ssnooZe 2

I've started work on ssnooZe 2.  New features will include international weather and ducking when music is playing.  If you have any suggestions, send a note to snooZe@mitchellfeinstein.com and I'll see if I can add it in.

snooZe is in the iTunes Store

snooZe is in the iTunes store now!  Please check it out it here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ssnooze/id408855230?mt=8 It's free (with non-intrusive ads and, for and a nominal fee, you can upgrade which gets rid of the ads) so give it a try.

For some more info and easily seen screen shots, look at http://www.mitchellfeinstein.com/snooze

Feel free to leave a constructive comment here.

iOS Development #1

I started some iOS development from scratch starting in 2010 in May.  I wanted to create a talking weather alarm clock and had not done *any* iOS development previously.  Yes, I worked with C, but primarily, I've been doing java development for the past 14 years.  I was surprised that development was "required" to be (this has since been laxed) in Objective C but was determined to write an app. So off I went to learn.

The time I allotted to this project has been my daily 2.5 hour (round drip) commute.  It's not enough time to get into the 'zone' as people bump me (I sit in the first aisle seat closest to the door because it has the most leg room) and disturb my concentration.

Things I needed to learn for this project:
1. Objective C.  Objective C isn't a difficult language to learn.  The syntax is similar enough to other languages that picking it up is not difficult BUT bracket syntax for dealing with objects is different enough that I have to stop and think when I'm creating a new object.

2. The *vast* iOS api's.  Along the way I needed to understand Audio, Animations, NS Core Data Structures, Table Window semantics and threading concepts. There is lots more to learn about the platform and each thing takes time to pickup.

3. Graphics tools, i.e. Adobe Illustrator

4. Sound recording/creating/mixing.  I used Garage Band.

While all of these things are not hard by themselves, doing them all yourself is very time consuming and I wished a many times for a partner to help out but that didn't work out as I had expected.  Anyone interested on collaborating on my 2nd app?

Now it's march and the app is now in the app store review process.  It's taken 2 weeks so far and counting.  Once it's available, give it a shot.  You can download "snooZe" (it's free :) from the iTunes app store.

If I had to do it again, I would probably use a 3rd party library (which, when I started Apple prohibited from the app store).  I've been researching Cocos2d (free), Corona (free to develop, $200 to deploy), and Unity ($$$).   I'll write about them in other posts.

Fat Head

Just saw Fat Head on Netflix and gave me pause.  It turns all of the food advice we've been hearing for years upside down.  He does exercise regularly in addition to the eating meat all-the-time so that may be a factor, but I think it's worth a try jumping on to the low carb band wagon. 

Snagit Review

Before my current job, I relied on Gadwin's Print Screen Utility http://www.gadwin.com/printscreen/.  I was happy with it for quite a few years and didn't understand why I would want to pay for commercial product.  But at my current job, I have been using the PC version of Snagit and have grown quite fond of it.  So you ask, why do I like so much now?  Here are the reasons:

1. If I just want a screen shot, it's easy.  Just hit the print screen key, select the area.
2. Edge effects.  I just like the ragged look of the cut screen shot. (see image)
3. Lower color depth (smaller sized images).
4. Easy to highlight, create arrows, and add text (see image).
5. Very nice highlighting ability to select part of the screen and optionally auto-scroll to capture more than what is on the screen.

Given that I have a PC and a Mac, I decided to try out the new version of Snagit created especially for the Mac http://www.techsmith.com/snagit/ and have found that I like that version as well.  The mac has better built in screen capture facilities than the PC so a screen capture program isn't as necessary BUT for the same reasons (except #1) as I like the PC version, I like the Mac version.

Notes:  I have no affliation at all with Snagit or it's parent company Techsmith, I'm just a regular user of the PC version.