DemoApp
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Microsoft previews Windows Phone 7 app design process with a golfing scorekeeper (video)
You don't need us to tell you that apps have grown to become a core part of modern smartphone ecosystems. Android and iOS, the two major app-centric OS environments are growing in leaps and bounds, while a substantial part of Windows Phone 7's eventual success is expected to hinge on exactly how it matches (or betters) those guys on the app front. So, what better excuse than that to check out this concept golf scoring app from Redmond? Designed using Microsoft's favored Metro aesthetic, it really streamlines the user experience by employing "multiple touch targets [that] are spread out from one another" and distilling content down to large, easily readable data. We've got to say, it's hitting the right note with us, but do follow along after the break to learn about a few of the WP7 design quirks -- such as the drop-down system tray and the reason why rounded app icon corners are undesirable.
How I got DemoApp to Work on the iPhone
DemoApp is that mystery application that coexists in the iPhone's Applications folder along with all the standard apps like Google Maps, Calculator, Stocks, and so forth. We've known for a while that it had something to do with movies but until today, we weren't sure what it did. Today, I can confirm that it does what most people have suspected: it plays a single movie over and over in a repeat loop. It does not, as others hoped, allow you to play video out through your dock. Here's the down and dirty on DemoApp. Where is DemoApp located? It's found in /Applications. You will not be able to see this application without hacking your iPhone. How do I make my iPhone automatically play a movie? Place an h.264-encoded movie named Demo.mov into /private/var/root. Reboot your iPhone. (Power down and then re-power on.) The iPhone automatically opens your movie and begins playing it on a loop. How do I make it stop? Remove the movie from /private/var/root and reboot. While playing, will it export video out my dock? No. Just audio. Why does it play in portrait mode? Presumably so it can remain docked and powered. Does it have to be encoded in h.264? That's the only encoding I've tried. Does it have to be named Demo.mov? Yes. How did you figure this out? Testing and playing with the Unix strings command and, frankly, quite by accident. How do I make DemoApp appear with my other Widgets? You can do this but it's really kind of pointless. You must edit /System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app/DisplayOrder.plist. Copy the file to your Mac, make a copy, and use Property List editor to move the com.apple.DemoApp dict pair from special into iconList. Return the edited version to the iPhone and reboot. To hide the widget, just restore the original DisplayOrder.plist.
