Quite a few readers have asked me whether I intend to continue programming for 1.1.4 firmware. In a nutshell, the answer is "no". And here are my reasons why.
As the new iPhone SDK hit the streets, I decided to take another look at those iPhone Panda protocols I wrote about just a month ago. To my slight surprise, the protocols disappeared from Apple's public iTunes listings.
Seven hours. Go on and ask. I know you're dying to. What could possibly waste seven hours of time in a developer's life? Why downloading an SDK and installing new firmware! Needless to say, I'm in a particularly grumpy mood this morning.
So you pwned your 2.0 dev phone. Now what? You can use the open source toolchain to build a limited set of tools, primarily command-line ones or you can use your SDK to build real apps that you can run outside the sandbox. Here's how.
When it comes to portable computing, the iPhone works in that it gets the job done. Its screen is barely big enough to read comfortably. Its onscreen keyboard will never match up fully to the needs of a trained typist accustomed to physical data entry. It's a gadget made from compromise and limitations. But where it excels is in bridging the gap. If you're serious about reading ebooks, managing your calendar, watching videos, and performing other acts of portable computing, surely a laptop will better suit your needs. But the iPhone offers just enough computing to allow you to untether yourself from a normal laptop and strike out with the Internet in your pocket.
If you’ve used the iPhone or iPod touch for any time, you’ve likely seen the small red badges that appear over applications on the home screen. These might indicate the number of missed phone calls or unread emails that accumulated since the user last opened Phone or Mail.
Progress bars allow end-users to anticipate wait times. They present bars that fill from left to right. These bars indicate the degree to which a task has finished. Progress bars work best for long waits where providing state feedback allows your users to retain the feel of control.
At this time, Apple provides 5 AppStore calls to its new p2-panda service plus a call to legal terms and conditions. I'm swayed by Ryan Block's excellent insight that p2 probably stands for Purple 2, the iPhone's code name
Hackers have been hard at work updating the open source iPhone SDK to work with Apple's newest unreleased firmware and here is what they have found: nearly everything that worked with earlier firmware continues to compile and work with the newer firmware.
What happens when you offer free technical support and application distribution for only $99? An oversupply of iPhone developer wannabees and an undersupply of Apple developer support resources.
