Pinboard (guardiantech)

How a killer game sucked me and my son back to iOS devices >> CNET News

guardiantech — 2013-09-04T05:55:54+00:00

Danny Sullivan:

I'd been testing the Samsung Galaxy S4 over the past few weeks. It's a remarkable phone in that, for the first time, I found myself comfortable going out with only that phone and not also my iPhone as well. I'll have a future column about this, but a great camera, video, and the large screen have made it really compelling to me.
Clash of Clans changed that, however. I'm back to carrying either both phones or the iPhone, if I want to keep an eye on my gaming activity.
There are things exclusive to other platforms, of course. I love making and sharing Photo Spheres with my Nexus 4, something I can't do with the iPhone. (Yes, there's Photosynth, but it doesn't work as well.) I can't do it with the Samsung Galaxy S4, either, as Samsung dropped this native feature of Android.
If I'm headed somewhere scenic, I make a point to take the Nexus 4 -- so Photo Sphere is a kind of killer app, in that regard.

Clash Of Clans is made by Supercell. Now see the next link for why Apple should be worried - unless it can crack the Asian market in a big way.

App updates for iOS 7 >> furbo.org

guardiantech — 2013-08-04T21:53:39+00:00

Craig Hockenbery:

While cranking along on the update, a couple of thoughts occurred to me: how many other developers were doing the same thing and were they going to commit fully to iOS 7? The depth and breadth of the changes in iOS 7 makes it difficult to support older versions of the OS.
So I just asked. I also included a simple question that any developer who was actively working on an update would be able to answer as a sort of CAPTCHA.
After a little over 24 hours, I had my answers:
An overwhelming number of developers are updating apps for iOS 7. Of 575 valid responses, 545 developers indicated that they were working on an update for iOS 7. That's an adoption rate of 95%!
Of those developers who were working on an update, I then calculated how many were going to require iOS 7 (and drop support for iOS 6):
Just over half of developers (284 of 545) were leaving the past behind. Initially I was surprised that this number was so high, but then I remembered how much time and effort I was putting into my own work :-)

The Android paradox: hackers and casuals >> acoustik - Quora

guardiantech — 2013-03-10T21:01:25+00:00

Ajay Kulkarni, one of the developers of GroupMe:

Android is the platypus of the mobile world. It's weird.
Like the platypus, Android is a complicated beast, a bizarre combination of two very different animals. But unlike the platypus, Android is slowly taking over the world.
Here's what we've found at GroupMe: there are two Android markets.
As a developer you need to build for both, and they're not at all like each other. That's the paradox.

Read the very telling differences between these two groups - from their expectations of what the back button will do onwards. Another key trend he points to: Android phones being sold without data plans, and/or outside the US. In Q4 2012, the US was only 10% of global Android sales. That's a challenge for developers.

Paying developers is A Bad Idea >> Charlie Kindel

guardiantech — 2012-09-26T20:48:46+00:00

The companies that make the most profit are those who build virtuous platform cycles. There are no proof points in history of virtuous platform cycles being created when the platform provider incents developers to target the platform by paying them.
Paying developers to target your platform is a sign of desperation. Doing so means developers have no skin in the game. A platform where developers do not have skin in the game is artificially propped up and will not succeed in the long run.
The Windows Phone 7 team was in a very, very desperate situation.

Thoughtful post by ex-Microsoftie Kindel about the dynamics now in the smartphone, tablet and PC marketplace.

Where oh where is Windows Phone 8? >> Ars Technica

guardiantech — 2012-09-08T10:08:02+00:00

Peter Bright:

With the end of summer fast approaching (I may be old-fashioned, but the equinox marks the end of the season), with the occasional leak excepted, the SDK is still nowhere in sight.
Apparently aware that time is running out, Microsoft has at long last spoken. Next week, the company will release a beta SDK... to a few people. Calling it a limited "Preview" release, some number of developers with existing, published Windows Phone 7 applications will be able to use the new SDK. This is in addition to an existing private beta program already running, that's giving OEMs and special software partners access to the software.
A full SDK will come, but not until the company properly unveils the operating system—which is currently rumored to happen on October 29th. Presuming Windows Phone 8 devices ship this year—and Microsoft is certainly talking as if they will—that leaves developers little time to update their applications and get ready for the new platform.

Not having an SDK for developers is, in these app-hungry days, a big problem if you're looking to make a difference in the smartphone market. Just ask RIM about BB10. (Thanks @avro for the link.)

Dear Mark Zuckerberg by Dalton Caldwell >> Dalton Caldwell

guardiantech — 2012-08-02T05:25:59+00:00

A developer whose competitor product Facebook attempted to hire goes public. Mark, I know for a fact that my experience was not an isolated incident. Several other startup founders & Facebook employees have told me that what I experienced was part of a systematic M&A “formula”. Your team doesn’t seem to understand that being “good negotiators” vs implying that you will destroy someone’s business built on your “open platform” are not the same thing. I know all about intimidation-based negotiation tactics: I experienced them for years while dealing with the music industry. Bad-faith negotiations are inexcusable, and I didn’t want to believe your company would stoop this low. My mistake.

As Twitter Goes To War With Its Developers, Flipboard CEO Mike McCue Quits The Board >> Business Insider

guardiantech — 2012-08-02T05:23:46+00:00

And this is where the cards have fallen today.

The Future of Twitter's Platform Is All in the Cards >> AllThingsD

guardiantech — 2012-08-02T05:22:05+00:00

Fascinating post by Mike Isaac: The mandate to crack down on developers comes straight from Dick Costolo — no doubt feeling the pressure of being the company’s third CEO in almost as many years — who is charged with the task of making profitable a company backed by hundreds of millions in venture capital and valued near $8 billion (see Googler Hunter Walk’s excellent post for more on this). Right now, Cards are the long-term bet in continuing to bolster monetization efforts.

Here’s why Soundcloud ditched Flash for HTML5 >> Gigaom

guardiantech — 2012-02-01T06:55:33+00:00

Inroads being made:

Social sound sharing startup Soundcloud is switching to HTML5 for its default widget, essentially demoting its Flash widget to become a fallback solution. Soundcloud only introduced its HTML5 widget some three months ago, but a spokesperson told me today that it’s been a hit with users: “People are eight times as likely to share the sounds after playing them (with the) HTML5 widget as compared to the Flash version,” the spokesperson wrote via email.

Note: the widget referenced in the post works on Firefox, doesn't work on Chrome for us.

Amazon App Store: Rotten To The Core >> Shifty Jelly’s blog of mystery

guardiantech — 2011-08-03T06:26:27+00:00

This is a big problem for Amazon: "Amazon’s biggest feature by far, has been their Free App Of The Day promotion. Publicly their terms say that they pay developers 20% of the asking price of an app, even when they give it away free. To both consumers and naive developers alike, this seems like a big chance to make something rare in the Android world: real money. But here’s the dirty secret Amazon don’t want you to know, they don’t pay developers a single cent."

Fred Wilson to devs: expect platform owners to work against you >> Gigaom

guardiantech — 2011-06-07T21:10:35+00:00

"Developers building atop platforms like iOS and Twitter should go in with eyes wide open, said Union Square Ventures partner Fred Wilson, who reminded entrepreneurs about the dangers of relying on someone else’s APIs. In a talk last night before an audience of entrepreneurs, Wilson said developers need to plan for the day when platform owners work against their interests."

The only solution is to be multi-platform.

Facebook’s Own (Smaller) “OAuthpocalypse”: Devs Have 48 Hours To Secure Apps >> TechCrunch

guardiantech — 2011-05-17T06:49:34+00:00

"Last night and into today, Facebook has been sending out notices to developers they believe have apps in violation of their policy against sending authentication data to third parties. Those developers have 48 hours to fix their apps or they risk being “subject to one of the enforcement actions” — read: being booted."

Rising Costs Leave Facebook Developers in the Lurch >> Advertising Age

guardiantech — 2011-05-05T21:41:32+00:00

"As Facebook heads toward 700 million users, one thing seems clear: the gold rush for Facebook app developers is over.
"Early adopters of the social-game space, such as Zynga, Crowdstar and Playdom -- known in the industry as part of Facebook's "Top 10" -- are still raking in all the users and much of the revenue, but rising ad prices, a cluttered market, and higher transaction fees are forcing smaller players elsewhere, and in many cases off Facebook altogether."