Signing Solved: Blackberry 10 SDK and BlackBerry PlayBook SDK on Windows 8

Setting up the debugging and signing infrastructure for developing apps for BlackBerry 10 and the PlayBook on the same Windows 8 machine can be a nightmare.

The Problem
After installing the BB10 SDK you might run into the problem that your already existing PlayBook SDK on the same Win 8 computer can't create debug tokens and won't sign your PlayBook apps anymore.
Metaviewsoft found out that you can create your debug token for the PlayBook with the BB10 SDK, but that trick doesn't help with the signing. The PlayBook SDK doesn't find its signing keys (a.k.a. author.p12, ...) even while the BB10 SDK does. Unfortunately you can't use the BB10 SDK to sign your PlayBook apps.

The Reason
It turns out that the Playbook SDK is searching for the signing keys in the wrong location. The PlayBook SDK expects the keys in:

C:\Users\YourUser\Local Settings\Application Data\Research In Motion

while the BB10 SDK stores and expects the keys in:

C:\Users\YourUser\AppData\Local\Research In Motion

Here is the catch:
On Englisch Win8 systems both directories are identical because Windows 8 creates a hard link for the Local Settings\Application Data directory which maps it to the new location. But on non Englisch systems this directory is localized and the hard link is localized as well.
So on my German Windows there is a hard link for Lokale Einstellungen only but not for the Local Settings directory.

The Solution
Just create the missing directory structure Local Settings\Application Data\Research In Motion in you user directory and copy the 3 signing files author.p12, barsigner.csk and barsigner.db over and your old PlayBook SDK will happily sign your apps again.

Thanks DementiDevel for pointing me into the right direction.

Wind - New app for iPhone, iPad, Android, Wp7 and the BB PlayBook

Do you want to go sailing, windsurfing, biking or just out of the door? This application shows the current local outdoor wind speed (in beaufort, mph and km/h) and direction, measured by a nearby weather station for which it uses your current location.

Features:

• the background color changes with the wind speed
• the direction of the wind is shown on a live compass
• The wind is automatically updated every hour
• The location is automatically updated when you move more than 5 miles/10km

wind.speedymarks.com

Seasons - New app for iPhone, iPad, Android, Wp7, BB PlayBook and the mobile web

Countdown to the exact start time of the next seasons.

Features:

• for the northern and southern hemisphere
• animated background

seasons.speedymarks.com

Degrees - New app for iPhone, iPad and BB PlayBook

Convert between degrees Celsius and degrees Fahrenheit.

Features:

• °F/°C converter for any arbitrary value
• tap and drag the line to snap to multiple degrees
• nicely animated thermometer column
• background and column color depends on temperature

degrees.speedymarks.com

Length - New app for iPhone, iPad and BB PlayBook

Turn your device into a ruler and measure small distances in either imperial inches or metric cm and convert any value between the two units.

Features:

• inch/cm converter for any arbitrary value
• tap and drag the line to snap to multiple values of 0.05in (left side) or 0.1cm (right side)

length.speedymarks.com

Units - New app for iPhone, iPad and Android

Convert between many units from several categories and different unit systems (metric, imperial, ...).

Features:

• categories: length, temperature, capacity, weight, energy, power
• access previous conversions from the history list
• categories have different colors (in the history as well)
• flip units

units.speedymarks.com

BlackBerry PlayBook Apps

I started to port my iPad apps to the BlackBerry PlayBook. The first two (Thesaurus and Quick Chart) have been available at launch of the tablet device but more will be rolling in very soon. Stay tuned!

All my PlayBook apps in the BlackBerry App World