What every iOS Developer should be doing with Instruments

I was just saying the other day how I’d never opened the Instruments tool in Xcode and lo and behold—this article popped up.

I started taking a look at Corgi Corral; CPU-usage is predictably high when playing the actual 1-minute game (since the accelerometer is collecting data), but goes right back down to a negligible amount on the menu screens.

When I try to assess memory usage, my app crashes immediately upon hitting the “record” button. I’m guessing this is either an Xcode issue, or I missed an important project setting somewhere. At any rate, I can see memory usage in the Debug Navigator and there’s a tiny increase in memory over time that concerns me, so I’ll be investigating that!

Pug’s Quest by Ravenous Games

I can’t help but promote the work of other developers making games about vertically-challenged dogs. TouchArcade calls Pug’s Quest a “pixel-powered pug puzzle platformer” and I think that sounds like the best thing ever. Keep an eye on it!

Blogsy is no longer in the App Store

The news of Facebook shutting down Parse yesterday has understandably taken over the conversation in developer circles; however, I also wanted to point out this sad news. Blogsy was one of the first iPad apps I ever downloaded and although the interface looks super dated now (kinda iOS 6-ish), it was really the only iOS blogging app that could even come close to meeting my needs for WordPress.

We tried to come out with a new version of Blogsy (Blogsy II) which would work with the latest version of iOS. Unfortunately, due to the changes in iOS, Blogsy II would become sluggish and basically unusable after dragging in only a few media items (photos or vidoes).

There is still a need for a quality WordPress blogging app on iOS. In particular, I need one that can upload images to WordPress’s media library (including GIFs, which is currently not possible w/the official app). It needs to support different post formats, allow me to edit HTML, and support code insertion plugins like Crayon Syntax Highlighter. Such an app will probably never exist, but a girl can dream, right?

Opening the iTunes affiliate komono

Dr. Drang helpfully reports his earnings from the iTunes Affiliate Program. I signed up for the IAP a couple of months ago and have earned a grand total of $2.23. Someday, I hope my blog can get enough traffic to reach the $24/month average that Dr. Drang has achieved!

At the moment, however, this blog gets about 1,000 monthly views—over half of which are due to a popular question on Stack Overflow that links to it. Guess I just gotta keep writing!

The App Store as an Economy

Good post by David Barnard:

For years, developers have petitioned Apple to allow paid updates and timed trials, and to change other App Store policies. But Apple has made very few meaningful changes to the sorts of policies that would empower developers to experiment with new business models, build more innovative apps, and better assess and manage business risk.

At some point, something’s gotta give…right?

When (not) to use guard

The First Project Trap

I really identified with this post by Ben Burnes:

A beginner’s skill level is years behind where they’ll need to be to create something with the level of detail and quality they often desire. This leads to a dangerous cycle of never being satisfied with the progress you’ve made and being reluctant to release anything publicly.

It’s not easy to accept that my first game is going to be rubbish compared to what I might create in the future, especially when I feel like I’m working so hard on it and learning so much.

But the truth is that I have a looooong way to go and this first effort will not be my best work. However without it, my best work will never become a reality! So, I keep on keeping on.

Apple Previews iOS 9.3

Holy crap, looks like it’s time to hop back on the beta train. (If you haven’t read this over at MacStories, do it now.)

f.lux-like capabilities and multi-user iPad support?

I repeat: holy crap.

Swift Programming Books

Apple Watch Revisited

Nice post by Casey Liss that pretty much mirrors my thoughts and experiences with the watch. I also love my watch, and primarily use it for checking the time, weather, and notifications, as well as setting timers and making sure I stand up once in awhile. Nothing groundbreaking; just little improvements here and there. Also, it’s the most comfortable watch I’ve ever worn in my life, so it’s got that going for it as well.

you can do it

I don’t know how I missed this excellent piece by Aleen Simms. If you’re easily discouraged like I am, go give it a read!

Relay FM – Membership

The Accessibility Of The iPhone 6s

I finally got around to reading Steven Aquino’s review of the iPhone 6s for TechCrunch, and it’s really quite good. For instance, I had no idea this setting existed:

Beyond the individual accessibility features, Apple has added global 3D Touch settings to the Accessibility preferences (Settings > General > Accessibility > 3D Touch) on the new iPhones. Users are able to adjust the pressure sensitivity of the display in three increments: Light, Medium, Firm.

Steven also mentions how he needs to have his iPhone’s screen set at maximum brightness as a matter of accessibility. I have the opposite problem: my eyes are easily strained and at night, I could actually use a setting that’s dimmer than the lowest setting. For Steven’s sake (and many others, I’m sure), I hope Apple will either A) find a way to consume less energy at max brightness or B) consider changing their “good enough” battery life benchmark to something slightly more robust. For people like me, I wish Apple would allow apps like f.lux in the App Store.

The Flight of Art

Can the MacBook Pro Replace Your iPad?

Brilliant piece by Fraser Speirs.