Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Tag: Apple Page 4 of 5

App Spotlight: SWTOR Tools

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On May 1, 2012

In App Spotlight

I found another app that I have been enjoying. This one is going to be for a pretty specific audience though. Obviously you will need to have an iPhone and/or iPad (I’m not sure if this is available for non-iOS devices) and you will need to be playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. If you are neither of these then you probably won’t find this app very useful. If, on the other hand, you are a total iPad geek (*raises hand*) and you love playing SWTOR, then I highly recommend spending the $0.99 on this app! The app includes updated information on all companions, classes, skill calculators and datacrons.

The screens for classes and companions is purely informational. There is an overview and descriptions of each advanced class, so its kind of handy if you are still trying to decide what to roll or what advanced class to pick. The nice thing about the screens for the companions is that it is one of the few sources I have found that actually list the companions in the order in which you will receive them. Obviously it also briefly summarizes the information provided in the codex. It will show you armor type, primary skills and which gifts they prefer.

The skill calculator screen is probably the best part of this app, and the place where I can waste most of my time just goofing around. You will get to choose any of the advanced classes and construct your build just like you would do if you were at TORHead’s skill calculator. The best part is you can save the build to reference again later and you can save multiple builds for multiple characters.

A recent update has made the datacrons screen much more useful. This screen not only will show up what datacron (or matrix crystal) exists on each planet but, when you tap on an item in the list it will provide a text explanation of where to find the datacron. I do wish there were video links because trying to find the datacron using text descriptions is confusing. I think the part I like most about the datacrons screen is that you can load a saved character (from the skill calculation screen) and you can check off which datacron you have for each of your toons.

My iPad has always predominately been a business tool (and a testing guinea pig for my own apps) but this app has made it a handy gamer tool (well, at least for SWTOR). I would really like to see similar apps for other MMOs, like World of Warcraft (I don’t find the armory app appealing because I don’t always have my authenticator with me if I want to log in when I am away from my computer).

SWTOR Tools should be available for download from the iTunes App Store for $0.99.

Enjoy!

App Spotlight: TurboScan (& NotesPlus)

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On March 30, 2012

In App Spotlight

Perhaps this will be a new category on my blog because I have been playing around with various apps, some are free, some you have to pay for (I’m also starting to write a few of my own). Honestly I rarely pay for an app unless I am certain that I will get the appropriate use out of it for even the $0.99 that I pay for it. However, when an app comes around that really gets the geek tingling, I feel like I should share it with others. After all, I think the best way news of an app is spread is through word of mouth. I hope, one day, someone will do this with an app I write.

A co-worker encouraged me to download an app called TurboScan. It is an iPhone app for now, though I can see there being an iPad version for the new iPad. Basically this app “scans” a document using the phone’s camera (so you will probably have the best results with the iPhone 4 or 4S). If you use the Sure Scan 3x feature, you have better results with the scan. Sure Scan 3x takes three pictures of the document and essentially creates the best possible scan of the document using a merge of the three photos.

I think this app is great. The quality of the scan is almost undeniable and you can sync it with iTunes File Sharing, Dropbox, Evernote, or email it as a PDF. This app becomes an excellent business tool when coupled with NotesPlus (v3), which I use all the time at work. I can scan in a requirements document, e-mail it to my iPad and load the PDF into NotesPlus where I can add additional annotations just like I would to the printed document.

TurboScan should be available to download from the iTunes App Store and costs $1.99. As I mentioned above, it is only available for the iPhone (as of the date of this post).

Check it out!

For Newbie iOS Developers

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On January 5, 2012

In Apple, Programming, Technology

After talking to a good friend of mine who had several questions for me on how one would get started developing iOS apps, I thought my advice was worth putting into a post. After all, I’m still a bit of a newbie iOS developer myself. So I thought I would share my experiences for other aspiring developers while all of the steps are still fresh in my mind.

The IDE

There are going to be some costs up front, especially if you don’t own a Mac. The IDE for developing iOS applications is Xcode and it can only run on a Mac. There are some projects out there that have tried to create a windows IDE but I haven’t seen anything that was successful and wasn’t a painful process to setup. You can try running a Virtual Machine and install OS X but you might run into some hardware complications. Honestly, if you are serious about developing iOS apps, go out and buy a Mac.

iOS Developer Program

Once you have a Mac to use for development the next thing you want to get is Xcode. You can download Xcode from the Mac app store and you can either pay $4.99 or you can sign up for the iOS Developer Program and download it for free. The iOS Developer Program is an annual subscription of $99 a year. Obviously you get more amenities other than Xcode for free. If you plan on distributing your app via the app store and/or you want to deploy an app to any iOS device (including your own) you will need to sign up for this. Xcode does come with an emulator so if you want to hold off until you are more comfortable, that’s what I would recommend, but bear in mind the emulator cannot test any email or Internet/Wi-Fi functionality.

If you want to develop apps for the Mac or Safari, they each have their own developer programs and will cost you another $99 a year for each.

Recommended Readings

I know that the Internet is an abyss of developer forums, tutorials and blogs which may, or may not have sufficient information to get you started developing iOS apps. I initially started out by searching for iOS tutorials and most of the advice people had was to go out and buy a book, so I bought two. Here are the two books I bought, which I highly recommend:

Subscribing to the iOS Developer Program also gives you access to developer resources such as videos, libraries and forums. You can also get code level assistance from Apple engineers (apple developer link).

The App Store

I thought I would finish with some things to keep in mind when you go to post your app to the app store. When you submit your app it first has to be reviewed and this process can take up to seven days, depending on the complexity of the app. You are responsible for setting the price of the app; you will receive 70% of the sales revenue, Apple will take 30%. There are no additional fees for posting free apps, credit cards, hosting or marketing.

That’s all I have for now, I hope you found this useful. If more tips come to mind, I will do a part two or something. Good luck!

Cheers!

To Those Crazy Enough To Change The World

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On October 7, 2011

In Apple, General Cogitation, Technology

“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Steve Jobs

Apple, the computer industry and the world lost a great man this week.

I was not the biggest Apple fan. In fact, for a long time I despised Apple, but I admired Steve Jobs. The innovation and creativity he brought to the world and the industry has made him a legend. I’m a born again fan, much like a born again Christian but I don’t belong among the ranks of the true Apple fanboys.

Industry leaders, fans and professionals in the computer industry have been calling Steve Jobs a modern day Thomas Edison. Yes, I agree. I personally believe the influence his ideas and products has had on the world has truly had the same impact as the discoveries and inventions of other legends like Edison, Einstein and Marconi. His products have not only changed the way the world communicates and shares data but has also broken down borders and united the world.

I mourn his passing because I have had a recent personal experience of losing my wife’s uncle to neuroendocrine tumors. I hope, now that NET has taken the lives of two great men, that there will be an increased public awareness.

Rest In Peace, Steve Jobs. The world has lost a visionary, a mentor and a legend and you will be terribly missed!

Biggs On: More Microsoft Shennanigans

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On April 1, 2011

In Apple, Microsoft, Technology

It’s really sad to see a grown monopoly pout. Microsoft has lost their innovative edge on the industry, they are grappling to keep up with all the new kids. The unfortunate thing about Microsoft is when someone beats them to the punch, they don’t take the high road and try to take the next innovative step, instead they sue you.

Microsoft hasn’t come up with something truly innovative in years; Apple, Google, even Barnes and Noble have been leading the industry with their innovative gadgets and tools. So instead of trying to think for themselves Microsoft decides they deserve a piece of everyone’s pie which can only be acquired with a lawsuit. Microsoft’s new paradigm is “if you can’t beat em, sue em!” First they start with Barnes and Noble who is being sued by Microsoft for patents violated with their nook e-reader. Barnes and Noble laid a golden egg with their nook (and the new nook Color) and since Microsoft didn’t make a successful e-reader they want a piece of the nook’s success – an e-reader from Microsoft probably would have sucked anyway! The part that disgusts me the most is that Microsoft will probably win their lawsuit, after all it worked with the iPod and now Microsoft receives a small royalty for every iPod sold.

The best is yet to come. Microsoft has filed a lawsuit against Google in the EU for anticompetitive search technology. It’s laughable that Microsoft is actually filing an antitrust suit and we all know they will win because the only thing Microsoft is good at anymore is antitrust law.

Microsoft should change their name to Dewey, Cheatum & Howe.

Its frustrating to be an IT professional, developing software using .Net when the manufacturer of your tools and technology is an embarrassment. When will we stop playing such petty games and get some real work done?

In closing, to add additional emphasis to the tone of my previous post, this post was completely written and published using the iPad 2! 🙂

iPad 2 – One Week Later

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On March 31, 2011

In Apple, Technology

iPad 2I have had my iPad 2 for about a week now and I’m sure many are wondering what I think so far. I could sum up my experience thus far by simply saying I’m an Apple hater turned fanboy. If you are looking for a more in depth analysis I will certainly oblige.

I have not put any of my music nor have I put any movies on my iPad. I didn’t buy it to be a toy, I bought it to be a tool for work and, so far, that has been what I have primarily used it for (though having a browser at my fingertips while sitting in my recliner and watching a movie is handy). I installed an app called Penultimate and bought a stylus from Best Buy. It is a great app. Penultimate has replaced the need to ever use a paper notebook again. I am using that app religiously at work now to take notes in all my meetings and to record my notes for my research.

Actually I have put very few apps on it and the only game is Angry Birds (because only real iPhone’s or iPad’s have Angry Birds). I’m saving the space on my iPad to develop my own apps – hence the research I alluded to above.

So far the iPad 2 is worth every penny I spent on it. It has already improved my productivity and soon it will improve my skills. I am very excited to start developing some of my own apps, though I hear Objective C can be pretty awful. The smart cover brings my iPad to life immediately, so I never have to wait to start using it. The display quality and graphics are superb, though I don’t intend to use my iPad for movies, I may watch one just to get an idea of the visual quality of movies on the iPad. The quality of the pictures the camera takes is pretty decent and the camera is a feature I hope to take advantage of when I am developing apps.

So yea, I love my iPad, its pretty sweet.

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