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360iDev – You do Mac apps?

December 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Have you ported your app/game to the Mac Appstore? Thought about it?

The current video on the 360|MacDev home page is Dave Wiskus and Kyle Richter talking about building an iOS app that lead to building a Mac App.

360|MacDev 2010 was pre Mac Appstore and the dialogue was great. Tons of talk about what the future would look like post App store.

Guess what, it’s the future!!! Come talk to Mac app successes, and learn from the best and brightest! Check out the rock star line up and schedule.

Don’t miss out! Register now!

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360idev – 42 session recordings for 2011

December 2, 2011 By 2 Comments

Not bad.

The 360|iDev 2011 session recordings bundle has 42 70 minute sessions in it. I think that’s the most sessions we’ve captured and been able to produce to date.

Next year the plan is to try something different as Flip cams just aren’t designed for capturing conference sessions, and really with the exception of Mike, seeing the presenter isn’t that important to the presentation. :)

 

We’re going to focus on getting better at capturing the screen only. Our speakers show a lot of code, and that’s the important part. We want you to be able to watch the video and clearly see the code. Where ever possible we did that this year if a screen recording existed, but many didn’t. We’re also working out the best rendering methods (video production isn’t something we’re trained in, LOL) to make sure the videos aren’t crazy huge, but are still viewable.

If you haven’t already taken a peak at the videos go check ‘em out. They’re pretty damn cheap and even the bundle isn’t a bank breaker.

If you attended 360|iDev 2011 you received an email with a code in it. that code is good for the bundle, use it as you need to get the videos.

 

Of course the videos are all DRM free mp4 files. Watch ‘em on as many devices as you want. Show your coworkers or business partners.

 

See you in 2012!

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360iDev 2011 – Survey results

November 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

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 – Not too late to Volunteer

August 3, 2011 By 2 Comments

Can’t quite cover the cost of travel, hotel and conference ticket? Well we can’t help too much on travel and hotel (Though there’s plenty of folks looking for roommates) but we can give you a free ticket. All we ask is that you volunteer to help make 360|iDev rock!

 

We need folks to help work the registration table, handing out shirts, and badges, as well as attend sessions to record the session videos.

 

Yup that means you still get to attend the conference, go to sessions, hit up the parties at night, all that good stuff.

You actually get all the benefits of an attendee, so you don’t miss out, we just assign you sessions to record. We do our best to make sure the sessions you’re recording are ones you want to attend as well.

We need a small army of volunteers, so don’t be shy. Check out this page for more information on submitting to volunteer. Hurry up, 360|iDev is almost here! Spread the word

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360iDev 2011 Schedule is almost done!

March 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We’re hard at work on the schedule. In fact the first draft is about half done. Once we get it filled, we’ll have a few folks take a look at it, then it’ll be posted!

As we’ve been going through the submissions we’ve noticed a few things about 360|iDev 2011:

  • Lots more developer content. In the past we’ve easily seen a more equal split between, design, development and business. But this time it’s easily 80% development topics. Not sure what that means, are more indies merging and so there’s less business topics of interest? Are indies doing well enough that there’s less interest in business topics and more in development?
  • A lot of newer speakers submitted topics. That’s awesome. There’s definitely the typical list of rock stars who’ve become staples of 360|iDev, but also a lot of newer folks. New to the community, or new to speaking.
  • As the call for papers opened and closed, tickets sold like hot cakes. We’re already about 1/3 sold out. That means in the next few months leading up to WWDC and then 360|iDev we expect this 360|iDev to sell out.
  • This 360|iDev will be heavily focused on developers, and the iOS community, so whether you made the WWDC cut or not, you’re not going to want to miss this (only one this year!) 360|iDev.

We ‘re handling the selection differently this time too. Since we had so many submissions (over 100) we decided to  try a bit more objective selection process.

 

We made two columns in the spreadsheet, and hid the name, email and twitterID of the submitter. The first round was based just on the title and description.

It was a simple 3 way vote. “Yes”, “No”, and “Maybe”

After that, we unhid the identifying information and went thru again, same 3 options. The “yes-yes” sessions are currently being dropped into the schedule. Then we’ll look to the “yes-maybe” and “Maybe-yes” sessions. Lastly if there’s room, the “Maybe-maybe” sessions.

 

We decided to try this option to be objective as possible and select sessions that were the most interesting based on just the subject matter.

 

So… all that said, we’re close to announcing the schedule and it’s the agenda of the week, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, register now! Save a few bucks!

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360iDev – Speaker Brent Simmons

October 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Brent is a long time supporter of 360|iDev. in fact he’s been at every one I think. The first one he came as an attendee, and we didn’t even know we had a celebrity in our midst!

He’s a great guy and has been an active part in the Mac and iOS community for a long time! Hint he’s really like 83 years old! But you’d never guess it looking at him, he’s ageless ;)

Q: How long have you been doing iOS development?

A: About 30 years. Started on an Apple II Plus. Of course, we didn’t have Core Animation in those days. Or lower-case letters. And it wasn’t a phone. And it wasn’t actually iOS. But still, I felt like saying I’ve been doing this for 30 years.

I think that’s fair! iOS or not, that’s an impressive time in the larger MAC community! We thank ya! NetNewsWire FTW!

The first time I ever used a computer with a touchscreen was even longer ago — our class took a field trip to see the Plato system at the University of Delaware. (I grew up about three miles away, a Fightin’ Blue Hen fan.) I’ve been waiting for the future ever since then — I’m so glad it’s finally here.

AWESOME! Though I still want my damn flying car!!

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

A: Mostly it’s the espresso.

It IS good isn’t it!

Q: What’s your favorite Game?

A: Seeing how little sleep I can get and still function effectively.

Current high score?

Q: What’s your favorite App?

A: It’s a tie between OmniFocus for iPad and TouchUp.

I love OmniFocus, though the price point is a bit steep :( but I can’t argue they make awesome apps!

Q: Robots or Ninjas?

A: Robots make better drinking buddies. “Hey Robbie — want another beer?”

“Affirmative.”

Ninjas — you can’t ever find ‘em when it’s time to go out.

Or when the bill comes.

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

A: All the stuff with code-signing and provisioning profiles and limited number of slots and AdHoc builds and certificates and all that — it’s a huge pain, a waste of time when I could be writing code.

Yeah I don’t have a better idea but there must be one! The current method is terrible. I really hope Apple is working on this internally, and will pull an Apple soon and wow us with a better way of doing things!

I know it’s not realistic to get rid of all that. But I still would if I could.

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

A: That it’s in Austin is very cool. I’ve been once before, for SXSW, and had a great time.

But mainly I’m looking forward to seeing the people — meeting new folks, seeing old friends. And then of course there’s a great speaker line-up, so I expect to learn a bunch of stuff I can use.

w00t!! Yeah I’m excited to be in Austin, i think it’ll be a great time! Can’t wait to meet my future new friends in the iOS community.

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

A: It’s the year 2010. There’s no more time for fence-sitting. Those days are over. Make the call, imaginary person. (And, by the way, the correct call is to go there, because it will be awesome.)

Indeed it will!! There’s really no reason to fence sit! Go register right now!!

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360iDev – Speaker Jen Harvey

October 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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!

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360iDev – Speaker Jen Gordon

October 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Jen Gordon is presenting “Designing the Details – What makes some apps stand out above the rest?” on Tuesday, and if you’ve ever asked yourself why one app is on the news and noteworthy section or the “what we’re playing” section of the iTunes app store, her session is for you!
Q: How long have you been doing iOS development?
A: in November of 2008, i’d been designing for large glowing boxes for about five years. I’d had my iPhone for a few months. My husband and I were brainstorming app ideas and bam – the million dollar idea: iDingDong. It’s an app with a collection of doorbells that you tap and they ring in a variety of sounds. Ok not really but it was a running joke that I’d actually make the app. To answer the question – two years. :)
Sweet!! I want iDingDong, i hope the icon is a hostess Ding Dong with a doorbell button on it :)
Q: What do you like most about being an iOS Developer?
A: I love designing mobile interfaces – it’s like being a kid in a candy shop. Total creative flexibility to design anything other people can quickly understand how to use.
nice analogy!
Q: What’s your favorite Game?
A: Oye I’m old school – Doodle Jump.
Doodle Jump is awesome! Igor is a mad genius!! Just proves you don’t need to go nuts making something too complex or crazy to be a success.
Q: What’s your favorite App?
A: Right now I’m really loving FlipBoard.
I admit I was really anti Flipboard after their launch, mostly just a sour taste in an overhyped launch, but having come back to try it out now that it’s more stable, I’m really impressed. I find it’s in my nightly news reading rotation now.
Q: Robots or Ninjas?
A: Pancakes.
Non-Sequitor
Q: What would change about the iOS platform if you could change just one thing?
A: Coming at this from a design perspective – I’d love to see the proliferation of screen sizes and resolutions come to an end – arrrgh!! Dream on … I know.
Yeah me too. Or at least a built in way to handle it. ie the device should know which resolution image to pull based on what device it is. That seems like the best solution short of not having multiple res. devices, LOL.
Q: What are you most excited about 360|iDev Austin?
A: I’m excited to meet other developers who are doing crazy creative things on iOS.
Well said. We’re getting close, I can’t wait to see everyone!!!
Q: Lastly, what would you tell someone on the fence about attending 360|iDev Austin?
A: You WON’T REGRET IT.
Damn straight they won’t!! :) It’s gonna be an awesome time with mind blowing content, a Game Jam, and tons more awesome stuff!
Register now! Make sure you book your room at the Marriott, our room block is expiring really soon!
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360iDev – Speaker Collin Donnell

October 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Collin, the world’s sexiest programmer has been a speaker at every 360|iDev, and is always a blast to have with us. Collin is presenting on Tuesday ‘Blocks and Grand Central Dispatch’. This ain’t no intro session, he’s bringing his A-Game, make sure you do too :)

Q: How long have you been doing iOS development?

A: Two and a half years since around April of 2008.

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

A: Working on a totally new thing. It kind of feels like the future.

The future is grand, that’s for damn sure. I admit, seeing everyone at 360|iDev, and hearing what they’re working on, and seeing apps released throughout the year, is awe inspiring. The future pretty much rocks!

Q: What’s your favorite Game?

A: Right now? The Incident (iTunes Link).

I love that in every interview, this question is prefaced with “right now” it’s so cool to see casual gaming taking off. I never thgouht I’d be a fan, but even back on my Moto T720 flip, i’d fire up lemonade tycoon when waiting in lines, etc. It’s great to see gaming taking off, and to see so much cool stuff happening, that favorite games are “right now” only.

Q: What’s your favorite App?

A: 1Password (iTunes link) with Dropbox sync is really great.

I admit, I’ve never been able to put 1Password into my mobile workflow. I think because of the lack of browser integration. I never think ahead to open 1Password, then spawn a browser with the form fields populated, i just don’t work like that, so it’s never caught on.

Q: Robots or Ninjas?

A: Primitive mammal like robots.

Like rats, and possums?

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

A: I’d love it if there was a way for developers to interact with their users more directly, such as responding to comments. It’s frustrating when you know you can solve a dissatisfied customers problem but have no way to help them.

Like on iTunes with rating and comments? Yeah it’s odd that Apple has made it largely a blind process for all concerned, I know as a consumer, sometimes your only option at expressing yourself is the ratings and comments in iTunes, which usually isn’t the best forum for that type of thing.

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

A: I’ve never been to Austin, but I’ve heard it’s amazing there. I’m looking forward to seeing all of the great people and learning from amazing developers and designers.

Yeah Austin is a pretty kick ass city, I hope everyone gets a chance to get into downtown at some point. We really enjoyed our site visit!

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

A: Every 360iDev has raised the bar over the last one; this is going to be the best one yet. The quality of presentations and the level of technical content has gone up a lot and I can honestly say this is a great conference for developers of all levels.

That’s what we like to hear! We strive to offer the best and most technical talks. We love the Rock Band, the beer bashes, and everything else, but by and large the main goal is to make the sessions be the focus and make sure they deliver a level of technical awesomeness that isn’t matched at other events (even WWDC, yes I said it :D)

Don’t miss out, Collin is right, this 360|iDev is on track to be better than those that came before it! If you’re an iOS developer, you owe it to yourself to join us in Austin. Whether you’re an indie or working for someone else, the networking and learning opportunities at 360|iDev, are beyond compare! Register now!

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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.
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