Odynia.org blog

Yet another article from the mainstream media that believes Adobe’s PR drivel.

From Adobe’s row with Apple over Flash technology escalates:

But Flash is commonly used to build smartphone apps. As a result, developers commonly used automatic translation tools – some built by Adobe – to convert Flash code to run on Apple gadgets.

Who sees two problems with this one?

Problem the first: No smartphone platform supports the full Flash. Adobe have said that Android will support it later this year. This is the third time they’ve promised a release, we’ll see if this one slips too.

Problem the second: By Adobe’s admission there were maybe 100 apps in the App Store that were built in Flash and compiled into binaries compatible with the App Store guidelines. 100 apps from dozens of developers.

Contrast that with the 198,355 apps from 38,928 developers (from 148apps.biz). 0.05% hardly counts as common.

Sigh.
-bok

So people started to panic around rumours of a Mac App Store, and a locked down Mac OS X that would only install apps from the Apple-controlled store, saying it would be devastating for Mac developers.

Seems they emailed Steve Jobs who responded with a typically terse “Nope.”

I think that would be a disappointing result and as a Mac OS/iPhone OS developer I would seriously welcome the creation of a Mac App Store as an additional distribution channel. I don’t believe it would be feasible to lock down 10.7 to an app store without alienating all of their existing developers who make the platform what it is today, and indeed I would be in line to fight against it.

Apple gets the iPhone App Store just right though; its a simple distribution channel that gets 70% of revenue direct to the developer. While some other sales channels give you a bigger cut, you do get less exposure and let’s face it, exposure equals sales. The number of websites that have grown up around the App Store purely to track it show the interest in its products.

As an iPhone developer transitioning to Mac OS development a Mac App Store would also be a familiar way to distribute upcoming projects.

Given the email to Steve Jobs wasn’t specific enough to rule out the creation of a Mac App Store, I hope its something that Apple is still considering.

-bok

So my iPad arrived today.

First of all, a huge thank you to decryption for getting me my iPad. You rock!

Secondly, yes I am typing this on said iPad, and yes the keyboard is nice but probably suited to long sessions of typing as previously reported.

So my thoughts? It’s definitely just a big iPod touch, which is absolutely fantastic!

The hardware itself is not revolutionary, and it doesn’t need to be. What it is though is the first device with a large sized multi-touch screen, the same sort of devices that have been depicted in science fiction novels, films and TV shows for many decades.

The possibilities are staggering, particularly for data display and manipulation. I can see so many places in business across many industries where an iPad with an industry-specific app could seriously revolutionise that industry. Imagine public transport where customer service staff have an iPad with an unimaginable amount of information both about the service they’re providing as well as points of interest and other relevant information all at their fingertips, instantly. (Note: the ideas above do not reflect those of my employer, they’re just my own thoughts)

I’ve played with as many free apps as I can get my hands on and I can see what some developers were aiming for; some hit their mark and delivered an awesome user experience, some did not. Thats likely not their fault – trying to design a user experience without the device you’re designing for is not an easy task, so hopefully updates for these apps will be forthcoming.

The 3rd party apps are where the beauty of this device lies. The supplied Apple apps do their job beautifully, but none are really revolutionary. It’s the same tasks we’ve always had on a new shiny toy. So I feel it will be the new apps that are just now in various stages of conceptualisation or development that will really make this device a must-have.

With two exceptions.

Safari

Safari on the iPad is an amazing experience. All the features that you love on the iPhone with double-tap to zoom in particular on a screen that is much better suited to the internets. The only thing missing is the ability to search within a page.

Maps

This is how you were meant to browse Google Maps. Its a totally immersive experience and I’ve already wasted a few hours rediscovering Google Maps.

When you go to purchase your iPad though you will more than likely want the 3G version, this device is designed to consume and there is nothing bigger than the internet to consume. Unless you only own an iPod touch and actually use it for more than just listening to music, in which case you might just survive.

I think I’ve written enough on this keyboard for now, I have several plans in my head for iPad apps, so I’ll blog a bit on design and development of those.

-bok

Looks like a review of the tramTRACKER iPhone app was posted in the AFR today in amongst a review of a bunch of other iPhone apps.

"In metropolitan Melbourne the king of the localised apps is TramTracker, a way of hooking an iPhone into the real time transport information the system has been able to generate for years.

Recently ousted tram operator Yarra Trams must be cursing the timing of its failed contract renewal bid. If TramTracker for iPhone had run a couple of years before Judgement Day, they might have held onto the contract. The beauty of
TramTracker is not during the peak, when transport is regular – if unpleasantly overfull. It’s that more people will be prepared to travel at off-peak times. When you can reliably arrive at a stop a couple of minutes before a tram instead of risking a cold and wet or warm and windy 20-minute wait going in and coming home, a tram seems a fine way of getting to the CBD late on a Saturday afternoon.

It feels rather luxurious to sip a sparkler in the bar after the show at the Victorian Arts Centre until the iPhone announces that one’s personal transport is about to arrive, and step on the carriage a minute or two later."

Whoa, it’s been a while since posting!

Anyway, for a particular iPhone project I’ve been working on I’ve come across a requirement to be able to draw an underline underneath text on a UILabel. Google pointed me to a couple of tips, but lacked a complete solution.

Posted below is what I ended up with.

UnderLineLabel.h

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
/**
 * UnderLineLabel class
**/

@interface UnderLineLabel : UILabel {
    BOOL underline;
}

// call setUnderline to YES/NO to show/hide the underline, this doesn't force a redraw
@property (nonatomic,getter=isUnderlined) BOOL underline;

@end

UnderLineLabel.m

#import "UnderLineLabel.h"
@implementation UnderLineLabel

@synthesize underline;

- (void)drawTextInRect:(CGRect)rect
{
    [super drawTextInRect:rect];
    if ([self isUnderlined])
    {
        // Get the size of the label
        CGSize dynamicSize = [self.text sizeWithFont:self.font constrainedToSize:CGSizeMake(99999, 99999) lineBreakMode:self.lineBreakMode];

        // Get the current graphics context
        CGContextRef context = UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext();

        // Make it a while line 1.0 pixels wide
        CGContextSetStrokeColorWithColor(context, [self.textColor CGColor]);
        CGContextSetLineWidth(context, 1.5);

        // find the origin point
        CGPoint origin = CGPointMake(0, 0);

        // horizontal alignment depends on the alignment of the text
        if (self.textAlignment == UITextAlignmentCenter)
            origin.x = (self.frame.size.width / 2) - (dynamicSize.width / 2);

        else if (self.textAlignment == UITextAlignmentRight)
            origin.x = self.frame.size.width - dynamicSize.width;

        // vertical alignment is always middle/centre plus half the height of the text
        origin.y = (self.frame.size.height / 2) + (dynamicSize.height / 2);

        // Draw the line
        CGContextMoveToPoint(context, origin.x, origin.y);
        CGContextAddLineToPoint(context, origin.x + dynamicSize.width, origin.y);
        CGContextStrokePath(context);
    }
}

- (void)dealloc {
    [super dealloc];
}

@end

All done!

-bok

Hi all!

I’ve decided to separate the iTransit blog from what is essentially my personal blog.

You can find the new iTransit blog over at http://www.itransit.com.au/blog/

Thanks for reading!

-bok

Lets start a new drinking game!

Every time the Brumby government announces a new major road project, take a shot. If you’re still alive come Christmas, you win

bok

Hi all,

Thought I’d post an update on where we’re up to and whats coming up, we’ve had a surge in users recently and have just crossed 2000 home screen additions.

tramTRACKER

We’re now using the mobile tramTRACKER site for the real time data after discussions with Yarra Trams. This doesn’t include the destination data so we’re matching that against the schedule – it looks more consistent now with the scheduled data, but occasionally results in blank rows with route numbers only. If you see one of these let us know so we can repair it. They’re also going to be incorporating some of the ideas in iTransit back into their own offerings.

Native Application

The Native app is continuing development with two versions planned – a free version and a paid for version.

Both versions will feature selective caching and will be able to sync timetable changes over the air – you can control if/when to check for updates. You can also choose which lines/routes you want to use regularly and so save space/bandwidth and get only the data that applies to you – the app will grab missing data from the website as needed, or you can grab everything for complete offline usage.

The free native application will support pretty much everything the current web app does with a few extra goodies. The paid for "pro" version will contain a lot of bonus features, which I’ll keep to myself for now

Other things

I’ve redeveloped the backend recently to allow integration with other services out there, such as Melbourne Transport Updates and more, there is also an API in development that powers this if you have your own services you might like to build. The bus data has been redesigned and the remaining routes will be filled in in the next week or so, similarly the inter-city for Sydney.

Also: faux real time data for Trains

Remeber, vote in the poll!

-bok

Hi all,

Work is well underway for the Native iTransit application, but there are still a few things undecided.

We know that there will be two versions of the application released:

Free Version

There will be a free or "lite" version, which will contain pretty much all of the existing functionality of the web application. (Still undecided about the traffic conditions until I talk to VicRoads)

"Pro" Version

There will also be a "pro" version, for want of a better name. It will be the same as the free version but with additional bonus features. Several of which we know already, some more that we’re still considering.

The "pro" version is also a way of supporting additional development – we do this because we love it and we use the software too, but covering development costs is always a plus

So, what would people be willing to pay for a "pro" version? Vote in the poll to the right, leave a comment, or hit us up via twitter.

bok

For those wanting to keep up with the latest updates for iTransit you can follow the twitter feed at htp://twitter.com/itransit_au or the RSS updates of said feed at http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/16022820.rss.


bok