Maxvoltar - Review: iPhone App Development: The Missing Manual ⇾
Tim Van Damme gives a short review of Craig Hockenberry’s new book, iPhone App Development.
In the first couple of chapters, not a single line of code is being mentioned. You start out by thinking about what kind of app you want to create. Is it realistic to build? Is there a lot of competition? Is it possible to write with the available API’s in the iPhone OS?
With his look at the entire spectrum of the development process, it appears that Craig’s book is a must have for those hitching their wagons to Apple’s gravy train.
The iPad doesn’t need to do everything ⇾
Marco gives a great overview of his usage of the iPad has played out in his life.
- I’ll play games on it.
- I’ll check email on it, but not respond much, because that requires a lot of typing.
- I’ll check RSS and Twitter on it, but not exclusively.
- I’ll read for short periods on it before my hands get tired of holding it.
His description closely mirrors my own findings, as the iPad has been mostly used as a device to use while away from my computer, but still in my home. For around the house, it has completely replaced my iPhone usage.
I would only add one more item to the list above. I’ve used the iPad to watch movies as well — I’m currently catching up on Lost season 4. My iPad has been a pleasant way to do so.
Daniel Jalkut ponders some scary questions while detailing Apple’s recent abandonment of their downloads page:
Does Apple plan to introduce a new App Store for “authorized” Mac apps? Are they simply disinterested in the Mac since the iPod, iPhone, and iPad have taken one such an important role in their public relations? These are some of the questions that run through the minds of Mac developers as we try to interpret meaning from the unexplained actions.
This page is a listing for Mac software only, obviously. All iPad and iPhone software is listed in the app store. Will the desktop follow?
For this user, that’s the scariest question of all.
“Every commercial product which competes directly with an Apple product (particularly the iPhone) gives me (and many others) the distinct impression that “where it is original, it is not good, and where it is good, it is not original.”
Stanislav Datskovskiy in Non-Apple’s Mistake, in which he blames the current situation of Apple’s Golden Cage on the rest of the industry and the complete lack of anyone else creating good products.
Brilliant.
Atomic Stapler: Why iAds misses the mark ⇾
Josh Holloway makes a few interesting points regarding Apple’s newly announced iAds platform.
There was a ton of speculation about Apple’s entry into mobile advertising leading up to last week’s iPhone OS 4 event, and now that we know more about iAds, there’s a lot of excitement about how it could change the future of advertising forever. While I see a lot of potential in iAds, I really …
“Between Apple and Google, I’m rooting for Google. Google behaves in predictably evil ways. Apple remains innovative in their evil behavior.”
“Apple got part of it right–ads need to be meaningful and useful–but being relevant is just as important for ads to be useful. At this point, they’re still delivering ads, whereas Fusion and the Deck are more delivering recommendations than they are ads. There’s a big difference, and I suspect many developers would rather use ad services like them rather than iAds. There should be room for both on the device.”
While discoursing on the subject of Flash again, Gruber says this about Apple:
It boils down to control. I’ve written several times that I believe Apple controls the entire source code to iPhone OS. (No one has disputed that.) There’s no bug Apple can’t try to fix on their own. No performance problem they can’t try to tackle. No one they need to wait for.
Yet Apple has shown no concern in this regard for the developers of the applications for the iPhone. The current App Store infrastructure is not set up so a developer can quickly fix a bug. Unless he/she works for Apple.
He says later in the piece:
I say what Apple cares about controlling is the implementation.
Maybe, but I would say they only care about their implementation.
And the big push is on … got your clickers ready?
This will be such old news to all you long-time iPhone owners, but after a recent upgrade from my 1st gen iPod Touch to an iPhone 3GS, I have once again been reminded how well Apple gets the little things right. Previously I had the mentality that the iPod Touch is the iPhone without the phone. But there are a few others components on the iPhone that have been a nice addition.
Obviously the camera is a nice thing to carry around. But it’s the software involved that has been so impressive. Navigating from taking a photo or video to reviewing your “Camera Roll” is so smooth and intuitive, it’s pleasurable to use. And just having a camera always with you will result in a lot more photos.
Another app that I love having built in is the Nike + iPod. I’ve used my iPod Nano to sync my runs to the Nike+ service for a few years, but it’s a night and day difference on the iPhone. The little touches like being able to pause your workout even when the phone is locked are pure genius.
Serious runners, please avert your eyes from the pace in the image above …
Further Adventures in Cheap, Reliable Internet Access)
What finally drove me over the edge to signing on to a 3 year contract was the fact that it could actually save me money. By choosing the highest data plan available with my Internet carrier, I get 3 GB of data transfer per month, including any tethering to my computer. Since my internet access is already so expensive, I should actually save money by using my first 3 GBs of data every month on my iPhone.
The cell phone access is an extra benefit to cheaper internet.
It’s these small touches of design ingenuity that endear me to Apple products. Never having used a Palm Pre, a Nexus, or any of these ‘contenders’, I can only assume that this is what they are missing.
