KDBDallas

I was VERY disappointed that I was unable to make it to Apple’s WWDC (World Wide Developer Conference) this year (it was last week).

The sessions are always VERY informative, but it is also a excellent chance to not only meet with other Mac/iOS developers, but you have the chance to talk one on one with the very people who are writing the software and API’s (Application Programming Interface) that we write software for/with.

Apple does make the videos of the sessions (along with the slides) available to everyone that attends, and allows those that didn’t attend to purchase the videos.
Before last year, these videos usually took around 6 months to become available, however last year they had them released within a month.

This year Apple TOTALLY outdid themselves and have released the videos all today!
That is LESS than 1 week!
Not only did they release everything within a week, but Apple has made all of the videos and slides available to ALL registered developers (even the free developer accounts) FOR FREE!!! That is a $500 savings for those that couldn’t attend!

I only have 2 things to say…

First: Good bye to my Hard Drive space (The videos are available in HD and Standard formats this year)

and Secondly… Classy Apple! VERY VERY CLASSY!

Reminder: Even though the videos did not cost this year, they are still covered under an NDA that you agree to when signing up for a developer account. Don’t make them sorry that they were so giving.

Those are the words that come to mind when I see Apple’s latest revision of the Mac Mini.

It’s amazing how few pieces are needed.

Newsprint version 1.1 has been Approved and should start showing up in the App Store shortly!

As an extra treat we are offering Newsprint for 50% off for the next week!

So don’t delay and pick up a copy today.

For more information on Newsprint, please visit: NewsprintApp.com

To access Newsprint in the iTunes App Store, please visit: App Store

*On sale from April 21, 2010 until April 28, 2010.
*50% off is $2.99, based on the normal price of $4.99

Newsprint 1.1 has been submitted to the App Store!

Now to get to work on the iPad version….

My latest application, Newsprint, is now available in the iPhone App Store!

Newsprint is a professional grade feed (RSS/Atom) reader for the iPhone and iPod touch, with support for Google Reader.

You can find more info on Newsprint at: http://www.NewsprintApp.com
You can find Newsprint in the App Store by using this link: http://www.NewsprintApp.com/download

On January 24th, 1984, Steve Jobs pulled a 128K Mac out of its case in front of a crowd of reporters, turned it on, and let the computer introduce itself to the world. The rest, as they say, is history.

On January 25th, 1982, I was born.

It’s kind of sad that I am only 2 years older then the Mac.

The book that I was the Technical Editor for, Cocoa Touch for iPhone OS 3, is now shipping from Amazon.com and should also be in (hopefully) most Barnes and Nobles.
View it at Amazon.com by clicking here.

This book is great for new iPhone developers as well as experienced ones.
You will need some Objective-C knowledge, but if you have some OOP (Object Oriented Programming) experience you should be ok with picking up an Objective-C book as well for as you work through the book.

If you are in a B&N stroll into the Geek, err, I mean Computer Programming section and look for the book.
Feel free to buy a copy to support my good friend and author of the book, Jiva DeVoe.
If you can’t get yourself to that level of geek, at least pick it up and look at the ‘Credits’ page, right before the Table of Contents and then you can go around to all the geeks in that area and say, “I KNOW THIS GUY!”

This makes 2 iPhone development books that I have been involved in, each one with more of a role than the last, however I can safely say it will be my last as after being involved with the book writing processes and having the author be a close friend of mine, I don’t really have a desire to write one myself (unless it’s an offer I just can’t refuse).

After pending review for more than 8 months, we are happy to announce that KidFlix was officially approved for sale today!

KidFlix is for parents with small children. KidFlix stops kids from accidentally activating the on-screen controls while listening to audio or watching videos on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Therefore eliminating accidental exits, fast-forwards, etc and therefore eliminating the need for you to constantly fix the problem.

KidFlix is not meant to be a substitute for proper child care, but instead to be a helping hand in keeping your child entertained.

As a parent of a young child I know how valuable of a tool this program can be when you are at say a restaurant and your child starts getting bored.

You can purchase KidFlix for $1.99, directly from the App Store by following the URL:
itms://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kidflix/id307595676?mt=8

Apple® announced today that Mac OS X 10.6 (aka Snow Leopard) will be released on Friday August 28, 2009!

I have been using developer preview versions of Snow Leopard and I can say with all honesty that Snow Leopard is a wonderful update to the already amazing 10.5 (Leopard).

The speed and performance updates in 10.6 make this a release that all eligible users should upgrade too, and at only $29 USD for the single computer upgrade and $49 USD for the Family upgrade, you should not need to even give it a second thought.

The main thing to know with 10.6 is that it will only work on Intel machines, so unfortunately you are out of luck if you are still using a Power PC computer.

The second main thing to know about 10.6 is that iDeskCal runs great on Snow Leopard!
I have been running it full time on Snow Leopard without any problems.
If however you do run into any issues with running iDeskCal on Snow Leopard, come Friday, Snow Leopard has special additions behind-the-scenes that make it even easier for us to track down reported bugs.
Unfortunately this is all I can say right now as my NDA with Apple is still in effect.

I have included links to pre-order Snow Leopard today!
Currently (Monday 24th) if you order from Apple, your upgrade DVD will be delivered the day Snow Leopard is released (Friday). I am not sure how long that will be the case, so I recommend you pre-order now!

Apple Online Store 10.6 Upgrade (Single computer & Family versions)
Amazon.com 10.6 Upgrade (Single computer version)
Amazon.com 10.6 Upgrade (Family version)

I have been back from WWDC for a little over a week now, but haven’t had a chance to say anything about it or post any pictures. (I will post an explanation shortly)

WWDC (Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference, in case you don’t know) was amazing!
This was the first time that I have been able to justify going (it’s not cheap) but man was it great.

I had the chance to meet so many amazing people that I talk to all the time on Twitter, but now I got the chance to meet them in real life.

Besides all the great developers and parties, it was a chance to learn about new and upcoming enhancements to the Mac operating system and the iPhone, as well as learn the best way to do certain things in code, coming from the people that write the language!

Apple also offers what the call labs during WWDC.
Labs allow you to take your code and sit down with an Apple Engineer that works on whatever particular topic you want, and they are there to serve. They will look over code and tell if you how you could have done it better, or they will help you debug an issue you are having, or anything else.

There is so much information flying at you all day that it can be overwhelming at times.

And when the sessions and labs end each day, WWDC does not end….
I have never seen more back to back, double/triple booked parties in my life.
Parties that go until all hours of the morning.

So with sessions and labs all day and parties all night, by midweek you are the walking dead but it doesn’t stop the fun. (and I didn’t even go out every night!)

Around the end of the week Apple throws a big party and this year had the band ‘Cake’ come and perform.

Overall it was a GREAT time and I can’t wait until next year, yet it is always nice to come back home to family as well.

We are talking about Nancy coming along next year and being able to tour San Francisco while I am in the sessions.

My WWDC 09 Photos – http://www.flickr.com/photos/kdbdallas/sets/72157620059169940/