litl SDK Available, Developers get webbook for $199
At FlashAndTheCity, we officially launched our Developer Center at http://developer.litl.com. You can now sign up for the SDK, which is in private beta. To date, we’ve approved 75% of developer signups based on Flash experience, and more importantly, ideas for channels developers want to build. The latter is important to ensure we dedicate support early on to those developers most interested in building compelling channels for our users.
We have decided that while coding with the AIR-based Simulator included with the SDK package is sufficient, having a webbook to test and play with is much more fun. Upon signing up for the SDK, developers can get a litl webbook (plus FREE remote) for a subsidized/discounted price of $199.
Visit http://developer.litl.com to sign up, learn more, get your discounted webbook and start building fun channels for our users.
Send questions for FATC session panel: Devices with Flash
TODAY, Saturday, May 15 at Flash And The City:
At 3:00 EST I’ll be moderating a panel with Elad Elrom, Lee Brimelow, Scott Janousek and Thomas Joos.
The topic is Devices with Flash and we will be discussing the future of Flash across devices.
It is an interactive panel and I invite you to submit questions that I will field to the amazing panel.
You can submit questions 2 ways:
1. Post a comment to this blog.
2. Tweet your question with the hashtag: #FATCm
I look forward to seeing your questions and, if compelling, fielding them to our panel.
Litl to Launch Flash-Based Web-Connected TV Product
I am more than thrilled to relay the announcement, made public today, that we are working on another device for the litl OS. Per the press release, I can say that we will have a Flash-Based “Web-Connected TV” device on the market, running litl OS as well as ALL channels built with our new SDK.
As I am finalizing my FlashAndTheCity keynote presentation now, I am working with some exciting photos and images of the new device. This means that the SOLD OUT FlashAndTheCity keynote audience will be the very first to see what we have in ’store’ for the Flash community.
In the coming months, our SDK will be expanded to include “accelerometer movement, video chat, trackpad gestures, and microphone input” that will allow open development of “gaming, communication, entertainment and other experiences”.
There are too many ideas and details to share right now, and I am respectfully saving a lot to reveal at FlashAndTheCity. We’ve got a very exciting week and weekend ahead in New York City. Join us over at http://developer.litl.com to download the SDK and get the latest information on building for BOTH our devices!
You’ll hear me say this many times going forward, but: “We believe that our platform’s use of Flash will be the best and easiest way for developers to deliver great content and applications to the TV!”.
Twitter making its own apps concerns developers
My HTC Intredible shipped with a Twitter app built-in called Peep. It was cool, but lacked some polish I enjoy with Seesmic’s Twhirl AIR app on my desktop. Being new to Android, I didn’t realize that features like taskbar notifications were available to other apps — so I was really impressed when I saw a little ‘birdie’ icon whenever someone replied/dm’d/or included me in their tweet.
Days after I got my Incredible, I learned that Twitter, themselves, had launched their own Android app. I downloaded and fell in love. Not only did it beat Peep in terms of usability, navigation and ‘Android’ integration, it also surpasses Twhirl. It’s got me wondering now, when will Twitter put out its own desktop-integrated app (not counting the web site) as an alternative to existing 3rd party apps. And if they do, what will the makers of Twhirl, Tweetdeck and many others have to say about it.
Turns out, Twitter is already fostering some bad blood among its own developer community. Up until now, I think developers integrating Twitter APIs felt they had the franchise on building 3rd party, OS/Desktop/Mobile integrated apps. To see the service company now build/acquire apps and offer them as their own is sending the wrong message to developers. It says, “we appreciate you doing what you did and helping grow our user base to millions. Now let us take it from here…”. This is a dangerous message for a service providing company with an abundant platform like Twitter to send.
Members of the developer community have been voicing their opinions starting around Twitter’s developer event “Chirp” (see
“Tensions Rise for Twitter and App Developers” and “Why is Twitter suddenly making its own apps?“) and you can see there’s something interesting brewing here. I’m interested to see how this pans out. While the ‘mashup’ scene has all but faded over the past few years, building apps around 3rd party APIs remains hot. Other companies who have no intention to compete with their developers, as Twitter seems to be doing, will need to make it super clear to avoid potentially negative comparison.
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