DeveloperProgram
Latest
Sony's PlayStation Mobile Developer Program officially kicks off, SDK ready for prime time
After unveiling plans for PlayStation Mobile last summer, opening the storefront and letting its software development kit marinate in beta for roughly a year, Sony has finally given the dev platform the "go" (no, not that one) for launch. Developers eager to create games and apps for PlayStation-certified Android tablets and smartphones -- and even the PS Vita -- can download the SDK, but have to be willing to shell out $99 a year for the chance to publish as many titles as they wish. If you're ready to start slinging code, see the source links below to enroll in the program and download the SDK.
Fusion-io SDK gives developers native memory access, keys to the NAND realm
Thought your SATA SSD chugged along real nice? Think again. Fusion-io has just released an SDK that will allow developers to bypass all the speed draining bottlenecks that rob NAND memory of its true potential (i.e. the kernel block I/O layer,) and tap directly into the memory itself. In fact, Fusion-io is so confident of its products abilities, it prefers to call them ioMemory Application Accelerators, rather than SSDs. The SDK allows developers native access to the ioMemory, meaning applications can benefit from the kind of hardware integration you might get from a proprietary platform. The principle has already been demonstrated earlier this year, when Fusion-io delivered one billion IOPS using this native access. The libraries and APIs are available now to registered members of its developer program, hit the more coverage link to sign up.
Qualcomm, Microsoft giving Snapdragon S4 PCs to Windows-on-ARM developers (update: NVIDIA handing out Tegra 3 PCs, too)
Microsoft spent a big chunk of MWC today telling everyone about Windows 8 and if you're the coding type, the news gets even better. If invited, you'll be expecting something nice in the mail to arrive from Redmond very shortly. It's sending out test PCs powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 that includes the beefy LTE, camera and sensor gear we played with in our hands-on. It's intended to give developers a head-start in building and refining Metro-style apps ahead of the operating system's big debut. You can check out the consumer preview of what was shown today here and if you'd like to know more, head on past the break for a sprinkling of PR. Update: It's not just Qualcomm giving away ARM silicon for free, looks like NVIDIA will be distributing Windows 8 machines powered by its Tegra 3 SoC too. PR's after the break.
NVIDIA opens Windows 8 developer program with support for Kal-El tablets
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know Microsoft's Build developer conference is going on right now in Anaheim, California, and Windows 8 is the belle of the ball. Earlier today, Windows chief Steven Sinofsky spilled more details about the OS, touting the minimum requirements and NFC support, while we fessed up to having had some quality hands-on time ourselves. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that the company's hardware partners are also ready to start talking. NVIDIA just opened its Windows 8 developer program, and says it'll embrace not just x86-based PCs, but Tegra-powered tablets as well. Specifically, that means support for its forthcoming quad-core Tegra platform, codenamed Kal-El, along with PCs packing GeForce, Quadro and Tesla cards. Any developers who happen to be hanging around the Anaheim Convention Center can sign up at NVIDIA's booth, though there's also an online registration page for everyone else. Find that at the source link, along with the full PR after the break.
Livescribe axes developer program to focus on the cloud
For the past several years one of the strangest and most interesting platforms with an app store all its own was the Livescribe series of smart-pens. Now, it's just another ditch to be dug in the development graveyard. After three years it will be closing up its SDK shop on July 22nd, and no more submissions too its app market will be accepted. The store will remain open for the time being, but the company won't guarantee compatibility with future models or firmware updates. Instead it will shift focus to cloud services like Livescribe Connect. But, don't get too worried, we're sure the healthy hacker community will keep you knee deep in text adventure ports.
Tapjoy alters marketing strategy to comply with App Store changes
Down but not out, Tapjoy confirmed to AllThingsD that it is modifying its incentivized purchases to work within Apple's new ranking system and to ensure its apps will make their way into the App Store. Last week, Apple made changes in its app store ranking system that downplayed the ranking of apps, and reviewers even rejected some apps that include cross-application marketing programs. The largest company affected by these changes was Tapjoy, a social and mobile game distribution network that offers these "incentivized purchases." In this system, an app developer pays money to be promoted by another application within Tapjoy's network. When a user wants to purchase an in-app item, like a new level, the user can download one of these sponsored apps in lieu of paying for the upgrade using virtual currency. This system increases the potential audience for these smaller developers and helps them increase their download numbers. Tapjoy's system was so successful it artificially propelled some apps to the top of the App Store because they were downloaded so often. Tapjoy modified its cross-marketing system and these changes appear to be working. CEO Mihir Shah confirmed "[Apple has] rejected certain apps for a certain mechanism. When we have tweaked that mechanism we have seen apps approved." These changes supposedly include a self-imposed cap that limits the usage of these pay-per-install promotions. Shah also re-iterated that Tapjoy is just going through some growing pains, and Apple has not "shut them down." While Tapjoy struggles, this circumstance may pave the way for other app networks, like Appia, to make inroads into this lucrative mobile marketing approach.
Apple banning pay-per-install apps from the App Store says Tapjoy
Apple is not only tweaking its App Store rankings to downrank pay-per-install applications, it may be actively banning these applications from the App Store. According to Tapjoy, several developers within their network are receiving rejection notices from Apple because their applications feature a pay-per-install promotion. This cross-application promotion lets users buy virtual in-app goods by downloading other applications instead of sending a payment. This practice has been criticized because it artificially boosts the download counts of applications. Users download these advertised applications because they want something for free, not because the app is desirable. Tapjoy claims these incentive-based downloads are not directly prohibited by Apple's developers guidelines, but believes Apple is applying section 3.10 to apps within its network. Section 3.10 of Apple's developer agreement states: Developers who attempt to manipulate or cheat the user reviews or chart ranking in the App Store with fake or paid reviews, or any other inappropriate methods will be removed from the iOS Developer Program Tapjoy defends its pay-per-install model by claiming the system is misunderstood. It acknowledges that campaigns may boost the downloads of some participating developers, but the overall model is beneficial to users, advertisers, and developers. Tapjoy supports the recent changes to Apple's ranking algorithm and is asking Apple to reconsider its unofficial ban on pay-per-install applications.
Kyocera launches developer program for dual-screen Echo smartphone
Kyocera promised that an SDK for its dual-screen Echo smartphone would be coming soon when it announced it last month, and it's now delivered that and more. It's just kicked off a full-fledged Android Developer Program for the phone, which will give developers access to Kyocera's support team, additional promotion and co-marketing opportunities for their apps, and even loaner units, although it's not clear exactly who's eligible for the latter. Those interested in taking part can download the SDK and contact Kyocera for additional information at the link below.
Amazon opens Appstore Developer program, is obviously doing an app store
It was no secret that Amazon was working an Android app store, including some early work with developers, but Amazon's "Appstore" (see what they did with the space there?) Developer Portal just went live. So, no doubt that this is happening, if there was any left in your mind, and we've got a nice stack of details on the store to tide us over until Amazon launches this thing. Amazon is looking to strike a balance between Apple's ultra strict store rules and Google's unvetted mayhem, and will be examining and testing each app before it goes onto the store. Amazon is also going to control pricing, with developers allowed to set a "list price" that Amazon will riff on, adjusting the price based on magical algorithms. There's the standard 70 / 30 split, and Amazon promises that the developer will get no less than 20 percent of the list price. Apps will be promoted to folks browsing Amazon.com just like how Kindle books pop up among physical goods, and can be "pushed" to your device similarly. It's all very intriguing if it catches on, which seems particularly likely on non-blessed devices that don't have access to Google's Market (like the bevy of WiFi-only tablets, the market Amazon claims to be targeting), and developers who want to get in on the action can fork over $99 today to get started.
Eye-Fi starting up a developer program, will have some APIs open for business this fall
Pardon us as we coin the term "apportunity" to describe the upcoming developer program Eye-Fi has just announced. Developers will able to tie their apps / applications / sites into Eye-Fi features and services through the web, including accessing an Eye-Fi card for photos and video, changing settings on the card, and uploading to online sharing sites through Eye-Fi channels instead of directly connecting to each site. It all sounds very promising in a niche, people-who-use-WiFi-SD-cards sort of way, and we look forward to the results as Eye-Fi starts giving out API keys in phases, beginning this fall.
Big Developer News: Mac Dev Program reduced to $99
After a many-hours outage, the Apple developer site is back -- and the changes are profound, at least on the Mac end of things. On the iPhone side, users are required to update their profiles, take a rather obnoxious survey and agree to new terms [Developer credentials required for link]. Unfortunately, Apple needs to improve the default survey formatting. iPhone developer John Fricker points out, "If you go to My Profile you can take the iPhone developer 'survey' with better formatting." But it's on the Mac side where the big news is. Apple has replaced the select and premiere memberships with a single-tiered, low-priced Mac Developer program. They write: We recently introduced a new Mac Developer Program that replaces ADC Premier, Select, and Student Memberships. If you are a current ADC member, you can continue to access your resources and benefits through the end of your membership year.
Intel brings out Atom SDK wanting more apps, acts oblivious to Windows
Intel wants people to develop apps for the x86 instruction set. Think about that a little, let it sink in. Now that you're appropriately unimpressed, let's discuss this new developer kit that's just been brought out. Designed to assist coders in that overwhelmingly challenging and new environment known as Atom-powered netbooks, the SDK has now hit Beta and is being distributed to developers of apps for Windows and Moblin. Yes Moblin, the light and snappy Linux flavor intended to spur on the sinking ship known as the MID category, still hasn't been abandoned by Intel, even if its original goal now seems out of reach. Intriguingly, apps approved by Intel will "sell at stores opening next year," which perhaps hints at grander plans than the mere optimization of software to undernourished hardware.
Intel Atom dev program launched, seeks to inspire netbook-centric applications
So, here's the situation. The current fleet of netbooks would be rendered next to useless with Vista loaded on, but having Windows XP on there forces manufacturers to regurgitate specification lists. Rather than using the introduction of Windows 7 to fully pursue a world where netbooks can actually run around freely with 2GB (or even 3GB!) of RAM and chipsets powerful enough to open seven Excel sheets simultaneously, Intel is today sparking up its Atom Processor Developer Program. The reason? To "spur a new wave of applications for... netbooks, with support for handhelds and smartphones available in the future." Call us calloused, but that sounds a lot like a company pushing for "lite" software that functions on sluggish hardware. Granted, we know that's not exactly the case here -- after all, even we wouldn't argue that some applications could benefit from being re-written to operate on a 10.1-inch display -- but it still feels like Intel's pushing software programmers to cater to underwhelming hardware rather than innovating its chips to work faster and more efficiently. There's no doubt that this feeling is compounded by just how long we've been waiting for a new wave of Atom CPUs, but at long last, we digress. The program actually has quite a few positive merits, such as striving to "reduce overhead and streamline the creation of new applications" for smaller devices -- something that would benefit every user regardless of processor. So far, both Acer and Dell have voiced their support for the program, giving us at least a modicum of reassurance that the Aspire One and Mini lines aren't vanishing anytime soon. Hit the read link for the glorified details, if you're into that type of thing.[Via jkkmobile]
iPhone dev program acceptance rate: 16%
As Steve Jobs opened up the keynote on Monday, he threw out a few numbers which, frankly, went by me without really clicking until today. At 10:10, my live blog reads as such: 10:10. 25,000 applied to dev program. 4,000 admitted. 35% of the Fortune 500 has participated in the program. Working with Cisco for secure VPN. Push email, push contacts, push calendar, autodiscovery, global address lookup, remote wipe. iPhone 2.0 software is enterprise support, SDK, and new features When you're liveblogging, these details tend to fly by -- without enough time to really process what you're typing. So it wasn't until this morning that it really hit me what this meant and it took a post by Rogue Amoeba's Paul Kafasis to make it sink in. Read more about these numbers and my thoughts after the jump.
iPhone dev program opened worldwide? First report!
I don't know if this is going to pan out or not, but TUAW reader Skaro (exterminate!) reports that he's been accepted into the iPhone developer program. Not a big deal until you realize that he lives in the UK and paid up his £59 fees. If true, this is huge. Many important 3rd party Apple developers are located throughout the world. Are you an out-of-States developer who's gotten your acceptance email? Please let us know.
First iPhone Developer acceptances confirmed
TUAW has finally been able to confirm actual acceptances into the $99 iPhone developer program. This is what we have been able to learn: The accepted developers were apparently among the first to apply. Rather than wait for the SDK to download, many of the developers applied as soon as they saw the application page. The accepted developers previously received the rejection letter (aka what Mike beautifully calls the "limbogram"). While the acceptance letter arrived this morning, developers reportedly received their initial rejections as early as the first Friday after applying. The acceptances appear to be random. One lucky developer noted his surprise that he, with essentially no iPhone coding background, was accepted while experienced, well-known Mac software houses were rejected. The program is firewalled. Unless you are authorized, you will not get access to Apple's documentation and support site. Five iPhone limit. For anyone hoping to find a back door way to distribute software, tough luck. You may develop for up to five iPhones and that's it. So no distribution sans Apple. Test devices are iBricks -- so to speak. Adding the pre-release iPhone OS to your iPhone seems to kill actual phone functionality. Update: We have unconfirmed reports that some developer phones continue to work as expected; as soon as we can clarify this we will. TUAW congratulates the lucky developers who got into the program. If you got your happy note this morning and have more to add, let us know in the comments or use our tip line for confidentiality. Update: Unless you submit a working email address with your tip, we cannot get back to you. (Hint hint, T.W.)
Poll: did you get into the iPhone Developer Program?
Sure, anyone can download the iPhone SDK, but it takes a little something extra to actually give those apps a go on a real device, now doesn't it? It appears that Apple has sent out thousands upon thousands of rejection letters today to would-be users of Apple's iPhone 2.0 beta firmware via the $99 iPhone developer and $299 enterprise programs, leaving nearly everyone without App Store access, without gems like Cisco VPN support, and indeed, without hope. How'd you fare?%Poll-11299%
