Getting ready to head back to RIT!
This summer has been fantastic and I’ve learned a lot. Working as an Apple Intern has really given me great experience which I will put towards my projects.
One thing I’m going to be aggressively pursuing is getting together a great team of people who can work on projects together – perhaps even start up a business.
More to come as I get settled down!
I found this useful in working with NSDateFormatter:
Just wanted to chime in to the blogosphere. It seems the rumor is back suggesting the iPad may be released in the fall, around the time of the new iPhone.
This is so wrong on so many levels.
First reason: Apple is not going to take thunder from their iPhone launch. The iPhone 5 (not 4S, guaranteed) is going to launch sometime this fall, and the iPad would be another huge product. Some people would be put into the position of choosing between both of them. They will never launch at the same time.
Second reason: It makes no sense for Apple to shorten their release cycle. Did anyone pay attention to the iPhone? It is being released later. Apple isn’t going to release a new iPad 6-7 months later. It doesn’t give them enough time to make a great product. If anything, they are going release the iPad later.
Edit August 16th, 2011:
Told you so.
http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/15/supply-line-troubles-to-delay-ipad-3-launch/
For the moment, MTG Arcanum is off the App Store. I am busy over the summer working, and I cannot (legally) work on MTG Arcanum or any other iPhone app. Because of this, I’ve let my App Development agreement cancel for the summer. In August, when my internship is over, I will join again.
I haven’t been able to work on it as much as I want to, nor as much as I should. Depending on what happens in the fall (at school and such), you may see it again. If not, thank you everyone for your support, and if you have any features, I’ll see what I can do in the future.
I sat down to my computer over spring break frustrated. I had spent the past three hours thinking of ways to get my movies onto my parents 50 inch TV in the basement. Because Doctor Who is so much better on the big screen. My house included quite a few pieces of equipment, (Xbox, Wii, LAN, and many different home entertainment systems), but nothing was easy. All I wanted, was an easy way to watch my videos.
But I let that simmer as I turned to Engadget’s live blog of the iPad 2 event. Slightly miffed that Apple wasn’t streaming it themselves, I settled in for an hour event of iPad. I had wanted one ever since the first one came out, but I told myself to wait, that all things get better over time, and the iPad 2 will definitely be worth the wait. But as the event had drawn near, and the rumors spread, I was getting ready for a disappointing spec bump.
But I was okay with that. That’s why I had waited. Because I wanted that spec bump, I wanted my iPad to be faster, thinner, lighter. It wouldn’t blow my imagination away, but it would be good. And I was right. As the event unfolded, the iPad 2 came out. Thinner. Lighter. Same resolution, same price. Cameras. Everything we had expected.
Oh, and video out. Mirroring at 1080p.
It was like my dreams had been answered. The entire morning spent plagued by such a simple task, and Apple was offering me the solution. Get an iPad, hook it up to your TV with HDMI, and you’re done. Watch movies. Play games. Amazing your eleven year old sibling.
I wanted one.
My parents agreed to help pay for it for my belated birthday gift. I woke up on March 11th, at 3:50 eastern, and went to the Apple website. To my amazement, the “Buy now” link was up already, not at the 4am I had expected. I didn’t wait. Within a minute, I had ordered my iPad 2. 16 GB, black, WiFi only. Shipping in 3-5 days. Two days later, I had my tracking number, and watched it go from China, to Alaska, to Tennessee, to me.
It arrived 3 hours earlier than FedEx had said it would. I went to my campus post office and asked for my package. The man asked if I had any fish allergies. Apparently, FedEx had spilled fish oil on some of the packages. Mine was okay, but if anything had happened….
The Packaging is beautiful. Very Apple, simple, white, pretty. I open the box, and there is the iPad 2. I turn it on, and it boots fast. Much faster than my iPhone 3GS. It’s beautiful. Holding it in my hands feels good, right. It feels like the future. I browse through the apps on it after registering it on the WiFi. WPA2, enterprise encryption. Not a hiccup from the iPad.
Safari is fast, the App Store is beautiful. The entire device feels like it was made with simplicity in mind. And that’s not a bad thing. I show my friends, they’re jealous. All of them want one, except it’s too much money. I understand, without my parents, I wouldn’t have gotten one either.
I sync it up to my computer and start downloading apps. Three hours before class. Everything looks so beautiful, so pristine. It doesn’t have the same resolution as the iPhone 4, and yet, I don’t mind. The screen is beautiful.
I take a look at the camera app. I take some some pictures. The quality doesn’t look that great, but I don’t think it matters. When will I be taking pictures with it? I plan on Skyping, that’s all.
Time for class. I take one look at the device, and then my backpack. No way. I didn’t buy a case, nor a smart cover. I wanted a case that could hold items as well as the iPad. My HDMI adapter, for example. No way am I putting my naked iPad in my backpack, and it doesn’t even look that dirty.
I need a sleeve.
I go to class, and keep imagining taking notes on my iPad. I’ll need a good note taking app, but I believe I can go paperless in my classes. All I need is my iPad and a pencil for exams. My text books are all on the iPad.
After class I come back, and pick up the iPad. I can’t put it down. It’s not just a new gadget, it’s a new idea. I move over everything I need to the iPad. Bookmark websites, move over good music from my computer, get a new wallpaper:
(source)
My girlfriend wants to Skype. I want to test Skype on my iPad. I open the app and cringe. It’s not universal. But it works. We Skype, and I fidget. I can’t hold the iPad up in front of me, it gets to heavy over time. I move to the couch and slouch down, but then she gets a low angle of my face. Turning the device sideways allows her to see more than just my head, but it’s still awkward. There is no good way to do this. Maybe with a stand, but I don’t want a stand. It’s a tablet, it goes with me, it doesn’t stay in one place. Also, the image quality is worse than on my Mac Book Pro (2009). No good.
I won’t Skype again on it. I’ll give it another shot when Skype is available as an iPad app. But that’s it.
I spend the evening playing games on the iPad with my friend. We compared playing the same games on the iPad and his iPod Touch 2G. His lagged, mine didn’t. At one point in Mini Gore HD, it lagged terribly, but picked up once I destroyed the creature making the lag, the worms. Besides that hiccup, the device powered through fine.
And then I enabled multitouch gestures, the developer ones. They are amazing. Incredible. I don’t know why Apple didn’t leave them in, because everyone should have them. Swiping in between apps feels so natural. I can code in one, and then check out my changes in safari. The apps create that functionality, but iOS completes it.
I pick up my phone to text a friend to try FaceTime with me. My 3GS looks so hideous compared to the iPad. Why would I use this for anything except phone calls and texting? My friend can’t FaceTime, so I get ready for bed. I picked up the iPad one last time. I can’t stop holding it.
Why do I need a computer again?
I had the most trouble getting this to work. Many posts just didn’t do it for me, and so I’m writing this so I can remember how to do it in the future.
Backup existing motd file, which is a symlink:
sudo mv /etc/motd /etc/motd.bak
Create a new motd file, and add what you want into it. EG:
sudo nano /etc/motd
After editing the file, restart SSH:
sudo /etc/init.d/ssh restart
And there you go! Enjoy your new Message of the Day!
I decided to pick up learning flash. I had a game idea I wanted to work on, and it didn’t seem practical to do it as a text based game (using PHP) or an iPhone game. So, I’m working on it in CS5. When it gets better, I’ll show you where I keep it.
Funny, isn’t it? I haven’t had any time to really work on my iPhone apps, until finals week. And now, here I am, updating the Magic App. Should I be studying? Probably. I already have a bit. I just really wanted to push forward with this update.
Why? MTG Arcanum was my first iPhone app. I learned a lot building it. By the time I was done, I was an entire league ahead of where I was. But what did that mean for the code? It meant that the code I was writing at the end was a lot better than the code I was writing in the beginning. And by better, I mean “OMFG, how did I write that?”
So what am I doing? Refactoring. I have gone back through all my code, and redone many parts of it. In the end (I’m getting there), I’ve made the code a lot more manageable, useable, and updateable. I’ve also updated a lot of my own documentation about the app, so future partners can work on it easier.
However, in the processes of refactoring, I’ve had to make some design decisions. Some of these were easy, like removing single player, and adding a two player instead. Others have been more difficult, such as my decision to remove profiles.
These decisions I have made in the app’s best interest. I want it to be more useable, easier for the users, and have more functionality. I didn’t think profiles were doing enough, and they were too confusing for the user. In the end, I decided to remove them. Of course, now I am dealing with the consequences, such as how to reset the game in multiplayer.
This is where I want your opinion. If you are actually reading this post, and you’ve used MTG Arcanum, and you care enough to send me an email, please do so! I will personally respond to every email I get (as long as it’s not spam…), and I will be more then happy to discuss features, ideas, or bugs that you want to see fixed or put into a new version of MTG Arcanum.
No, I’ve not been dead. But close!
School work has come along and nicely bashed my head in a bit. Rather obnoxious and rude, but I guess I should have seen it coming. I decided that not failing my classes was important, and have been working hard. Don’t worry, I should keep my 3.6 GPA. I hope at least.
But, in this time, I have managed to do some work. The Innovation Center here at RIT finally got back to me and hopefully I’ll be able to setup an appointment with them. We’ll discuss the future of StormSoft and maybe secure some funding. I could really use an iPad to develop on. (And play with!).
I also pushed out an update for Dot Frenzy. It entered “In Review” status in less than an hour from being submitted, but has yet to actually come out of that status. We’ll see how it goes.
My friend and I are working on Refactoring the code for MTG Arcanum to make it easier to update. We’re also creating a new launch screen for it, and removing Single Player. In it’s place you’ll have a 2 player tournament mode, as well as profiles going bye bye. It’ll actually be a pretty big update. Sorry it’s been taking so long, like I said, school started to rape me.
Next quarter should be better, so I’m excited to get there! We have started designing our next, next app, and it’s going to be freaking awesome!! Keep tuned in for the latest and greatest coming out!
As you can probably tell by the new “Available On the App Store Now” Icon to the left, my newest Game, Dot Frenzy is out. Now there are some things to discuss…
First off, some credit is due. My friend, Jason has helped design the game. We originally designed it back during the school year, and I started working on it this summer. He helped in the regard, but I did all the coding for the game. I had a graphic designer do the artwork as well, the same one that did MTG Arcanum.
I highly recommend checking the game out, it’s worth the $1 price, and will keep your kids/friends/ and perhaps even yourself entertained when you are cranky.
However, since this was a joint effort (Kinda), it marks a transition. I’ve been wanting to start my own business, and so this app really is the first release of that business. Of course, that requires a new website and everything, so I’ll probably wait until school to really get that underway, but StormSoft (yes, that’s the name) will become a big player soon. 
