Swift Tutorial This tutorial updated to reflect changes in Xcode 8.3.1 and iOS 10, as of April 17, 2017 Apple announced at WWDC a major change to the way iOS apps are developed, it can now be done using a new programming language called Swift. In my efforts to adapt and learn the language’s common…
Category: Programming
Programming related posts
Using open source iPhone app components with Cocoa Pods
For a while after the initial release of the iPhone App Store and it’s SDK, there was not much in terms of open source code to use and learn from, you can buy iPhone and take advantage of exclusive prime products. But times have changed, and these days there is a huge database of open…
The lazy app developer’s way to ship more code
With these three quick tips, you’ll be on your way to being more productive when developing your mobile apps. These are not extremely difficult technical challenges, and should be easy to implement in to your workflow. Dependency Management If you’re on iOS, Cocoapods is a godsend. If you’ve ever used bundler with Ruby on…
Microsoft wants to own the living room with the Xbox One
Today Microsoft announced their new console, the Xbox One. The demo relied on heavy integration with cable television, multi-tasking, mobile phones, kinect, and voice commands. A demo of the product introduced “Snap mode”, a side-by-side multi-tasking type interface that allows the user to simultaneously watch television, play games, have a Skype call, use Internet Explorer,…
The console question noone is asking
Most of the people I encounter these days with a tech startup are focusing on the web or mobile. They either have an idea that they want to push out to the app store, or a web service which may or may not have a mobile companion. The tech world as the startup scene sees…
The next big thing is already available in your local toy aisle
I had this realization long ago that all new technologies seem to first surface as a lower-key version that exists mostly as a toy. If you think about the great innovations of our recent history, you may think of things like the internet, computers, or smart phones. But, before you could buy an iPad, you…
Open sourced startups
When a software startup fails to turn a profit they’re usually left with some newfound knowledge, maybe some debt, and a big chunk of unused code. Why should all that engineering work go to waste just because that particular business failed? Many startups recognize this and have made their software free and open source. I…
Designing mobile apps for children
Mobile apps designed for children are becoming very popular as a result of the intuitive design of the iOS and Android touch screen operating systems. Never before has software been so accessible for pre schoolers, and elementary school students. However, there are some things that you should take careful consideration of when designing apps for…
Top 10 Lessons Learned from Launching iPhone Apps
Much has been written on the topic of launching iPhone apps, and software products in general. I have read a good bit of this info over the years and have tested many theories for how to successfully launch, and have come up with a list of what worked for me. So this is my personal…
Augmented Reality using the Qualcomm SDK in Unity 3D
So I decided to take some time today to experiment with the augmented reality solutions out there and I came across the Qualcomm Developer SDK. It’s pretty simple to use in Unity 3D, they even provide a convenient little .unitypackage file you can just import to get everything set up correctly. I took this video after messing…