Devsugar
Latest
devsugar: Understanding iPhone 4 backgrounding
If you're looking for a simple and easy-to-follow introduction to iPhone 4's new backgrounding abilities, head on over to Oliver Drobnik's weblog and check out his latest write-up. You'll find a lovingly crafted graphic that walks you through the iPhone application lifecycle, showing how an application reacts to system changes like incoming phone calls or users' home button presses. A small portion of the chart appears at the top of this post. Don't miss Drobnik's write-up in addition to his flowchart. I like the case he lays out for using applicationDidEnterBackground as the perfect place for saving state before giving up application control. As he points out, applicationWillTerminate will not get called in many application suspension cases. Drobnik continues to refine his write-up, so keep checking back in for last-minute tuning and updates.
iOS 4.0 Gold Master SDK publicly released
The iOS 4.0 gold master SDK (not release candidate) is now available for download from Apple. All members of Apple's developer program (not just paid members) can access the iOS 4.0 SDK, with its enhanced APIs. As in the past, the ongoing NDA for the iPhone version of iOS 4.0 is expected to be revoked as the GM is put out for public developer consumption. So what's next? Apple is expected to put its latest iPad iOS 4 SDK into beta soon as well as the new Game Center functionality. Meanwhile, developers are anxiously anticipating the general beta of the new Xcode 4.0. If you are a paid or online developer and you haven't watched the Developer Tools State of the Union, you really should head on over to do so at your earliest convenience. It's an amazingly exciting time to be developing for iOS and Mac OS X.
devsugar: WWDC 2010 videos, slides, and sample code now available
Paid members of the iOS developer program who did not attend WWDC may want to head on over to Apple's WWDC 2010 video page. Roughly a billion hours (if my quick calculations can be believed) of WWDC session video is now available for download from iTunes. You'll be able to find videos on topics from application frameworks to graphics to core OS topics to dev tools. Sample code and slides are also available. Please keep in mind that this material remains under NDA, so we will leave the content specifics as an exercise for the reader. Go enjoy your videos!
Poll: What are your feelings about iAds?
Hey TUAW's Developer Brain Trust! For many of you WWDC is just wrapping up, and you're now probably hanging around in airports bored and checking on e-mail, visiting web sites. We thought it would be a great time to offer you something to think about. Now that you've been exposed to iAds and are able to start returning to your offices to build and submit 4.0 apps using the GM release candidate, are you going to be adding advertising to your apps or not? I've had very mixed results with ad-supported apps. For me, they've been successful outside of App Store (and a big old "thank you" to every single one of you who has clicked through! I very much appreciate it!) but not so successful in App Store itself. Now, with Apple behind iAds, I'm willing to give App Store another try.
hacksugar: Bringing back the on-screen keyboard
You've got an iPad. You've got a Bluetooth keyboard that you love. Now imagine this: You're in bed. Your keyboard is somewhere downstairs. And yet, it's still in range and paired to your device. You can tap, tap, tap in the iPad Spotlight text entry field, but there's no keyboard for you to use. Frustrating, no? Sure, you can hop over to Settings and globally disable Bluetooth. But there has got to be a better/easier way to recover the on-screen keyboard without messing with Bluetooth, right? There is -- but it's only available right now if you're a developer (sign it using your credentials) or using a jailbroken system. I've posted a little utility, which I call KeysPlease over on my website (direct application link) and on the ModMyI repository (thanks, Kyle!). I've added it to my iPad dock, and now when I'm in the wrong room I just tap the app icon to retrieve my soft keyboard. Bluetooth remains unaffected and I can keep working on whatever I've been working on.
iPhone OS 4.0 SDK Beta 4 available for download
Apple is now 4 for 4. Or at least Beta 4 for iPhone OS 4.0. They have just posted the latest and greatest iPhone OS 4.0 beta. As with previous beta releases, this new beta update provides firmware for each of the supported devices (namely the iPhone 3GS, the iPhone 3G, and the 2nd and 3rd generation iPod touch). Because of the ongoing NDA, the details of this release remain behind a wall of confidentiality. You'll need to visit the developer site and check out the specifications for yourself. Apple will be releasing 4.0 into the general iPhone population this summer. An iPad version will debut in the fall. Apple's servers get slammed whenever a new SDK is released. You may want to wait a few hours if you encounter any problems connecting to the developer site.
hacksugar: Wireless iTunes syncing makes it to jailbroken iPhones
Cables, schmables. Why occupy valuable USB slots when you can make iTunes data fly magically over virtual intertubes to and from your home computer? New to the jailbreak world, Wi-Fi Sync introduces over-the-air sync to iPhone devices. The application works like this: you install a client app on your desktop computer (10.5 and 10.6 Mac only at this time), which you can download for free from the Wi-Fi Sync website. Then, run the $9.99 Wi-Fi Sync application on your iPhone. Your phone will appear in iTunes' sources list as a connected device. You can then sync your device, just as if it were plugged in at a standard USB port.
hacksugar: Working with iPad-mounted USB drives
Recently, TUAW has looked at using the iPad's camera connection kit to attach and use USB drives. If you're using a jailbroken iPad, you'll be pleased to discover that the camera connection kit allows you to connect a USB stick or hard drive and access it from your iPad. That means you can easily bring extra files on-the-go and copy them into third party (i.e. no, you're not going to update your iTunes library on the go...yet) applications. Mounting drives is the province of a built-in application called MobileStorageMounter. It's part of the iPad's core services. When it sees a new FAT or HFS USB device, it attempts to mount that device using standard Unix services. If it finds a built-in DCIM folder on the drive, it launches the iPad Photos application. If not, it throws up the dialog shown at the top of this post, reporting that the attached USB device is not supported. As far as you're concerned, that error message is good news. It means that the device has been properly mounted and is ready for use. If you do not see the dialog, it's time to take one of two courses of action: a quick fix that works most of the time and a thorough fix that always works. Read on to learn more...
iPhone OS 4.0 SDK Beta 3 available for download
Apple just posted its latest iPhone OS 4.0 beta. As with previous beta releases, this new beta update provides firmware for each of the supported devices (namely the iPhone 3GS, the iPhone 3G, and the 2nd and 3rd generation iPod touch). As usual, the details of this release remain behind the NDA wall, so you'll need to visit the developer site and check them out yourself. Apple will be releasing 4.0 into the general iPhone population this summer. An iPad version will debut in the fall. Apple's servers get slammed whenever a new SDK is released. You may want to wait a few hours if you encounter any problems connecting to the developer site. UPDATE: Apple has pulled the beta for now. This has happened before and generally indicates some problem with the build (despite paranoia about leaked features). Please let us know when Beta 3 returns. UPDATE 2: The beta is available for download once again. The beta returned around 9:30 PM (Pacific Time). Given that the beta was only pulled for less than one day, and judging from comments made by developers who managed to grab the beta this morning, chances are the reason for the beta being pulled may have been due to installation location problems. Now that the download is back, we'll find out soon enough.
Voices that Matter iPhone: August Trometer on UI design and the iPad
August Trometer is a veteran iPhone and Mac developer -- along with his own stable of titles, he's also one of the developers behind the popular Yowza!! mobile coupon app, and the author of a book on web development for Apple's handheld device. He spoke not once but twice on the first day of the Voices that Matter iPhone developer conference in Seattle last weekend -- in the morning on "Designing a Killer UI" for the iPhone, and in the afternoon about what's new for developers in terms of code available on the iPad. After the second talk, he agreed to sit down with us and discuss a little bit of his thinking about concepts of UI design for both devices. In the interview below, he chats with TUAW about what developers can do to make better user interfaces for iPhone and iPad users, why he believes Apple had a plan for the iPad all along, and what's next in terms of interface design Read on for more.
Interview with Brian Akaka of Appular and Hand of Greed
Brian Akaka is an old friend of ours here at TUAW -- he is a veteran of Mac gaming, and was a familiar name in our inbox back when he was working at Freeverse and promoting their Mac software and iPhone apps. A little while back, he stepped away from Freeverse to form his own company, Appular, and since then, he's continuing to work with iPhone developers, both marketing and promoting their apps. Just recently, however, Appular has moved from simply promoting iPhone apps into actually publishing them. Their first title is named Hand of Greed -- it's a game that actually first appeared on the App Store in January, and has now been repackaged and republished by Appular in an effort to give the app some visibility. I got a chance to play the game last week, and then met up and spoke with Akaka this past weekend at the Voices that Matter conference in Seattle. After the link below, find both my impressions of the game, and a quick interview with Appular about why they've decided to not only promote iPhone titles, but publish a few themselves.
WWDC 2010 officially announced
At long last, the wait is over. Apple has officially announced WWDC 2010. The "center of the app universe" will take place from June 7th - 11th at Moscone West in sunny San Francisco, California. This year's event has five major sessions and lab categories: Application Frameworks, Core OS, Developer Tools, Graphics and Media and finally Internet & Web. For those who have wondered if Apple will be giving equal emphasis to traditional Mac development versus the iPhone OS platform, well, this picture says a thousand words. This is not a new OS X year but it is a big new iPhone OS device year and the conference schedule reflects that emphasis. This is certainly the latest date that Apple has ever announced its WWDC dates in recent years (typically, it's announced in early March -- and once in late January). Developers will be glad to know they can finally schedule the rest of their Spring and Summer. Tickets are on sale now for US$1,599. Just remember, attendees must agree to the Registered Apple Developer Terms and Conditions as part of the conference ticket purchase process. We'll see you in June!
Found Footage: iPad output to TV with iPhone control
Dave at Magic Jungle Software wanted to turn the iPad into a video game console. So he got on his thinking cap and did a little bit of development to turn his idea into a reality. The video you see here shows an iPad running a demo of his game, Chopper 2 (currently in development), while connected to a 42" TV via Apple's component cable. Even better, David notes that he used all public APIs to accomplish this feat. As of the 3.2 SDK, Apple now offers App Store-safe ways to send video out through a VGA connector or through a component video or composite video adapter cable. You can get an idea of some of the details behind this technology in the slides from this 10-minute impromptu talk given by Erica Sadun over the weekend at the Voices that Matter conference. But wait! There's more! The super fun part is that he's controlling the game with is iPhone via Bluetooth. He's using a GameKit two-device connection, effectively turning the iPhone into a wireless controller for the iPad. It's very cool, and the first we've seen an iPhone controlling an iPad game in this way. Connecting it to a TV was the cherry on top. This isn't the first time this kind of gaming on the TV using an iPhone has been done. Freeverse engineer created a proof-of-concept system using private APIs to achieve video out with an iPhone back in 2008. You can watch the video they created, using routines that Erica published over at Ars Technica. Magic Jungle isn't using any private calls, however. Their software is publishable, which means unlike that early demo, the chances of this ending up in your hands so you can try it out on your actual device are pretty high. All in all, this is pretty neat. Games often suffer from your hands being in the way (I'm looking at you, Resident Evil). On-screen smudges can diminish a real immersion experience. You simply don't experience those issues when the device itself is merely a controller. Here's hoping we seem more of this. I can't wait to play.
Voices that Matter iPhone: Creating the Winter Olympics app
Xomo's Jeff Sinclair took the stage on day two of this past weekend's Voices that Matter iPhone conference to the tune of the Olympic theme music -- his company (well his most recent company -- he's worked on a few other ventures previously) was formed for one purpose: to provide the official iPhone app for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Eleven months before the games, in March of 2009, Xomo was formed around the idea of "disposable apps" -- the thinking was that since most people only use an app for a period of weeks anyway, they would create event-based and location-based apps that had a built-in time limit. The eventual goal was to provide an Olympic app, and so even before the games knew they would want an app, Xomo started up to build one. The story was actually pretty interesting -- Sinclair talks about the trials and tribulations of building both the app and building the funding and audience for it. Most iPhone developers start out with money and go from there, but Xomo really started out with the software, and then convinced the Olympics and their sponsors to pay for it. Read on to see how the award-winning app was eventually built.
Voices that Matter iPhone: "From iPhone to iPad" panel
To end the first day of the Voices that Matter iPhone conference in Seattle last weekend, a group of veteran iPhone developers sat down for a roundtable panel and talked about the iPad. August Trometer (Yowza!!), Brent Simmons (NetNewsWire), Kyle Kinkade (Tap Tap Revenge), Daniel Pasco of Black Pixel, Tim Wood of The Omni Group, and TUAW's own Erica Sadun were questioned by moderator Chuck Toporek about the differences between the iPhone and the iPad and a few of the pressing issues that both devices are likely to face in the future. Even though the panel ended the day (and all of the attendees and panelists were craving the eventual beer and pizza that would be available later in the evening), it was a lively discussion that offered both insight and frank opinions from these developers. Read on to hear what they said about Flash on the iPhone, app pricing, and their favorite apps on the iPad.
Voices that Matter iPhone: How Ben Newhouse created Yelp Monocle, and the future of AR
Yelp's Ben Newhouse (who is actually still a student at Stanford) gave a fascinating talk this weekend at the Seattle Voices that Matter iPhone conference. He talked about Yelp Monocle, the augmented reality (AR) iPhone app that he created, and revealed the surprising (and somewhat scandalous) story behind what's known as the iPhone's first-released AR app. He gave some technical details about how he designed the code to make it all run and speculated a little bit about where augmented reality and camera vision are headed. It was very interesting stuff. Newhouse seems like an extremely smart, young guy who already knows this burgeoning technology very well. When it comes to augmented reality, it certainly seems like the iPhone is leading the charge as a relatively cheap device that will eventually replace more expensive and cumbersome technologies.
Voices that Matter iPhone: Aaron Hillegass and Joe Conway on the lifecycle of an iPhone app
Aaron Hillegass and Joe Conway of Big Nerd Ranch kicked off the Voices that Matter iPhone conference in Seattle this weekend with an overview keynote detailing the lifecycle of an iPhone app from a developer's point of view. The two are trainers and consultants for developers working on iPhone apps, and they laid out how an iPhone app is made, from start to finish, giving tips and suggestions to the developers in attendance on how they've developed their own process. Read on to learn the steps they take at Big Nerd Ranch in making an iPhone app, and both how and how not to perform them.
Voices that Matter iPhone: Five iPhone app design mistakes, and how to fix them
TUAW is at the Voices that Matter iPhone developers' conference this weekend, talking to iPhone OS developers of all walks of life. All weekend long, devs are here learning about how to code and design better iPhone applications from some of the best minds and artists on the App Store. We've gathered some wisdom from the hallways and discussions here at the conference, and boiled them down into five different design mistakes that developers need to address before moving into the iPad arena. Hit the link below to see what's going wrong with typical iPhone practices when they are applied to iPad development, and how to do it right.
Voices that Matter iPhone: App Store prices
Here's just a quick shot from Jeffrey Hughes' lunchtime presentation on marketing iPhone apps here at this weekend's Voices that Matter iPhone developers' conference here in Seattle. Because the presentation ran a little long, he had to hurry through his planned section on pricing, but he did share these interesting figures, culled from 148Apps.biz. The average non-game app price in the iPhone store right now is actually over US$3. But the average game price, $1.39 (driven way down by the many 99 cent games available) actually brings the overall app price down another 20 cents or so, putting the total at just $2.79. That might seem low (especially if you're an app developer who has worked a lot on what you think is a quality app). But given all the 99 cent and free apps out there, it actually seems somewhat higher than I expected. And apparently this includes iPad apps, too, many of which have settled down at $9.99. Interesting stat to see.
SDK devsugar: Finding beta seed differences
Just a quick heads up to developers: Are you struggling to determine what changes between one beta release and the next? There's an easy solution. Head on over to the pre-release reference library. This site lives behind the normal Apple firewall and can only be accessed by members of the paid ($99) iPhone developer program. Normally, Apple's documentation on the main beta release page (also behind the paid developer wall) lists only those differences between the last major firmware version (currently 3.2) and the newest beta (currently 4.0 beta 2). Over the last few days, I've been able to point quite a few people over to the document that shows the differences the previous beta (4.0 beta 1) and the current (4.0 beta 2). By checking in there, you can easily see what's new right away when a beta build drops. Hopefully this will save some of you a bit of extra work. Thanks, Emanuele Vulcano!
