades:



Pretty much confirms exactly what I said in my first post... but thanks anyways to the hateful posts saying I'm crazy because those always make my day a bit more colourful So there you go! Hope everyone's excited for May 1st and the future of BlackBerry!

[BackDaws]

Are we going to be getting anything next week like some new features using the Cascades framework on the playbook ?

[Bakamushi]

Rim twitter accounts don't count as a source. They're all just teasing, endless teasing.

[bobauckland]

Hmm, didn't realize this thread was still alive!

Well, hate to say I told you so, but I just saw this little tweet exchange between Alec Saunders (head of developer relations at RIM) and somebody else (not me) talking about Cascades:

Click to view quoted image


Pretty much confirms exactly what I said in my first post... but thanks anyways to the hateful posts saying I'm crazy because those always make my day a bit more colourful So there you go! Hope everyone's excited for May 1st and the future of BlackBerry!

- Alec Saunders has shown from previous tweets he's clueless about whats actually happening at RIM.
- Theres always something thats delaying devs coming over, PBOS2.0, Cascades, the weather, something or the other. Alec saying people are waiting for Cascades before they flock over is wishful thinking at best.
- As for your complaint about 'hateful posts', dude, seriously, you got nearly 200 likes and a hundred odd thanks, for a very very vague post that used a lot of words to say just about nothing, and hype up a feature none of us have seen, a post that probably wasn't really worthy of another thread in itself and would have been locked down as redundant if it was anti-PlayBook or negative in any way.
If you got a couple of negative posts, suck it up, the majority of people that feel negative about the post are just trying to hold back and are shaking their heads. I know I am

[husainpatan]

Are we going to be getting anything next week like some new features using the Cascades framework on the playbook ?

Get ur nose in this direction.
http://forums.crackberry.com/playbook-apps-games-f243/pacemaker-music-app-first-cascades-app-720188/
Its called PACEMAKER.... something.

[BBplaybookJS]

An excellent read, looking forward to seeing where this takes us. Maybe then we won't be inundated with complaints regarding the perceived lack of apps.

[robluck82]

if this doesn't get you excited about what's to come, nothing will.

[randomact45]

if this doesn't get you excited about what's to come, nothing will.

I said the same thing when I told my boyfriend I got the peach teddy I tried on at Vicky Secret a size smaller

[Stewartj1]

Excellent post, I read and agree with every word.

[Stewartj1]

...and another thing:

As far as I can tell, I don't have any TAT/Cascades capabilities on my current PlayBook. Does that mean that after the API is eventually released, that end-users will still have to wait for another major OS upgrade to actually use apps developed with it?

Try Scrapbook on App World to see a small sample of Cascades on the PB.

It's a bit limited but will give you an idea of what to expect.

[altawest]

When I asked Adobe about the poor RIM Playbook PDF viewer Adobe sent me this message, so I guess we are stuck with the useless PDF APP viewer or maybe its going to be removed leaving us with nothing! Or does this mean something else?

"As the tablet market continues to evolve, we continue to evaluate how to best support the market and where to focus on our resources. Because of this, Adobe has decided to end its support of the RIM QNX Playbook devices in March 2012. This means the ability to create new applications for submission to the RIM store will no longer be possible in Adobe Viewer Builder as well as the ability to rebuild existing targets for new releases of Digital Publishing Suite. Any existing QNX targets will be removed from the manage view inside Viewer Builder".

So instead of improved business apps we get more angry bird apps which also means angry business users.

[samab]

When I asked Adobe about the poor RIM Playbook PDF viewer Adobe sent me this message, so I guess we are stuck with the useless PDF APP viewer or maybe its going to be removed leaving us with nothing! Or does this mean something else?

So instead of improved business apps we get more angry bird apps which also means angry business users.

The problem with that argument is that the official Adobe pdf reader sucks in ALL mobile platforms --- it is an equal opportunity suckfest.

[sparksta]

any news?

its may! has the jam taken place already?

[kaymre]

Haven't heard of any news about Cascades. Ok, there's the Scrapbook app, but when can we get your hands on some real apps?

[polytope]

The problem with that argument is that the official Adobe pdf reader sucks in ALL mobile platforms --- it is an equal opportunity suckfest.

Exactly. In fact, Apple implements PDF support much better than Adobe does.

Maybe it's time to replace PDF with something else.

[Rickroller]

Haven't heard of any news about Cascades. Ok, there's the Scrapbook app, but when can we get your hands on some real apps?

"Coming Soon" should be RIM's mantra.

[polytope]

"Coming Soon" should be RIM's mantra.

Cascades apps are launched together with BB10. That means no earlier than October.

[BackDaws]

Cascades apps are launched together with BB10. That means no earlier than October.

BB10 wont see this year and when it is released its going to be as half arsed as OS 2.0.

[Rootbrian]

Hey @BackDaws you don't even know what BB10 will even be like when it gets released. Don't make so many negative assumptions, unless you work at RIM and are helping to develop/perfect the OS.

[BackDaws]

Hey @BackDaws you don't even know what BB10 will even be like when it gets released. Don't make so many negative assumptions, unless you work at RIM and are helping to develop/perfect the OS.

Sorry.

BB10 is going to be amazing and will be out in the Summer, i cant wait to be able to do normal everyday things like chat to friends on a messenger or gorgeous Cascade Twitter app, woohoo high 5 man.


is this more your taste ?

[bb.pl]

Okay, so I'm reading far too many posts on here from novice BlackBerry fans who are fed up with the lack of apps on their PlayBook. Don't worry, I share in your frustration. Just please read this post before making another thread how upset you are, so maybe you'll understand the situation is about to VASTLY improve for the better.

When the PlayBook was first released almost exactly a year ago, developers had 2 options for making apps on the platform: Adobe AIR and WebWorks (html5). In their first iterations, the Software Development Kits (SDKs, used to assemble the code and app) which were released for both of these coding platforms were missing a number of important Application Programming Interfaces (APIs, allow use of different parts of the hardware and OS) necessary to build great apps. Furthermore, as platforms, AIR and WebWorks don't allow for full utilization of the hardware.

What the PlayBook was missing was a Native SDK (NDK) for building apps in in C/C++, which allows for the most high-performing apps on the platform, able to utilize all APIs available. A few big name devs like EA were allowed to use it to build games such as Need for Speed and Tetris. It has been subsequently released for all devs, and games like Angry Birds and Plants vs. Zombies utilize the NDK. However, the NDK still does not have a Native UI Framework.

A Native UI Framework is basically a way for devs to be able to insert different UI elements into their app simply and easily. The textbox I'm typing into right now? All the dev has to do is type the code to insert a textbox into their app, set the size etc. and voila; textbox in their app. Button I'm going to press to submit this post? As easy as putting the word 'button' into their code and going from there. Unfortunately, this is currently unavailable for Native devs. For games, most devs create their own simple UI elements for menus and stuff like that to match the style of the game, so they don't need OS-wide UI elements. However, imagine making an app like a Twitter app with tons of buttons and scroll bars and everything and having to code and design that all yourself. It's almost impossible. So devs have so far had to rely on AIR and WebWorks for their UI Frameworks, and as such, the NDK for regular apps has not been used as of yet.

But there is hope in the form of a UI framework called Cascades. Cascades was brought in by RIM's acquisition of a company called The Astonishing Tribe (TAT), and without question, is going to be BEAUTIFUL. Search for videos on YouTube with TAT and you will be blown away. These guys are at the top of the mobile UI game, and apps utilizing TAT in the future are going to be incredible. Devs will be able to insert beautiful 3D elements into their apps quickly and easily, making coding time dramatically reduced, yet make apps on the Blackberry 10 platform look 10x better than they look on iOS or Android.

Wondering why apps like Netflix and Skype and Kindle aren't on the platform yet? No Cascades yet. Trust me, those companies aren't going to invest tens of thousands of dollars into AIR or WebWorks development for the PlayBook when they can just wait for Cascades which will look way better anyways. After Cascades is released (hopefully around BlackBerry World), we're going to see an influx of amazing apps hitting the platform.

Furthermore, all the core apps such as the Adobe Reader, Music, Browser, etc are all being re-engineered using the NDK and Cascades. This is HUGE and I can't even begin to describe how awesome it will be to be able to have all apps made with this beautiful UI framework. Imagine BBM with 3D transitions and your contact list with beautiful transitions and 3D effects. I honestly cannot even begin to describe how awesome the BB10 platform is going to be, which is also coming to the PlayBook of course.

Now don't get me wrong, using AIR and WebWorks, devs have been able to make some AWESOME apps (Blaq and What's Up for example), but I'm assuming at some point down the road these devs will make the transition from AIR to Cascades in order to utilize the full power of the platform. What I'm learning from different sources is that RIM is going to do their best to make this transition as easy as possible, and for events like the BlackBerry 10 Jam they've even brought in designers to show devs how fantastic their apps could look if they were re-engineered using Cascades.

So if I can say anything to PlayBook owners and BlackBerry fans, it's please just have patience for the release of Cascades and the new SDKs and you will be glad you did. They're trying to understate it, but this is the biggest thing to happen to BlackBerry since I can even remember. It's going to be huge. So keep your eyes peeled for the events of BlackBerry World and the Blackberry 10 Jam on May 1st and I'm sure you won't be let down.

What now?
Are we waiting for peanut butter or does it only go with jelly and not jam?

[BuzzStarField]

What now?
Are we waiting for peanut butter or does it only go with jelly and not jam?

If you are impatient, you end up with bitter marmalade. We developers now have Cascades and some are even creating apps. You won't see them until BB10 is released or until the dev has submitted his app to app World, whichever is later. In addition, we have discussed ad infinitum (and contrary to the OP's assessment) the fact that certain big players are absent for reasons other want of Cascades. It's much more complex than that.

[bguild]

Um, I was about to buy the Playbook (again) at $140 at Best Buy (refurb), but have opted not to this time. See, I owned one for about a week, and returned it last October. This hardware is a lost cause right now. Blackberry is going to torpedo it until it dies. The company still doesn't seem to recognize that open source and consumer communities are driving the leading edge of
product demand. My buddy tells his buddy, cousins, parents, and coworkers about the cool stuff he can do with a gven device, and they all buy it.

Hey RIM, this is no longer a corporate america driven agenda. In fact, corporate america is having to flex for end user demands.

Open the platform, and let people get to work. That plus Cascade apps, and you will begin to recover all that amazing market share you so skillfully bled over the last 10 years.

I am disappoint.