February 2012
6 posts
2 tags
Important Information for Wooden Rows Users
Wooden Rows saw a really nice launch! In about 8 hours from the time it was launched, over 53,000 items were added to users’ libraries, averaging about 547 items per user. This is a great response!
However, I may have jumped the gun and launched a day early.
Apparently, Amazon’s Terms of Service for their API state that their API cannot be used with applications intended to be used...
Ladies and Gentlemen -- I give you my first... →
Wooden Rows has been released on the webOS TouchPad, with an Android and iOS version coming this month.
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Another Contribution to the Open Source Community:...
I’ve always been a big fan of open source. It’s how I’ve learned how to do most of what I do. I’m also a fan of getting some income from my app sales. I’ve struggled to find a balance between the two.
While I know open sourcing doesn’t always negatively affect profits of an app, I’m not sure I want to risk it.
So, I’m not positive if apps like...
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Arrrr! Me Opinions on App Piracy
A lot of talk about piracy in the webOS world has been taking place and I felt like commenting on it here.
First, let’s get this out of the way: piracy, by definition, is theft and theft is illegal. Piracy is in fact illegal, according to pretty much every country. This isn’t an opinion; it’s a fact.
The controversy over piracy isn’t whether it’s illegal or not;...
St. Baldrick's →
Hey guys! If you’re not familiar with St. Baldrick’s, it’s the cool organization that gets people to shave their heads in solidarity with kids undergoing cancer treatment. By promising to shave my head at the local event here in New Orleans, I’m asking friends and family to make a donation on my behalf.
100% of the donations go to cancer research grants.
So, if you can...
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Wooden Rows webOS Release and an incredible! Price...
It finally happened. I’ve finally submitted Wooden Rows to HP. Hopefully it’s reviewed and approved quickly.
In case you don’t know, Wooden Rows is a visual database of your books, music, movies, and video games. You can sort and search your library almost any way you’d want to. Want to watch a movie? Scroll through your movies in Wooden Rows instead of standing in front...
January 2012
3 posts
12 tags
Reflecting on Making the Dumb/Smart Decision to...
So, some time has passed since the open-sourcing of the Enyo framework and I’ve had some time to put aside my “Oh my god! Oh my god!” excitement and start formulating a plan and to reflect on what being a webOS developer has afforded me.
Let’s Take a Step Back Mid-2009, Palm shows off the first webOS device, the Palm Pre, at CES. I happen to be in the market for a new...
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Enyo Goes Open Source: Now What?
I’m pretty excited about the open-sourcing of the Enyo framework. This means big things for me as a developer, so I thought I’d comment on what my plans are.
Finish Developing Wooden Rows. This should happen this week, with a submission to the webOS App Catalog this weekend. (Hopefully!) The app, as promised, will be available on webOS first. It is TouchPad-only at the moment, but I...
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Tips on Contacting Your Congresspeople About SOPA
Obviously, you’ve heard about SOPA and PIPA, the bills that will give the government unfettered authority over the Internet. I won’t go into details here as others have done it far better. But it’s important for you to take action and let your Representatives and Senators know how you feel. They take an oath to vote as their constituents want them to vote. Yes, there’s...
December 2011
7 posts
2 tags
24 Hours on Android as a webOS Guy
I’ll preface this post with some back story. When I first got a cellphone in like 2001, I was a Verizon customer. My first for-real job found me becoming their Director of Technology right after I graduated high school and they offered to pay for my cellphone, but it required me to switch to their plan, on Sprint. So I did and got a nice little LG camera phone. A few years later, I left the...
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Important Notice About Zhephree Availability and...
So, if you recall, a little over a month ago, @zeldamac and I got married. Around that time I made a similar post about how I wouldn’t be available.
That time is coming up again! We’ll be on our honeymoon/holiday break at the end of the year, so I will not be able to offer support for my apps during this time.
I will be unavailable from December 22 until January 3.
If you have...
I Work For The Internet →
staff:
We work for the Internet. And we’re guessing many of you do too. Whether it’s researching, selling, coding, supporting, designing — so many of our careers depend on the Internet.
One argument that’s been made to Congress is that the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is needed to protect American jobs. In truth, the new liabilities this bill would impose on startups could stop American...
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A Solution to the Social Web Gender Problem
Pretty much everything we do on the web these days requires some sort of account or profile. We gladly (or sometimes, begrudgingly) fill them out. We enter our name, location, maybe a birthday, our gender, and hit “submit” and move on with our day.
But for many people, that little “gender” field sometimes is source of hesitation. Generally, a site will offer two choices:...
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Some Answers to Some Wooden Rows and Zhephree...
I’ve had a few questions asked about Wooden Rows and the new Zhephree Accounts, so I thought I’d address them in one place.
Are Zhephree Accounts free? Yep! Always will be. The apps that’ll use Zhephree Accounts will be paid apps in the various app stores/markets/catalogs/etc, so that’s where support for the services will come from. That way you only pay a low fee once (to...
4 tags
Introducing Wooden Rows
So, after about a two-week long contest to see who could guess what my new app would be based off a few hints I dropped on Twitter, Rod Whitby, Mr. @webosinternals himself, correctly guessed it. While his guess wasn’t 100% correct, it described two core features of the app, neither of which could exist without the root of the app. So, without further ado, allow me to introduce Wooden Rows!
...
November 2011
3 posts
2 tags
For My Next Trick... (New App and a Contest!)
I’m still here and I’m still developing for webOS! My next app will possibly be my last webOS-exclusive app. That doesn’t mean I will stop developing for webOS. It just means that my apps will likely be cross-platform from here on out. I may even move some apps to other platforms…
I’ve been teasing my new app on Twitter lately; trickling out some hints here and...
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Important Info About Zhephree App Support Next...
Hey, everyone! Just wanted to give you guys a quick heads-up about my availability soon.
Since I have four apps out in the Catalog, I figured I should let my users know that I will most likely not be available to respond to tweets or e-mails over the next week and a half since I’m getting married next weekend.
I will absolutely respond to support requests via Twitter or email once I return...
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I (sorta) Fixed Google Reader
So, Google went and changed Reader. I don’t hate it, but a few things irked me. One, it didn’t make use of your full screen width for articles, the navigation bar was too wide, and the bar at the top was too fat.
My biggest complain though, was sharing. They took out native sharing and sharing is through Google+ only. This sucks, but I’ve worked around it. But the little +1...
October 2011
4 posts
1 tag
Clarifying My tweets
Earlier today I went on a mini-Twitter rant about switching platforms from webOS and apparently some people didn’t quite follow my point, so, I’ll explain here.
Laying Down the Facts I’ve been a webOS user and developer the same amount of time — since October 2009. During those two years, I’ve learned a lot about development, business, and the mobile industry....
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HP: I have some demands. (Or: "I just wasted a lot...
HP and Palm are notorious for over-promising and under-delivering, and I’m sure all the personnel changes over at HP haven’t help the matter any. HP has suggested and promised a lot of things, mostly prior to the hardware cancellations. There are a lot of little tiny things, though, that get under my skin as a developer and so I want to make these requests to HP, no matter how in vain...
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Why am I only Getting 1 Point for Every Check-in?
A handful of users have been reporting that the webOS foursquare app is only awarding them 1 point for every check-in, whether they’re the mayor or not.
I’ve talked to foursquare and this is not a bug, but rather a change in how points are calculated for off-the-grid check-ins.
Normally, if you are the mayor of a venue, you earn 3 points instead of the usual 1 point. However, now if...
5 tags
On webOS, the iPhone, Technology, and "Fanboyism"
With all the talk of the iPhone 4GS, and with the recent webOS hardware halt, I figured it was time to speak up.
I always had basic cellphones — make a call, send a text. I eventually got into hacking my Brew-enabled phone and getting some decent apps on it. I even wrote an app that would mark incompatible apps as compatible so I could run pretty much anything on my crappy LG flip phone.
...
September 2011
5 posts
1 tag
Brief Update on incredible!
I haven’t updated you guys in a little while, and that’s partly because I’ve been working hard, and also taking some more time to hang out and do non-code stuff.
However, I have been working on a new version of incredible! and I wanted to give a rundown of what, so far, should be expected.
Twitter Profiles. Yep, they’re there. I wrapped them up last night and they look...
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PreCentral App Review: incredible! →
As it’s sitting in app review limbo right now, PreCentral was given an advance copy of the app to review. Very favorable review! Thanks!
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IMPORTANT NOTE TO INCREDIBLE! DONORS (Updated)
So, as you may have seen on Twitter late last night, I submitted incredible! for the TouchPad to Palm. It’s patiently awaiting the folks in Sunnyvale to wake up and approve it.
And, as many of you recall, I held a campaign about a year ago for the community to donate money towards the development of incredible!. One of the bonuses of donating was that, aside from other random rewards (which...
1 tag
incredible!: A Year in Screenshots
Since the launch of incredible! is near, I thought I’d give an overview of the journey it’s taken from October 2010 to today:
As you probably know, incredible! started out as a Mojo app for webOS phones. It still exists as that and may one day be released, but for now, its DNA (duplicate detection algorithms, etc) live on in the Enyo app. Show here is how the main stream used to...
August 2011
18 posts
mondragon7 asked: I have neato! on my pre2 and have had it since the days of my pre- when you first released it. Just recently it has been launching about 7-8x every time I receive a text message and keeps generating a "message sent" notification. I am uninstalling it for now as this becomes frustrating when I am trying to get to the message but I have to wait and let neato! cycle through its...
madthoughts asked: My kingdom if you can (at some point) add Tumblr to incredible!. Looking forward to it.
Making AppCat Pages Have Clickable Thumbnails
It’s nice being able to view webOS AppCat application listings on a desktop computer. However, the thumbnails, for some stupid reason, are not enlargeable. This wasn’t a big deal with phone apps, but with tablet apps, it’s a big deal. They only just recently added this to the actual App Catalog and it needs to be added to the web listings.
But, for the time being, I made this...
wla2000 asked: I got a solicitation from AmEx to link my AmEx card to a Foursquare account, and then get all sorts of wonder offers. To redeem an offer I would just need to accept it (through Foursquare) and then pay for the product with my AmEx card. I will get a promotional credit on my bill, so the merchant doesn't need to process a coupon or anything. I downloaded your app for my Pre Plus, but...
5 tags
So You Bought a TouchPad: Welcome to webOS!
Welcome to webOS! We’re here for the long haul, and thanks for becoming a webOS user, even if it was only because you had a $100 bucks burning a hole in your pocket. webOS is an amazing thing, so I decided to put together a guide to help make the most of it for you.
Apps, Apps, Apps! The TouchPad has a lot of apps for it (especially when you add in Phone apps, which work pretty well on it),...
7 tags
webOS Post-Mortem: foursquare and neato! Stats
After HP effectively killed webOS devices and made webOS’s future uncertain, they launched a “firesale” this weekend, pushing TouchPads out the door at $99. They’re sold out almost everywhere. This has lead to thousands of new webOS users itching to download apps. I figured it’d be cool to see what happened with my apps over the weekend.
foursquare This is by far my...
2 tags
An Open Letter to HP: Open Source Enyo.
Dear HP,
I love developing for webOS. It’s quick, it’s intuitive, and it’s great for web devs to get into. The big reason this is is because of the Enyo JavaScript framework used to develop webOS apps. It’s a fantastic framework and is easy to learn.
I’ve written a great, unique app for the TouchPad, written in Enyo. I want to continue developing it, and I will...
webOS is Dead! Long(?) Live webOS!
webOS is a great operating system and I enjoy showing off what it can do. As long as it’s around, I’m sticking with it.
I said those words in this Developer Success Story on the webOS Developer site in October 2010. I said those words because I meant them in 2010 and I mean them today. webOS is a great OS and I love developing for it and I will continue to do so as long as webOS...
1 tag
HP Leaving Hardware Biz →
In addition, HP reported that it plans to announce that it will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones. HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward.
I’ll keep an eye and ear out to see what this means for developers and my apps. Sounds like they’re keeping the software, but killing off the...
2 tags
Listen to me talk about webOS, development, the... →
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Cellphones are Stupid.
Call them “smart” all you want — cellphones are stupid. The whole idea of cellphones is insane. Contact me anytime anywhere, even when I’m trying to have dinner with family? Even in the restroom? Even while driving?
Don’t get me wrong; communication between humans is beautiful thing and anything that enhances communication is a good thing. The problem is, they...
1 tag
Mmm... incredible! timeline goodness...
I hate timestamps. They’re generally useless information. However, I know people like ‘em for whatever reasons. So, when you tap on an item in incredible!, the item detail view shows you the “fuzzy time” for that item (“about 6 hours ago”) so you know about how old the item is.
But, because of my hatred for timestamps in timelines (the irony isn’t lost on...
1 tag
foursquare's new lists feature is awesome!
Guys. Guys. GUYS! Have you seen foursquare’s new lists feature? It’s bad ass! In about 15 minutes I made like 10 lists of stuff in New Orleans. It’s super rad.
Top Pizza Places in New Orleans
The Greatest Po Boys (I’m letting my friends help build this one)
Burgers in NOLA
Great Late Night Eats (we have 24hr bars, so you’re bound to get hungry at weird hours!)
...
foursquare: Website and app intermittently down
foursquarestatus:
1:06pm EDT/5:06pm GMT: We’re looking into it now.
1 tag
incredible! update and screenshots
I made some super progress on incredible! tonight. Fixed some bugs but added some improvements. I’ve added the ability to upload photos to Flickr. What’s awesome is that with this, you can upload a photo (or multiple photos!) to Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr all at once! Select your account Group, select your photo(s), type you message, and when you hit the Post button, bam! photo(s)...
2 tags
Huzzah! foursquare v2.8 submitted: bug fixes and...
Ah yes, ladies and gents — the webOS 3.0.2 update that went out this morning for the TouchPad fixed a critical bug in the emulation of legacy (Mojo) apps and the way WebViews are handled. This prevented you from signing in with your foursquare account, which made the app useless. I prohibited the app from being available for TouchPads.
Well, the update fixes the system bug and I made a...
July 2011
10 posts
1 tag
incredible! FAQ
Ok, so, progress on incredible! is going quite well. I don’t want to give any dates for anything because, frankly, there’s no way I can promise I’ll be able to adhere to them. However, I wanted to make some things clearer.
What Version is Almost Ready? The TouchPad (Enyo) version. The TouchPad is currently being pushed by HP a lot, and honestly, the TouchPad incredible!...
4 tags
Newer incredible! Screenshots - Flickr &...
Progress on incredible! keeps on moving! I’ve cleaned up foursquare items and added Flickr support. No photo uploads yet, but that’s coming up. Here are some shots:
Here’s a regular ol’ foursquare check-in. Displays the venue’s address and categories. You also have the ability to not only comment on a check-in, but add that venue to your to do list for those times...
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Newer incredible! Screenshots
So, I’ve been trucking away on incredible!’s development. It’s changed a bit visually, but there’s still more to do (that left side column isn’t staying like that). I’ve gotten Facebook, Twitter, and now foursquare support in the app. I’m stupid and didn’t create any rules to show you how they work, but rules support is there.
So yeah,...
