April 2013
2 posts
blog.izs.me: Free as in Hugs Licence →
izs:
Copyright (c) __AUTHOR_NAME__ (“Author”) and Contributors All rights reserved. The “Free as in Hugs” License Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
are met: Redistributions of source code must…
2 tags
4ZzZfm app in need of an update
The 4ZzZfm app was my first ever mobile app. It was then my first PhoneGap / Cordova app when I ported it.
It’s in desperate need of an update if for no other reason than that the iOS version does not support the iPhone 5 screen size.
I am thinking of trying to consolidate the codebases (currently it is a codebase for each of its two platforms) and maybe even expand it to cover other...
March 2013
1 post
3 tags
photoKandy Studios: Getting Started with... →
A Great intro to the Cordova Command Line Tooling
photokandy:
Cordova-CLI is doing some great things to make working with multiple platforms in one Cordova project easier. But installing with it can initially seem a little daunting if you’ve never played with it before, and so I thought it would help to write this guide up to help anyone else getting their…
December 2012
3 posts
My slides for the Sensis API Product Hack Camp →
5 tags
Raised center TabBar button in Cordova / PhoneGap...
A popular pattern in iOS lately (especially in apps with a focus on photo taking) is the raised / highlighted middle TabBar button. It’s easy enough to get a native TabBar in an iOS PhoneGap app using one of the two popular plugins (NativeControls and TabBar). There is even a great article on getting a raised middle TabBar button on iOS.
But not everyone using PhoneGap can comfortably turn that...
November 2012
0 posts
5 tags
First rejection
So I know I haven’t been posting here much, what can I say?
But I did feel like posting that I have had my first ever rejection experience with the Apple App Store.
An app I have been building for a client got rejected for collecting donations for charity — even though the app did not collect actual money, it merely allowed you to convert points earned in the app to a charitable donation.
...
June 2012
2 posts
the Web, unplugged: There must be something out... →
johnallsopp:
I’ve been developing a workshop focussing on HTML5 app features like UI, localStorage, devicemotion, geolocation, as well a bit of phoneGap, so students can add additional featurs like camera support, and package it all up as an app.
4 tags
I always wanted to be a 1%-er
So I submitted version 1.1 of Pixfor already. I don’t think that’s the 1% I wanted to be in. *sigh*
May 2012
2 posts
5 tags
Pixfor is live.
The side project I have been working on for the last two months is finally live.
http://pixfor.me
Pixfor is, in many ways, the 21st century update on the idea of leaving disposable cameras on the tables at weddings. It is also a great deal more than that.
It’s a combination of an app (currently iOS only) and a SaaS web site.
I have so much I haven’t had time to post about here...
4 tags
Been a while, but there is a reason
It’s been almost two months since my last post, but that’s because I have been working hard on a new app. In fact, an entire new product.
I’ll be able to post more soon including some of the custom plugins I wrote for the app.
It’s a camera-based app at heart so I needed a custom camera overlay view as well as some changes to make the camera more responsive (there was a...
March 2012
2 posts
Who Uses PhoneGap/Apache Cordova? →
A nice list of some of the “bigger” names behind/using PhoneGap / Cordova.
6 tags
Announcing the Read it Later plugin for PhoneGap...
One of the developers working on the new PhoneGap-based Wikipedia Mobile was having some annoying issues with the PhoneGap ShareKit plugin and decided he’d rather just put the Facebook and Twitter sharing in with their individual plugins.
He was happy with the decision where Facebook and Twitter were concerned, but lamented that the decision would mean there would no longer be support for...
February 2012
5 posts
5 tags
How to keep your old version of PhoneGap for iOS...
The PhoneGap installer for iOS overwrites the old version when you run it. It puts itself in over the top of your previous version.
However, when you have shipped an app with PhoneGap and it’s happily in the App Store, the last thing you want to do is have to deal with changes in the PhoneGap API between versions if you need to make small maintenance tweaks down the track.
Here’s...
3 tags
PhoneGap / Cordova plugin devs and users are in...
It looks like those of us who rely heavily on plugins are in for a bad time.
Cordova devs working on 1.4.x began the process of deprecating some classes a great many plugins used, now it looks like the work on 1,5 and beyond is going to make the plugin landscape even shakier.
The work on the new unified js will be a great boon to many end users making it easier to develop for multiple...
5 tags
PhoneGap plugins in iOS complaining about...
In PhoneGap (in reality Cordova) 1.4.x some classes were deprecated in the effort to make it play nice as a component in an otherwise native app (as opposed to only being able to be the primary controlling view). This is causing some confusion when developers using this version try to use plugins written using those classes. Xcode is giving them warnings about the deprecation and making them...
2 tags
4ZzZfm app program guide updated
The main reason it took so long to port the 4ZzZfm app from Objective-C to PhoneGap had nothing to do with PhoneGap, really. It had to do with adding new functionality at the same time that I had been wanting to add in for some time.
4ZzZfm has a program schedule that changes at the very least every quarter or so. There are also small things that change from time to time for various reasons. Up...
1 tag
The move to Tumblr
I have decided to move the blog to tumblr for a few of reasons.
I was sick of managing the comment spam on the previous WordPress blog
I was sick of managing the software/security updates on the previous WordPress blog
I wanted an easy way to post to the blog when I was out and about on an iOS device using Markdown
I wanted to see how well Tumblr works for a blog with it’s own domain,...
December 2011
1 post
5 tags
Meet the new 4ZzZfm app – now for iPhone *and*...
Dear 4ZzZfm and lovers of the best community radio station ever…
The 4ZzZfm iPhone app has been updated to version 3.0. This new version should always have an up to date Program Guide. It can now update the guide over the internet so it will no longer need an updated version to have a correct guide.
http://devgeeks.org/iphone-apps/4zzzfm-iphone
or on iTunes:
...
November 2011
1 post
3 tags
4ZzZfm iPhone app
So here we are. Almost four months to the day since I last posted about porting the 4ZzZfm iPhone app to PhoneGap, it’s finally awaiting review in the App Store.
A lot has changed from starting out to getting to this point. I’ll be writing a much bigger post about the whole experience (including my new-found hate for timezones and date math), but till then… I am just happy to see the back...
September 2011
1 post
4 tags
Devgeeks takes over the WORLD! (or at least my...
So for all my bemoaning about not having enough time to work on devgeeks work and mobile stuff in particular, I have had a career change of sorts and I am now going to pursue devgeeks as my full-time job.
This means I will be able to take on work as a mobile developer (as well as my more traditional web applications work).
I have set up the new devgeeks.com to this end. I will also continue with...
July 2011
1 post
4 tags
Experiments with PhoneGap
It’s that time again. Time to update the 4ZzZfm iPhone app. Actually, it’s way past due… but this is the way things go sometimes.
Early on I attempted to use some of the “write your app in HTML/Javascript/CSS and deploy to iPhone” technologies, but at the time their acceptability by Apple for App Store distribution was in doubt, and I couldn’t get them to do what I wanted anyway. This meant...
December 2010
1 post
2 tags
Failure to update...
So what we have here is a failure to communicate update…
Between moving house in September, the birth of my beautiful daughter Ivy in October and entering a new start-up phase at my “day job”… I just haven’t been keeping up with this blog.
I mean seriously.. the last post was about the Brisbanesounds app not having been approved yet. That app has long since been approved and is going...
September 2010
2 posts
2 tags
An update on the Brisbanesounds iPhone app…
Apple say they are getting through 83% of new app submissions in 7 days… I guess Brisbanesounds falls in the other 17%
I guess all I can do is wait. I have probably been abnormally lucky with my quick turnarounds on the 4ZzZfm app so far. It’s probably just a lucky numbers game. I suppose I shouldn’t be worried. It would be much more serious if it was taking a long time once the review...
2 tags
New app for Brisbane Sounds in review in the App...
I have finally gotten my second app into the review process on the App Store.
It’s an app for the Brisbane Sounds project – http://www.brisbanesounds.com/
April 2010
3 posts
2 tags
New version of 4ZzZfm iPhone app on App Store now!
Hooray! My latest update to my 4ZzZfm iPhone app is live on the Apple App Store.
Took a bit longer to get approved than the original submission… I guess due to all the iPad app submissions that must be going on at the moment.
What’s new in version 2.0:
4ZzZfm Program Guide navigable by day and time
“Now Playing” program listing in stream player view
Program Guide displayable in either...
2 tags
4ZzZfm iPhone app Submitted and waiting for...
So I have finally gotten the chance to submit the next version (2.0) of my iPhone app for the community radio station 4ZzZfm to Apple for approval.
Hopefully I managed to do everything right in the submission process… I took so long between versions I forgot what I did last time ;)
2 tags
4ZzZfm app v2 nearly ready for submission
I am very close to being ready to submit the next version of my 4ZzZfm iPhone app to Apple for approval.
I have been hard at work adding features and a better UI experience and I think it’s finally done.
The main addition to this version is the Program Guide. It is a complete 4ZzZ program guide navigable by day and time. It displays detailed info about each show on 4ZzZ (where available). The...
March 2010
10 posts
2 tags
4ZzZfm stream is down
That’s right… the 4ZzZfm stream is down. OK. So anyone who uses my 4ZzZfm app will not be able to connect to the station.
It’s been like that for a few days now. It sucks, but it’s community radio and neither expertise or money flows freely… plus I believe the streaming server is a shared resource with another station.
Hopefully it will be back up soon :(
2 tags
4ZzZfm iPhone app version 2.0 approaching beta
I have been hard at work on the next update to my 4ZzZfm iPhone app and it is nearing the stage where I can release it to my beta testers.
Added so far in this new version:
Program Guide navigable by day (which shows are playing at what time, and a little info about them).
Settings allowing the program guide information to be displayed either in original Brisbane/Queensland time or translated...
2 tags
Looking towards 4ZzZfm version 2.0
I have been trying to think about how I would add all the features I want to get into the next version of the 4ZzZfm app.
The urge to revisit this app again so soon after the first release has been spurred on at least partially by Apple’s recent purge/blocking of apps that it has deemed of little additional benefit over say… web apps. The 4ZzZfm app is neat in that it is a good branding...
2 tags
An update on international downloads...
It seems that either my analytics are being blocked in some areas, or my app is being downloaded, but never started up… very weird.
China makes up 18% of the downloads of the 4ZzZfm app currently.
However, in my Flurry analytics, there has not been one session recorded as coming from China.
Curious to say the least.
If any other iPhone developers read this, have you had similar...
2 tags
Not what I expected, but interesting...
When I created the 4ZzZfm iPhone app, I nearly only put it in the Australian App Store.
As it turns out, this would have been an incredible shame. For reasons unknown to me, many people are downloading the app in other countries. Australia, in fact, makes up less than half of the total downloads (45% as of my latest report).
I don’t know if it’s the chance at some alternative news (many...
2 tags
What’s next?
I am in a post release slump…
I can’t work on the 4ZzZfm app anymore until either some bugs are found or the new website goes live and I can start adding features for the next version/update.
So now I am wondering what my next devgeeks iPhone project will be?
Since releasing the 4ZzZ app, I have been contacted by a few people who seem interested in getting an iPhone app made. I have replied to...
2 tags
It’s ALIVE!!!!
It’s official! The 4ZzZfm iPhone app is LIVE on the Apple App Store!
Click here to see a little bit about it and download it now!
I would just like to take this as another opportunity to say that I could not have made this app without the help and generosity of Matt Gallagher of CocoaWithLove, Michelle Brown of 4ZzZfm and my awesome “team” of beta testers..
Thanks everyone…
Now…...
2 tags
Your application is Ready for Sale
Wow! I just got the confirmation from Apple that the 4ZzZfm iPhone app has been approved!
36 hours from submission to approval. I couldn’t be happier.
Now, before anyone gets too excited, it isn’t actually available in the App Store yet… that can also take up to 24 hours… but still!!
I will post again once I know for sure it’s in the App Store itself.
2 tags
The status for the following application has...
So after only about 30 hours, my very first iPhone app (4ZzZfm) has already switched to In Review.
That seems pretty quick to me. I had read that Apple was trying to speed up the process and it seems to be very true.
So now the waiting begins again, this time with a nervous edge. “Have I done everything right?”, “Did I forget anything important or just not know it yet?”, etc…
*fingers...
2 tags
4ZzZfm iPhone app submitted to Apple!
YAY! Today is the day that I finally submitted my first iPhone application to Apple for review and approval for inclusion on the App Store.
So excited. So worried, heh. I have convinced myself that rejection is likely since this is my first and I most likely did something wrong. Only time will tell, I guess.
I am now going to make this site live as well… Although I have been posting to it,...
February 2010
3 posts
2 tags
4ZzZfm iPhone app nears completion
I have all the functionality I am likely to be able to get in until the new 4ZzZ website comes online, so it’s time to cut off changes and make sure it’s stable enough to get approved by Apple.
A big thanks to my testers that have helped me be confident enough to submit.
Wish me luck.
2 tags
4ZzZfm iPhone app interface
The interface to the 4ZzZfm iPhone app got a facelift. It is now using a new image (as opposed to ones lifted from the website). Michelle gave me three images to choose from and this is the one I liked best… though I still prefer the logo that is currently on their site.
1 tag
Welcome
I have decided with the reactivation of the Devgeeks name through my interest in iPhone application development that the devgeeks.* domains needed a facelift and some actual content.
So here it is. The new devgeeks.org site.
I hope I manage to keep it updated better than my other sites
