iPlotz Not Performing Up to Speed

I took another look at the iPlotz wireframing tool today. At first, this tool looked very promising. Unfortunately, it is a Flash based tool. Flash is notorious for not running well on OS X and iPlotz is no exception. The iPhone components available in the wireframing section were in sufficient to to illustrate the functionality in even a simple application. This tool looks spectacular as a concept but unfortunately is quite limited in its current implementation. Also, the drag and drop barley functions. I can't imagine how long it would take to create even a simple application in wireframes with this tool.

HP Slate: An "Open" Competitor to Apple's iPad?

This video shows that the Windows 7 on HP Slate can offer similar features to the Apple iPad. Further, this device is a full computer running all of the Windows 7 applications you use everyday without restrictions. (And if it runs Windows it will probably run Linux without a hitch too.)

Flash content is fully enabled. Putting all of the video on the web into the palm of your hand. This is a major distinguishing factor for the Slate. It is true that HTML 5 is already running and available to YouTube users. I might add that I have used the HTML5 version of YouTube on my iPad simulator and it runs quite nicely. Still, Microsoft is yet to release an HTML 5 compliant browser. This means that developers will continue to be dependent on Flash (or other browser plug-ins) to provide in-page video content for browsers as old as IE 8, at least.

By the way, IE 6, which was released in August of 2001, just had a funeral and most web content providers would still gasp at the idea of not offering a suitable video option for that browser. If history is an indicator, it will be 2020 before we can actually deliver video content over the web without relying on a plugin. (Also, Steve Jobs doesn't just hate Flash he hates all plug-ins, just read the iPhone SDK TOU)

It is good that this device offers so many options because there is no question that the HP slate will need to differentiate itself from the iPad. Apple is open to reducing the price of the iPad if demand lags, so undercutting the iPad is not an option for HP.

Finally, while on paper, or even in a video, this tablet may look like more than a match for the iPad, I recently had a chance try out the Windows multi-touch experience. It was slow, awkward, and frustrating.

In the end the key factor may be usability. If this Windows 7 tablet frustrates users back onto their laptops, the product could have a short life.

The real competitor to the Apple iPad could just be Google's coming Chrome OS...

How To Be The First To Receive An iPad?

If there turns out to be shortage due to any unforeseen manufacturing issues, the iPad could be quite scarce for some time.

I want to begin development on the device right away. So, my question today is how shall I actaully get my hands on this iPad. Apple says they will be offering it for pre-order on the 12th.

I definitely want to pick mine up from the store. The question is, can I register on line for in-store pre-orders? If I can only place orders for in-store pick-up at the store, should I arrive early on the 12th? Will there be a line?

I'll post any details I find here.

Update: Apple rep says reserve online for in-store pickup.

Objective-C Error: *nil description*

One of the easiest mind boggling errors to run into when developing for the iPhone is the accidental override of NSObject's description method. For those who are new to iPhone Development or Objective-C, the description method is equivalent to the more common toString method found in other languages. This is the method that is invoked when an object is printed to a string with %@ string formatting token.

You will encounter the *nil description* output if your description override returns a nil string. While overriding the description method can be useful in allowing developers to describe their object's contents, it also can cause confusing and unexpected output if the override was unintentional.

...now wouldn't it be nice if obj-c required developers to mark methods as override to ensure that all overrides were intentional?

Creating Apps for iPhone 3.x with / iPad OS 3.2 Beta SDK

After installing the iPhone / iPad OS 3.2 Beta SDK you may notice that the drop down in the upper left no longer allows you to build your new projects to pre 3.2 versions of iPhone OS. That means that you currently can't install your apps on your iPhone.

The good news is that you can build your app to run on any previous 3.x iPhone OS devce.

Simply go into Targets in the "Groups & Files" panel on the left. Then right click on the target with your application name. (There is usually only one target.) Next Choose get info.

A dialog will appear. Under the build tab choose a "Base SDK" of iPhone 3.x.

Now you should be ready to develop iPhone apps for devices running versions of iPhone OS prior to version 3.2.