For the latest on Apollo, go to http://www.adobe.com/go/apollo. The page has just been updated based on information released at MAX this week.
Markdown is a text-to-HTML conversion tool for web writers. Markdown allows you to write using an easy-to-read, easy-to-write plain text format, then convert it to structurally valid XHTML. Seb Duggan has ported the code and created a Java CFX tag named CFX_Markdown.
If you were not able to attend MAX, or just want more information on Apollo, then you may want to join Mike Chambers for an online seminar on Thursday, November 2nd at 3:00 p.m. (Eastern). Registration is required.
The LiveCycle Productivity Kit is a Java package contains several classes that implement LiveCycle APIs as helper classes (and as Java classes, they can be called by ColdFusion, too). These classes cover LiveCycle Security, Reader Extensions, Workflow as well as Policy Server. There are also other classes that implement XML parsing (including XPath) and Base64 encoding and decoding. The LiveCycle Productivity Kit was created by members of the Adobe eTech team, and has been posted to RIAForge.
I've been using the Nokia E62 for over a week, and have really tried to like it. Actually, I do like it, but I've decided to return it.
As mentioned previously, the screen is like nothing I have seen on a phone before, the phone audio quality is superb (and loud, I was able to use it on the loud MAX floor), Bluetooth support sets the bar higher than any device I have used previously, and the web browser is phenomenal.
So why am I giving up on it?
Firstly, I just can't get used to how sluggish this phone is. I don't know if it is Symbian or needing a faster processor, but pressing the Address Book button and having to wait 1-4 seconds for it to display is frustrating. When the text message alert pops up and Show is clicked in can take several seconds of staring at a blank screen until anything happens. And even moving from message to message is painfully slow. The device response time is just unacceptable.
Secondly, the applications are simply sub par. The Calendar app is so simplistic that it is basically useless. The SMS app must have been written by people who don't use SMS very much. The Address Book is barely configurable. And the list goes on. It is a shame to see a device with this much potential hampered by such poor applications. About the only really impressive apps are the e-mail clients, which brings me to my final verdict.
Verdict: The Nokia E62 is a very impressive device, and a really good phone. If your primary needs are phone and e-mail then this is hard to beat (which I guess puts the E62 squarely in the Blackberry category). But if you need real PDA functionality, then this won't cut it. For me, e-mail is less important, whereas calendar and SMS and other apps are just as important as the phone itself. That, coupled with a response time that makes the Treo (and even Windows Mobile devices) look snappy, making the E62 unusable for me.
BTW, if you find yourself in the same boat, and want to return the device, use the following code to reset the device back to factory defaults (removing all of your data and configuration): *#7370# (default lock code is 12345).
And so the search for the perfect phone goes on.
