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360idev – Speaker Mike Lee

November 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Mike Lee is… well he’s Mike Lee, BMF. Mike is one of those larger than life guys, that’s at the same time the coolest dude you’ll meet. We’ve been honored to have Mike Keynote and do regular sessions at 360|iDev… Oops sorry, not Keynote, general session ;)

Q: How long have you been doing iOS development?

A: For as long as there has been such a thing. I was already an experienced Mac developer, so when Apple first announced the iPhone, I knew I had to be on it, and have been ever since.

That’s right! Mike is also presenting (Keynoting!) at 360|MacDev, our Mac Desktop Developer conference in December!

Q: What do you like most about being an iOS Developer?
A: In general, I love being able to express myself creatively, making things that haven’t existed before, and programming is better suited to my abilities than painting. With iOS specifically, I love the way the iPhone and iPad are small enough to get out the way, bringing programming to the next level, where it becomes less about being hosted on the device, and more about transforming the device itself. It’s the closest thing we have to programming the atoms of some future nanotool.

Creatively said! Totally agree. I try out lots of devices, and so far find myself coming back to iOS time and again. I’m not fanboi enough to ignore a better device or better apps, but have yet to see the right combo exist. A true testament to Apple and the iOS community.

Q: What’s your favorite Game?
A: That’s like asking what my favorite song is! There are a lot of games I love for a lot of reasons. Of all time, probably Puzzle Pirates. These days, I’ve been playing a lot of Angry Birds, but ask me again later.

To True. It’s one of those (and maybe should be phrased this way), “what’s your favorite right now?” questions.

Q: What’s your favorite App?

A: Keynote, hands down. It was the app that most inspired me to get into the business of writing apps, and continues to be an inspiration on the fine art of making your users look amazing.

Interesting! That’s the first time that app has been mentioned!

Q: Robots or Ninjas?
A: I suppose it really depends. I rely on robots on a daily basis, and spend a lot of time thinking about robots I want to build. On the other hand, when you need someone assassinated—for using a splash screen, for example—it’s hard to beat a ninja.

Hard to beat a ninja in both senses of the word! Plus Robots, at least for now, are easy to hear sneaking up on you, or your enemy.

Q: What would change about the iOS platform if you could change just one thing?
A: I would make it trivial to use the 30-pin adapter so we could expand the devices in hardware the way we currently do in software. I would love to use my iPhone to control robots.

Yeah it’s a bummer the 30-pin is so locked down. I too would love to see more devices act as docks for iDevices. I think (I Hope) it’s a future evolution of the platform that my iPhone or iPad, can be the driver of my media center, or an auxiliary monitor without extra steps and “server” apps

Q: What are you most excited about 360|iDev Austin?
A: The crowd at 360 is the most passionate I have ever experienced. They leave me as inspired as I can only pray to leave them.

Having seen your last 360|iDev general session, i can say that’s a high bar. Your talk was very inspiring and left us all wow’ed. I agree, I go to a lot of events and have yet to see a community like the iOS community.

Q: Lastly, what would you tell someone on the fence about attending 360|iDev Austin?
A: What kind of pussy sits on the fence hemming and hawing over meeting great people who can only help them in the longrun?

I dunno, but they’re out there! And I want to meet them and convert them :)

with just a week to go, if you’re on the fence, tell us why? What’s keeping you from coming and being a part of something so much bigger than you. You’re career (indie or corp cube monkey) will thank you on Wednesday night. Leave a comment if you’re on a fence, we’d love to hear from you!

Otherwise, Go register!!!

Filed Under: Austin, Community, Geeking Out, Reasons to Come, The Speakers Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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360iDev – Speaker Steven Hugg

September 28, 2010 By 1 Comment

Want to learn from actual iOS developers? 360|iDev is all about actual developers, building apps, and doing awesome things. It’s really that simple, there’s lots of other events, and when you look at the speaking roster, just think to yourself, does she/he even write iOS apps? Everyone one of our 30+ speakers, DOES!

Q: How long have you been doing iOS development?
A: About a year. Never touched Objective C before that.
Fair, same here. Prior to the iPhone i’d never even thought about Mac software other than really enjoying using it!

Q: What do you like most about being an iOS Developer?
A: Besides the freedom of being independent, the excitement of being involved in computer history. The App Store is like a revival of shareware, but at lightning speed and in your pocket. I remember the diverse and experimental gameplay of the early days of computer gaming, and many iOS games remind me of that aesthetic. And there are some apps I can’t live without anymore. I don’t even use the phone part of my iPhone.
Right now, it seems that being an indie iOS developer is a pretty good path to financial independence, the gold rush hasn’t ended, though it has slowed in my opinion, it’s still a good time to start writing awesome games and apps, and staking your claim!
Q: What’s your favorite Game?
A: Hmm. There have been a few standouts. Sword & Poker was an addiction awhile back. Helsing’s Fire is very well done, as is Spirit HD. Sometimes I just like to be silly and launch gnomes in Chuck Gnome.
Nice! The best part of these interviews is getting an idea of games and apps I’ve never played! I’ll be checking these out for sure!!
Q: What’s your favorite App?
A: Twitter and NY Times are frequent. When traveling, Yelp, TripAdvisor, HotelsByMe. When sleeping, White Noise :) PositionApp to check on our global App Store dominance.
I’m a huge yelper! Great app! Elite ’10!
Q: Robots or Ninjas?
A: Well, robots can be programmed to be sassy. Ninjas can’t.
I think ninjas are just sassy on their own. I mean if you could will with a touch, why NOT be sassy, who’s gonna stop ya?
Q: What would change about the iOS platform if you could change just one thing?
A: I’d love to browse the source code! :D
HA HA. Good luck with that!
Q: What are you most excited about 360|iDev Austin?
A: 360iDev seemed like a reunion of old friends even at first attendance. It’s great to be able to tune into the wavelength of so many like-minded developers at once. I’ve refined my Rock Band chops to a fine point, so beware. And speaking will be a blast! :)
We try to keep that vibe going. 360|iDev almost always starts out Sunday night with lots of handshakes and hugs, and beer bottles clinking! It’s like a class reunion, without the awkward “you use to beat me up moments” and no one is fatter!
Q: Lastly, what would you tell someone on the fence about attending 360|iDev Austin?
A: It’s important to have perspective if you’re working as an independent, and 360iDev gives you that perspective in a relatively short period of time. There are some things you just can’t learn on Twitter.
We love seeing people leave on wednesday, eager to get back to coding. Fresh with new app/game ideas, and new ways to finish the project they’re working on. It’s great to know that within months of 360|iDev there’s gonna be some awesome new releases!
Make sure you register sooner rather than later. We’re planning on this being the biggest 360|iDev yet and sure, you can go to one of the imposter events, but why, when the real deal is coming up so soon, and is (in almost every case) cheaper with more actual iOS developers as speakers and attendees.
Filed Under: Austin, Community, Geeking Out, Reasons to Come, speakers, The Speakers Tagged With: , , , , ,
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360iDev – WWDC super discounts, USB Drives, and more

June 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

This year I didn’t attend WWDC. I was in San Francisco, but not attending. That was both a blessing and a curse.

My main goal in attending WWDC each year is to hang out with the awesome developers who are there, saying ‘hi’ and making sure they know about 360|iDev. By not actually attending the conference my only options for meeting the community are the parties, and my office away from home, Starbucks. That worked to a degree. Several people were able to find me and purchase tickets, even a few potential sponsors. But I think it’s easier when I’m hanging out inside the conference. The time between sessions, etc, made it hard for some to get out, get to Starbucks, and back in to the next session.

My other goal in being around WWDC is to offer our special WWDC pricing. We figure you’ve paid $1600 to attend WWDC, why not cut you a break. A break in the form of $200 off the ‘first 100′ price of 360|iDev. I mean really, who can pass up $299 for a 4 day event with the best and brightest of the iPhone community? This was the second year we sold super discounted tickets to WWDC attendees, and we sold 2x as many. That’s a plus on a lot of levels!

The parties at WWDC are always a blast, and I met a ton of awesome peeps! Finally got to meet @grouchoduke! which was nice! They give me a chance to hang out, meet folks, give out cards… you see the moo cards around? Those had 15% off discount codes on them, hope you picked one up! It was a testament to the iPhone developer community that WWDC Sold out in 8 days, and was entirely iPhone focused. It’s great to see the community so huge, and getting so much love!

The upside of not being an attendee of WWDC, sleeping in :) Sorry guys, but after closing bars, it’s nice to not be up by 8-9am :)

The other thing we do at WWDC is the scavenger hunt. This was the second year we’ve done it, and judging by the interest, a HUGE success. Last year the drives sat in their hiding places for a good while, while this year, they were all gone within 30 minutes of being hidden. Congrats to those 5 folks! They all got a free pass to 360|iDev, and a bunch of awesome promo codes from some incredible developers!

Next year I’ll have more drives, and more promo codes! I really enjoy the hunt, and it’s a ton of fun for everyone!

So, see you next year at WWDC, but in the meantime, you should seriously be registering for 360|iDev Austin. November 7-10. I mean WWDC is great, and the best/only place to see what’s new and hot, and coming soon, but 360|iDev is the place to learn things that will not only energize you for months afterward, but will have you doing things the rest of the community isn’t even thinking about! Go get your ‘first 100′ ticket now! before they’re gone!

Filed Under: Announcements, Austin, Community, Geeking Out, Reasons to Come Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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360iDev – Be a Star, Show some love, Win prizes!

November 2, 2009 By 1 Comment

We’ve done this before, and we’re currently doing it for 360|Flex as well. Now it’s time to see how creative and funny the iPhone community is!

Take a look at that post. The gist is that we asked people to make short videos about what they thought of 360|Flex, and Flex in general.

So here’s your chance to be a star :)

The rules are simple.

  1. Keep it short. We’ll be showing these before the keynotes, no small movies!
  2. Explain why you think 360|iDev is the best iPhone conference out there, what makes you attend, what makes the iPhone the best platform? etc.
  3. post it to youtube with “360idevSJ2010″ in the title (we want to make sure it doesn’t get cluttered after all)

That’s it.

The prize?

Free pass to 360|iDev San Jose? Already registered? Good for you! You rock! We’ll give you a full refund.

We’re gonna work on some other prices too, to sweeten the pot! Maybe a few of our awesome sponsors will chip in!

Deadline?

The deadline for video submissions is gonna be the End of the year. You’ve got 2 months to get going. That’s plenty of time to record something awesome!

Once you’ve uploaded, send us the link. During the keynote we’ll be playing all the submissions!

Filed Under: Announcements, Community, Content, San Jose Tagged With: , , ,
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360iDev – DUB group for connecting onsite

September 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

dub_tagline_smWe had a great conversation with Chris from DUB the other day (I’ve been on the iPhone beta for a few days, and using the app for a couple of weeks)

The idea isn’t super new, it’s a business card, sans business card. What’s novel (at least to me) is that you can create groups (perfect for events) and everyone who registers for that event could (in the future) automatically get a DUB ID. Then at the event you just look at the group and see who’s there and if you want, you add them and send them your contact info. There’s

iPhone 2.5

no spamminess to it, you have to approve all inbound requests, and such, but it’s a cool way to connect with people at an event and share contact info with.

What I like is that it’s not a new contact app. It pipes all contacts (and updates) to your contacts app. Which is nice cuz I keep my contacts app and Google in sync, so a new app, would be the suck. Anytime someone I know updates their info, my address is book is up to date. Think of it as Plaxo, +mobile -what we don’t like about Plaxo.

So take a look, get the iPhone app (iTunes link) it’s free. Join the ’360idevdenver’ group, and share your contact info, leave your business cards at home!

Join the group, register for 360|iDev, before it’s too late, which it almost is! It’s gonna be a great time! Don’t miss out! Register Now!

Filed Under: Announcements, Community, Content, Denver, Geeking Out, Networking Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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360iDev – The Speakers – Henry Balanon

August 26, 2009 By 1 Comment

As with anything, iPhone application development is only partly development and design. It’s also marketing. With tens of thousands of apps in the App Store, you can’t just release and app and hope it’s found. Doing a search for Bubble Wrap in the App store this morning, returns 8 apps. 8 apps that do EXACTLY the same basic thing, make a bubble wrap popping sound. You better bet you’re gonna have to market the hell out of your app to get it noticed!

Henry’s session will help address that issue in his, “A Lottery You Can Decently Influence: iPhone App Marketing Essentials for Developers” session.

“If you build it, they will come.” That used to be the saying in the early days of the iPhone App Store. But now the gold rush is over and now your efforts towards marketing become increasingly essential. There are some basic and not-so-basic things you can do to make sure you app stands out from the day it is launched. This is a MUST see presentation at 360iDev.

We’re not all marketing geniuses (genii?) so this session will be hugely valuable for those of us not dialed into marketing juju.

Don’t miss it! Register now before the price goes up 9/1!! Why pay more? register now, save some coin! Don’t miss the best iPhone conference of 2009!



Filed Under: Announcements, Community, Denver, Reasons to Come, speakers Tagged With: , , ,
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Prices going up for 360|iDev, act fast!

August 24, 2009 By 1 Comment

The tough thing about conferences is ordering the right amount of stuff.  By “stuff”, we mean: swag (shirts, USB drives, etc), food (lunches, parties), etc.  It’s always tough trying to figure out just how many of each to order.  We’d like to know for sure, vs guessing.  Therefore, we’re going to be trying something different.

Currently, it is $499 to register for 360|iDev.  That’s a whole lotta conference for that price.  However, if you’re sitting on the fence, we really need you to make up your mind.  We want to have you here, but we also want to make sure we have enough items for you.  Therefore, we’re looking to help speed up your decision making.

Starting on Monday, August 31, the price of 360|iDev will go UP by $100.  That’s right, hurry up and buy your ticket pronto and you save $100.  It gets better though.  For every week after, up until showtime, we’ll be raising the price by $100.  Let’s lay this out for ya.

Time frame     Price

til 8/30            $499

til 9/6               $599

til 9/13             $699

til showtime  $799

We don’t want to be mean or greedy.  Heck, we’d be jazzed if y’all just hurried up and bought your tickets by 8/30.  But by all means, feel free to pay $799 after 9/14 too.  The choice is yours.  The one thing you can’t say though is that you weren’t warned.

Register now for $499.  Don’t be dumb.  Save the cash to buy a new iPod Touch when it comes out!  Plus, we just want to hurry up and sell out already so we can stop reminding you to register.  LOL

Filed Under: Announcements, Pricing, Reasons to Come Tagged With: , ,