Since 2004, many have shared the thought “Get well, Steve.“  Now we are all pained to say goodbye.

Godspeed, Steve.

Game Center is Apple’s latest major addition to the iPhone & iPod touch.  If you’re familiar with OpenFeint or Plus+, those are somewhat similar to what Game Center brings to iOS.  It’s leaderboards and achievements wrapped around a social network of your best online friends and millions of other gamers.  For now, Game Center is available on iOS4.1 iPhone and iPod touch devices.  Game Center will come to the iPad in iOS4.2 this November.

Don’t worry, your hard-earned OpenFeint high scores and achievements are still there.  In the latest version of OpenFeint, version 2.7.1, you’ll see Game Center high scores sit right in there with your OpenFeint scores.  The game even automatically submits your previous accomplishments to Game Center!

When the Air Hockey update hits the streets, just sign in to Game Center using the standard Apple “Sign In” pop up and you’ll be on your way to OpenFeint and Game Center world domination.  Air Hockey version 1.11 with Game Center will be out soon!

If you don’t have it, go grab Air Hockey now!

If you look at the current 2010 Mac Pro specs, it says that with either one ATI 5770 or one ATI 5870 the Mac Pro can drive three monitors.  In a caveat at the bottom of the page, it says:

2. Connecting more than three displays requires installation of two ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics cards.

This led me (and many others) to believe that connecting three displays was as simple as plugging them in.  The Mac Pro’s 5870 can display on three monitors, but that’s not all the story.  After spending several days working on this and an hour on the phone with two levels of tech support at AppleCare, I’ve learned the whole story (well, most of it).

If you read ATI’s specs on the 5870, it says (in a caveat at the bottom of the page):

Driver version 8.66 (Catalyst 9.10) or above is required to support ATI Eyefinity technology and to enable a third display you require one panel with a DisplayPort connector

Sure, Macs don’t use the PC Catalyst drivers, but this seemed like the 5870 should be able to display on three monitors without much headache.

After my Mac Pro was shipped, Apple posted a support article to their website that talked about supported display configurations of the new Mac Pro video cards.  This was the first indication from Apple that if you used DVI monitors, you were in for a few surprises.  In that article it states that to connect three monitors with DVI, you had to use two of Apple’s Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapters (part number MB571Z/A).  Given the ATI spec on the 5870, it doesn’t make sense to me when you need two of these.  The folks at AppleCare verified this though.  You need two of them.  I asked AppleCare why this appears to differ from the ATI spec on the 5870 and they didn’t have an answer.

A new Apple Support article just showed up that further details the issues with three displays on the new Mac Pros.  In that article, Apple states that if you connect three monitors one of them “may turn black” or “no longer appear in the Graphics tab of System Profiler.”

… one of the following issues may occur:

• When using a DVI connection, a Mini DisplayPort, and an HDMI connection, the display connected via DVI may turn black.
• When using a DVI connection and two HDMI displays, the display connected via DVI may turn black.
• When using a DVI connection and a HDMI connection, adding an additional HDMI connection or a Mini DisplayPort connection may cause the initially-connected HDMI device to no longer appear in the Graphics tab of System Profiler.

The article goes on to say:

Resolution

When three displays are in use with Mac Pro (Mid 2010), only one DVI or HDMI device should be used.  Note: The Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter (different from the Apple Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter) is considered a DVI device.

So, now we know.  It’s easy to connect three DVI monitors to your shiny new 2010 Mac Pro, but it’ll cost you.  The solution is to use two of the $99 Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI connectors.  There are several frustrating things with this however.  First, $200 is a (how shall I say this…) “silly” amount to spend on adapters when that’s roughly what an entire 5770 video card costs.  Because the 5870 uses both of the Mac Pro’s PCIe power adapters, you can’t add a 5770 to a system with an existing 5870.  When I asked AppleCare about adding a 5770, they told me it wasn’t a supported configuration and my system was already “maxed out.”  There may be a way to get power from a non-used SATA power connector to drive another graphics card, but that’s not a supported configuration by Apple.

The second frustrating thing is that Apple isn’t currently upfront about these limitations in their sales information. The only caveat about monitors on their sales pages tells you to buy the two 5770 option if you want more than three monitors.  Two 5770s and one 5870 are in the same order of magnitude in speed.  If you want to drive three (or four) non-DisplayPort monitors, the best way to spend your money is on two 5770s instead of a 5870 with a bunch of $99 adapters.

I sent Apple a request to update their sales information to be more clear.  It’d be much better customer relations if they were upfront about which Mac Pro configurations supported each display configuration.  If you’ve been bit by this, you should do the same.  You can leave feedback to Apple here: http://apple.com/feedback

In the grand scheme of things, this isn’t the end of the world.  I bought the new Mac Pro mostly for the power.  In my “real world” benchmark tests, the new 2010 8-core 2.4GHz Mac Pro is roughly 5 times as fast as my 2008 iMac at compiling my iPhone games Air Hockey and Doodle Hockey.  It’s loads faster at After Effects renders.  On OpenCL tasks that can jump on the GPU, the new Mac Pro with a 5870 should really shine.  It crushes my old computer in everything it does.  A new $4000 computer better crush an old $1200 computer though.  I won’t be taking back my Mac Pro.  Still, it’d be nice for everyone to know about all the caveats with new equipment before they drop the cash on it.

So, you still want to drive three DVI monitors with your single graphics card 2010 Mac Pro?  Get two Apple Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapters for $99 each.  If you want to stray from Apple branded products, you can try similar adapters from MonoPrice at $67 each (these don’t have USB output though and I haven’t verified that they work).

Now you know.  Good luck!

UPDATE. 18 Sep 2010 – Monoprice was out of their $65 adapters, so I bought two of the $99 Apple Mini DisplayPort to Dual Link DVI adapters.  I’m happy to have three monitors finally working.  Unfortunately, when I use those adapters, the monitors do not properly wake up from sleeping.  The monitor connected directly to the 5870′s DVI output wakes up fine, but the two connected with the adapters show static after waking up.  It takes 2 to 5 power cycles of the monitors to get them working again.  This is apparently a problem with both the 5770 and 5870 Mac Pros: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2566723

I thought Apple products were supposed to “just work.”  Hmmm.

Be ready to learn. Grab your thinking cap & be ready to learn from every session you go to AND from every developer you meet.  No matter who you are, there are things that someone else is better at than you.  Soak up all the knowledge you can.  If you have problems doing certain things (or questions about best practices), ask questions to any one who will listen.

Map out your sessions & labs. In addition to the WWDC web site, there’s a great app for the iPhone & iPad to help you figure out what sessions to attend.  Scan through the whole week before you get there.  Some sessions will be offered more than once.  There are sessions that will be announced after Monday’s Keynote.  Check the schedule often to make sure you don’t miss anything.  Make sure you check the labs.  There are wicked smart people there who can quickly solve that pesky UIScrollView problem you’ve been working on for weeks.  You can get the app here: https://developer.apple.com/wwdc/app/

Embrace new things, but be afraid. You’ll have access to the latest OSs and sample code once you’re there.  It’s extremely tempting to quickly download all the new stuff & install the latest OSX on your computer or iPhone OS on your phone.  Slow down.  Think about it first.  There are pros & cons.  For example, if you install the latest Xcode version or operating system on your only dev machine, you’ll be able to see first hand what they’re talking about in the sessions.  However, your old projects may take work to compile with the new tools.  After installing Snow Leopard last year, I spent an entire day trying to get my iPhone OS 2.0 app to compile under 3.0 (because 2.x was no longer supported).  Because of that, I was barely able to ask questions about my app in one of the labs.

Bring your code. There will be times when you either sleep in late or decide to skip out of a session.  There will also be times for you to go to the labs.  You’ll really want your code then.  Bring everything you’ve done & everything you have at even a prototype stage.

Bring the right tools. You should bring a computer and whatever devices you develop for.  Your computer should be set up with all your provisioning profiles, etc.  You should also bring the 3-prong extension for your MacBook’s power cable (so you don’t take up 3 plugs in the power strips in the sessions).  Last year there was free wifi in Moscone that worked remarkably well.

Keep track of your stuff. Everyone at the conference was extremely honest & trustworthy.  There were, however, people last year that got MacBooks & iPhones stolen during non-WWDC hours.  Make sure everything you bring has a password set.  If you need to get up in the middle of a session to go to the bathroom, ask your session neighbor to watch your stuff.  Make a backup of EVERYTHING before you go to WWDC.

Shake hands. Many developers by nature aren’t outgoing people (no offense, just calling it like I see it).  This is a great week to meet people.  You already have lots in common with everyone there.  In between sessions is a great time to shake somebody’s hand & introduce yourself.  Ask where people are from, if they have any apps in the App Store (or out for the Mac), what their latest project is, where they live, what their favorite session has been so far, where the best party is that night, etc.  Go out to lunch & dinner every day with other developers or other folks in town for WWDC-related things (like the press).  If you’re out at a party, offer to get drinks for people.  If you have a plan for lunch or dinner, invite other people along.  The relationships you make while at WWDC will do you more good over the next year than the actual sessions.  (Bring business cards – even if you print them out yourself.  Put a picture on your twitter account that actually looks like you.)

Be nice.  Be patient. There are lots & lots of people all trying to get to the same sessions, parties & restaurants.  You are going to have to stand in line.  You are going to have to wait for a table.  Chill.  Everything will be ok.  Everyone’s experience will be better if you throttle back a bit.  While you’re waiting in line is also a good time to shake hands with someone new.

Show off – when it’s time. Every big name Mac, iPhone & iPad-related press company will be in town.  Keep your ear out for where they’ll be.  Last year TUAW had someone who tweeted that they’d be someplace for a couple hours.  He looked at quite a few apps & wrote lots of stories.  People sold lots of apps because of those stories.  However, don’t be a pain about it.  Writers are really no different than anyone else.  They are people too.  Shake hands first.  Take your time if you can.  Be nice.

Go to the parties. There will be more parties each night than anyone could possibly hit.  It might be tempting for some to stay inside & code.  Don’t even think about it.  Go out.  You don’t have to be a drinker or partier to have a good time.  In fact, taking a couple “health nights” and not drinking is definitely a good idea even if you are a full-time party machine.  This is what’s important:  meet people, share stories, learn from each other, buy each other’s apps, follow each other on twitter (to keep in contact later…not at the party), have fun.  You can check out http://wwdcparties.com for the latest on what’s going on.

Eat & sleep. You need to learn a lot this week. It takes energy & concentration to do that.  Eat well (good food, not huge food).  There will be snacks at Moscone in between sessions.  They’re mostly sugar though – don’t plan on the snacks getting you through the day. Eat a good lunch and a good dinner – with your new friends!  You know how much sleep you need each night to stay functional.  You can maybe skimp for a day, but you’ll seriously lose out on the conference if you try to get by all week on less sleep than you normally do.

That should get you started in the right direction.  I hope to meet everyone there.  Please follow me on twitter, figure out where I am, then walk up & shake my hand.  I’ll do the same.  It’ll be great to meet you.

-Bryan Duke

p.s.  Oh yeah…you’ll also need a copy of Doodle Hockey to play when you don’t have enough time to shake someone’s hand.  It’s awesome.  You can get it here:

Acceleroto is proud to announce Doodle Hockey™ !!

Doodle Hockey is next in a line of top selling and featured games from Acceleroto.  Taking lessons learned from our #1 best selling iPhone and iPad game Air Hockey, Doodle Hockey is a completely new game built from the ground up with all the best ideas from games past and filled with lots of new awesomeness.

We’re excited to work with the amazing artist Brett Archibald from Not How It Looks.  Brett’s art gives a cute, fun & instantly engaging feel to the game.  Kids, teens, and adults all the way up love the graphics!  Doodle Hockey’s sound design is handled by the award winning Tapio Liukkonen from Kaamos Sound.  With the high-powered combo of outstanding graphics & sound, Doodle Hockey is a completely addicting must-have game for the iPhone OS.

Doodle Hockey harnesses the power of Cocos2d for iPhone and the hyper-accurate physics engine Box2d.  Both work together to give you a game that anyone can learn in seconds that will keep you entertained with addicting replay value.  Stuck in a line?  Doodle Hockey.  Riding on a bus?  Doodle Hockey.  You need something to entertain your kids?  Doodle Hockey.  You need to play?  Doodle Hockey.

The graphics are done.  The sounds are rockin’.  The trademarks are filed.  Features & more features are being piled in.  Polish, polish, and more polish.  You’ll be able to get your hands on Doodle Hockey for your favorite device before you know it.

Doodle Hockey.  Available soon for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.  Only from Acceleroto.

We jumped on it.  That day we cooked up & tested a special version of Air Hockey made just for Apple.  It looks & feels almost exactly like our full version of Air Hockey with a few minor changes.  Since lots people would be playing it from the same device, all the options get reset to their default values every time the game launches.  Consistent user experience.  Instead of all 6 difficulty levels, it includes Kiddie, Easy & Medium games.  Medium is challenging enough to beat most people their first time playing the game.  With the 1 or 2-puck option, that will let pretty much anyone tailor a challenging experience for their first crack at Air Hockey.  Challenging, consistent, engaging…done.

There have been several sightings of Air Hockey in several Apple Stores in the US over the last week.  We have no idea exactly how many stores have installed Air Hockey, so do us a favor.  If you see Air Hockey installed in your local Apple Store (or any other iPod/iPhone retailer), send us a note.  Better yet, send us a photo.  Twitter works great (@GrouchoDuke or @acceleroto).  Leaving a comment here would also work well.

Over 500,000 people have downloaded Air Hockey & Air Hockey Free.  Now over 8 months since its launch, Air Hockey is still averaging 100 copies a day in sales.

So where’s the new game?  It’s on the way.  After going 10 rounds (and 4 months) with a game engine, we put an exciting project on the shelf until the technology matures.  Instead of releasing something we weren’t 100% happy with, we started an entirely new game a couple months ago.  It’ll be a fun, fast-paced shooter.  We’ll begin the beta testing process soon.  Stay tuned!

Get Air Hockey here: http://tinyurl.com/airhockey

Please send the cards to cards@acceleroto.com ASAP!