developer - page 4

You Won’t Believe The Personal Info Google Gives Away When You Buy An Android App

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Every time you purchase an app from Google Play, Google sends your email address, your suburb, and in many cases your full name to the app’s developer. That’s according to Dan, the creator of the Paul Keating Insult Generator for Android, who logged into his Google Play account this week to discover he had personal details for everyone who had purchased his app.

Apple Seeds iOS 6.1.1 Beta To Developers With Maps Improvements For Japan

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iOS 6.1 has only been available to the public for a couple of days, but Apple’s wasting no time getting some new bug fixes tested. Apple just seeded iOS 6.1.1 to developers. The update can be downloaded from Apple’s iOS Dev Center.

Right now it doesn’t look like there are many surprises in the iOS 6.1.1 beta for U.S. users as it mostly contains some improvements to Maps for Japan.

Here’s the notes on what’s changed:

Apple Introduces New AppStore.com Short URLs That Get Super Bowl Debut

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Apple has introduced new short URLs for the App Store, making links to iOS apps and games much simpler to remember, and easier to read. Like its short URLs for the iTunes Store, you can now tell which app you have been linked to before you’ve even clicked on it. The new system has already been put to good use, making its debut during a Super Bowl commercial for the Star Trek app.

Amazon Brings Its In-App Purchasing Service To Games On Mac, PC & The Web

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Amazon has today announced that its in-app purchasing service, which is already available on the company’s Kindle Fire tablet and other Android devices, is coming to Mac, PC, and web games. This will allow developers to take advantage of Amazon’s service on those platforms to provide their customers with a new way to purchase additional content using their credit card or virtual Amazon currency.

While Amazon isn’t the first company to offer an in-app purchasing system, its service does come with some advantages that developers may not get from its rivals. One of those advantages is that their content will be available via Amazon.com.

Mozilla’s Firefox OS Gets Its First Two Smartphones

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Although Mozilla has stated that it won’t produce hardware for its upcoming Firefox OS, the company has teamed up with Spanish startup Geeksphone to offer a pair of developer devices. Called Keon and Peak, the devices are designed to provide developers with the opportunity to “tap the future of mobile” and get to grips with the platform that will soon be trying to steal marketshare from Android and iOS.

Apple Releases Its Seventh OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.3 Beta To Developers

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Apple has issued a new developer beta of OS X 10.8.3. The update comes after a long line of betas for the next version of Mountain Lion, and today marks Apple’s seventh release to devs.

Another beta build was seeded last Tuesday with no major changes, and today’s update looks relatively minor as well. Apple always asks dev to focus on testing with certain aspects of OS X, and today’s beta is mainly focused on WiFi issues. (Apple is rumored to incorporate faster 802.11ac wireless into future Macs, coincidentally.)

The newest version of Mountain Lion should be available to the public any day now. We’ll be staying on the lookout for 10.8.3 to drop.

Source: Apple

Verizon Catches Dev Paying Chinese Workers To Do His Job So He Can Browse The Web

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Verizon Wireless has helped a critical infrastructure company based in the United States catch one of its developers paying Chinese workers to do his job so that he could browse the Internet all day. “Bob” outsourced all of his work to China and paid the workers just a fraction of his six-figure salary so that he could spend his time on sites like Reddit, Facebook, LinkedIn, and eBay.

Verizon has revealed the fascinating story in a new case study.

Jailbreak Brings Mac OS (And Hope) To Microsoft Surface RT Tablet

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If you’re a Mac user who picked up a Microsoft Surface RT tablet out of curiosity when they went on sale last October, and you’re yet to find a use for it, then don’t despair. Earlier this week it was revealed that it’s possible to jailbreak the device and install desktop apps that are designed for ARM processors — something Microsoft doesn’t officially support.

One developer has taken advantage of the exploit to run an early version of Apple’s Mac OS operating system inside a emulator.

iOS Looks Better Than Android Because Google Doesn’t Take Design Seriously

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While iOS may not be as flexible or as customizable as Android, on the whole it looks a whole lot nicer. Android is steadily improving, that’s for sure, but it’s hard to deny that iOS developers appear to spend more time making their apps prettier, even if you’re a diehard Android fan.

And that was proven when Chris Hulbert, an iOS developer, went to work at Google for three months. In a post on his blog, Hulbert reveals the differences in attitude towards design for iOS and Android, which help explain why Android apps aren’t quite as pretty as they could be.

Hackulous Shuts Down Installous, The Pirate App Library For iOS [Jailbreak]

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Installous is dead.

Hackulous has announced that it has shut down Installous, the one-stop shop for “cracked” or pirated apps and games on iOS. The team blames “stagnant” forums and the difficulty in moderating them as the reason behind its decision to kill the service, which will undoubtedly be a huge victory against iOS software piracy. At least for now.

Microsoft Could Pull SkyDrive App For iOS As It Fights With Apple Over 30% Cut

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SkyDrive's official iOS app could disappear if Apple won't negotiate.
SkyDrive's official iOS app could disappear if Apple won't negotiate.

The future of Microsoft’s SkyDrive service on iOS looks bleak today as the company appears to have entered into a fight with Apple over its 30% cut of App Store revenues. Microsoft recently gave iOS users the ability to upgrade their SkyDrive subscriptions from their iPhones and iPads, but until the company agrees to give Apple a 30% cut of the in-app purchases, it won’t get any future updates approved.

A critical bug fix that prevents the app from crashing has now had to be placed on hold. Should Apple’s rules be a little more flexible in certain cases?

Behind The Scenes Of Twitterrific 5

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Last night The Iconfactory released Twitterrific 5, a completely new iOS version of the grandaddy of Twitter apps. I reviewed the new app in detail when it came out, and the releases seems to have been met with a lot of positive feedback.

One of the developers behind Twitterrific, Craig Hockenberry, has lifted the curtain to give a behind the scenes look at the making of Twitterrific 5. A lot of work goes into making a great app.

EA, Gameloft, Sega & More Are Slashing iOS Prices For Thanksgiving [Deals]

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If there’s one thing I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving, it’s iOS developers. They price their apps at tremendously great prices, then make big reductions at almost every opportunity. This Thanksgiving, EA, Gameloft, Sega, and more are slashing the prices of their most popular iOS titles — most of which are now just $0.99.

So that you don’t miss a bargain, we’ve compiled a list of the best titles that are now going cheap. Check it out below.

Developer Uses Siri To Control Phillips Hue Lights

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Check this video out – it’s a developer who’s used a Siri development plugin to control his Phillips Hue IP-controllable light bulbs. While the video is short, the guy who did it, Brandon Evans, has posted the code and instructions needed to make it happen on your own iPad, assuming you know what he’s talking about.

Evan has this to say about the project:

The Philips Hue hardware was first intriguing to me because they explicitly mention that it’s a ZigBee certified product on the packaging and labels. ZigBee is a wireless technology that is different from WiFi in a few important ways: Low power, equivalent range and intended for light data mesh networks. It’s popular with DIY hardware makers (think Arduinos) for this reason, as well as that it’s much cheaper than WiFi modules. It seems like it may be the wireless standards of choice for consumer home automation systems that are coming to market. As an example, the Nest thermostat was also found to have ZigBee hardware inside, although it isn’t supported in software yet. Because of all this I wanted to see exactly what hardware Philips was using, and if it would be possible to replicate the Hue system.

Looks like a great first step to using off-the-shelf technology to control home systems. Bravo, Mr. Evans!

Source: Brandon Evans
Via: Loop Insight

Apple Releases OS X Server 2.2 Seed 2 To Developers

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The new developer seed for OS X Server v2.2, Seed 2, is out. In an email sent to developer accounts, Apple announced the new download, and included a link to the seed download source, a set of instructions on how to instal and/or upgrade from various previous versions of OS X Server, and a PDF with the new changes detailed.

Developer Has Game Rejected For Pointing Out In-App Purchases Are “Nonsense”

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There are an unlimited number of ways a developer can manage to get their new game rejected by the App Store police. Terry Cavanagh’s free game was rejected for probably the silliest reason you’ve ever heard – he told users that in-app purchases are complete nonsense.

The maker of Super Hexagon submitted his new iOS game, Don’t Look Back, to the App Store a few weeks ago. The game itself is a very basic retro scrolling adventure type game with blocky pixel art. The game is supposed to be free, so in the app description Cavanagh tried to point out to people that they can play Don’t Look Back without having to worry about purchasing items in the game. The game description submitted to Apple read:

iPhone 5 Popularity Causing An App Store Boom [Report]

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Apple's App Store continues to grow at an impressive rate.
The iPhone 5 is boosting some app downloads by as much as 700%.

The iPhone 5 has been a massive success for Apple. It’s only been out a week, but it’s already the fastest-selling iPhone in history, racking up 5 million units sold during its first three days of availability. But this isn’t just having a positive affect on Apple’s revenue; it’s also big business for iOS developers, who are seeing massive boosts to their download figures.

Two New iPad Minis Spotted In Instapaper Developer Logs

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Has Apple been running Instapaper on the iPad mini?
Has Apple been running Instapaper on the iPad mini?

iOS developer Marco Arment has discovered two new iPads — believed to be two iterations of the upcoming iPad mini — in his Instapaper developer logs. The devices have the “iPad2,5” and “iPad2,6” model numbers, according to their operating system, which haven’t been seen before, and could point to Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + cellular versions of the device.

Apple Seeds Another OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2 Build To Testers

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Apple continues to test Facebook integration for Mountain Lion.
Apple continues to test Facebook integration for Mountain Lion.

Apple has seeded a new OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2 build (12C35) to participants in its AppleSeed program, continuing its testing of Facebook integration. Though it states that there are no known issues with this update, the Cupertino company is also asking users to focus on Messages, Game Center, Safari, and Reminders.

Iconfactory Continues ‘All-New’ Twitterrific Development Unfazed By Twitter’s New Rules

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Twitterrific insists it's going nowhere.

When Twitter released its new guidelines last week, it quickly became clear that third-party clients would be hit hardest by the company’s latest rules. However, it seems third-party developers aren’t quite as concerned as the rest of us. Tapbots quickly confirmed that Tweebot development wouldn’t change, and now Iconfactory has confirmed that it will continue development on an “all-new” Twitterrific as planned — unfazed by Twitter’s new rules.

Developer Confirms OS X 10.8.1 Update Significantly Improves MacBook Battery Life

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OS X 10.8.1 could give your MacBook another 4 hours of playtime.
OS X 10.8.1 could give your MacBook another 4 hours of playtime.

When Apple released OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) back in July, one of the few things users complained about was its impact on MacBook battery life. The software seemingly contains a frustrating bug that causes some of Apple’s notebooks to lose around 38% of their normal charge.

Apple has been working on a fix that will be distributed with the OS X 10.8.1 update. And according to one registered developer who’s currently testing the beta, it significantly improves battery life by adding up to four hours.

Tapbots Says Don’t Freak Out, Twitter’s New Rules Won’t Really Affect Tweetbot

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The developers at Tapbots, makers of popular third-party Twitter client Tweetbot, have reassured everyone that their Twitter app isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Twitter announced a new set of rules for developers yesterday that could be interpreted as the beginning of the end for third-party Twitter clients like Tweetbot, but Tapbots is confident that their app’s future is secure.

Twitter wants developers to focus on making apps that enhance Twitter’s own apps and web experience. Very little room is being left for traditional clients like Tweetbot. The good news is that the clients that already boast huge user bases shouldn’t be in danger of disappearing.