AuntieTuaw
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Dear Aunt TUAW: Limiting distribution to faster iPods and iPhones
Dear Aunt TUAW, I'm an iPhone developer. My applications really need some computing *oomph*. How can I ensure that the app is only distributed on the iPhone 3GS or the iPod 3G or later? Speaking of which, what exactly is the adoption rate of those newer, faster units? How can I find that out? Love & Kissies, Mr. Gando Read on for Auntie's response...
Dear Auntie TUAW: What happened to the mini player in iTunes 9?
Dear Auntie TUAW, With all the shiny goodness of iTunes 9 and a way to finally organise iPhone/iPod Touch apps without getting a friction burn on my thumb, I settled in for some music lovin'. Now I don't know how everyone else in the world likes their iTunes experience, but personally I'm quite fond of using the miniplayer. I love having it floating atop everything else for quick track skipping without having to resort to any kind of ghastly menu bar or dashboard trickery (I'm a purist maybe?). To my dismay the zoom button now... actually... zooms the iTunes window rather than presenting me with my favoured miniplayer. It's no great loss (considering the hot key is only shift+cmd+M) but I liked the simplicity of "The green one gives me small happy player." Love and kisses,Your Nephew James Dearest James, Auntie TUAW wanted me to answer for her; she's in the process of baking some cakes for the annual church social at Our Lady of Perpetual Motion, so she's a bit tied up right now.I'm sorry to hear that you're having trouble with the new functions of iTunes 9. I have hope! Apple didn't change the functionality too much. In fact, they made it more consistent with the rest of the operating system. The green "+" button now acts as a proper zoom button like every other app out there -- BUT -- if you hold the option key while pressing it you still get the mini player like the previous versions of iTunes. Sure, you can use the shift+command+M hot key if you'd like, but there's a still a mouse click solution that will hopefully help you and the rest of our readers out. With best regards,Cousin Josh
Dear Auntie TUAW: How do I deal with an app due for rejection?
Dear Auntie TUAW, I submitted a really simple game to Apple on July 17th, and I'm still waiting for them to review it. A week after that submission, I submitted another new app (a lite version of another app of mine) that had the phrase "Buy the full version for $0.99" and it was rejected only 7 days later because I listed the price (different world currencies pay different amounts). Fair enough. Except that my app that I submitted on July 17th also has the phrase "$0.99" in it (this was submitted before Apple warned all developers to not list costs inside the app). I e-mailed Apple saying "I know you'll reject my app because of this reason. What should I do?" They replied saying "Since your application is under further review, I would recommend letting the special review process finish its path and then if you are rejected for the same reason as [2nd app], you will have to make the changes and then we will expedite your application through the new review process." That was 7 days ago. I know that my app will be rejected. They also know it will be rejected. And yet, it's still "In Review." I know many other developers complain about the review process, and I've not even had to be waiting for as long as some other people, but this process is just a ridiculous one that we all need to jump through. The App Store has been out for over a year now... why haven't they figured this process out by now? Even if it needs to take this long to go through the review process, it'd be nice if they were at least a little more vocal about what is going on and give me a time frame of when it will be completed. Love and Kissies, Your Nephew Ryan Dearest Ryan, I'm so sorry to hear about your App Store review delays. It's just like waiting for my bifocals to be ready at the opticians. I can't see what kind of bad news is on the way to mess up my lawn but I know they're out there and that they'll be here soon. You young whippersnappers! Fortunately, iTunes Connect offers a handy feature that puts you back in control of your situation. (Just as my Remington 870 tactical will help with mine.) Update your app in Xcode, create a new distribution version, and then reject the binary that's currently in review. You'll then be able to upload a new version that doesn't mention any specific prices. (And hopefully doesn't try to upsell you to another product because in-app advertisements for free-to-pay upgrades make Auntie T have to stock up on the Preparation H, if you follow my meaning. It also gives you halitosis, stunts your growth, and decreases your happiness level by 1d5.) Admittedly, rejecting your binary puts you at the back of the review line. At the same time, you know that if you've taken care of any outstanding auto-rejection issues, you'll likely have a 7-14 day approval from the time you reject and then replace the app. Second guessing the review squad and fixing problems proactively sidesteps any known issues and puts you back into control. And don't forget to send the poor review team some virtual cookies. They love that! Love, Auntie TUAW
Dear Auntie TUAW: What's that little dot in the iPhone's status bar?
Dear Auntie TUAW, I was driving home from an appointment today with my brother, and at a stop light, I noticed that instead of the Edge "E", I had this little blue dot. I just assumed that it was where i had connected to WiFi and had no bars, but it was much too big and centered. My brother, who also has an iPhone, pulled his out to find that we both had the little dot. They are both first Gen iPhones, his 4GB, mine 8GB. I did not know what this meant, but being the Apple nerd I am, I figure I would have heard something of this dot before now. Do you know what it is? Could it have something to do with 3.0 coming out soon as expected? Thanks, And I look forward to hearing what you think. With love from your nephew, Andrew Dixon Andrew, sweetheart, Speaking of the iPhone, are you including enough roughage in your diet? Now that I'm entering onto what we oldsters can only term our "tender years," I've grown to realize that bulk, bulk, bulk is the key to world happiness. Fiber is health; health, fiber. That is what we know at TUAW, and all ye need to know for better digestive function. As for your question, that little blue circle means you youngsters were connected to a GPRS network, aka General Packet Radio Service. When the iPhone first debuted, it displayed the EDGE "E" when connected to GPRS. This made pedants cry. Newer firmware versions show this blue circle instead. As noted below, GPRS is quite a bit slower than either EDGE or 3G. To check this icon out for yourself, you can browse through your iPhone files using sftp (on a jailbroken iPhone) or iBrowser (for iPhones with the developer deployment). The EDGE and GPRS icons live in /System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app and are named FSO_EDGE_ON.png and FSO_GPRS_ON.png. You'll need to convert the compressed iPhone-style png images to Mac compatible ones using a utility like fixpng. Send my love to your brother and don't forget to wear a scarf to keep your neck warm! Love and hugs, Auntie T.
Dear Aunt TUAW: How do I get started programming for the iPhone?
Dear Auntie TUAW, I've been thinking about trying my hand at development for the iPhone (I've got some good app ideas already), and I was wondering where a good place to start might be. Should I mess around with learning some Objective-C first, or just spend the $99 and dive in with the dev kit? I know some PHP, Javascript, and a smattering of C++, but have never tried developing in Objective-C or Cocoa. I have some free time this weekend to try messing around with development and see if it's something I might be able to do. Where's a good place to stick my toe in and see if the water's good for swimming? Should I buy an Objective-C book and spend the whole weekend with that, or is it worth it to put down the money on a dev kit and see what I can make my iPhone do? Let me know! Just thinking of you, there's this scent in the air... like a mixture of 4711, hard candies and Aqua Net. Your devoted nephew, Mikey
Dear Auntie TUAW: Is My 2.0 iPhone Slow and Buggy?
Dear Auntie TUAW, I've been looking to see if there was a post about this, but have people been noticing that the 2.0 firmware on their original iPhones has made them slow, partially responsive, and more buggy? I'm looking for a way to downgrade mine until they get it figured out. Thanks! Signed, David C. David, read on for the answer from Auntie TUAW.
