Archives For iOS

The Twin Cities iPhone Developers Meetup has Teamed up with Microsoft!

March 22, 2013

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That’s right.  You read the headline correctly.  The iPhone Developers Meetup is working with Microsoft in an effort to give our members the greatest opportunity to get their applications into the most marketplaces. We are partnering with Microsoft to give you the tools and resources you need to get your iOS applications into the Windows Store.

If you don’t have time to read the entire post, remember this:

  1. Access to software and hardware, including a Microsoft Surface device and Windows Phone device to test your applications on
  2. Information on how to port iOS applications or start a new application from scratch
  3. Access to the Microsoft development experts and the Twin Cities’ Microsoft Technology Center developer labs

This program is a partnership between the Twin Cities’ iPhone Developers Meetup and Microsoft to provide resources so our members can port or create applications for the Windows Store or the Windows Phone Store.  Between now and June 30th, members will have access to the developer kit, Microsoft developer experts and programs, and the Microsoft Technology Center’s developer labs.

The developer kit contains a Microsoft Surface device, HTC 8x Windows Phone, Windows 8 Pro evaluation bits, and a USB drive with resources, install guides, etc. for running a Microsoft development environment on a Mac.  You can contact John Hibscher (john_hibscher at yahoo.com) to schedule use of the kit for up to five days at a time.  If our group can get 15 or more applications into the Windows Store by June 30th, we will be able to keep the kit and will raffle off the Microsoft Surface, the HTC 8x, and a copy of Windows 8 Pro to the members that get applications submitted and approved. 

The Microsoft Technology Center is one of the premier facilities for Microsoft development.  At the MTC, you will be able to schedule time in one of the Windows 8 developer labs where you can use PCs that are state-of-the-art for doing Windows development.  In addition, Microsoft development experts will be on hand to answer any of your questions while you are there.  The MTC developer labs are a great place to get an app started or push it that last mile to completion.

In addition to the resources that are in the kit, here are some additional links to help get you started.

If you have more questions, or want more info, you contact me via email (adgroc at microsoft.com), on Twitter (@codel8r) of find me at my weekly Office Hours (Adam’s Office Hours)

Thanks and good luck coding!

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Azure Mobile Services vs. Parse

February 12, 2013

What?

[Caveat: I am a Microsoft employee and fan. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are explicitly my own and not those of my employer.]

One of the challenges I think we all face as developers is figuring out which technology/framework/service to use on our projects. There are so many options it can be overwhelming a constantly leave you to second guess any decision you might make. If you’re writing apps you’re going to want your apps to run on as many platforms as possible and provide a consistent user experience on various platforms. You’ll also want to the ability to provide authentication and send out push notifications across various platforms as well. To make this happen you’re going to need a set of back end services and data. What are your options?

Well you could build out these services from scratch and host them yourself or with Azure or another cloud provider. But building and maintaining back end services is time consuming and not for the weak of heart. Especially when you have start thinking about things like availability, scalability, and security. Fortunately for you there are some providers that take care of writing the backend for you. This week I found out about one such provider popular with the local Android community called Parse. After an initial look at the service and doing some tire kicking it seems like a fairly decent service. The team at Parse has done a great job in providing a set of backend services for data, push notifications, social integration, and even some server side logic. They’ve also provided SDK’s for all platforms, including Windows 8 and Windows Phone 9.

The question I’ve been asking myself is “Would I use Parse over Azure Mobile Service?” As a huge backer of Azure and a Microsoft employee, you can probably guess my answer: No. However, I want to explain why I wouldn’t use it. Here’s why:

  • You can get to your data. Data stored in Mobile Services is stored in a SQL database and that database is YOUR database, you can use it for reporting, adhoc queries, BI, anything. You can back it up and take the data with you. You can even get to it through Excel. That data is stored in hot-swap triplicate at all times to handle hardware failures and provide high availability
  • Mobile Services are a part of Azure and are built directly on the infrastructure that supports Azure and Azure Websites
  • Azure has a presence around the world with a choice of datacenters (with more being added).
  • The ability to schedule recurring jobs that run in the background. (Read about it here).
  • Microsoft is not a startup. I know startups are all the rage, and there are some pretty amazing things in the startup space. With that said, if I’m creating an app, I have a hard time trusting my entire backend to a startup that may or may not be around in 6-12 months.

Keep in mind these are just my thoughts. Parse may be an ideal solution for you, but for me Azure Mobile Services is just a better fit.

If you want to learn more about Windows Azure Mobile Services, I encourage to visit the Dev Center to get started.

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Simplify Day 1 – Doing Stuff

August 29, 2012

“Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify!” – Henry David Thoreau

In a recent post, I broke up with my iPad and my laptop in one fell swoop. The reason was simple, I needed more power and less bulk.  Basically, I’m looking for the convenience and form factor of an iPad with the functionality of a laptop. Ideally it would be a device designed for Windows 8, but since those haven’t shipped yet, I decided to make due with the Samsung Series 7 tablet I received last week while at an event in Redmond, WA (aka the home of Microsoft). For the next 30 days I’m going to use the tablet as my only device to see if the concept will work. Along the way I plan on blogging about my experiences, both good and bad.

Today was day 1, the day when I spent 8 hours being productive on the tablet. Since I was out of the office all of last week I still playing a bit of catch up, so most of my work involved Outlook along with some PowerPoint, and no Visual Studio. I also spent a an hour or so as just a consume (reading, books, watching videos, etc.) Here are my thoughts from the day:

  • My Samsung Series 7 Slate Case Stand arrived today, so I’ll start with my impressions of it
    • It’s a nice looking case and I really like how the tablet snaps into it. I seemed to constantly have issues with the iPad’s smart cover falling off, so this is a nice change. I am wondering if after prolonged use it will be difficult to keep it nice and tight in the case.
    • There is a holder for the stylus, which is nice as my understanding from colleagues is that earlier versions of the case did not have this feature. However, it feels like an add on, and I think it actually detracts from the look of the case when the stylus is in place. It is useful though.
    • The case does not allow you to lay the slate down at a 30 degree angle like the iPad smart cover does. This feature made it very easy to use the iPad’s soft keyboard for typing. Unfortunately no one else manufactures a case for this tablet, so I’ll have to live with it.
    • The case is not “smart”. Which means I have to remember to turn off my tablet when I close the case because the tablet won’t turn itself off. This is identical to how the first generation iPad worked. Once again, not a deal killer, but it would be nice to have.
  • I ordered two additional docks and power adapters so I can have one set in my bag, one set at home, and one set at my office. This is for pure convenience. I could get by with just one, but three will make it easier, as well as less likely that I’ll forget a dock somewhere.
  • I decided to use the USB port on my current Samsung dock for my Logitech illuminated keyboard. The Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000 is good and will serve me well when traveling, but I simply love my Logitech keyboard and can be more productive with it during intense coding sessions.
  • The tablet is bigger than the iPad and weighs a bit more, so it will take some getting used to hold while reading in bed.
  • I turned off the “Adjust Screen Brightness Automatically” feature in Windows 8, and now I can’t seem to adjust the screen’s brightness at all. When I turned the feature back on it didn’t have any effect. Not a big deal, but it would be nice to have a dimmer display at night when reading.
  • I had a couple of PDF’s I needed to print today, when I opened them in the Reader application I found out that the app provided no way to print them. Ugh. Luckily I was able to switch back over to the desktop and open them in Microsoft Word 2013 for printing. Anytime I can avoid installing an Adobe product I call it a huge win!
  • There is no good RSS Reader app yet. I was heavily reliant on the Reeder app for my iPad, and I’m hoping something similar will be coming to Windows 8.
  • I ordered a 64 GB Micro SD card for music, video, and photo storage. I don’t want eat up the precious space on the SSD, so this seems like a good plan. An added bonus is that I will be able to pop this card into my Windows Phone 8 device consume content there as well. Win and win!
  • While I’m not a huge fans of iTunes software on Windows, one thing it allowed me to do was sync content between my computer and my iOS devices. I’ll definitely need to find a solution for this as I don’t want to copy and past content from network shares to my machine.
  • Cables, cables, cable. I ordered 3 HDMI to DVI cables from Amazon (at a great price). One for my bag, one for home, and one for the office. I also ordered an HDMI cable from Amazon just to keep in my bag. I also ordered an HDMI to VGA cable as well as a VGA Female-to-Female adapter to keep in my bag. I do a lot of presenting and I know some venues will only have a VGA projection option. This should do the trick.

Despite what you may think by reading my comments, I consider today to be a success. A lot of these things are simply the result of getting used to a new machine and a new way of working. Tomorrow and Friday I’ll be in all day meetings, which means a lot of OneNote, OneNote MX, PowerPoint, and Outlook which will be some good experience with the new wave of Office products.

Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to experiment with replacing AirPlay as I mentioned in my last post. That will come soon though, don’t worry.

Previous Posts in this Series

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Simplify Day 0 – Install, Install, Install

August 28, 2012

“Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify!” – Henry David Thoreau

In a recent post, I broke up with my iPad and my laptop in one fell swoop. The reason was simple, I needed more power and less bulk.  Basically, I’m looking for the convenience and form factor of an iPad with the functionality of a laptop. Ideally it would be a device designed for Windows 8, but since those haven’t shipped yet, I decided to make due with the Samsung Series 7 tablet I received last week while at an event in Redmond, WA (aka the home of Microsoft). For the next 30 days I’m going to use the tablet as my only device to see if the concept will work. Along the way I plan on blogging about my experiences, both good and bad.

Today was day 0. The day I installed and configured the various pieces of software I use on a daily basis. Before I walk you through what I did, let me tell you the hardware setup I’ll be using over the next 30 days

  • Samsung Series 7 tablet (with dock and digitized stylus)
  • Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000
  • Microsoft Bluetooth Mouse 5000
  • When not mobile, I’ll be using an HDMI to DVI adapter to use a secondary 27” monitor.

With that out of the way, here’s what I did today.

The first thing I needed to do was get the machine set up. Microsoft was kind enough to install trial versions of Windows 8 and Visual Studio ultimate on the device, but I wanted to start with a blank slate (get it?) The first step was to reformat the hard drive and install Windows 8 Enterprise Edition. Typically I would create a bootable VHD for this, but since disk space is at a premium I deiced to run right on the metal. This process went fairly smoothly and took about 30 minutes.

Next up, I installed the following desktop apps:

  • Office 2013 Preview
  • Visual Studio 2012 (with Windows Azure Tools)
  • Visual Studio 2010 (for Windows Phone development)
  • Windows Live Writer (the ONLY tool to use for blogging)
  • Zune (to sync my Windows Phone)
  • iTunes (yes, iTunes. I’ve made a large investment in music and videos with iTunes over the years and would like to be able to consume those items on my tablet)

Then I installed the following apps from the Store:

  • OneNote MX
  • Kindle
  • SkyDrive
  • Remote Desktop
  • MetroTwit

By the time I was done I had about 75 GB left on the hard drive, not too bad at all. Here are my initial impressions:

  • All installs went very smooth. I was up and running in under 5 hours.
  • When the tablet was docked I wasn’t getting any sound. This was because the tablet was configured to use USB speakers by default when in the dock. I quickly changed this and was good to go.
  • The keyboard isn’t backlit. I have come to love the backlit keyboard on my Dell Precision M2400 workstation as well as the backlit Logitech K800 wireless USB keyboard I keep in my home office. This isn’t a deal killer, just a bummer.
  • I noticed a little flakiness with left-clicking the mouse while in IE (both desktop and non-desktop versions). After I rebooted the table the issue went away, but I’ll keep my eye on it.
  • MetroTwit is an OK Twitter client, just OK. I’ll probably look at some of the other ones out there as this one isn’t blowing me away.
  • Using the digitized stylus with OneNote MX is a great experience. Being able to put my diagrams in a OneNote notebooks is a huge win for me!
  • iTunes on Windows 8 is still iTunes on Windows – nothing great. The native Music and Video apps are much better, but I still need iTunes for a lot of my content.

That’s it for today. Tomorrow I’ll start playing around with how to replace one feature I loved on my iPad, AirPlay.

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Dear iPad – It’s Not You, It’s Me

August 27, 2012

Dear iPad,

I’ve been dreading this letter. I knew it was coming, but I didn’t want to write it because I know things won’t be the same between us after you read it.

Do you remember when we first met? I do. You were in your first generation. You were a new pup and still wet behind the ears. Back then you were young. You were well designed, beautiful, and, yes, even magical. You played my music and movies, let me read my email and surf the web in style. You though different. You changed everything.

I didn’t think it could get it any better, but when we met for the second time it did. You were slimmed down with curves in just the right spots. We stayed up all night reading books and watching movies. We went on countless trips, presenting to crowds both big and small. You even let me use your front facing camera to talk to my family no matter where I was. For that I am truly grateful, and I thank you.

Then you came along for a third time. This time I could tell you had been working out at the gym. You were a little heavier, but you were also much faster than the last time we met.then I saw your retina display and was blown away. I hadn’t seen anything quite so beautiful.

But, in all honesty, something has been bothering me of late. I want more. I don’t just want to watch movies, listen to music, read books and email,and surf the web. I want to create. I want to write code. I want to use a real spreadsheet. I want to have more than one app on my screen at once (and I want a bigger screen). But you won’t let me. Why not?

Here’s the thing, I used to think that, one day, I would only need to take you with me when I travel, but that has turned out not to be the case. I need to take you and my laptop. That means more weight in my bag. One more thing I have to take out when going through security. One more inconvenience Why? Why? Why?

Well, I’m done. I’m leaving. I’m out. I want a device that is easy to carry AND let’s me consume content AND enables me to create in the ways I want to create. You aren’t that device, but it’s not just you. My laptop also isn’t working for me anymore. It’s time to move on. It’s really best for both of us. I still think you’re great, you just aren’t great for me anymore. It’s not you, it’s me. I’m so sorry. This is really painful for me.

You might be wondering what I’m going to do. I don’t have any definitive plans at the moment. I have a Samsung Series 7 tablet running Windows 8 for the time being that suits my needs, but I’m not looking for a long term relationship, just something to help me out while I figure out what I want to do. With that said the Samsung and I are going to be monogamous for the next 30 days just to see how things work out.

I’ll close with a lyric from one my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands:

"I know some day you’ll have a beautiful life…in somebody else’s sky" – Pearl Jam

(I have fond memories of you and I watching "Pearl Jam 20" on countless flights and in hotel room after hotel room. I’ll always look back on those times and smile.)

You have a bright future and I wish you all the best.

Adam

Written in OneNote MX on my Windows 8 Tablet

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Mobile.Compile() for the Week of June 17, 2012

June 22, 2012

{News and Analysis}

Apple

Cross Platform

Google

Microsoft

ag

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Mobile.Compile() for the Week of June 10, 2012

June 15, 2012

Apple

Is This The Evolution Of iPhone’s UI We All Hoped For?

Apple Previews iOS 6

http://www.delicious.com/redirect?url=http%3A//blogs.forrester.com/thomas_husson/12-06-11-apples_ios_6_will_open_up_new_product_experiences%3Fcm_mmc%3DRSS-_-MS-_-79-_-blog_2317

iOS 6 SDK Beta Now Available

Simulating an iPhone or iPad browser for ASP.NET Mobile Web Development with Web…

Apple Previews iOS 6 With All New Maps, Siri Features, Facebook Integration, Sha…

Cross Platform

PhoneGap 1.8.1 Released!

What’s New with Sencha.io

Force

Mobile Application Development Library

Microsoft

Publishing wait times decline, new unlock option

ag

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The Real Reason Apple Won’t Allow Flash on iOS

April 30, 2012

{This isn’t something I would typically post, but my daughter was so spot on with this that I just had to to share it.}

My nine year old daughter, Maya, has had an iPad for close to a year now. We bought her the iPad at the end of third grade as she was getting to a point where she was going to need a computer of her own. At the time the iPad seemed like the perfect solution. I’m glad to say that it has server her well for both educational and entertainment purposes. She made some outstanding charts and graphs for a science project using Numbers as well as conquered numerous levels on every edition of Angry Birds.

Before she had her iPad she would use one of the laptops sitting around the house to play games online. Most All of those games were built with Adobe’s Flash technology. When she got her iPad and tried to access one of her favorite sites at the time, Webkinz, she was disappointed to find out that she couldn’t use the site because the iPad doesn’t support the Flash plug-in. She asked me why, and I made some references to this post by Apple. She just nodded her head and said “OK dad, maybe I should write a letter to Steve Jobs.” Every few months she asks me about Flash on the iPad, hoping that Apple has changed their mind about allow the plug-in on iOS. Of course, I have to crush those hopes.

The other night was different. On the way to swim practice we started talking about Flash on the iPad. Here’s the conversation:

Maya: “Dad, I think I know why Apple doesn’t allow Flash on iPads.”

Me: “Oh really? Tell me why.”

Maya: “Simple, if they allowed Flash on iPads, people wouldn’t need MacBooks.”

Me: “OK, go on.”

Maya: “Well if people didn’t need MacBooks, then Apple wouldn’t sell as many MacBooks and they would make less money.”

Me: “You know what? I never thought about that before.”

Maya: “Yeah, I was just thinking about it.”

Brilliant!

ag

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Mobile.Compile() for the Week of April 2, 2012

April 6, 2012

Apple

Cross Platform

Google

Microsoft

ag

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Mobile.Compile() for the Week of March 3, 2012

March 9, 2012

Not too much to report on the mobile front this week…other than the launch of the new iPad!

{News and Analysis}

Apple

Cross Platform

Google

Microsoft

ag

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