Wesley Dyson

The future of iOS design? — Thoughts and words

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:46:26 -0400

The future of iOS design? — Thoughts and words:

“Completely flat,” “Like Android,” “Microsoft-flat,” etc., etc., etc. The talk about how Apple is going to “flatten out” its UI style has s…

I think this is the closest thing to the actual new iOS 7 design language we’ve heard thus far.

Peter Nixey: Dear Apple, let’s talk about photos

Thu, 09 May 2013 19:28:06 -0400

Peter Nixey: Dear Apple, let’s talk about photos:

peternixey:

We’ve been managing our photos together for almost a decade now. Things were nice and simple at the start and we both knew what to expect from each other - I pulled my photos off my camera on the computer, imported them into iPhoto and arranged them. Life was good.

But then you came and…

A terrific read on what could be done in the Apple ecosystem to better how we manage and store photos.

Thoughts Before Apple's 2013 Q2 Earnings Call

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:03:00 -0400

Disclaimer: I am not an Apple shareholder, never have been, one day hope to be.

I want to take a minute here and give some perspective on the Apple Media Reporting situation before today’s earning call.

In the last 6 months, we have seen an unprecedented media barrage against Apple. Media outlets like the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), New York Times, Bloomberg, and Forbes have been ‘reporting’ on Apple ‘news’ that consist of rumours turned fact.

Many - if not most - of these ‘reports’ are nothing more than speculation with an agenda. Here’s what happens. A rumour site posts a rumour that has no proven factual basis. These can be both in Apple’s favour or against, it really doesn’t matter. To support the Anti-Apple agenda, ‘credible’ agencies like the WSJ and NYT spin the rumours as fact into a story that slams Apple and calls out their imminent doom. They then source the article from ‘industry sources’. Sound familiar?

When enough of these ‘articles’ - I prefer ‘fiction’ - are posted over a period of time, the media furthers the rhetoric that Apple is doomed when, in fact, no factual data can be presented to support this thesis.

Why do these media outlets continue this absurd song and dance?

Because any article headline with the word “Apple” in it has been proven to get more page views than the same article without it.

The major media companies are making money from lies and bullshit.

Now, here’s the part I can’t prove, what I suspect is going on here.

Furthermore, many of these media companies are affiliated with investment banks and have associates in the industry. To put it simply, investment companies are manipulating Apple stock for their own personal gain, and they’re using the media as a catalyst.

There is no other explanation for the severe slump in Apple stock. Yes, Apple is partly at fault. They missed their target for Mac sales in the holiday quarter, mostly because they couldn’t make enough new iMacs to meet demand. However, their iPhone sales were at an all time high, they sold a record amount of iPads, and sold every iMac they could make.

Now, some will tell you that $AAPL has gone down because Apple missed its own guidance. This isn’t true. They made their guidance but did not surpass it by the margins they have in the past. This isn’t a reason to sell you shares, people! It does not mean people stopped buying iPhones, or that they intend to. They just estimated correctly. Think about that.

Apple share holders should be thrilled about Apple’s performance in the last year! The rhetoric about Apple being doomed - there is nothing out there, actual factual data, to support this.

Beating on Apple is just the ‘in’ thing to do in 2013. It’s popular. In fact, to post an article about how Apple is doing well, there’s nothing to worry about, or to call these publishers out on their BS, is not just frowned upon, it’s uncool.

I’m sure I’ll hear from people on both sides of the argument about this post. But let me say this. I believe what’s going on between Apple and the media right now can simply be chalked down to ‘flavour of the month’. 2 years from now, the media will have another company to pick on. Everything comes and goes. For now, the best thing that Apple can do is weather the storm and carry on as business as usual. As a shareholder or reader, I suggest you do the same.

Blackberry Z10's return ratio

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:54:28 -0400

Blackberry is trying to launch an investigation after it was reported yesterday that returns for the new Blachberry Z10 are around 50%.

So I ask you, Blackberry… What are the actual return numbers?

If you know that 50% is inaccurate, what’s the real number? 10%? 49%?

We want to know.

This is no different than Amazon saying they sold twice as many Kindles. Twice as many as what? 5 million? 5 thousand?

These things matter and the deceptive quality is designed to spin results that aren’t flattering to a company.

The media eats it up without asking the right questions. Let’s keep them honest.

WebCode by PixelCut

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 19:23:56 -0400

WebCode by PixelCut:

I reviewed WebCode for OS X 10.7+

Thoughts on iCloud data syncing for developers

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:18:49 -0400

There’s been a lot of talk this week about the problems developers are having with iCloud data sync.

At WWDC 2011, Steve stood on stage and told us that it was “really easy” to integrate iCloud within our apps for data syncing between devices. It’s not.

Almost 2 years later, and devs are still fighting with iCloud. That is to say, following the implementation guidelines Apple has provided us and finding out that it either doesn’t work or when it does, it works part of the time but certainly not reliably.

Breaking it down, everyone has a different view on what iCloud is, what the problems are and how it should be fixed. In this post, I’m only talking about the part of iCloud that developers have access to. That is, the data sync itself, not about Apple services like Mail and Messages or even Apple’s data sync in apps like Pages.

The feedback I’ve seen from average consumers is that they love iCloud but they want more of their App Store apps to sync like Apple’s apps do. Customers have seen how well Pages, Numbers and Keynote iCloud syncing works and they want developers to add the same abilities to their apps. Customers do not - nor should they be expected to- understand why their favourite app still does not come with iCloud sync.

Developers understand the needs and wants of their customers. So guys, you can stop shouting at us, we’ve heard you. Instead, talk to Apple about it. They’re the only ones who can make the changes necessary to make iCloud data sync work.

We’ve tried asking, talking, pleading, begging Apple for help, for guidance, to just make iCloud syncing work. Apple has made no comment. Again, this is to be expected. Apple does not comment on unreleased products. For developers, it’s a Catch 22. We don’t even know if there is an unreleased product for them to withhold comment on. Are developers supposed to spend their time and resources fighting with a cloud service that doesn’t work reliably? Are we supposed to hold out forever in hopes that Apple has a better solution at this year’s WWDC?

Devs have either tried to patch iCloud data sync to make it appear to the user that it’s working or they have abandoned iCloud all together. Neither choice is good.

With every new article I read about iCloud, the tone grows more pessimistic. After all, the issues with iCloud data sync became apparent by the time 5.1 was released. Naturally, the developer community expected there would be big (and necessary) improvements in iOS 6. There weren’t.

So why should we, the iOS app developers, believe iOS 7 is any different? We want to, we really do.

There is a lot riding on iOS 7, far beyond what Jony Ive may do to change the chrome. Apple needs to make its ecosystem developers happy and fix the mess that is iCloud data sync.

Here’s how to do it, Apple. Are you ready?

You need to take control at the API level. iCloud data sync is far too complicated without reason to be. First, there’s UIDocument syncing. All I should have to do in iCloud is…. (almost) nothing. Devs should be able to mark a UIDocument object for sync, and that’s it. You look after the rest.

The same goes for Core Data sync. I just tell the OS that I want a Core Data Store to be synced, and it will take care of the rest. If it’s so easy for users, it should be equally easy for developers (sort of).

I don’t believe the iCloud APIs were ready for public consumption. I hope at WWDC ‘13, we finally have a mature set of high-level APIs to work with that are simple and straightforward. And Apple, that should include removing any use of the term “ubiquitous” in method names.

Official Tumblr iOS SDK Available

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:23:00 -0400

Official Tumblr iOS SDK Available:

Tumblr has just released an iOS SDK that gives developers access to Tumblr’s data for inclusion in their apps. Some really cool stuff in there so if you’re a developer, check it out.

I’ve been thinking about adding “Share to Tumblr” to Twin Browser for quite some time now and now it looks like it’ll be easier than if I had started this morning. Stay tuned for that.

Curious though, will iOS 7 include native Tumblr integration following Twitter, Facebook, and Sina Weibo in iOS 6? Let’s hope.

Hit up the link for the blog post about the announcement or here for Github.

Guessing the Wall Street Journal Agenda for Apple - The Hiltmon

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 22:38:20 -0400

Guessing the Wall Street Journal Agenda for Apple - The Hiltmon:

I really enjoyed this! Perhaps this kind of thing is related to $AAPL loosing 30%? Ya, that and stock manipulation.

Apple Maps Improvement

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 18:15:34 -0400

Apple Maps Improvement:

I’ve been using Apple Maps since iOS 6 was in beta (June 2012) and it’s come a long way since then. When customers upgraded to iOS 6.0 in September, everywhere you looked, someone was griping about it. They should have seen Maps during the beta! Then, it was a lot worse, but after all, it was a beta.

So in September, I was surprised by the average user’s reaction because the final version was so much better than that first beta. From what I witnessed, there were two camps, those that loved it, and those that hated it. There were very few in the middle.

From my experience, Apple Maps was great in cities, and poor in the country. That’s changing.

Recently, I’ve noticed a huge improvement near where I live and around Toronto. Check out the link to see the cities that Apple has added support for Flyover, 3D buildings, and turn-by-turn navigation. If you live in a city where Apple has added support recently, give Apple Maps another try.

Apple Maps has come a long way since iOS 6 beta 1, and while it still has a long ways to go, it’s vastly improved.

"However, Clark thinks not having infrastructure where app makers can compete, and pay for,..."

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:06:16 -0400

“

However, Clark thinks not having infrastructure where app makers can compete, and pay for, promotions and premium placement is a missed opportunity. His belief is that it’s only a matter of time before someone - likely a third-party store - recognizes it.

“The opportunity for a new entrant to come in and radically change the way we buy mobile content is there, and I suspect that will happen. But probably where someone is looking at gaming experiences across the multiple devices, so we have a single experience that allows us to buy maybe something like Steam content on PC but then reuse the license that we bought on other devices too. I think that type of disruption is what we’re going to see next.”

”

- http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-03-09-mobile-evangelist-were-not-owed-by-apple-or-google

Using UIAppearance in iOS 5+

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:10:33 -0400

Using UIAppearance in iOS 5+:

While I still have some gripes about UIAppearance (and I have more in iOS 6.x), it’s worth checking out NSHipster’s post on the subject for a great tutorial.

UIAppearance doesn’t mean that your app is going to look better. It simply means you’re going to spend more time designing and less time coding. However, this is only true if you’re making app-wide changes.

My rule of thumb with UIAppearance…

When making app-wide changes to UIKit properties, use UIAppearance. If you’re only changing a property in a few classes, do it manually. For best results, use techniques.

Academy Coins - Available Now

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:40:33 -0500

I’m very pleased to announce that Academy Coins is now Available on the App Store. www.appstore.com/AcademyCoins

If you’re a teacher or education professional, education pricing is available.

Academy Coins promo, coming soon to iPad!

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 18:23:00 -0500

Academy Coins promo, coming soon to iPad!

Academy Coins, Coming Soon

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 18:06:00 -0500

I’m very happy to announce that Academy Coins, my latest iOS release, will be coming to iPad this month.

Academy Coins teaches kids about coins in a fun and engaging way. There are 9 levels, from the basics of what each coin means to adding coins together and making change. It is the culmination of months of work and I’m really proud of what’s been accomplished.

Making educational apps that are also fun for kids to play is no easy task. Academy Coins had 3 goals. I wanted it to feel fun and organic. In other words, nothing like homework. It had to be appealing to both parents/teachers and kids. Parents should see the educational merits and kids should want to play it. It also had to be better than what was already on the App Store. Academy Coins was not an app that I wanted to be a “me too”. I wanted to create something fresh; an app that I, as a kid, would have wanted to play with.

I think I’ve succeeded.