Redeem code Mountain Lion for developers

Today I found a cool thing that Apple does for registered Mac developers - free redeem codes are available for installing the Mac Os (Lion / Mountain Lion). 

Big surprise for me, wasn't expecting that -  also saved me 20 bucks  :) 

iPhone XIB not receiving events in iPad environment

iPhone XIB not receiving events in iPad environment?

When running an iPhone app on an iPad 2/iPad 3 I realized the touch events are not received by the active view controller. After a lot of searching found the solution: start the app in full screen when ran on iPad (this can be set directly in the plist: Status Bar Initially Hidden - true)

Apple programmers' sense of humor

How about this exception message :)) 

-[__NSCFCalendar components:fromDate:]: date cannot be nil

I mean really, what do you think that operation is supposed to mean with a nil date?

An exception has been avoided for now.

iOS6 - shouldAutorotateToInterfaceOrientation not called

Haven't written on the blog for a while now - here's a good reason for doing that: when launching an older app (that was build on iOS4) in the new iOS 6 simulator, I discovered that the shouldAutorotateToInterfaceOrientation is not called.

After a little digging, I found out that this is the new behavior for new iOS 6 that is NOT backward compatible... WTF Apple, really?...

So, If you see old apps that act funny on the new iPhones, you should know that developers have nothing to do with that...

Here's how this can be "fixed" - for landscape in this particular case:

1. Make sure that you set a root view controller that contains/is your displayed view controller.

    [self.window setRootViewController:nav];

2. Add the new methods in the displayed view controller

// this is for iOS < 6

- (BOOL)shouldAutorotateToInterfaceOrientation:(UIInterfaceOrientation) interfaceOrientation

{

    // Return YES for supported orientations

    return UIInterfaceOrientationIsLandscape(interfaceOrientation);

}

//this is for iOS >= 6

//crappy iOS6 fix,'cause the should Autorotate to interface orientation doesnt get called

- (BOOL) shouldAutorotate

{

    return YES;

//    UIInterfaceOrientation orientation = [[UIDevice currentDevice] orientation];

//    return [self shouldAutorotateToInterfaceOrientation:orientation];

}

- (NSUInteger)supportedInterfaceOrientations

{

    return UIInterfaceOrientationMaskLandscape;  

    

}

iPhone 4S or iPad?

Before the iPad, every morning I used to power on the PC/laptop to check my emails and news.
Before the iPhone 4s, every morning I used to check my emails on the iPad
After the iPhone 4s release, it seems I am using the iPad on special occasions...
So...

NSString values in XCode Debug

Have you ever had to stop your program, insert a NSLog() to display a NSString variable just because the debugger in Xcode shows only the address?

Here is how you can see the content of a NSString during a debug session:

1. Right click/Context Menu - Show Formatted Summaries 

2. Print Description of "variable"

The second method works with other object too, like dictionaries (in theory at least, haven't tested yet).

So.. I hope this helps you show a NSString in Xcode without stopping and recompiling the program.

iLovePiano & AppStore Reviews

I usually write reviews in AppStore for apps that I truly love or apps that are really annoying.  I guess most of the users do the same thing. 

That being said, I am proud to paste below some of the customer reviews that were written for the apps.

Because I can't reply in the Apple's App Store, I will do it here: Thank you all for your support and for your high desire to learn music and how to play the piano!

Thumbs up ★★★★★

by Alysonjon - Version 1.1 - May 30, 2012

I like this app, its helping me learn the basics and right now thats what I need. Now I could tell you where and what each key is(so far only the white keys because I'm only on the 2nd lesson), before I got this app I wasn't so confident. Thank you to whoever made this app :)

Great ★★★★

by Castei - Version 1.1 - May 5, 2012

This app really helps you to learn piano keys, notes and sounds. It is particularly helpful for beginners who need to understand and practice reading music and how it relates to the keys on the piano. This app isn't for playing songs as such, it's more like a daily workout for your brain, so it can be tedious but press on and you will benefit from the exercises.

 

Piano teaching tool ★★★★★

by Leftycombo - Version 1.0 - May 19, 2012

As a piano teacher I am always looking for good sight reading games for my students. This is one of the best so far. I have tried it out on some of my students, and they all liked it. The scoring system is a plus, because it gives them a goal. The custom lessons give me the ability to tailor a lesson to a particular student's needs. This is often not present in other games. So, well worth the $2.99!

 

Piano ★★★

by M,T & F - Version 1.1 - May 31, 2012

Great learning tool! Would be excellent if you could also have the option of recording individual students performance over time. Some child friendly options, visual encouragement, rewards would help maintain younger learners attention. Timer does not work on all lessons. Overall excellent.

You can find iLovePiano versions on the AppStore:

iLovePiano - iPad 

iLovePiano free - iPad

 

iLovePiano free - iPhone/iPod

iLovePiano - iPhone/iPod

iPhone 4s app waiting and dissapearing

I tried to install an app on my iPhone today. After entering the password, the apps' icon appeared and under it the text "Waiting". In under a second, the icon dissapeared. I tried installing the app again - the same thing. I tried to install another app, rebooted the phone - nothing, the app would just dissapear after the Waiting message. Finally, I checked the appstore account - it was a wrong one... When testing in app purchase for iLovePiano I used a test accounb that seems to forbid installing apps. Changed the account back and now it's all fine.

iLovePiano for iPad

i Love Piano

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM DOC?
I love it's sound, how deep and clear the notes sound. Being a technical guy, I haven't had any time to study music in school or with a personal teacher.
We all know that music theory is complicated and we all want to learn stuff as quickly as humanly possible. But who cares what an octave is, or what is a chord? Who really wants to learn to read staff music, clefs and all the other weird stuff?  Well... you can learn to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Ode To Joy on YouTube or even by ear, if you're lucky enough. That's cool for playing little bits of music for showing your family and friends  that you can play piano, but if you want to play something more complicated like Hungarian Rhapsody no 2, you will need to learn some notes. Of course the girl playing the piece above has studied music all her life. If we can gain about 2-3% of her piano experience and knowledge then we can play some cool bits.

WHAT DO WE DO?
We try to find some shortcuts, to learn stuff faster without spending 50 hours/week in a piano learning classroom. We try to find apps, documents and tutorials to learn how to play the piano faster. We want to make playing the piano a hobby, not a daily job.

WHAT DID I DO?
I created an app that would help my brain make a connection  between a few elements that can help me play music. We want to know how a note sounds, what's its name, where it's located on the piano and how we should write it on paper. iLovePiano tries to do just that in a quiz-manner. There is no previous learning required, you learn stuff on the go. You can cheat when you don't know an answer. It's all in the benefit of learning.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
It's a little bit hard to explain the concept, that is why I strongly advice you to get the free version of  iLove Piano. Take it for a spin and see what you learn in a few days. Don't just install it and expect miracles. You're supposed to practice a little bit, we're not doing black magic over here.You will have to use it at least 30 minutes/lesson to see some progress.

LINKS & RESOURCES

iLovePiano - iPad Version - Free

iPhone 4s keyboard

I don't usually write a lot of emails on my iPhone and also rarely use French to do that. 

The other day I had to write a email on the iPhone, in French. 

Here's how easy it's to do that, just a few steps: 

1. Enable the French keyboard:

      Settings > Keyboard > International Keyboards > Turn On the Switch next to the desired language (French)

2. Create a new email, hold the Globe key (the one in the left of the Space key) and select the new language.

It's that easy and the cool part is that it comes with spell check for that specific language.

Xcode's interesting behaviour

After renaming a XIB in Xcode, the application would load the old XIB file (even if it did not exist anymore). One would assume that trying to load an nonexistent file would throw an error about that particular file. Well, with Xcode, because it has some weird caching system, the error that crashed the app refereed to one of the missing objects that were deleted before renaming the file.

So... if anyone had this problem, triple check if you load the right XIB name in your code because if there ever existed a file named like that and got deleted, the app will load it from cached information.

AppStore Ratings - Xcode

3 start rating for Apples' Xcode? Come on, really?

iPhone 4s - Reminders

Today I discovered/remembered that iOS 5 came with a really nice feature: Location Based Reminders.

You can have the iPhone trigger the reminders' alarm at a certain Date & Time or at a location (when you leave or arrive at it). 

I find this option useful for stuff like: when I arrive home I should water the plants or take the dog for a walk.

Apple gets a +1 for this one!

http://www.apple.com/iphone/built-in-apps/reminders.html

Internet WOL app for iPhone

I've been searching for an iPhone app that could wake a computer outside the LAN.

After installing a few apps, I discovered WOL Control.

The dots in the mac address are added automatically and the computer info (ip/host, port, mac) is remembered.

It small, simple, easy to use and IT WORKS! 

Download Link:

WOL Control on AppStore

Developer's Site

http://calculatesolutions.com/

Outlook 2010 - export to pst

Ever wondered where the export to pst can be found in Outlook 2010?

Have you been searching for it for at least 30 minutes? 

Have no fear! Here's how you can reach it:

File -> Open -> Import -> Export to pst

Way to go Microsoft & Outlook Team!!!! For the next version please do surprise us, we'll be expecting the save command to be found in the about box, and the send and receive in the freakin' help context menu!

Blackberry Playbook Update - OS 2.0

Finally RIM released the new operating system for Playbook today, 21th of February.
I Haven't had a lot of time to use it but the most important features are: 

- Messages (email client)

- Contacts 

- Calendar

I completed the setup with a Gmail account in just a few seconds, the synchronization seems to work (the calendar and contacts were filled in very fast).

I didn't succeed in syncing with a free Yahoo Mail account (an invalid SMTP server setting issue).

The three apps Messages, Calendar and Contacts seem to work only in landscape mode.

A new interesting app/feature is called PrintToGo. It allows you to copy documents from your computer to your Playbook. Actually you can print the documents to your Playbook using a virtual printer. 

Check it you, it's cool.

Nokia Belle on Nokia E7

Nokia Belle released for "old" models

It's been a few months since Nokia announced the release of Symbian Belle, the new version of Symbian powered phones.

Well, on the 8th of February the update was finally released. The new Symbian Belle is now called Nokia Belle. Nokia seems to be dropping the Symbian name and they are doing the same Ovi. Maybe the brand Nokia is more powerful without the two names...

Installation

Nokia Belle can be installed on the latest phones like E7,C7, N8, E6 etc. To check if your phone is going to receive the update, check this site out: http://europe.nokia.com/symbian-belle.

For installation you must connect the phone to your computer, and using the PcSuite software (or however they call it now) you can easily get your phone up'n'running.

Fist thoughts

After the first update (to Symbian Anna) I was a little skeptical about the new update, but then again, I still had a little bit of hope. It was really a shame that I couldn't use my Nokia E7 because of the slow, weird operating system. I mean, Nokia E7 is a really awesome phone: it has aluminum casing, qwerty keyboard, AMOLED display, enough CPU (~600Mhz), WiFi, A-GPS and I can go on and on.

I installed Nokia Belle:

- it seems to be faster

- flexible widgets (you can move them around at what position you desire)

- 6 tabs for internet browsing (accessible by 1 button click - that is really)

- Android style notification bar (also you can toggle Wifi, Mobile Data, Bluetooth, Silent Mode)

Overall, Nokia Belle is a really interesting update, a  breath of fresh air at a first  glance!

Everybody update!!!

Symbian Programming - still impossible to do

During the last four years I've attempted to write native apps for Symbian powered phones - mainly Nokia. 

I tried taking up programming in C for Symbian a few times but the coding style, program structure, signing process gave me headaches every time.

After seeing QT code I said to myself: "well, this looks human enough - let's give it a try".

As I am writing this post, it's the second or third time I've tried to install the QT Sdk from Nokia and build & run a HELLO WORLD project on their Emulator/Simulator. It's  a shame to say that on a clean Windows XP Sp3 installation, the QT Sdk installer yield an error, reinstalled it - another error.

Created a simple blank application, another error: "module com.nokia.symbian is not installed". 

WTF Nokia - this is just out of the box! It's really extremely annoying - without trying to do anything fancy I JUST DOESN'T WORK?! The same stuff happened with the old C for Symbian setup - you would get like 100 warnings when trying to compile one of their samples provided with their installer...

This is why IOS & Android are 100 lightyears in front of the old rusty Symbian.

I give up...