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360iDev 2012 – Now with Dates!

Yup, it’s taken a while, but we finally locked down some dates and a hotel.

Actually the dates were less up in the air, we’ve been aiming for the week of the 9th since we started planning 360|iDev 2012, but finding a hotel we could work with, well that was a bit harder than it’s ever been before.

However we’re really happy with the hotel we’re working with. We use them for other events and everyone loves them. One of the best hotels we’ve ever dealt with.

So yeah…

September 9-12, 2012 come learn from the best of the best in the indie coder world. It’s gonna be epic.

 

Remember we sold out last year, and we’re already 1/3 sold out for this year… I wouldn’t dilly dally. Register now.

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360iDev 2011 – Survey results

For those who attending 360|iDev 2011, thank you for doing the post conference survey. It’s now closed, so if you didn’t, shame on you! That survey is really important to us in planning the event, and getting sponsorship!

Before announcing the winners and their prize i wanted to post some details of the survey. First, we had 355 tickets sell for 360|iDev 2011. We planned on having 300, but let in an additional 55 people. On the other hand the post conference survey only had 113 responses. About 1/3 of our attendees answered the survey. Hopefully that ratio gets better next year. This survey helps us when sponsors ask how many people are X skill set. How many are designers vs. developers (5% are designers of those who responded). If you attended but didn’t do the survey, well you missed out on helping us, but more importantly, missed out on a chance to win a $500 prize.

Years of Experience with iOS

 

I mentioned this in the keynote too but it’s clear that 360|iDev is NOT a hobbyist conference. In Fact it’s clear that the best and brightest who’ve been around the block since there was a block are attending 360|iDev.

I think a chart like this is really healthy for an event. If it was too heavy on the less than a year of experience side, there’d be too little hands-on knowledge to share.
If there was too much “I’ve been doing this forever”, there wouldn’t be enough people to learn. Part of what makes the iOS community so awesome and healthy is the sharing of knowledge and welcoming of new blood.

This type of distribution to me is healthy and what we aim for with 360|Events. It’s a community, not an exclusive club where only the anointed can hang out, and it’s not a intro to community class where no one knows what they’re doing.

 

 

I love that the iOS community comes from so many places. Many think it’s people who were doing Mac Desktop stuff, etc. but in fact as you can see, it’s people who were doing Flash stuff, other mobile technologies, even Java… :)

Background

 

It’s great to see that there’s no real well spring of iOS developers. Anyone can do it. Anyone can be successful.

 

How many 360|iDev events have you attended

There’s a ton of data in the survey, but I think I’ll end with a really promising bit of information. As you can see, we had a ton of new people show up to 360|iDev 2011. Not only was it the first 360|iDev to sell out, but it had a huge turn out in new blood for the community. Maybe they just haven’t been doing the conference thing, or as we saw above are new to the platform. In either cas that’s awesome. Very very awesome!! We’re very happy to have so many people finding 360|iDev and enjoying it.

 

It’s good to know what we do is being enjoyed by so many! It helps re-enforce why we do it :)

 

Oh yeah and the winners. Did you know when we do these post conference surveys we give away two $500 prizes.

 

Chris Patterson & Nick Bhardwaj are the lucky winners. They’ve got an email waiting for each of them with their prize options.

 

Thank you again to everyone who took the survey, and to those who came to 360|iDev 2011. You’re a part of something awesome, and we’re truly honored to be a part of it, and look forward to even bigger and better things in 2012!!

 

John

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360iDev 2011 – Awesome icon assets from Tapptics

Click to Enlarge.

This post has been really tardy in coming. The awesome sauce Jen Gordon has offered up some incredible free icon assets from Tapptics.

You can download the sampler here.

This is a cool offer for 360|iDev attendees/fans. Check ‘em  out.

You can click the image right over there on the left as well to see the full size sample.

Gen has spoken at 360|iDev in the past and is great! You should definitely check out the sampler and take advantage of the coupon that’s included.

 

Go do it!

 

See you in Denver.

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360iDev 2011 – Just 39 Days to go!

Are you a game developer? Want to be? Maybe just want to brush up on your dev skills with a little out of the box development.

 

The Game Jam is for you. And as it turns out, by you. The 360|iDev 2011 Game Jam will take place Tuesday night, sponsored by the iOS community!

The Game Jam is a great place to build your first game, or your tenth. To share what you know and learn new things.

Check out the official page, managed by our pal (and speaker) Mike Berg.

The first time Noel Llopis suggested the Game Jam to us, we loved it. Ever since then we’ve been more than happy to have one take place.

The Game Jam starts around 7pm, and goes until around 8. It’s fully hands on, bring your laptop, we’ll supply the red bull, coffee and snacks.

Then if you like, you can show off your hard work during lunch on Wednesday at the Game Jam Review.

 

See you there! Make sure you register before we sell out!

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360idev 2011 – WWDC Scavenger hunt – what’s on the drives?

Well WWDC is just around the corner… like literally, it’s next week! There’s lots of 360|iDev goodness to be had if you’re around SF. If you haven’t bought your ticket, stop by and find me (usually at the starbucks next to Moscone) for a 30% discount ticket!

I’ll also have lots and lots of moo cards, with 15% off codes on them if you aren’t able to register right there on the spot with me. Sorry to get the 30% you gotta buy it right there during WWDC.

So what can you expect to find on the drive if you find one? Well thanks to our pals Double Encore we’ve got 5 shiny silver USB drives that we’ll be hiding. When you find one, come trade it in for a 2gb Santa Bot. We were gonna hide Santa bot, but were worried they’d be too easy to spot, and we’d find them in the clutches of San Francisco hobos not Apple Developers :) SO find the Silver, come claim Santa Bot :)

So what’s gonna be on Santa Bot? Lots!

Each one will have a free pass code for 360|iDev 2011 (Value: $599)

Thanks to the awesome and supportive indie iOS dev community, we’ve got a ton of app promo codes available, and some some free eBook codes. (Value: $188)

Check out what we’ve got in store (so far).

Terminology (and Terminology Ph) (iTunes Link)
Stereomatic (iTunes Link)
News Anchor (Mac App Store Link)
Cloud Pull (Mac App Store Link)
ScoutTrail (iTunes Link)
Lock Screen V2 (iTunes Link)
Flashlight (iTunes Link)
Funeral Notebook (iTunes Link)
Clock Radio (iTunes Link)
Onetime (iTunes Link)
Geronimo (iTunes Link)
Calc 12c (iTunes Link)
Wild Fables (iTunes Link)
myLight (iTunes Link)
Monkey Business (iTunes Link)
Code for 1 free eBook
Inner Ear (iTunes Link)
Swivel (iTunes Link)
Property Evaluator (iTunes and Mac App Store)
Galcon for iPhone and iPad (iTunes Link)
FoodCombo (iTunes Link)
Plane Finder HD (iTunes Link)
Objectify (Mac App Store)
Disc Golf Scorekeeper (iTunes Link)
Mathemagics (iTunes Link)
Equalizer (iTunes Link)
The Bond Mixology (iTunes Link)
Colorflys HD (iTunes Link)
Photo Lapse (iTunes link)
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360iDev 2011 – Dates and Location Announcement!

See you in Denver, in September!

We’ve been working on finding the right place to hold 360|iDev here in Denver and think we found it. The Crowne Plaza Downtown. Yeah, DOWNTOWN.

We know the Austin location was not right downtown, so getting around was a cab or shuttle ride, and a kind of pain in the ass. SO we’re right downtown. 2 blocks off the 16th St Mall, tons or bars and restaurants, and lots to do!

We’ll be updating the Hotel page with details and the room booking link today or tomorrow, but the dates (September 11-14) and location (The Crowne Plaza Downtown) are 100% locked in!

What’s next?

  1. Hotel page. As soon as we have the booking information we’ll update the page. We got an awesome room rate for attendees, that INCLUDES in room internet!
  2. Call for papers (I’d suggest you check this site Wednesday morning, just sayin’)
  3. Creative junk! We’ll be coming up with the (actual) logo, sticker, etc so stay tuned, it’s gonna be sweet! Don’t think the shirts won’t rock this time!

What’s this mean to you?

Well mostly it means, if you didn’t buy the faithul ticket already, it’s gone. Sorry we told you, the moment we lock in the details that ticket goes away. Starting now, and for the next 3 weeks, the early bird ticket is on sale. This ticket will be the last chance to save some coin. If you’re not sure it’s gonna be worth it, ask around.

If you’re wondering why September, I’ll tell ya. We’re only doing 1 360|iDev this year. That’s it, just the one. We’ll be packing the awesome of 2 into 1 bad ass event. We’re waiting until after WWDC so that we can all talk about the awesome stuff we’re working on, that’s likely to be NDA until then. Plus early September in Denver is awesome. Great weather, great time of year.

See you in Denver!

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360idev – Speaker Mike Lee

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!!!

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360iDev – Game Jam sponsored by you, the iOS Community!

I can’t say how awesome the community is! Apple is freaking lucky to have such cool folks, who can go above and beyond for each other, building apps for the iPhone. Not to diminish the iPhone but truly, any platform would rock with folks like you behind it!

The 360|iDev Game Jam, sponsored this time around by non other than our awesome community members is ON! Whether you’re a veteran game maker, or newb looking to get a start at games, the Game Jam is for you! It’s a great time!

It’s simple, the game jam starts around Tuesday night 8ish. It ends, Wednesday morning, around 9ish. Anyone who’d like to present their game is welcome to join me during the Wednesday keynote to show off their game. Past Game Jam efforts have landed in the app store!

We’ll have plenty of Red Bull, and soda, and red vines and what not to keep everyone going.

Whether you’re gonna get yur game jam on our not, thank all these folks for making the Game Jam possible!

See you in Austin!!

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360iDev – Party it up with Disney Monday Night!

This is obviously for attendees only but make sure you RSVP for Monday night’s party for a chance to win some cool goodies!

RSVP HERE

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360iDev – Speaker Jen Harvey

We’re really excited to have Jen Harvey with us in Austin, I think with the two Jens, Lindsay, and Jessica, we’ve doubled at least our women presenter count, which is always awesome to see! Jen is presenting on “The Reluctant SysAdmin: Managing the Server-side of a Client/Server iPhone app”. Talk about something that many developers probably don’t think about when dreaming up the next mega selling app. If there’s a server side component, whether it’s handling authentication or something more complex like data manipulation, success could be a problem if your back end isn’t set up right. If your app doesn’t stand alone, this is gonna be a good session to check out. Wednesday at 2:50p
Q: How long have you been doing iOS development?

A: Exactly 1 year, hard to believe – the year has just flown by!

Time flies when you’re having fun!!

Q: What do you like most about being an iOS Developer?

A: The community rocks. So much knowledge sharing, so many really fantastic peeps developing quality apps.

Yes it does. The iOS community is why we organize 360|iDev. We love being able to help such a great community of developers in any way we can.

Q: What’s your favorite Game?

A: I’m not a big gamer, but still can’t choose just one. I had a real Swords & Poker II “issue” for bit. Then I got suckered into Chuck Gnome, and now I’ve been goofing with Trainyard like everyone else in the world.

Both of those games really took the world by storm, Swords and poker, i’ve never heard of, will have to track that down, LOL. I love that it was an “issue”

Q: What’s your favorite App?

A: Again, can’t choose just one! I’m a Seesmic addict on my iPod, but really like the native Twitter app on iPad. And *of course* HeyTell on both to send quick messages to friends & family. ;) Skype & Gas Cubby have both been pretty invaluable on the road, in their own special ways. On the work side of things, I spend a little time each day with PositionApp and the Pingdom app has been a life saver (although Push Notification bings now make me twitch just a little bit).

It’s awesome to see folks making tools for the iOS community, LOL. That’s great!! HeyTell looks interesting, checking it out after I hit publish!

Q: Robots or Ninjas?

A: Robots! Robots with ninja star fingernails?

I can’t see how that couldn’t possibly go wrong!

Q: What would change about the iOS platform if you could change just one thing?

A: The complicated keychain…we automate builds, so every time we add a new build, I forget what we did to get it to work the last time…but that’s keychain…you have the same complicated issues with OpenSSL, too…maybe longer expiration for certs. :) All in all, though, our application development for iOS has been a pretty clean and positive experience.

Yeah even tinkering on my own (Yeah that’s where I’m at :D ) the whole keychain, cert, etc process is crazy daunting. I understand it’s probably for the best, but jeez. At least it’s a little easier now with the wizard.

Q: What are you most excited about 360|iDev Austin?

A: Seeing everyone we met in San Jose again, meeting new folks, learning from everyone’s experience, and sharing a few of the crazy things we’ve learned after a year on the road supporting HeyTell.

Awesome! Yup it’s like a family reunion and that’s what we like. It’s a family reunion, that welcomes new members, LOL.

Q: Lastly, what would you tell someone on the fence about attending 360|iDev Austin?

A: Go, go, go! I was on the fence before San Jose – no longer. Great people and talks–we learned so much that was helpful to us. We indies tend to live a little bit in a bubble, and it’s so nice to be able to get together with fellow developers to toss ideas around, validate what we’re doing, and so on–you can’t put a price on that. Also, Rock Band was totally fun and beer every night! The latter probably contributing a bit to me participating in the former. Fun times!

Yeah getting people off the fence is tough, once they’re off, they’re usually off for good, but yeah we have a hard time getting indies to see that value in taking the time, it’s great to hear yet another reformed fence sitter tell their tale LOL.

Don’t miss out on a good time, that will fill your brain beyond capacity. Register now!