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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 – Speaker Justin Williams

September 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment
I’ve never met Justin in person, but we’ve exchanged tweets on Mac vs. iOS events, and tracks within events etc. I’m super happy he’s on board as a speaker, and has submitted for 360|MacDev as well! He’s a great model of ‘the successful developer’
Make sure you check out his session ‘Punching Out: Selling Your iPhone Apps To Someone Else’ on Monday.
Q: How long have you been doing iOS development?
A: I started toying with the SDK when it was released given my Mac background, but I only just got in the App Store with my own products full-time in the past few months with the release of Elements and MarkdownMail (iTunes Link).
Awesome! It’s cool to have long time Mac Devs get into iOS, I think it’s a neat perspective.
Q: What do you like most about being an iOS Developer?
A: The Mac is still my preferred development platform, but iOS is turning into a really fun diversion since it allows me to build such focused apps. Little apps like my MarkdownMail product wouldn’t make much sense on the Mac, but they turn out to be pretty useful on iOS because the goal is to build simple, focused apps rather than cramming in as many features as possible.
Well said. I think the Mac platform for apps has a lot going for it (obviously as I write this on my Macbook, LOL). Exactly right on the being specific and purposeful, iOS is a very narrow platform, and best served by apps that do one thing really well.
Q: What’s your favorite Game?
A: The only game that has kept my attention is Angry Birds (iTunes Link).  I’m really not much of a gamer, but it’s a great way to kill a few minutes with mindless fun.
Q: What’s your favorite App?
A: QueueUp is a new app from the fine folks at BitBQ that I’m really enjoying lately.  It’s a really focused Netflix app that’s sole purpose is adding items to your disc queue.  I’ve never liked the other Netflix apps on the phone because they try to wrap every aspect of their API when all I really ever want to do on my phone is add discs to my queue or rate what I just watched.  QueueUp gets me halfway there.  It’s awesome.
Nice, will have to check it out! I’ve all but given up on the queue manager apps, most try to do too much, poorly!
Q: Robots or Ninjas?
A: Ninjas.  If I had a private plane like Steve Jobs, I’d try to bring ninja stars back from Japan too.
Shoot, i’d bring ninjas back. They’re better at throwing them, I suspect!
Q: What would change about the iOS platform if you could change just one thing?
A: I’ve got a laundry list and Apple has been slowly ticking items off of it.  My current dream is that they allow for sideloading applications onto the phone like is possible on Android.  I don’t expect it to ever happen, but it would silence a majority of the critics of the App Store platform and would give users an outlet to get those apps that Apple doesn’t deem appropriate for their storefront.
Yeah as an owner of an Android phone, the sideloading feature is nice. I’ve always wished that Apple would put a toggle in the settings app to pretty much accept “I’m a savvy user, please let me make some decisions for myself and my device. I accept the responsibility”
Q: What are you most excited about 360|iDev Austin?
A: I haven’t left Indiana since February, so I’m looking forward to getting out of state.  :)  I’m also really looking forward to the technical sessions.  While I enjoy WWDC, I find smaller conferences like 360, NSConference and C4 (RIP) offer a much more varied and rich amount of content because its from people who are using the tools in the real world.  WWDC is great for getting up to snuff on the new stuff coming soon.  360 will be great for learning how to really take advantage of what’s available today.
Yeah we try to not compete with WWDC (impossible) but make it clear the technical aspects of 360|iDev far outweigh what you’re get at bigger events that have a wider focus.
Q: Lastly, what would you tell someone on the fence about attending 360|iDev Austin?
A: Come to Austin.  The sessions are going to be great, but the real benefit of events like this is the camaraderie with your fellow developers.  It’s like drinking a giant jug of iOS Kool-Aid.
HA HA. so true!! Kool-Aid, with beer in it!
Don’t miss out! 360|iDev is gonna be awesome! Click here to register!
Filed Under: Austin, Community, Drinks, Geeking Out, Reasons to Come, speakers, The Speakers Tagged With: , , , , ,
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360iDev – Speaker Mat Martel

September 16, 2010 By 1 Comment

Matt Martel is a great guy, and long time supporter of 360|iDev. It’s always great to have him with us, especially as a speaker! Make sure you check out his session ‘Using an Ad Mediation Layer (AdWhirl, or Mobclix)’ it’s sure to be a good one!

Q: How long have you been doing iOS development?

A: Since April 2008, right after the first SDK was released. I started working on a companion iPhone app to a social networking site (Plum) that has since been acquired by Nokia.

where it died as all things nokia do?

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

A: I like community of iPhone developers most. The tools are great, and the individuals at Apple are doing a super job, but the indie developers across the globe are so supportive and helpful.

agreed! The community around iOS is second to none!

Q: What’s your favorite Game?

A: That has to be Compression or Compression HD.

Q: What’s your favorite App?

A: It’s Twitter or NetNewsWire, though NNW needs some serious updating.

lol well you can tell brent simmons, over beers!

Q: Robots or Ninjas?

A: Yeah, robots for me. Have you seen Elf Command?

robot elves!?!?

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

A: Right now I’m working on Game Center. It should run on all devices, and needs offline support.

that makes a lot of sense. I’d love to see game center extend to mac desktop games, how awesome would that be! Maybe by 360|MacDev we’ll have something like that to talk about, lol

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

A: Never been to Austin, heard great things about it. Also excited to meet new devs and say hi to old friends. Then there’s this iOS 4.2 thing…

really hoping 4.2 comes the week before 360|iDev, how cool would that be! Of course it might put a few presentations in to quick update/rewrite mode, lol.

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

A: This is the one conference that can’t be beat. Unlike WWDC or GDC you will not be totally overwhelmed by crowds. This is highly interactive in a way that only a small show can be. Your best bet if you are on a budget or have a schedule conflict. The sessions are super, but the networking is priceless.

Well said! We often tell people, if you can hit both do, but if you have to choose, choose 360|iDev, you’ll get more, for less and there’s lots of beer!

Register now!

Filed Under: Austin, Community, Geeking Out, Parties, Reasons to Come, The Speakers Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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360iDev – Speaker Brian Robbins

September 15, 2010 By 1 Comment

We love Brian! 1. he’s a local Denverite :) 2. he’s spoken at several 360|iDev’s now. and 3. He’s got a lot of great things to say. This time in Austin he’s doing a follow up to his great San Jose talk, ‘Building a Non-Hit Driven Business’ with ‘Building a Non-Hit Driven Business, 6 months later’ on Tuesday at 1:30!

Q: How long have you been doing iOS development?

A: Since May 2008, a month or so before the original App Store launch.

Awesome! One of the “available at launch apps”

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

A: I still love getting to create new ways for people to interact with our games and apps. As well as the amazing developer community that exists.

Awesome. The iOS devices definitely have opened some interesting doors for games. From gestures, to play modes. It’s definitely a game (ha ha) changing platform.

Q: What’s your favorite Game?

A: I’ve been playing a lot of NinJump (iTunes Link) lately, but it’s tough to name just one as my favorite. It tends to change ever few weeks :)

I know that all too well. I find I get really into a game for a while, then move on, and sometimes I come back, sometimes I don’t. Must be a common phenomenon.

Q:  What’s your favorite App?

A: Flipboard for sure. I feel like that has really helped me keep up with my Facebook and Twitter friends far better than I used to.

interesting!

Q: Robots or Ninjas?

A: Ninjas every time.

What about Ninja Cats?

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

A: Far less developers flooding the app store with junk apps that have little to no production value and little to no consumer interest.

Agreed! Though I think it’s far less a problem than on the Android Market, but yeah, I’d rather Apple turn it’s draconian approval practices to crap apps, more than ‘morally questionable’ apps.

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

A: Reconnecting with all the great developers that are at each event.

Agreed! Shoot that’s what we’re so excited about too! :)

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

A: The 360iDev conferences have quickly become my favorite conferences to attend. The sessions have a great mix of inspirational, technical and business focus so there’s really something for everyone here.

Great to hear :) That’s what we strive for, we want developers off all scope to come away with new info, skills, etc. Whether it’s design, business or development, so long as they leave with more than they came with :)

If that doesn’t convince you maybe the price will. $599 for 4 days, 40 sessions, over 30 speakers, parties, top developers from all over the world, etc. Shop around, any other events offer that? When you’re convinced that 360|iDev is the right choice, go register!

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360iDev – Speaker – Brandon Alexander

September 14, 2010 By 2 Comments

As we approach 360|iDev Austin, we’re beginning our speaker interview series. These little interviews are a great way to get to know our speakers, before you meet them in Austin.

Enjoy!

Q: How long have you been doing iOS development?

A: 2.5 years or so

It’s funny, that’s about how long most have been in it I’d guess, maybe a smidge longer, for the folks who were there at launch.

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

A: I love the language, development tools and most of all the community. Without the vibrant iOS dev community, I wouldn’t be writing iOS apps. Furthermore, the level of quality demanded by the users makes every project challenging. I love that challenge!

Very true. I suspect iOS users are probably the most demanding as far as app quality. No offense to Google and Android, but there doesn’t seem to be much demand for high quality games/apps right now. I’m hoping that will change, and it’s good to see popular iOS titles being built for Android, I think that’ll elevate the game a bit.

Q: What’s your favorite Game?

A: Right now it is Isaac Newton’s Gravity (iTunes Link)

That looks pretty sweet! It never stops amazing me how many games and apps escape notice. Downloading now!

Q: What’s your favorite App?

A: I couldn’t live without Twitter for iPhone or News Rack/Flipboard for iPad

I tried Flipboard, and got a little disgusted. Overcapacity at launch is kind of a non starter for me. HOWEVER it does look nicely made. It’s a visually appealing app for sure! I really dig twitter for iPhone, though I think the iPad version is a little to forward thinking.

Q: Robots or Ninjas?

A: I would have to say robots because I could build a Robot Ninja to protect me from other Ninjas. It could also protect me from the coming Zombie apocalypse. Plus having an army of Robot Ninjas sounds pretty cool to me.

Someone beat you to it, but that’s fine, now you can save the R&D money and just buy two more completed Ninja Robots.

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

A: Cocoa bindings! I started learning Cocoa and got a bit spoiled by Cocoa Bindings. Since my talk is on using Interface Builder, I would love to see more support for Cocoa Touch in IB.

Ah, interesting! I’m gonna have to pop my head into your session :)

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

A: This is my first 360|iDev so I’m mostly excited to meet all the fine developers I follow on Twitter and the creators of fine apps. I’m also excited to be consumed in really technical stuff during the day and hanging out with everyone at night.

Well put. Yeah you’ll need the nights to let your brain cool down and process all the great technical content :)

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

A: You can learn anything from the web, but where else can you meet the same people who write those blogs posts and create some great apps?

Exactly! The web is a great place to solve that niggling problem you’re having right now, conferences are about learning the next generation tricks, and meeting the people you may be working with someday. It’s about the face to face interaction!

Don’t miss out! Register now! 4 days, 3 parties, 5 hands-On sessions on Sunday. All for just $599! I dare ya to find a better deal!

Oh and the Marriott is dirt cheap too!! Register now!

Filed Under: Austin, Community, Content, Drinks, Geeking Out, Hands-On, Parties, Reasons to Come, speakers, The Speakers Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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360iDev – Austin schedule is live!

August 3, 2010 By 2 Comments

I know the wait has been unbearable… at least for me, but here you go. Go download the PDF of the 360|iDev Austin schedule and have a look see.

There’s some empty spaces, and I can’t promise we won’t shuffle a few things around in the next week or two, but in general terms, this is it. This is what’s in store for everyone in Austin!

To quote one of our schedule reviewers “I think this is a strong schedule, John- possibly the best I’ve seen yet.”

There’s plenty more to announce, we should have a party or two to announce by next week and much more. For now, start planning your week in Austin :)

I’ll be updating the speakers page later today

Filed Under: Announcements, Austin, Community, Content, Reasons to Come, speakers Tagged With: , , , , ,
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360iDev – The Community is strong!

July 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I’m biased, obviously. I like competition, but hate johnny come lately type stuff that dilutes the market without providing benefit to the community/customer.

I hate seeing an event fail, I hate seeing a business fail, it sucks, 360|Conferences is slowly climbing out of bootstrap and into slight profitability, I know the pain of having no money, as do many if not most app devs at one point or another.

As such, seeing Appcon, fail before it even started, doesn’t bother me. I hope they refunded everyone’s money.

What does bother me, is saying that the community isn’t ready for their “groundbreaking event”.

Groundbreaking? Let’s be honest.

Birds of a feather? Been there, done that.

Fast pitch? not interested, but have done ignite style fast pitch things. It works at Ignite events, not conferences IMO.

Expo? Do it each time.

40 sessions by experts? Yeah we know all about having that many awesome community experts in one place, we do it 2x a year!

The App Developer community, primarily the iOS community is crazy strong, and growing daily!! To say the community is the reason an event fails is disingenuous at best. When Tom and I started 360|iDev, we barely knew the community, we opened our doors, approached those who we either knew, knew about, or found, and from there have continued to build something that we’re proud of, and hopefully the iOS developer community is proud of.

Look at the image below, I’m thinking there’s another reason appcon failed, and it has nothing to do with size or strength of the mobile developer community. Heck the modern, (again IMO) technologies that matter… are thriving and growing.

So I personally and on behalf of 360|iDev, call BS on appcon. Let’s show the organizers, just how ready the community is!! See you in Austin!!

Filed Under: Announcements, Austin, Community, Content, Pricing, Reasons to Come Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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360iDev – Worth every penny and more

June 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Conference pricing is funny.

You see events that cost over $1000, and think (at least I do) “what will I be getting out of this conference? Will it be worth $1000? Will I be wasting my money?” I especially have those thoughts as someone who doesn’t have a company expense account to draw upon. But even in my days as a cube monkey I felt weird when I’d return from a conference and 1. have to make up what I learned to report back to my boss, and 2. submit expense reports, etc for thousands of dollars of company money.

What about when a conference has an early bird price that takes $550 off the price? I mean the savings in the early bird price is more than the actual cost to attend 360|iDev. I wonder if they think they provide over $1000 in knowledge and networking?

Why do events, with similar formats as 360|iDev cost so much more? They’re “enterprise” I guess is the only explanation. Meaning nothing but they want to milk attendees (who are typically on the company’s dime) for as much as possible. I certainly hope “enterprise” attendees don’t get suckered into this thinking, but looking at conference history, those events with “enterprise” anywhere in their name or description, tack on at least an extra $500 just because.

These events are obviously not aimed at indie developers. Ever wonder if you get 2-3x the value? They’re not 2-3 times the length, or the number of sessions, or anything else that would be a good metric, so what’s the difference?

I know that every attendee or potential attendee has a choice in the events they attend, and I show my gratitude in organizing an awesome event that blows their minds. At least a few times every event, someone walks up to me (I’m the guy at the reg desk, or walking around saying hi) and tells me that they’ve already gotten their money’s worth.. ‘Already’, and it’s usually lunch time on day one!

360|iDev Austin is still a ways away, but why wait? Waiting will cost you $100 if nothing else, and it’s not like you’re not gonna have a good time, and get more information from 3 days than you’ll get anywhere else. Go register, worse case you can get a refund if you can’t make it (Make sure it’s before the cut off though!)

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360iDev – Call For Papers Open

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

November is a long way away. I know that.

BUT once accepted, speakers can tweak their topic to their heart’s content, so long as it’s not a complete “Oh well it was this, and now it’s this completely different thing”, so submitting now, or waiting a while, no matter. What matters is not forgetting to submit, or missing the deadline. You can always update your submission as we go before the call for papers close.

I figure the call for speakers will close around July-August sometime.

The way it works (for those of you that haven’t spoken before) is this. You email us with your idea, answering all the items outlined below. That’s it :)

After we close the call for papers, we’ll make selections.

Haven’t spoken at 360|iDev before? it’s easy. We’re probably the most low pressure event around, and we love having new people from the community present. Many of our highest rated presenters, started out as attendees, then decided to share what they knew with the community.

What we’ll need in your session submission:

  • Your name
  • Your Email
  • Your twitter ID or blog address (Whatever you want your name to link to on the speakers page)
  • Session Name
  • Session description
  • Session level (100 – 300+) The more advanced the better, just saying.
  • Session Track (tracks are: Business,  Sights, Sounds, and Interactions, Development Tips and Tricks)
  • Is this session strictly iPhone or iPad? Let us know so we can start marking any such sessions
  • Lastly, have you presented this topic anywhere else. No offense to other events, but we hate stuff that’s made the circuit. It’s cool to show it at a cocoa heads, or NScodernight, but we hate sloppy seconds. The fresher the content the better.

Have a few ideas, submit them all! Sometimes we ask speakers to do more than one session if they pitch more than one awesome idea.

What’s in it for you as a speaker? Well we of course don’t make you pay to attend, but we also cover your hotel stay for 3 nights.

Less quantifiable benefits of speaking at 360|iDev?

  • Book deals
  • New Job or new consulting work
  • who knows, Apple might hire you… just saying, we’ve seen a fair number of people who come to iDev, get snatched up by the mothership…
  • Everlasting fame and (kharmic) fortune

So send in your topic ideas, remember, I’m under NDA too, so if you have an idea that’s not released yet, feel free, and we’ll keep it hush hush until it is announced. No NDA breaking here :)

See you in Austin!

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360iDev – What to do when you arrive

April 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

We’re not GDC, or WWDC. There’s no waiting in a mile long line to get in, there’s not sea of thousands to wade through to get your badge.

What there is, is 3-4 people working the registration desk.

You can pick up your badge all day Sunday if you want to avoid the rush. If you can’t make it to Ebay Town Hall until Monday morning, we recommend getting there by 7:30 to avoid missing the keynote by David Whatley of Critical Thought Games (You know, Geo Defense Swarm…)

The registration desk will be broken down into letter groups by Last Name.

Schedules will be printed out and in your bag.

See this post for the shuttle schedule, and general how to get around San Jose information.

Our iPhone app, has a map of Ebay, the complete schedule, and your session survey app.

It’s not too late (but it almost is) to register for 360|iDev! Don’t miss out, register now!

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