AlSiO2 (not plastic) MacTouch please.

www.lightsoffapp.com

iTunes link

1. How do you tackle a deadline?

In short – badly! Due to the pressures of university and the fact that I work alone most of the time, my time management is all over the place. I only have my leisure time in which to work, and must therefore struggle to motivate myself into getting the job done; if a project is getting awkward, I end up leaving it for a while to find something more cheery to do.

2. Give us a brief breakdown of your workflow on a given project.

Usually I start off with a ‘cool-looking’ idea in my head, and at once I jump into Xcode and don’t stop until I have something that resembles it running before me. I’m great for starting projects, but the usual ‘Programmer’s ADD’ clicks in and unless I get somewhere interesting fast I start to lose interest. Because of my limited time, I have to ensure my projects are small, and thus it allows me to think of fully fleshed-out ideas in my head and create them as fast as I can.

3. Your favorite OS and why?

iPhone OS – this is a brand-new platform with the UI layer and APIs built from scratch without twenty years of legacy code; to program for it’s a dream, and because the entire interface is designed on top of Core Animation it makes some awesome things possible. There are many parts of the iPhone APIs that I wish we had back on the desktop.

4. What applications do you use primarily to create your work?

That would be Xcode/Interface Builder and Photoshop CS4. I’m a designer at heart, and coding just comes as a means to an end. I usually draw out everything in Photoshop before writing a line of code.

5. What hardware do you use primarily to create your work?

Currently the Late 2008 MacBook Pro, before that was the Air and a previous generation MacBook Pro. I don’t use peripherals much; though I do have a Wacom tablet for more arty work, I have yet to use it in a software project.

6. Your thoughts on resolution independence?

This is something Apple have been pushing since the early seeds of Tiger and is an important step for the future. Eventually we will be designing UIs in centimetres or inches so that they always look the same size on screen (Microsoft’s Avalon / WPF already takes this step), but display technology is moving pretty slowly and I posit that it will be several years (on the desktop) before it is needed. For mobile devices, that’s another matter, as I see smaller and smaller devices with higher resolution screens.

7. How do you contribute/share with your community?

I have many open source projects, and keep active in the IRC channels for movements I’m interested in, i.e. Android, iPhone Linux, etc. I have small contributions all over the place from NES.app for iPhone to the iPhone Linux project to full-scale software testing for certain companies. Other than that, I help out and impart knowledge wherever I can =)

8. Who would you like to work/collaborate with?

Tricky question – I *would* have said the Tapulous team before it split apart: Mike Lee, Louie Mantia, Tristan O’Tierney, among others. I feel I already collaborate with some of my heroes, but I’m fully open to anyone who needs me!

9. When did you justify to yourself that you could make a living off what you do?

When the App Store was announced =) While I cannot say I make a living, being merely a part-timer, the income generated from the App Store is incredible. It is a veritable gold rush, where even the tiniest of 99c apps can bring in hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars a month.

10. Your favorite creation?

Stack for iPhone – the 2.0 version. I broke a lot of new ground in this plugin, and learned a lot about the internals of SpringBoard, the iPhone shell. My biggest ‘ooh’ moment was when I figured out how to make drag & drop work from SpringBoard to Stack, and that is what made the project worth it for me.

Steven Troughton-Smith . Mac OS X & iPhone Developer

Steven on iTunes

MacHappens

MacHappens . Mike Lee

1. How do you tackle a deadline?

I work. Deadlines are just the motivation I need to sit down and buckle in until the work is done.

Then I just step back and make work happen. If you hire good people, the hard part is leaving them alone to do what they do, while keeping everyone on track and tuned into a common vision.

2. Give us a brief breakdown of your workflow on a given project.

Each project starts with an idea, which is then fleshed out depending on the skills of the inventor. Some people draw wireframes, or create mockups in their application of choice. I tend to express my ideas by coding up a quick prototype.

If the reviews are good, the team pops the champagne and its members start shopping around for bigger, better projects. If the reviews are bad, the team quietly disperses and its members start pondering career change.

3. Your favorite OS and why?

I installed Mac OS X 10.0 on my iMac and never looked back. I have a lot of work to do, and I don’t like having to wrestle with my tools. Mac OS X is the only operating system that gets human interaction. That’s why the Mac has spawned an entire ecosystem of human-friendly apps which I found so refreshing, I quit my job and moved into Wil Shipley’s basement to be a part of it.

4. What applications do you use primarily to create your work?

When I’m building an application, I use Xcode and its toolbox. I write Objective-C in the Xcode editor, build my interfaces with Interface Builder, debug my projects in Xcode, and optimize my code with Shark.

When I’m writing, I use BBEdit. It’s the application I switched to Mac for, and I still use it to this day. It does one thing amazingly well, and that one thing is words. It’s the closest thing to pouring my brain directly into text.

5. What hardware do you use primarily to create your work?

I do everything on my laptop, currently a 17″ MacBook Pro. I like having the same monitor and the same keyboard no matter where I am. It works out, because I don’t like having a lot of windows on the screen distracting me, and I have a very compact coding style.

6. Your thoughts on resolution independence?

The increasing pixel density of monitors is like the increasing temperature of the earth’s oceans. There’s no sense trying to wish it away. Resolution independence is inevitable. That doesn’t mean it’s not a pain in the ass, but change always is.

7. How do you contribute/share with your community?

Most of what I do is just making myself available. People come to me with their problems, and I help them find solutions. Maybe that means writing some code, or giving feedback. Often it just means pointing someone in the right direction. I meet a lot of people, and I make a lot of introductions.

That also means making myself available for interviews and speaking engagements. I’m a big booster for the indie community. It sounds silly, but if somebody’s going to be spouting off of some subject in the media, it might as well be someone with indie values.

8. Who would you like to work/collaborate with?

I have a long list of engineering celebrities I’d love to work with, but it’s hardly an exclusive set. I love working with people who love their work. Talent is awesome, and experience is great, but if you don’t have the love, you don’t have anything.

9. When did you justify to yourself that you could make a living off what you do?

I don’t know that there was ever an epiphany per se. I just worked hard and made what money I could. It’s never been about getting rich so much as getting by. I tend to pick projects I like over projects that make money, but the bills get paid. In a way, it’s very tenuous, but I don’t think of it that way. I’m just enjoying the ride.

10. Your favorite creation?
I was on the team that built the official Obama iPhone app. I take a lot of pride in what we accomplished with that project. It was covered by mainstream media worldwide, and is frequently pointed to as an example of the campaign’s technical revolution. When Obama won the White House, it was like shipping the ultimate project.

The system they developed was ten times better than anything prior, but I could already see how to make it ten times better still. I’m not exactly looking for work, but if the Obama administration wanted someone to write the software of hope, I’d jump at the chance.

Cheers, Mike Lee. Chief Primate, United Lemur

MacHappens

MacHappens . Louie Mantia

1. How do you tackle a deadline?

I tackle deadlines the same as anyone else, it’s all about priority management. I first need to find out exactly
what the client wants (when I can) and then start working on versions and checking up with them to make
sure they’re satisfied along the way. Honestly, I wouldn’t say I had too many deadlines in the past, the work
was generally open.

2. Give us a brief breakdown of your workflow on a given project.

First I’ll receive the request from the client for work, and if taken, they explain what their project is. I’ll ask if
they have any ideas already in their head before I start working. If they request sketches, I’m glad to oblige
and I move on to some comps and show them along the way (if a project is long enough) and then move
onto the final piece. Pretty simple, really.

3. Your favorite OS and why?

OS X of course, pretty silly question. If you mean between the Mac and iPhone OS X, I would say iPhone,
there’s so much interesting stuff going on, and I can’t wait to see more really exciting things happen on
that platform.

4. What applications do you use primarily to create your work?

When I’m working, I’ve got Photoshop and Illustrator open. I mostly use Photoshop right now, slowly
migrating to Illustrator. I use Illustrator now when I actually need to draw things with my Wacom tablet.

5. What hardware do you use primarily to create your work?

At work I have a Mac Pro with a 30″ display and a 20″ display. I also have a Wacom tablet on my desk.

6. Your thoughts on resolution independence?

Well, I’m sure if we get any more dense screens, we’ll be needing it. It seems messy still, and I don’t know
many other developers except Panic that have even gone to the measure of making an application
resolution independent.

7. How do you contribute/share with your community?

I’m always dreaming up icons and putting them on my website, lately I’ve had to opportunity to work on
a lot of free, fun things.

8. Who would you like to work/collaborate with?

I’ve done a few small collaboration works with David Lanham, and it’s great. I think perhaps some
collaborations with others at the ‘Factory would be great as well.

9. When did you justify to yourself that you could make a living off what you do?

Well, in the Summer of 2007 I was in talks with both VMWare and Apple, and it became clear to me that I
could create artwork for the rest of my life. Needless to say, I didn’t go with either company, and in the
Summer of 2008 I went out to the Bay Area to work at Tapulous. I was again in talks with Apple, but it didn’t
seem a good fit for me. Now I work at the Iconfactory in Greensboro, NC, and it’s absolutely wonderful.

10. Your favorite creation?

I enjoy typography a lot. I don’t think I’m fantastic at it, but it’s something I really enjoy. Apart from that, I really
like my Renaissance iPhone icons. They were so much fun to do, I really miss them.

Thanks Louie

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Here’s a pre-release mockup “… A mere glimpse of Speed 2.0!”

It looks like a healthy upgrade to Speed version 1, available now at the App Store for $0.99.

Version 2 (when released) will be priced at $1.99, though if you purchase Speed now, you get free upgrades for life.

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http://bit.ly/puzzllotto

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http://iphone.christosblog.com/

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Nice interface and amazing soundtrack.

I want more. Can’t wait.

Arahabaina!

MacHappens

P.S. http://twitter.com/unitedlemur

MacHappens

After searching long and hard (google did all the work), and bypassing the DIY route, I found the TC2 portable iPod charger.

It uses two “AA” batteries and works beautifully with my new iPhone.

Finally, a use for the twenty NiMH batteries I have left over from my old digital camera.

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I have to admit that my collecting days are over.

Don’t get me wrong. I love books and most tangible media, but part of my lower impact aspirations include not collecting more “Stuff”.

Gadgets? They don’t count as stuff do they? Hypocritically speaking.

Missing the point.

Cool iPhone App = eReader

MacHappens

Posted on my iPhone using the new WordPress app.

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$4.20 heh.

(update) AppZapper 2 link confirms Austin(+) as “a knife.”

“version two. design by a knife.”

(update2) Pennies is now available on the iTunes App Store

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No word on Fido sales figures.

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After reading this tuaw article’s comments, I was informed about logmein, a remote desktop webapp. Works great, it’s free, and it can turn your iPhone into a mobile desktop computer. Slow = yes.

MacHappens

An email (including the image below) perks my interest.. as was intended.

WWDC 2008 “A landmark event. In more ways than one… Everything Mac. Everything iPhone. San Francisco, June 9-13, 2008.”

This leads me to think that either a divergence or synergy is about to happen. Apple, a long proponent of single devices for single purposes, seems to be swaying the way of convergence lately.

I for one think a tablet would be cool, though I’m really in the mood for a Mac version of the Eee PC.

Here it is.

9″ Wider Widescreen
Aluminum and Glass
Built in cellular wireless (AT&T I’m sure)
iChat updated to include VoIP service
Touch screen (optional)
Yadda, Yadda

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iPhone Forum

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Specifically those outside the United States who have been pining for the iPhone.

Enter “Hack the iPod Touch” a site dedicated to bringing the omitted iPhone apps to your internationally available iPod Touch (once it’s internationally available that is).

via hacktheipodtouch