Design Stage Resources for iPhone App Development

On September 29, 2010 in iPhone, Nottingham Trent University.
0

Today I have began collecting a couple of resources for the design stage of my Final Year Dissertation, which you can read more about HERE.

iPhone 4 GUI Retina Display templateFor the design stage, I will create a flow diagram style image of the iPhone during various user interactions. For this, I will require a template to work with. (NOTE: the screen resolution of the old iPhone is 320 x 480 pixels. The iPhone 4 is 960 x 640 pixels. For the creation, I will produce a large image and scale down the for older versions.)

To make the flow diagram look as realistic as possible, I am going to use an iPhone 4 Graphical User Interface (GUI) Photoshop template, which you can download here. This is an awesome file which has almost all the individual pieces you need to create a great looking design! You can even download the high resolution “Retina display” version of the file from here. Beware though, this file is big (20+Mb), and takes a lot of processing power (It’s 4074×2986 in dimension!), so bare than in mind before opening up and editing!

MockAppAnother great designer tool is ‘MockApp‘, which is put to particularly good use in PowerPoint presentations. This template is less resourceful than the last, and also allows you to interact with the design. For example, a product manager could, when presented with an iPhone image on a projector, click the app icon to open up the splash screen, and then the home page of the app. This gives a realism to the design which the flow diagram misses, and is a real good seller to stakeholders who are 50/50 about the idea of an app. But MockApp doesn’t stop there! Not by a long shot. You can present the PowerPoint slides on the iPhone itself, for added bumph! This is a real gem, and gives a good insight to developers and managers alike as to what the finished app will be like.

So, to conclude, the first resource any iPhone designer should use is a good high quality PSD Template, as mentioned above. Design the overall screens, and make it look fantastic! The other step is to use the lower resolution images from MockApp to design an interactive version, following the flow diagram where possible, to create an overall package which will blow whoever you present it to away!

So, that’s the design stage began. Check back soon in the Final Year Dissertation category for more blogs about my progress!

Tagged with: • • • •
 

Access Restricted (Bad IP) for Facebook Mobile

On September 17, 2010 in #60SecondShout.
6

Having trouble accessing Facebook on your iPhone, Android or other mobile device? Getting the error message: “Access restricted: bad IP” and “You are trying to access Facebook from an IP (internet protocol) address that has been associated with abusive behaviour”. So are many other users on the Orange UK network this evening. So, don’t panic, it’s nothing wrong with your phone or Facebook account. Orange have released an announcement saying they will sort the issue as soon as possible, hopefully over night.

An Orange spokesperson said today “We are aware that our mobile customers are currently having issues accessing Facebook via their handsets. We are working with Facebook to fix this as a matter of priority and would like to apologise to our customers for the inconvenience this may cause them.”

Update: I think this is now fixed, according to the other half, although some users may continue to experience problems until the early hours.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • •
 

Facebook Places Vs Foursquare

On September 17, 2010 in Development, New Technology.
1

Geo-tagging is nothing new. It’s been used by Twitter, Flickr and more recently Youtube for a while now. It’s quite simple really: Sharing the location of your media as metadata. This allows people and API’s alike to search by location. Useful stuff!

In March 2009 Foursquare was launched, primarily in New York, but soon found itself checking people in all around the globe! The concept is again simple: Tagging yourself instead of a photo (or other media) in the form of a ‘Check-In’. Other people can also ‘Check-In’ to locations, and a hierarchy can be build for individual locations. It’s a superb example of social media turned addictive game! It works brilliantly with the ever evolving capabilities of smart-phones and other IED’s (Internet Enabled Devices).

But let’s go back to the beginning for a moment. Dennis Crowley, one of the head developers of Foursquare created a similar program back in 2005 called ‘Dodgeball’. It was soon snapped up by internet giants Google and closed down in 2009 (to make room for ‘Google Latitude’). So, Foursquare is mature. It’s evolved. It’s developed. And it’s got competition.

Facebook Places. Announced August 2010. It’s a big hit for Foursquare. After all, who want’s to go up against Goliath? Places allows users to ‘Check-In’ much like Foursquare, but that’s about it. I see what Facebook have done, in keeping it as a simple status update style addition it refrains from encroaching on Foursquare’s USP (Unique Selling Point). But it could have been so much more! And it should have been too. I was so excited to see the new icon on the Facebook iPhone app, and thought that something being added to the home screen of the app like that would be more than an additional way of updating your status, in effect. Perhaps the Facebook team have bigger plans for Places? I hope so.

For me, Foursquare is a much more addictive, interesting and smart geotagging application. Seem’s like David may have slayed Goliath again!? It’s hierarchy scheme, locational advice/tips and badges make it far superior to Facebook Places. Personally, I will use both. Foursquare for its addictive, fun nature. And Places for it’s ability to update friends and family on Facebook exactly what I’m up to, the essence of social media.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • •
 

Windows automatic playlist generator

On September 16, 2010 in #60SecondShout, Internet, New Technology.
0

If you use spotify, chances are you have created your own play-lists. Now, playlists are brilliant, but I often find myself listening to the same bands and tracks. Spotify recommends similar bands, but Windows has taken it one step further.

Introducing Windows 7 Playlist Generator, an on-line application which generates a playlist based on track, album or artist, depending on the criteria you enter. It’s pretty awesome, and allows you to add individual tracks by hitting the [+] icon to the right of a track which is again similar. This allows you to build up some substantial lists and listen to music you’ve not heard before.

To add a playlist to spotify, you just use the nifty drag-and-drop feature of the playlist button. Right into Spotify, no messing.

Tagged with: • • • • • •
 

twitter changes interface to app style design

On September 15, 2010 in Development, Internet, Website Design.
0

Since it’s launch in July 2006, Twitter has rapidly became a household name for almost any surfer (internet surfer that is!) as well as being constantly in the spotlight for breaking news, celebrity rants and thousands of web trends. The micro-blogging platform gets over 190,000,000 hits per month, and generates an estimated $400,000 per quarter! Now that’s “what’s happening”?!

A little birdy told me Twitter is changing. Re-designing. Evolving. It’s been speculated for some time, but last night (September 14th, 2010) Twitter began rolling out it’s brand new user interface to some of it’s users. The 141 strong employee team have been busy, producing not only a lovely looking interface but also an impressive video to demonstrate the new features. Check it out.

The re-design strategy, much like Facebook did in 2006, 2008 and 2010, is a smart move, keeping the top-dogs of the internet fresh and up-to-date. It’s a principle which I like to follow quite closely, re-designing this site quite often! (Could be less as my final year approaches!). Sure, some people will dislike the change, but such is life. You don’t see anyone moaning about Facebook’s latest interface like you did back when they rolled it out in February 2010!

Twitter’s new layout is very interactive. One could say it’s almost trying to resemble a certain mobile device application look and feel? Not that there is anything wrong with this (Just look at the success of the official Twitter App for iPhone!). The smooth glides and efficient persona exuded by the new website succeeds in giving users the concept of a well-oiled machine. A lovely development from the Twitter team.

Tagged with: • • • • • • •
 

AirDropper adds additional functionality to DropBox

On September 5, 2010 in #60SecondShout, New Technology.
0

AirDropper. Not heard of it? Neither had I, before this evening. It’s a simple website (currently in BETA) which provides additional functionality to the wonderful application called ‘Dropbox’. (Read here about it here).

“But what could possibly make DropBox even better than it already is?”, I hear you cry. Well, DropBox has typically been used for one user to sign up, and share folders and files with himself on other computers (using an online server). Next came along shared folders; The ability to share folders with other DropBox users. This is great for collaborative work.

Now though, AirDropper aims to evolve DropBox one step further. What AirDropper does is generate a link which can be shared socially or privately for people who don’t have DropBox. The link gives non-users access to download files specifically or a folder to choose from. Pretty impressive, especially for distributing to lots of non-users at once, much like how P2P works.

What’s even better though, is that links can also be generated for users to upload files to a User’s DropBox without having to have an account or download any software. This creates an ‘AirDropper’ folder, which I think is probably a security feature in the DropBox API.

Let’s only hope there will be more developments like this from both DropBox and third party applications such as AirDropper!

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • •
 

must have apps for new or formatted pc

On September 2, 2010 in Development, General.
0

Old PCAfter eventually grinding to an almost stop due to a C-Drive bursting at the sesames with unnecessary programs, today I decided to bite the bullet and format. It was a hard decision, with over 6 years (that’s 18 years in computer years) of old programs hidden away in the registry. After formatting and installing a fresh and shiny version of Windows 7 (which is a gem to install, by the way) I got to work installing a couple of must-have essentials for any self-respecting computer literate. Here’s a couple of the best.

First things first, security. I decided that to give the PC a fighting chance against all the inter-nasties out there, good Firewall and Antivirus protection was a must. For a Firewall, I went with PC Tools Internet Protection. This software and I go way back, and I used to use it back when it was JUST a firewall. (PC Tools Firewall Plus). Oh, how times have changed. This latest version comes as an all-in-one security gold-mine! Firewall, Anti-spyware, Anti-virus and Anti-spam all under one roof! It also comes with IntelliGuard which protects anything and everything internet related such as your cookies, browser and network. Best of all, there is a freeware version, meaning you can get all this for free (with a few more advanced features disabled, granted).

To back up the brilliant PC Tools suite I decided to go with a dedicated Anti-virus app. For this, I decided on AntiVIR by Lavasoft. Again, this software and I have a deep and long history, but it’s never once let me down, and acts promptly whenever a worm, trojan or virus somehow got onto the system. It’s also free and is a brilliant program. The only annoying thing about AntiVIR is the annoying splash screen which appears from time to time. However this can be disabled quite quickly and simply by delving into the registry a little. Or just Google it.

That was the security sorted, and after a quick reboot I got a grip on the social side of things. First up, Google Chrome to browse the internet, knowing I was safe and secure. Spotify was next, so I could install the rest of my programs while singing along to my favourite tunes, followed by Vuze (formally Azureus) and DropBox to transfer files from an online repository I had made with all my files and folders. MagicISO and MagicDisk completed the set (in order to mount virtual disks I had created containing more files) and I was well on my way.

Finally was the working man’s tools. The obvious was Microsoft Office, so I took the opportunity to try out my university allocated Office 2010 student edition. This install took a while, and was the perfect break required to grab something to eat (If you’ve ever formatted a PC before you’ll understand the burden of looking blankly at loading bar after loading bar). Last but not least was the Adobe Suite, containing Photoshop, Dreamweaver and the other’s, which any serious website designer designer and computer scientist should invest in.

New PC

So there you have it folks. There are always a couple of additional programs worth installing (Adobe PDF Reader for one) but that’s my run down of the apps I installed on day one. I must say, it feels good to see the amount of space on my C:/ Drive again, and the PC feels as sharp and responsive as the day I built her.

It, I mean it.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 

Google Chrome integrates new ‘down for everyone?’ feature

On September 1, 2010 in #60SecondShout, Development, Internet.
0

Ever gone to a popular website like Facebook, Twitter, Apple or even Google to find it’s down? And then have you ever wondered if it’s a problem with their server or your connection? I know I have, and it’s really frustrating, especially when you start ranting (“It’s down AGAIN!“) on Facebook (Or Twitter if Facebook is down!).

There is a simple solution. http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com is a superbly simple web 2.0 styled page that checks out a domain to see if the issue is global, or if you have just been impatient. This solves the problem, but requires going to a whole other website and copy/pasting the web URL.

Google Chrome has reportedly shortened the whole process even further, by integrating the server check function right into it’s ‘cannot find the requested page’ message. A small peice of text may now appear under the main and usual body of text which reads: “Other users are also experiencing difficulties connecting to this site, so you may have to wait a few minutes”.

A quick and nifty improvement to, in my opinion, the best browser on the market today. Way to go Chrome!

Tagged with: • • • • • •