February 2012
0 posts
Nest
I bought a nest thermostat a while back. I wanted it because of one particular feature: the ability to set the temperature in my home from my iPhone and iPad (or an Android device, web browser). Installation was a piece of cake — a couple of screws and four wires. Setup was simple and the web and mobile apps are well done. Plus it promises to save one money and is software upgradable (wee!)....
January 2012
2 posts
Uh oh. The boy just Climbed out of his crib for the first time.
December 2011
2 posts
Springboard Style Wiggles
So you figured out how to setup a UILongPressGestureRecognizer and now you want to make a view “wiggle” back and forth similar to the iOS Springboard app. This is actually pretty simple with Core Animation.First, setup the view you want to wiggle. The code below assumes it’s called “view.” I’ve found that setting kWiggleAnimationAngle to 0.04 works well. In your...
June 2011
7 posts
1 tag
Two iOS Libraries That Make Life Easier
1) ASIHTTPRequest2) SDWebImageBonus: stackoverflow, WWDC session videos, and Cocoa with Love are all excellent resources. Posted via email from amro’s blog | Comment »
Stupid Simple Async HTTP Client for Android
android-async-http. Posted via email from amro’s blog | Comment »
April 2011
4 posts
Dynamic UITableViewCell Height
…based on string length, a given width, and font. 1 2 3 4 5 6 - (CGFloat)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView heightForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath { NSString *string = [array objectAtIndex:indexPath.row]; CGSize suggestedSize = [string sizeWithFont:[UIFont systemFontOfSize:15.0] constrainedToSize:CGSizeMake(224.0, FLT_MAX)...
iOS SDK and Garbage Collection
Sure, garbage collection would be nice. The lack of automated garbage collection on iOS does not increase development time by a factor of two. Something else is wrong and it has much to do with an error in the floor to keyboard interface. Posted via email from amro’s blog | Comment »
Fix for Black Corners On Grouped UITableView
I recently ran into a problem with black corners on a grouped style UITableView. I figured out that it happens when one sets the background color of the table to clearColor in Interface Builder. The solution is to set the background color programmatically instead. #bug Posted via email from amro’s blog | Comment »
C2DM 0.1.5
A while back I put out a gem to help ruby devs send push notifications to Android devices. I just released version C2DM 0.1.5, which mainly adds support for multiple key-value pairs in the notification payload and simplifies usage. The interface did change so you’ll want to check out the README. This release also fixes minor bugs and there’s a bit of code cleanup thanks to Veader.You...
March 2011
2 posts
Another Way to Improve App Store Reviews
A few days ago I suggested using Appirater to boost App Store review quality. It’s also important to provide in app help as it gives users a place to find quick answers and request assistance before giving up and leaving a poor review. We prominently display a “Help” button at the top of BillMinder’s Settings tab. It’s clearly easier to find than something hidden at...
How To Get 4 to 5 Stars On The App Store
The reality is some developers pay for downloads and reviews to get higher rankings on the App Store. It’s tough for Apple to do much about it since the sales look legitimate. It’s easy to be frustrated by this sort of thing but there are two things you can do to beat it (ymmv, of course): 1) Release a good app 2) Use Appirater Appirater asks your users to review your app after...
February 2011
1 post
Noah's 1 Year Old
Proud of my boy. He had a rough start but he’s doing great now. We will probably never be able to thank the people at Children’s Hospital of Atlanta enough. See and download the full gallery on posterous Posted via email from amdev’s blog | Comment »
January 2011
1 post
Something Cool On Android
Finally found something cool on Android — the GradientDrawable class. Posted via email from amdev’s blog | Comment »
December 2010
1 post
Apple's Priority Queue
So I’m convinced Apple uses a Priority Queue to prioritize app reviews. I believe the following three factors greatly affect the priority assigned to an app submission: Whether the submission is an update to an existing app or an entirely new app How frequently a developer submits binaries How frequently a developer rejects the binary for a given submission App updates seem to move through...
November 2010
2 posts
Gibbon - My First Gem
Now that MailChimp API v1.3 is out, I can share my first gem. Check out gibbon if you need an easy way to interact with MailChimp’s API. Posted via email from amdev’s blog | Comment »
September 2010
2 posts
iOS4 Has Everything I Wanted Except..
- Real bluetooth APIs access - Access to the 30-pin connector at full speed w/ out some little chip - Better notifications support (I think we’ll see in iOS5) Posted via email from amdev’s blog | Comment »
Red and the Store
So I’m fashionably late but Pete insisted. A few days ago, the interwebs (all of them) were ablaze with news of Verizon launching their own Android app store. Whoopie. Normally I wouldn’t care, but I see this as an incredibly stupid move.My idea of a happy mobile device is Apple’s model for their App Store (including their recently improved review process transparency) and the...
August 2010
1 post
So What’s Up With Windows Phone 7?
On the MailChimp blog. Posted via email from amdev’s blog | Comment »
July 2010
5 posts
Today Is My First Day At...
Today is my first day as a Mobile Engineer at MailChimp. @drewconner and I are tasked with creating awesome mobile stuff here at MailChimp’s (shiny!) new Mobile Lab. Needless to say, I’m super excited. :) Posted via email from amdev’s blog | Comment »
New Challenges
So I’m leaving Xeko. And I’m bummed about it. I’ll miss all of the great people there, the sweet office at King Plow, and what the company stands for. I’m leaving so I can learn (hopefully lots of!) new things and find new challenges in mobile at a very exciting place. Tell you more soon.P.S. Xeko is doing better than ever and will continue to do so without me. The...
Samsung SSD (Corsair P256) Garbage Collection...
So I was under the impression that Samsung’s garbage collection tech only worked on NTFS file systems. My drive, a Corsair P256, has very noticeably slowed down in day to day use. And earlier today I complained about the lack of TRIM support in OS X: The results above suck. Well below what my drive did out of the box. For the hell of it, I decided to log out of my machine to see if...
How Will Apple Fix The iPhone 4 Antenna?
@jhaile is curious. I am too. My best guess is there’ll be a firmware update that makes things much better. The issue will not be eliminated entirely but I think it will improved to the point of being effectively unnoticeable. I think software has a lot to do with it. I’m not talking about changing how the “bar gauge” works, either. I read someplace (location escapes me)...
iPhone 4 Antenna Problems
I love my iPhone 4. And it’s unfortunate but the antenna issues are real. I have a bumper. Without the bumper I can make the Radio Javan iPhone app buffer by holding the phone in my left hand. And I’m left handed. With the bumper, it’s better but I couldn’t load a web page this morning holding the phone in my left hand. It worked once I switched hands and held it...
June 2010
1 post
AT&T's New Data Plans
Basically, AT&T’s new data plans do the following: - Save most iPhone users $5 a month. Cool. - Provide tethering for $20, but no additional bandwidth to go with your paying said $20. Lame. - Cost heavy data users much more per month. Lame. - Screw iPad 3G users a month after its release. Lame. Yes, you can keep your old data plan as long as you don’t cancel it. Oh, and if you...
May 2010
1 post
Dear Steve Jobs
I filed for a patent on multi-punch displays. Checkmate. (bazinga!) Posted via email from amdev’s blog | Comment »
January 2010
2 posts
My Thoughts on the Apple iPad
My initial thought was wow, this is pretty lame. I was disappointed. I still am. It’s a big iPod Touch. It does offer some in-between functionality around document editing via a customized version of iWork, which I think will be key to its success (if it does indeed succeed). It’s my opinion that there were a great number of missed opportunities for the iPad but it’s worth noting...
Detailed Account of Blipr - Beginning to Present
I’ve published a post about Blipr on the return7 blog. It talks about expectations, costs, risk, failure, etc. related to Blipr. You should definitely measure the effort and deeply research the market involved in creating a quality iPhone app if you want to succeed. Check it out here. Posted via email from amdev’s blog | Comment »
December 2009
2 posts
Holiday Gift from App Store Review Team
Nescaline: NES Emulator that you can load your own ROMs into (painfully, one at a time). Posted via email from amdev’s blog | Comment »
App Store Approval Process Improvements
Apple’s App Store and its approval process have taken significant heat over the past months from pretty much everyone. This includes myself. I think things are changing for the better, though. Apple seems to have cut the time for app approval and loosened their grip on the store. Although there’s still room for improvement, I’m pleased at the strides they’re making to...
October 2009
3 posts
App Sketch Book is Pretty Cool
So I met @stephenmartin at the awesome Mobile Camp Atlanta. We chatted it up a bit about iPhone stuff. A few days back he sent me an App Sketchbook. It’s literally a sketchbook to help designers and developers mock up their iPhone UI on paper before moving it into InterfaceBuilder, etc. I’m not exactly gifted when it comes to art/sketching and the like and I admit I was skeptical until...
NSLog("100 device limit in iTunes Connect Sucks");
Never mind that the Ad Hoc build process and code signing only sort of work and are a fraking disaster to get going but there’s this 100 device limit. Ok, I can deal with that because we can just remove/add devices, right? Nope.”Are you sure you want to remove this device? Devices removed still count against the 100 devices you are allowed to register per membership year.” ...
Rant: I Hate The Expert
Short rant. So @stammy recently tweeted a link to this excellent rant on the Smartest Guy In The Room. Great read, but I’d like to generalize it a bit. Know who I hate? The Expert. Yep, it’s that guy who knows everything about anything and cries if they don’t get their way.You know who I’m talking about, don’t you? That pretentious asshole who knows he’s right,...
September 2009
4 posts
Tips To Avoid iPhone App Rejection
A single app submit/reject cycle can easily take two weeks. I’ve put some tips below to help you avoid being rejected by Apple. Many of these are things that have caused our apps to be rejected. • If your app requires a network connection, use reachability to detect status and inform the user when there’s no connection • Don’t put region specific pricing in your description...
Some Fun BillMinder Stats
Over the lifetime of the app, 37,210 users have spent 11 years 18 days 7 hours 40 minutes 26 seconds using BillMinder to track their bills over 628,757 sessions.Since September 1 through September 16, 2009, 16,531 users have spent 1 year 105 days 19 hours 40 minutes 25 seconds using BillMinder over 74,794 sessions. Cool, huh? Posted via email from amdev’s blog | Comment »
How To: Improve the App Store Approval Process
Often, we submit an app and get legitimate feedback on things that need to be changed. It often takes 14+ days for one cycle, despite what the gauge on the iPhone Dev Portal says, to find out we’ve done something like put wording Apple deems in appropriate in our application’s description. This is a waste of time for both Apple, developers, and users. Even if we resubmit the same...
Selfhosted Wordpress --> Posterous
Wordpress is very flexible and it’s great, but I got bored with administration, updating it, etc. so I moved my blog over to Posterous. Hopefully this will motivate me to blog more. Although I love the minimalistic approach Posterous takes, I’d love to be able to add Skribit to my sidebar. There aren’t a lot of options in that area. The only real issue I had with the migration...
April 2008
1 post
My first Tumbl
Lookin’ at the tumblr API