ranchero.com

Core Data and iOS and encryption

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:34:21 -0700

My co-worker Nick Harris investigates data encryption on iPhones and iPads — a topic very important to the enterprise, and a topic that should be important to every developer whose app works with private data.

ShareKit

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:39:13 -0700

It’s open-source sharing code for iOS apps: Twitter, Facebook, etc. I haven’t looked at the code yet, but I definitely like the idea. Good for the ecosystem.

Would be cool if it worked for Macs, too.

Mac app design: always the same (ish)

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:15:37 -0700

Cocoa with Love: “But the classification of an application isn’t a simple tree structure — there are many different connections. And the connections aren’t simply of heredity — there are subclasses, view hierarchies, event hierarchies, control hierarchies and more.”

Sometimes when I just want something good to read I go through the Cocoa with Love archive. I even read articles I’ve read before.

On coding as if people are watching

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:01:54 -0700

Jeff LaMarche: “The other day, I saw somebody wearing a T-shirt that said ‘Dance Like Nobody’s Watching.’ I’m not much of a dancer, but I like the sentiment. However, dancing is not coding. The worst thing you can do is code like nobody’s watching.”

Jeff makes a great point. I might sum it up as: do it right the first time, no matter what the pressure — it always pays off.

(I play a guest role in the addendum. The follow-on point being that code reviews — actually having people look at your code — are good too.)

At WWDC I called Jeff the “smartest guy in iPhone development.” If you’re a developer, you should subscribe to his feed. (But I bet you already have.)

iPhone multitasking explained

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:42:39 -0700

furbo.org: “It’s no secret that ‘multitasking’ is one of the great new features of iOS 4. Unfortunately, many people have a misconception about what Apple has implemented.”

A Month of Mac

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 16:07:48 -0700

Brad Feld: “Ross (my IT guy) bet me $100 that I’d beg him to ship my Windows desktop to me within a few days of getting to Alaska. Help me win the bet.”

On sucky app websites

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 14:16:36 -0700

Matt Legend Gemmell: “Your customer doesn’t care about any of the other crap that you want to throw onto the product page. Get rid of it; put it elsewhere.”

Fast UITableViewCell with a UIWebView

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:05:13 -0700

Nick Harris (my co-worker at NewsGator): “The problem becomes how you add hyperlinking to a UITableViewCell but keep the scroll speed as fast as possible.”

Nick’s solution is to actually use a UIWebView. Which works pretty well (to my surprise). He has some demo code posted — and lists a couple issues still to solve. Help appreciated, of course!

Reminder: make sure NetNewsWire is latest version

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:43:33 -0700

We released new versions of NetNewsWire a couple months ago to make sure they work with an upcoming change in Google Reader. Most people have upgraded already. But not everybody! So this is a reminder to make sure you’re running the latest version.

There are more details on this post on the NetNewsWire website.

Extended NetNewsWire/iPad intro pricing an extra month

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 09:41:18 -0700

Since the international iPad release is still in progress, and since even where it’s been released there are people on waiting lists, we decided to extend the introductory pricing an extra month, to July 8. More details on the NetNewsWire blog.

New file comparison app: Kaleidoscope

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:43:22 -0700

I use Mercurial these days — and Kaleidoscope works with Mercurial. I’ll definitely check it out. (Versions, also by the Made by Sofa folks, is a great app, which I loved when I was using Subversion.)

Also see Colin Barrett’s blog post about Kaleidoscope.

NetNewsWire/iPad intro price ends soon

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:32:14 -0700

Just a note, because I don’t want you to miss out: the price for NetNewsWire for iPad (App Store link) will go up 50% a week from now, from $9.99 (US) to $14.99.

The special introductory price will end — so, if you were thinking of buying it, you should buy it before that happens.

Save $5 and buy the Twitterrific upgrade. Or buy Bistromath or the multiple-award-winning Postage.

Accessorizer 2.0

Mon, 31 May 2010 20:50:24 -0700

Xcode’s awesome BFF has been updated — Accessorizer 2.0 is out!

Also read Paul Goracke’s notes about the new Configuration Sets feature. Sounds very cool.

Mike Lee on WWDC

Wed, 26 May 2010 19:31:58 -0700

Mike helps you cope with the mean streets of San Francisco with advice you won’t get anywhere else.

Paul on WWDC

Wed, 26 May 2010 19:28:45 -0700

Surprisingly, Paul Goracke says: Eat the lunch. But hear him out. He’s not crazy.

Craig on WWDC

Wed, 26 May 2010 19:26:17 -0700

See furbo.org’s practical guide to getting the most out of WWDC.

4.5 mice for Twitterrific for iPad

Tue, 25 May 2010 10:50:51 -0700

Dan Moren, Macworld: “Despite an apparent lack of controls, Twitterrific packs away a lot of functionality — but the biggest win of the app is context. Controls are where you want them when you want them, instead of littering the interface at all times.”

We’re big fans of Twitterrific.

Two updates: TapLynx, NetNewsWire for iPad

Mon, 24 May 2010 14:21:21 -0700

TapLynx 1.3.2 was released today. A few small features.

NetNewsWire for iPad 1.0.3 appeared on the App Store today. (Here’s the App Store link.)

iPad and Business Relationships

Sun, 23 May 2010 21:06:15 -0700

Brent Leary, technology.inc.com: “I think the most important thing about the iPad is that it can present opportunities for businesses to connect with prospects — and to do so in a more meaningful way. Going back to the NPR example, I can honestly say that I was not a big fan before last week. But I saw the iPad app and have been reading and listening (and tweeting to friends/colleagues) ever since.”

Bistromath and keypad UI

Thu, 20 May 2010 16:29:50 -0700

Black Pixel, Chris Clark: “What’s unusual about ours (beside Bil’s dogged persistence to make it the best custom keyboard iPhone OS 3.1 can handle, bar none) is the order of the keys: most iPhone apps arrange their buttons like a calculator with the top row ordered 7-8-9, while Bistromath’s are laid out like a telephone with the 1-2-3 on top.”