All Articles in Development

Speaking of rumors, here’s another bit of tittle-tattle to roll your eyes at. A site called 9to5Mac - apparently the site shuts down after 5 and heads to the nearest bar - claims that Apple is currently working with developers to bring application support to iPhone, available through iTunes. Sound plausible? Yes, it does. But then again, that was almost a given from the beginning, so it takes little creative imagination to fabricate such rumors.

Application support is coming, folks. We know that. Apple is presenting the evidence at our very feet with the release of firmware update 1.1.1, which now employs digital signature encryption for any executing code. A security measure that lays the groundwork for application deployment. The only question is how liberal and open Apple will be with platform development. It’s a given that iTunes will be the distribution channel for iPhone software, just as it is now for iPod games. But will Apple allow anyone to write code for iPhone? Or will it be an exclusive members only club? We’ll have to wait and see.

Read

Ars Technica has sources that indicate that Apple is prepping Mobile Safari to run applications and web pages offline. You know, widgets. These widgets will use the same technologies as the AJAX web apps that are out there now — HTML, CSS, asynchronous Javascript and XML, cookies, etc., but with the added bonus of a little extra local storage. Maybe some javascript functions that allow you to access the actual API of the phone for contact / calendar integration and the like will make it as well.

figure 1: the Widget manager from OSX 10.4. The iPhone has been destined for widgets. Note the similarity of this on the iPhone (figure 2)

figure 2: The bottom bar on the iPhone. Note the similarity. I do not think the similarity is accidental. Why would the iPod Touch have a different bottom bar?

Apple is working on a Google Gears-like system to cache online applications for use in mode, or other situations where the network is not available. Their expected timeline for announcing or delivering this is January. In case you’re new to the Apple world, January is code for Macworld Expo, the same Expo in which Jobs announced the iPhone.

Lastly, their source indicated that Apple is not currently working on a native SDK for release to the general public, and that AJAX Web apps are going to be the way to go. Ars Technica’s Apple source has expressed some frustration in that:

“You can’t write [bleep]ing [bleep] in that…. Jobs is a control freak and doesn’t want people messing with perfection.”

He’s not alone in his frustration. You can practically read the spittle over at gizmodo. Jesus Diaz is so pissed he’s replaced every outbound link in his article with another link that links back to Gizmodo. Macworld.co.uk meanwhile is confusing Javascript with Java. There won’t be Java on the iPhone. Jobs confirmed that maybe a day after he announced the iPhone in January.

Speaking personally, I know that it’s not the same as having native applications. But, I am glad that there will finally be some mechanism for apps beyond the data URL trick and bookmarklets. I’ve long said that I expect some sort of 3rd party app, whether it be widgets or native. Frankly, I’d much prefer native, and that’s part of the reason that I’ll likely never update my hacked 4GB iPhone (I need it for screenshots and the like), but widgets can do a lot of what many, if not most, people want, and I eagerly look forward to that on the 8GB iPhone.

Oh Steve, when will you learn? Your tight fisted control over iPhone’s software platform continues to effuse dissent among users. Now even your very own partners are lining up outside your door with torches and pitchforks. This time you’ve managed to piss off the folks at Sun Microsystems for excluding Java support in iPhone.

Java, for those of you who don’t know, is an application development environment that runs compatibly (in theory) across any platform. It’s creator, Sun, once boasted the platform’s promise of “Write once, run anywhere” applications that can be made to run on any runtime environment capable of supporting Java Virtual Machines. Though it never quite took off on the desktop, Java has come into its own in recent years on Mobile devices. Cell phones in particular.

The really insulting part is that Java runs on even the lowest common denominator phones on the market today. Even the Motorola RAZR can run Java apps. So it’s somewhat embarrassing, and damaging, that iPhone can’t.

Maybe I should refer Sun to my new “Feature Wish List” page? No, I don’t want to get myself in hot water. Ha! Get it, hot water? Coffee…water…hot? Ah forget it.

Read

Apple has promised to neither hinder nor help the third party native application market that’s currently flourishing on iPhones and will likely flourish on iPods Touch. Of note, they note that their position could change upon re-evaluation.

Hey, look who just got its first drawing app. Yes, our little iPhone is growing up so fast. In no time at all he’ll be wearing his first service pack, and heading off to school to join his classmates from RIM, Microsoft, and Nokia. tears

LateNiteSoft created a nifty app who’s time is long overdue. Sketches allows you to make drawings on iPhone’s screen using your finger, opening a world of possibilities for utility and frivolity; draw simple sketches, scribble notes, annotate photos, or just pass away the time drawing mustaches on photos of your friends.

The software is currently in the proof of concept stage of development (that’s Alpha, in geek vernacular) and offers no configuration options whatsoever. For example, only images from your iPhone’s Camera roll can be be imported, and no drawing tool options are offered. Only a “Setup” button is present, but tapping that reveals a generic “Coming soon” promissory note.

Bear in mind Sketches is not a web 2.0 Safari app - it’s one of those shady “unofficial” third party applications that involves utilizing installer mods like AppTap to get up and running. So use at your own peril.

Read

I came across this story this morning on PC World, and it stirred my own frustration with Apple. Web apps have their place and, truth be told, developers have found very clever ways to extend the genre, but I and every iPhone user on this hemisphere want the same thing - native application support!

What aggravates me further is that Apple does in fact have plans to open its platform. A friend of mine at Yahoo even informed me some time ago that they are currently working on their own native software for iPhone as we speak. So the question is…when will Steve Jobs unlock the backyard gate and let developers into his walled garden?

My suspicion is that a planned rollout is due to take place sometime in late Q4 to coincide with the release of Leopard, the next version of OSX. That day can’t come soon enough for me, but the problem is that when the moment does arrive it will be a point of embarkation, not a destination. In other words it will take developers months to study APIs and begin writing applications.

As someone who comes from an extensive Smartphone background, I relish productivity applications that form the basis of mobile computing. As it stands now, iPhone is like a high performance racing engine -it’s faster and more powerful than anything else on the road but it can’t go anywhere but on a racetrack. Every time I interact with my iPhone I feel as though I’m hitting a virtual brick wall. I keep wanting the device to do more than what it offers me. From day one I learned to accept the software limitations with an understanding that someday more applications would arrive, extending my user experience. With iPhone hype dying down, now is the time for Apple to create another spark by turning its product into a platform.

It’s your move, Steve. We’re waiting.

Oh Apple, how ever did you think you could keep developers from breaking down iPhone’s backdoor. Hmm? Not only have developers managed to find their way inside, knocking over lamps as they stumble in the dark, but one developer created a rather illuminating piece of software. meniacal laugh

Lights Off is the first, that we know of, “unofficial” game for iPhone. The first of many perhaps. The goal of this simple puzzle game is to switch off all the little blinking lights in order to advance levels. Installing this code isn’t for the faint of heart. It involves a bit of rubber chicken swinging and poking through iPhone’s hidden file system. Full instructions are on the site.

Don’t forget to turn out the Lights! Heh heh. Get it? Lights? Turn out…with the…oh never mind.

Read

iPhone Copy and Paste from lonelysandwich and Vimeo.

Whoever this chap “lonelysandwich” is he deserves a medal for a brilliantly conceived video and working concept of copy and paste on iPhone.

P.S. I love you too, lonelysandwich.

Read

Those crack heads at Gizmodo have taken a close look at the recently released NES emulator for iPhone, which promises to be a credible gaming environment…once it bakes a bit longer that is. Right now the project remains in the early stage of development and lacks even some rudimentary functionality - audio support being one.

Jesus Diaz calls it “A good start and a good promise of things to come.” Oh really? But will it blend?

Read

ModMyiPhone is living up to its name. A haxor developer nicknamed “Cranium” has created a Windows-based File browser that enables users to access and transfer files directly to the iPhone, in mounted fashion, bypassing the sync process.

Unfortunately this is a quick and dirty application created in visual basic express. There is no installer and you’ll need .Net libs to make the magic happen. But if you do manage to fill these requirements, you’ll be rewarded with a window to your iPhone that allows full drag and drop support, Right-click save as, Auto previews, file backups, etc. The usual fare.

Finally! A reason to use Windows! Nah.

Read