1. ebay – duh
2. chainlove *
3. bonktown* - it’s chainloves cousin
4. hunkroll*
5. 53×11
6. nashbar outlet
7. performance – i am not a big fan of the “wallmart” for cycling, but when it comes to tires and tubes, who cares

finally, a long comprehensive list

*seemingly part of the same family/company/retialer

The Winter Games Watch is simply your portal to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter games. The application gives you the schedule for each day by date or by event. As well, Winter Games Watch will show you how to get to the venue, should you be so lucky as to heading north this February.

Among other features are current events, news, and a real time medal count so you can see which countries are taking home the gold!

A special thank you to our neighbors in the north (Canada) for being this year’s hosts! We are looking forward to the fun and camaraderie offered by these special games.

UPDATE: It’s almost here, and in the hopper. Apple, it’s all up to you now!

UPDATE (2009.12.03): it’ here!!

All i needed was some custom text in the call out bubble, and then i needed that bubble to appear just as the pin dropped. i spent hours on something that seemed so simple…and actually , it is simple.

There are a few unknonwns about the MKMap framework. Namely, how to customize the bubble in the callout. A few terms that may be helpful since Apple did  not do a great job on explaining this:

MKAnnotation: essentially, this is the callout bubble.

MKPinAnnotationView : this is the pin that drop. Can be just about any UIImage or UIView, and does not have to drop (animiated:NO)

CLLocationCoordinate2D: it’s a mouthful, but this is essentially a C structure that contains the lat/long (point) of where you are mapping

MKCoordinateRegion: in Apple’s own words = “A structure that defines which portion of the map to display.”. Ok, i’ll give them that one. Once you define your CLLocationCoordinate2D, you can pass it’s properties to this guy, and manage how much of your map you will be showing. This Object allows you to set the zoom level (”span”) on loading your map. It’s a bit of reverse psychology (at least for me)…the greater the span, the “higher your birdseye”….lower the span, the closer to your CLLocationCoordinate2D point. (IE: if you have 0 span, think of this as the point itself).

MKMapView : This is where it’s all happening. Remember to conform to the delegate protocol in your class before doing anything:

Ok, so some code…in my example i have a wrapper class to house all this fun stuff. The class contains my webview, delegate methods , and includes the most important part: a custom class to inherit from MKAnnotation. This is necessary to access the title/subtitle  . The guys at InvasiveCode solved this for me (link below).

#import 
#import 
 
@interface MyAnnotation : NSObject {
	NSString *title;
	NSString *subtitle;
	CLLocationCoordinate2D coordinate;
}
@property(nonatomic,assign) CLLocationCoordinate2D coordinate;
@property(nonatomic,retain) NSString *title;
@property(nonatomic,retain) NSString *subtitle;
@end

implementation is really nothing, but necessary

#import "MyAnnotation.h"
 
@implementation MyAnnotation
@synthesize title;
@synthesize subtitle;
@synthesize coordinate;
-(void) dealloc
{
	[title release];
	[subtitle release];
	[super dealloc];
}
@end

Finally, in my MapViewController, i have a method i call when i am ready to make it all come together…

-(void) assignLocation:(NSDictionary *)locationDictionary
{
 
	mappy =[[MKMapView alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0,0,self.view.frame.size.width,self.view.frame.size.height)];
	mappy.showsUserLocation = NO;
	mappy.delegate = self;
	[self.view  addSubview:mappy];
 
	CLLocationCoordinate2D thislocation = mappy.userLocation.coordinate;
 
	thislocation.latitude = [[[locationDictionary objectForKey:@"Venue"]objectForKey:@"lat"] floatValue];
	thislocation.longitude = [[[locationDictionary objectForKey:@"Venue"]objectForKey:@"lng"] floatValue];
	MKCoordinateRegion region = { {0.0, 0.0 }, { 0.0, 0.0 } };
	region.center.latitude = thislocation.latitude;
	region.center.longitude = thislocation.longitude;
	region.span.longitudeDelta = 0.01f;
	region.span.latitudeDelta = 0.01f;	
 
	[mappy setRegion:region animated:YES];
	[mappy regionThatFits:region];
 
       //add my custom annotation, with access to title/subtitle
	MyAnnotation *anote = [[MyAnnotation alloc] init];
	anote.coordinate = thislocation;
	anote.title =[[locationDictionary objectForKey:@"Venue"]objectForKey:@"name"];
	anote.subtitle = [[locationDictionary objectForKey:@"Venue"]objectForKey:@"address"];
	[mappy addAnnotation:anote];
}

Cool…but what about getting that callout to “pop on drop”? Yeah, lets do that too….becuase you are conforming to the map delegate , you have access to a few useful methods. Namely: viewForAnnotation and mapViewDidFinishLoadingMap .

-(void)displayExtraDetailsFromInfoButton
{
 
}
 
- (MKAnnotationView *) mapView:(MKMapView *)mapView viewForAnnotation:(id ) annotation
{
	MKPinAnnotationView *annView=[[MKPinAnnotationView alloc] initWithAnnotation:annotation reuseIdentifier:@"currentloc"];
	annView.animatesDrop=TRUE;
	UIButton *addButton = [UIButton buttonWithType:UIButtonTypeInfoLight];
	[addButton addTarget:self action:@selector(displayExtraDetailsFromInfoButton) forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside];
	annView.rightCalloutAccessoryView = addButton;
 
	[annView setCanShowCallout:YES];
	[annView setSelected:YES animated:YES];
 
	return annView;
}
 
- (void)mapViewDidFinishLoadingMap:(MKMapView *)mapView
{
	for (id currentAnnotation in mapView.annotations) {
		[mapView selectAnnotation:currentAnnotation animated:YES];
	}
}

special thanks to invasive code – the MKAnnotation was everything i needed to get this map interface working like i wanted

NSDictionary *locationDictionary = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObjectsAndKeys:49.277778,@"lat",-123.108889,@"long",nil];

alas, one must do this:

NSDictionary *locationDictionary = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObjectsAndKeys:[NSNumber numberWithFloat:49.277778],@"lat",[NSNumber numberWithFloat:-123.108889],@"long",nil];

i think i need to start a post of the little things that drive me mad in this crazy language. By far , concatenating a string is the winner.

Nobody was more excited about the TDF course announcement then myself. However, the Rotterdam video convinces me the better part of the tour will be at the end.Every year, i can’t get enough of the unveiling video….the flyover effect, the music, the drama. I can imagine the guys sitting in their chairs at the event, wincing at the video flyovers of Massif Central, the Alps, and of course this year, the Pyrenees. But what struck me most, was the video for this year’s opener. The venue is Rotterdam, and really, it’s well deserved for such a HUGE cycling culture. However, it’s really an awful video…the music sounds like church music, and apparently the organizers are not pushing helmets this season . Among highlights from the video:

• The child toter…i have actually seen these in San Francisco @ My Dutch Bike and they are cool
• I did not know that Dune was filmed in Rotterdam.
• Google’s bid to set up their European headquarters.
• The messenger with arrow bars.
• Our main character taking advantage of  his age  while passing one of the TDF’s greatest ever!
• The smooth pickup:

Nonetheless, the organizers of the Tour de France never disappoint, and i for one can not wait. Only 9 more months…ugh

Using the simplest of all examples, i am going to break down how to scrub a video using a track [simple movie clip looking like a bar] as a bottom layer, and another bar of same size, on a layer above. The goal here is to scrub video forward or backward, have the track represent loading, and the  bar  ontop be your ‘playhead’ (where you are in current time in the video). Variables you need before you click play are:

• duration of the NetStream (total time of the video, found through your NetStream.client ’s onMetaData handler)
• time of the NetStream- exactly what second you are on in the streaming video
• original length of the loadbar and scrub bar before the NetStream plays

I will assume we know how to load the NetStream and get it running. Genereally, in my video player, i initiate all that upfront…but before i get there, in my init funciton, i throw in another function used to simply id the loadbar, scrubbar, etc. :

 //ID objects on stage FUNCTIONS------------------------------------------>>>
 
private function defineContents():void
{
//id each loadbr=this.getChildByName('loadbar') as MovieClip;
 loadbr.buttonMode=true;
scrub=this.getChildByName('scrubber') as MovieClip;
scrub.buttonMode=true; originalWidth=loadbr.width //initilize
scrub.scaleX=0;
//add listeners
loadbr.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN,mousedown);
scrub.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN,mousedown);
}

The function introduces the class to these display objects…as well, it adds an event listener to respond to mouse clicks.(These handlers will be the initiators of the scrub)

1. we must use a shared library.
2. we can not embed fonts to the working fla
3. captions must be html enabled

…and so begins the dissection of Flash and Fonts

I was remoting the objects so didn’t have to think about xml, and getting all the data silky smooth. The problem i was encountering was the captions box. Essentially, in my class, i had a generic method that would allow me to create a textfield, and apply all the necessary properties in one command. The method looked like this:

private function makeTextField():TextField
{
var tf:TextField = new TextField();
with(tf)
{
width = 210;
autoSize = 'left';
wordWrap = true;
styleSheet = AssetLoader.instance.css; //SINGLETON from earlier, holding my stylesheet, xml, and few other things
embedFonts = true;
antiAliasType = AntiAliasType.ADVANCED;
}return tf;
}
//later in my code
textfieldintance.htmlText = myHTMLText; //html formated text

fine and dandy, however, on compile i was getting a blank. Going back, i removed the embedFonts to make sure i was populating well, and sure enough, i was. So begins the debugging. I found that if embeded a text field with the font on the stage, things looked good. However, this was not an option as i need to use a shared library. Enter fix in a nut shell

1. in the shared lib, give class names to the fonts…make them simple . We were using the Futura font, so i called it Sans
2. place and instance on stage of your font, emebeded
3. compile
4. import in your working fla
5. ApplicationDomain is your friend (see new method below)
6. Font.registerFont(fontCLASSName) is your other friend (again, see below)

private function makeTextField():TextField
{

var fontLibrary = AssetLoader.instance.getAssetById("fontLibrary");//font library swf imported earlier
var ThisFont:Class = fontLibrary.contentLoaderInfo.applicationDomain.getDefinition('Sans') as Class; //ApplicationDomain to get the CLASS NAME (font was Futura, but class was Sans...remember?
var ThisFontBold:Class = fontLibrary.contentLoaderInfo.applicationDomain.getDefinition('SansBold') as Class;//the bold version
Font.registerFont(ThisFont);
Font.registerFont(ThisFontBold);
var font:Font = new ThisFont();
var fontbold:Font = new ThisFontBold();//this instance is only needed because i wanted to trace the note below for future debuggin
trace(font.fontName+" & "+fontbold.fontName+" is the font from the Font Library and SHOULD BE the font name in the stylesheet -\r DOUBLE CHECK THIS if you are not seeing text displayed")
var tf:TextField = new TextField();
with(tf)
{
width = 210;
autoSize = 'left';
wordWrap = true;
styleSheet = AssetLoader.instance.css;
embedFonts = true;
antiAliasType = AntiAliasType.ADVANCED;
}
return tf;
}

one thing to note about this, is the trace i put in there. I did this so i could get the font name as FLASH SEES IT. This was key becuase it is the same name you need to use in the stylesheet:

.orangeTitle
{
font-family: Futura Bold Condensed;
font-size: 20;
font-weight: bold;
color:#FFB83D;
}
p
{
font-family: Futura Medium;
color:#000000;
font-size:11;
}

Flash sees the font as Futura Medium when compiled, but when creating the font library, in the paragraph panel, it simple read Futura. Without knowing the fontName in “FlashSpeak”, you will be hitting you head on the wall….good luck- i will try to post a sample source later.


static NSString *feedURLString = @"htgggtp://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/catalogs/7day-M2.5.xml";
NSURLRequest *earthquakeURLRequest = [NSURLRequest requestWithURL:[NSURL URLWithString:feedURLString]];
self.earthquakeFeedConnection = [[[NSURLConnection alloc] initWithRequest:earthquakeURLRequest delegate:self] autorelease];

Let’s walk through it, but first the two equivialant definitions for our URLRequst and URLLoader. In ObjectiveC , we will be working with NSURLRequest and NSURLConnection.

the NSString is the url – easy. NSURLRequest…hmmm, that sounds just like AS3’s URLRequest, doesn’t it. We declare the variable earthquakeURLRequest as a ‘new’ NSURLRequest, and we add in some methods on the fly. (i am learning that this is a key thing about ObjectiveC- it seems to do a lot in a methods in line of code.) So, we instantiate the request, as well as its requestWithURL method, passing in our url string.  In the interface (.h file), we assigned the earthquakeFeedConnection (NSURLConnection) to self (this, in as3). So, we call it to the front (self.earthquakeFeedConnection) and instantiate the class with the famously confusing alloc/init. A key feature that can not be missed is the NSURLConnection needs to konw the delegate, which is the parent class in this case (self)

ok…so, what about the call backs? Yep, just keep reading Apple’s Sample code. The first two are the recepients of a response and of data.
- (void)connection:(NSURLConnection *)connection didReceiveResponse:(NSURLResponse *)response {
self.earthquakeData = [NSMutableData data];
}

- (void)connection:(NSURLConnection *)connection didReceiveData:(NSData *)data {
[earthquakeData appendData:data];
}
then the error (like IOErrorEvent.IO_ERROR):
- (void)connection:(NSURLConnection *)connection didFailWithError:(NSError *)error {
[UIApplication sharedApplication].networkActivityIndicatorVisible = NO;
if ([error code] == kCFURLErrorNotConnectedToInternet) {
// if we can identify the error, we can present a more precise message to the user.
NSDictionary *userInfo = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObject:NSLocalizedString(@"No Connection Error", @"Error message displayed when not connected to the Internet.") forKey:NSLocalizedDescriptionKey];
NSError *noConnectionError = [NSError errorWithDomain:NSCocoaErrorDomain code:kCFURLErrorNotConnectedToInternet userInfo:userInfo];
[self handleError:noConnectionError];
} else {
// otherwise handle the error generically
[self handleError:error];
}
self.earthquakeFeedConnection = nil;
}

and finally, the almighty Event.COMPLETE!
- (void)connectionDidFinishLoading:(NSURLConnection *)connection {
self.earthquakeFeedConnection = nil;
[UIApplication sharedApplication].networkActivityIndicatorVisible = NO;
// Spawn a thread to fetch the earthquake data so that the UI is not blocked while the application parses the XML data.
//
// IMPORTANT! - Don't access UIKit objects on secondary threads.
//
[NSThread detachNewThreadSelector:@selector(parseEarthquakeData:) toTarget:self withObject:earthquakeData];
// earthquakeData will be retained by the thread until parseEarthquakeData: has finished executing, so we no longer need
// a reference to it in the main thread.
self.earthquakeData = nil;
}
i won’t go to far into this, but there it is…all but the complete are the connection method of the NSURLConnection class. One thing to note, which i may be wrong, but appears to be the case. In ObjectiveC, the complete event seems more of a clean up. In AS3 i would generally wait for that to move forward with the data. But it appears in ObjectiveC, we start parsing/etc from didRecieveData…hmm, like i say, it’s all new to me…but i had to document this for future reference.