Update submitted for Apps and Hats

by admin on August 29, 2011

I have been wanting to update this app for a long time and have finally submitted a 2.0 version. I re-made the app, and it’s now looking slick on the retina devices. Although the show is no longer going, the app is still on the app store as a free app and I didn’t want something on the store that didn’t represent the apps I make. That’s why I decided to update it rather than just pull it because it’s an app that means a lot to me because of the affiliation with the show, but also it was the first proper app I made and is what has really given me the bug for making apps.

It’s still free and while people are still downloading it I’ll keep it on there. Oh – the logo doesn’t have gloss, it’s just looking that way at the moment while it’s waiting for review.

Shandy Hall

by admin on August 29, 2011

I have been working on creating an app for the historical museum Shandy Hall, which is just a nice little informational app. Perfect for reading about events and the history of the house.

Features in the app include:

- Live map so you don’t get lost

- Opening times

- Admission

- Events you can attend & how to book if needed

- Images of the beautiful house and gardens

- Videos about Shandy Hall and other related videos

- Read the live twitter stream for all current information

The app is free and makes a great companion for when you are thinking of making a visit there. For more information about Shandy Hall you can check out their site.

The app should be live by mid September 2011.

iPhone tip: Screen Captures

by admin on May 14, 2011

If you are new to the iPhone or iPod Touch, or maybe you haven’t yet needed to or known that it is possible – here is a quick tip!

Just by holding together for a brief moment both the power button at the top and the home button below, it will take a photo whatever is on your screen. This will be saved in the “Photos” app, in your camera roll.

If you then open the app, you can email the photo or just upload it however you would normally.

Quick, easy and very useful!

Updates

by admin on May 3, 2011

My latest update was approved this week which took Apple took no time at all. I have so far been really lucky with their processes and hope it continues. I did have one rejection and they explained why – I amended the app and it was approved a few days later.

The update to Travel Cash was a minor issue, there was a problem with the loading image. It isn’t something any particular user would notice as it’s more a cosmetic / feel type of issue – if it doesn’t load there is a black screen when the app launches for a second or two. Many apps don’t even have a loading screen but I like to have as polished a feel as possible for my apps so for me it was important to get it right.

I also realised that although the Travel Cash kept a running total of the the cash spent, you didn’t see a total of only the amount spent, so with this update there is now a field that says to you that you have this much left, and have spent this much of your cash.

There are still minor fixes and I think as with most apps there will always be minor fixes, now it’s just a case of balance of time and resources, which apps to update and for what reasons, versus do I build new apps and focus on a staple few?

I have been updating the Lil Tweet app which was an experiment, as I want it to remain on there as it was an interesting idea. I have also been working on one that I am very excited about so that will hopefully be my next app out, after which I will make updates to the apps as needed.

Lastly I have modified the pricing of Allowance so it is now the same as travel cash. I will keep my eye on if this has an effect on sales at all or if it’s not much difference. I do find it is a difficult process to keep promoting the apps and generating awareness of them, and really I would like to get a good base of apps and then continually improve the ones that I have.

Travel Cash in New & Noteworthy

by admin on March 20, 2011

Just came across Travel Cash in the New & Noteworthy section on the App Store which is always great news.

I haven’t yet actively promoted it in any way which may be a mistake but there was a slight issue with it I noticed when testing it that I wasn’t happy with. It is only a very small issue – that when you launch the app there is a slight black screen delay for a second or so, meaning it isn’t loading my Default image when it starts. I realise it will be seen as a minor thing – literally a 1 second black delay, but I’m not happy with it.

I am currently fixing that and I will add a few other bits to it and submit a 1.1 fix for that.

Hoping to have it ready to go for next weekend. (March 2nd).

Travel Cash

by admin on March 15, 2011

I’ve been working on a new app for the last few weeks, called Travel Cash and have now submitted version 1 to the App Store.

The goal with this app was that I had a few people saying to me / commenting that they had also been using Allowance for other accounts, keeping track of other types of finance. I also had a friend say they used it on a holiday to track where the heck their travel cash was going!

This app has a clean interface and it is designed so you can enter in the transactions as quickly and easily as possible. You also are able to see exactly how much money you have left in your travel fund.

Officially goes on sale Thursday 17th March.

Only $1.99 / £1.19

The pleasure and the pain

by admin on February 8, 2011

I’ve been working on a new app for around a week or so now. Over the weekend I decided to try the new GM version of Xcode 4 Preview to code. I had tried it a while back (months?) and I loved the layout and features of it, but because you were not allowed to use it to submit apps just yet I decided to wait.

This latest build lets you now submit apps with it so I decided to have a try again. All went well until I tried to build the app to check for errors. It worked fine until I decided to check more than once. It crashed every time I tried to do this. If I can’t check for errors and fix my code then it just won’t work for me. On the last attempt it just died, taking my computer with me so I decided to abandon using the Preview for a little longer.

The friendly face of 3.2.5

When I went to open the project in a previous version of Xcode, my 3.2.5 version, it opened with the preview, every time. Even selecting the program from the menu it would open with the Preview. Something went wrong with the install I assume cause parts of my old version were now over written. I got the previous version once again, and will not be opening the Preview until it is officially all ready to go. Result: One weekend spent uninstalling / installing Xcode.

Just to add that the bits I did get working in Xcode 4 were really amazing and I can not wait to officially get on with it!

How to redeem a promocode

by admin on February 5, 2011

If you are one of the lucky ones to be given a promocode for something on iTunes, you may be unsure how the heck to use that thing! I get asked a fair bit how to redeem the code, so I thought I’d write up this little post to explain how.

Here are a few simple steps to get you on your way to your free item…

In iTunes, have a look at the top right corner- where your account id / name is held.

If you click on that you will see it becomes a drop down menu and redeem is one of the options available to you:

Once you click that link, it opens into a full image where you also have a place to enter in that big digit code. You just enter it in, if you copy and paste it makes it a lot easier, and then press redeem.

This will then either take you to the success page where you will see the app and they will ask if you need to enter in another promocode / certificate, or it will say that the code entered is not valid. This could be because you entered it in wrong, or it may have already been used.

Hope this helps! Happy promocoding.

Rewriting Freud

by admin on February 5, 2011

Newly approved Universal app, Rewriting Freud is now on the app store. This 1.0 version is an artwork that carries on from a series. The first being a program made for a touch screen kiosk, and the second a book, which was generated by the kiosk. You can read more about those projects.

Updating Apps & Hats

by admin on February 5, 2011

Although the show has now finished, kinda making the app a little pointless in terms of updated information, I decided to update it for this exact reason.

I’ll be fixing a few minor glitches, and changing a few of the tabs that are no longer relevant. In fact, I am completely remaking the app – from an entirely new project, not just fixing the old one, so it will be a 2.0 release.

Along with that, I have re-worked the icon so it too is bang up to date with the suite of apps I’m putting out. It will also be retina display friendly. Hopefully this update will be out for Easter.

Here is a sneak peak at the new icon…