Some things to note and some history on Attest:
There were many late night bug fixes, involuntary naps where heads hit the desk from hours of reading livedocs, the AIR Marketplace submission process bug that held things up a bit, but it feels great to finally release Attest bigger and badder than before!

I will definitely take this opportunity to thank Holly again for all her help. She had jumped in on Attest from the 2nd version and has been true blue ever since. I'm very thankful to have such an excellent colleague, without her work Attest would not be the de facto study guide for the Flex ACE exams it became.

Facts about Attest
The free version is the actual trial version. It got too tough to maintain two different versions of the app with our workloads, so we decided to make the trial last forever and give access to one mini for starters. The Adobe AIR Marketplace software allows for a 99 month trial maximum, so instead of infinity you have 99 months to get certified.

In the future as we write more questions, we plan on upping the amount available for the free/trial version. This version is not the beta version it was two weeks ago when I blogged about it. We planned on getting the beta version on the Marketplace but then their approval process bug showed up and by the time the Adobe team fixed it, we had the full version ready.

The current version for download is 3.0.3. This version has a few bug fixes that were pretty annoying. It was just approved on the AIR Marketplace.

The version currently available for download at software.pxldesigns.com/attest3 is (3.0.2). We submitted a patched version 3.0.3 which fixes a few minor bugs and issues we ran into and fixed quickly. This version has been submitted to the AIR Marketplace for vetting. It will be available shortly and I'll post once it's out.

More goodies to come later in the week hopefully. Look for more updates, questions, and study data in the near future, and as always, let us know what you think. Let's DO this thing!

Technorati Tags: adobe flex 4 ace, attest, certification, mock exam, practice questions, study

The good news is that the version that was submitted was only the free/trial version, and there was no full product yet because it wasn't 100% ready, but the full version will be out soon. Word from Adobe is that the bug will be fixed this week, and that means I should be posting again this week when the full version is out.

If all goes well, this should be the week where you can start knocking your head against the desk once you start reading the tougher questions Holly and I created for the latest version of Attest It was our goal to make some of them tougher, more subjective and if anything, make Attest harder to pass than the actual exam. So once it's released, as always, let us know what you think as we continue to write new material for the app.

Technorati Tags: ace, adobe flex 4 certification, attest 3, mock exam, practice questions

Here's how Attest 3 is going to work. Instead of maintaining two different applications, Holly and I made it slightly easier on ourselves by combining the free and commercial versions into one. So there's only one download from now on, no more Attest vs Attest PRO, there's only Attest 3. If you run Attest 3, you've basically installed the trial version of the application.

Attest 3 Screenshot

The trial version is going to offer the mini exam feature and upgrading to the commercial version will unlock the full version with the show answers feature, timed vs un-timed, learning mode, etc. For the time being, the free version (trial) is coming out in roughly a week. We're just ironing out some more testing (how ironic for a testing app - ha!) and last minute tweaks.

In the short term, Attest 3 will be released as the free version only. The full commercial version is coming soon thereafter. The app currently runs one mini exam and it will not allow you to purchase until we release the full version through the AIR Marketplace. You should be able to download the app within a week or so and start using it to study. This should be enough to tide you over for another week or two for the full version, but we're on track to have the commercial app ready by mid-August.

We had planned on having Attest out sooner, but believe it or not this will still be the app's earliest release in comparison to the Flex ACE exam's release. Old timer Attest users should be happy this time around

As always, I'll post as soon as there's more.

Edit** I should add that the "trial" that doubles as the free version will not expire. So you can use it for all of eternity or until the Flex 5 ACE comes and I'm late with Attest 4 - ha!

In response to questions of late, yes, new versions of Attest and Attest PRO for the Flex 4 certification are currently in construction deep in the confines of the factory Holly and I are digging up heaps of goodies for Attest and other projects. I can tell you this, there will be tons of new material on the Adobe Developer Center and Attest itself to help you study. From what I've heard, the exam itself sounds tougher than the older ones.

If you haven't seen them already, I'd especially recommend the Learn Flex 4 beta in a Week video series on the ADC. Happy studying! I'll post any new updates as always.

Technorati Tags: adobe, attest, attest pro, developer center, flex 4 certification

Attest PRO

There will be two versions of Attest going forward. The free version, which has been out for most of 2009, gets a bit beefed up with few new goodies in the near future, and the commercial version, called Attest PRO has many new features and content.

Holly and I are still always going to maintain the free versions of Attest for Flex developers to study for the Adobe Flex 3 with AIR certification, and eventually Flex 4, and so on. The current version is for non-commercial use only, so we decided to create a new version of the app, call it Attest PRO, and include a commercially available license for it. We've received many requests for people who wanted ways to help train employees, even have custom exams, and bulk licenses.

For Attest PRO 1.0, we have randomization of questions, the ability to turn on/off the timing per exam, show the answers during an exam if you choose, upgraded results view with better explanations, much more content, and a whole new section to read up on more material for the exam.

See Holly's excellent write up on her blog at devgirl.wordpress.com. You can read more about Attest PRO on it's new website at http://software.pxldesigns.com/attestpro/ check out some screenshots at http://software.pxldesigns.com/attestpro/screenshots
or visit the Adobe AIR Marketplace to learn more and download the app.

Holly and I were privileged enough to be part of the Try/Buy prerelease program to get this commercial version of the app out there. Many thanks to Shikha Bhargava who runs the AIR Marketplace and Randy McFarland and the rest of the AIR team who made the Try/Buy possible!

Important note:

It's my understanding that for the time being, sales on the AIR Marketplace are USA only. I believe they're working on that currently, but I'll post any updates as I get them. This is a beta program, so there may be bugs. As always, if you have any issues with a purchase, or running Attest PRO, please don't hesitate to contact me dave AT pxldesigns DOT com or use the contact form at www.pxldesigns.com

Technorati Tags: adobe flex certification, adobe max, air, attest, attest pro, marketplace, try buy

We compiled all the feedback we've received and created a list of the top requests. Now's your chance to vote for the feature you want to see most. Holly created this poll based on our list, and we're going to watch the results to decide on which features to turn out first. Eventually, we want all of them done but time is hard to come by, so we're going to be breaking them down into reasonable chunks as we progress.

If you have any other features in mind you'd like to see in Attest, as always, feel free to comment below or follow up on Holly's blog.

Basically, the new features we're looking at break down like this:

• Learning feature - is an un-timed practice exam with a "show answer" feature that provides much more learning material
• Community Area - You'll see This will be the fun stuff.
• Web version - when 2.0 is released, we're going to have the full web version vs the AIR version so you can study online
• More questions/answers - tougher questions with multiple levels in the learning feature and exam area

Ready? Set? VOTE!

Technorati Tags: 2.0, adobe, air, attest, certification, exam, flex, mock, practice

• Attest was completely rebuilt from the ground up in Adobe AIR
• It's FREE for non-commerical use
• There will be regular updates, bug fixes, enhancements, and errata corrections for future versions.

This version, and all versions going forward are a joint effort between myself and Holly Schinsky of Rich Desktop Solutions, Inc., without whom Attest would still be sitting around deep in the guts of my hard-drive, waiting to be released Holly was an enormous help with writing questions and answers, research, programming, making enhancements, styling, killing bugs, testing, and especially motivation! Many of you will know her from her work on Adobe's Tour de Flex AIR application. She's an awesome developer to work with and we'll definitely be doing more projects together in the very near future. After you go and get certified, be sure to drop her a comment or two and thank her for helping out. Without her help, you may not have seen the next version of Attest until Flex 8 is out You can read more about Tour de Flex and Attest on Holly's blog here.

You can download Attest 1.5 from the new sub-domain software.pxldesigns.com/attest

We're calling this version a beta because we wanted to add more to it, but this was the quickest way we could release the app for the community. Now you have something solid to study with finally, I know haha!

Another boring and brief history of Attest. When I first wrote the application, it was built in Apollo, I mean way back. At the time Apollo wasn't really feasible to release Attest with, so I switched to C#. Bingo bongo done, here it is built in AIR again, which makes things cross-platform, easily upgradable and expandable, any errata can be fixed pronto, and it's free for the community (non-commercial use), not to mention a lot prettier

So for all of you waiting for so long, enjoy! Let Holly or me know of any issues, bugs, errata, etc, and especially any cool ideas you have for the app. We want to hear them all!

Technorati Tags: adobe air, adobe flex 3 certification, attest, mock exam

I have to apologize to Attest users for taking so long with getting this out. It's 100% me working on every aspect of it, and with client workloads and so on, it's been a rough ride. Anyway, now for the good stuff for those of you waiting:

Attest 1.5 Fun Facts:

• It's written in AIR, as it originally was, although none of you knew that I'll explain more upon its release
• I'd estimate it's about 85% done with an ETA of 2 weeks roughly. Don't hold me to that! But I've been burning the midnight oil to get it out quickly ( at least most of it )
• If you're a regular shmoe, Attest 1.5 and further versions will cost you nada. It will be released under two Creative Commons licenses (see below for more details)
• This release is only part of what I had originally planned for Attest. There will hopefully be much more in the future, and possible expansion to cover other Adobe exams ( depending on interest level, alignment of stars, karma, luck, etc ) but I'm still waiting for a few details to filter through before I go on. Stay tuned...
• There will be regular updates, bug fixes, enhancements, and errata corrections for future versions.
• Hint: Future versions will include the "learning tool" concept, but this release will be purely the mock exams just like the old version
• I'm tired and my brain hurts...

The two Creative Commons licenses for Attest 1.5 will be "Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives" for non-commercial use, and "Attribution No Derivatives" for commercial use. In other words, if you're not a large telecommunications company, feel free to download and use Attest 1.5 all you like. The economy sucks right now, but if you're a kick butt Flex developer, you're in good shape. So if you're a Flex developer who's interested in passing the Flex 3 + AIR cert, this is what the doctor ordered.

How Attest is looking right now:
I'm currently testing like mad, double checking my math for scoring ( always a scary thing ), making aesthetic tweaks, still combing over Q's and A's, of course those last minute "hey, this would be cool!" kind of ideas that always add time. I actually surprised myself with how involved the code was when I first wrote the app in C#. Translating to AS3 was easy enough, but I had forgotten how complicated some of it was. I don't want to release crap, so I still want to test until I'm satisfied, and I have my shrinking TODO list that I'm flying through. Hopefully, things will remain as calm as they were for a bit more so I can at least get this part out. This week was very hectic, but by my standards it's practically been a vacation ( hence my blog posts at 2:00am ).

Some Attest History
When 1.5 is released, keep in mind it will grow to be much bigger. This release will be so I can hurry up and get something solid out there for you all to study. It's funny in a way, but with all the emails asking about the next version it's overwhelming ~ ha! No worries. Hope you all enjoy it, as much as taking exams can be enjoyable anyway (I hope it helps).

Got Ideas? Suggestions?
If you have ideas for Attest, questions, concerns, by all means let me know. I really appreciate all the feedback I've had since the release of Attest 1.0 in Nov 07, and these future releases will hopefully make Attest users much happier! Literally, almost every day my inbox has at least a few messages about Attest, people letting me know they passed the real Flex exam, praise, comments, scores, and ideas.

Some good people in the past suggested Q's and A's of their own, if you have some killer questions/answers and want to see them in the next version, toss them my way. If they're good and accurate I'll toss them in and you'll get full credit for writing them within the app and on the site.

On a side note, I've always felt that Adobe never really had enough study material, as opposed to Macromedia back in the day. So if Attest has helped you, if you dig it, if you want more study/learning material specific to Adobe exams and products, be vocal. Now's your chance to speak your mind. If you're a Graphic Designer and you want to see a Photoshop practice exam, come forth and be a witness, can I get an amen?

Until then, rest assured I'm giving all the time I can to get this version out as quickly as possible. Best estimate is two weeks, but it could easily flow to 3-4 if I run into unexpected bugs, or client projects ( which have to come first ), or if I don't get enough beer. Will post any further updates as I move forward.

Technorati Tags: adobe flex 3, attest, certification, mock exam

Just about every day since Adobe released the Flex 3 Certification Exam, I get emails about the availability of Attest V 2.0 for Flex 3. Sorry to say, I've been SO busy I haven't been able to hit the deadline for Adobe's release of the exam, but it's coming....it's coming!

Attest V 2.0

1. If you liked Attest before, you're going to love it now
2. You'll love the price of Attest even more
3. Because activating Attest in version one was such a pain, there won't be any activations anymore
4. Attest won't be alone for long, it's going to have friends eventually. This next release can be easily updated to include many extra goodies (in the future)
5. It'll be an exam simulator PLUS a learning tool, and will include new content in upgrades

Because of some of the pains I've run into with the licensing, the program's business model is completely redone. I can say you're going to dig it, and it will continue to provide value for years to come.

Attest got quite a following since its release, more than I expected, and because of that, it's my aim to make it a very valuable asset to the community and grow the project to become something much bigger. For those inquiring and emailing, bear with me as I work the strings and turn the corporate wheels to get version 2 out.

Technorati Tags: adobe flex 3, attest, certification, exam, version 2

Peekaboo Paperie.com - Adobe Site of the Day Award 9-19-2008

Recognition rocks, so to give credit where credit is due:

Peekaboo Paperie is the combined effort of PXL Designs, LLC and CAB Design. Christine Grippaldi did the site design, and yours truly created the Custom Announcement Creator in Adobe Flex 3.

It also makes use of a number of popular open source Flex components like Doug McCune's CoverFlow based on the PaperVision 3D and Tweener open source libraries, Dustin Andrew's File Upload component, and Marc Hughes' ObjectHandles component.

Nice work, and big thanks to everyone's code contributions, designs, and advice pulling this project together!

Technorati Tags: adobe site of the day award, cab design, cs3, flex, Peekaboo Paperie, pxl designs