O'Reilly Media: Mac and iPhone

The Minds Behind Some of the Most Addictive Games Around - If you've wasted half your life playing Peggle, Bejeweled, Zuma or Plants vs. Zombies, blame these guys!

2009-11-09T07:56:08-08:10

The gaming industry tends to focus on the high end products, first person shooters that crank out a bazillion polygons a seconds and RPGs which spend more time developing the plot in cut scenes than in actual gameplay. But for every person playing Borderlands, there are scores playing casual games like Bejeweled and Zuma. PopCap Games has been at the forefront of casual game development, with a catalog that includes bestselling titles like Peggle and Plants vs Zombies, in addition to the two previously mentioned. I recently had a chance to talk to Jason Kapalka, one of the founders and the creative director of PopCap. We discussed the evolution of PopCap, how the casual gaming industry differs from mainstream gaming, and the challenges of creating games that can be engaging, without being frustrating.

Announcing O'Reilly Answers - Clever Hacks. Creative Ideas. Innovative Solutions.

2009-11-04T09:55:26-08:11

We're launching the beta of O'Reilly Answers, and I'm inviting you to be part of it. In brief, O'Reilly Answers is a community site for sharing knowledge, asking questions, and providing answers that brings together our customers, authors, editors, conference speakers, and Foo (Friends of O'Reilly). O'Reilly is at the center of an amazing exchange of knowledge sharing and idea generation, and we want you to join us in changing the world by spreading the knowledge of innovators.

Games Top the Charts in the iPhone and Android App Markets

2009-11-03T09:26:16-08:12

While it might be true that the number of Book apps is growing at a faster rate, Games continue to dominate the list of popular U.S. iTunes Apps. Games accounted for about a fifth of all iTunes apps over the past week†, but the category continued to have a disproportionate share of the Top 100 charts, accounting for 52% of the Top Grossing, 56% of the Top Paid, and 50% of the Top Free apps.

Google Shrinks Another Market With Free Turn-By-Turn Navigation

2009-10-29T08:27:44-08:13

Google has announced a free turn-by-turn navigation system for Android 2.0 phones such as the Droid. Read more about the features of Google Maps Navigation.

iPhone Killers, Blackberries and Chicken Parts

2009-10-29T08:27:44-08:14

While a steady stream of so-called iPhone Killers are filtering into the market, Apple's momentum continues unabated. Inspired by his own experiences upgrading to the Blackberry Tour, the author ponders why so many solution providers confuse delivering a bunch of 'chicken parts' with producing an actual, living, breathing chicken. BlackBerry Storm, Palm Pre, the G2, and now Droid have all been touted as contenders to the mobile computing crown, yet the iPhone continues to kick butt.

The Right Stuff: Apple's Q4 Earnings Call

2009-10-21T10:28:12-08:15

The Fourth Quarter was Apple's most profitable quarter ever. Yesterday's earnings call was about two things. One, the iPhone Platform continues to deliver the goods. Two, the continued impressive growth of the Mac, especially MacBooks. As such, it was about the power of the platform as much as it was about the device itself.

Josh Clark's Best iPhone Apps For Business Networkers - Keep Your Business Network Humming

2009-10-16T11:58:12-08:16

"Once upon a time, everyone who was anyone had a social secretary, a person dedicated solely to maintaining the boss's personal network," writes Josh Clark, author of Best iPhone Apps. But those days are long gone. Indeed, it's time to meet your new social secretary: your iPhone. Clark reveals the 10 best apps for business networking in a new O'Reilly Insights on Forbes.com.

Flash to iPhone

2009-10-16T08:56:41-08:17

Adobe, a long time player in rich internet applications wants be an active participant on mobile platforms, including the iPhone. Adobe engineers put their minds together and delivered a solution to work around the problem of the iPhone browser's lack of support for Flash. If the iPhone Safari browser will not support the Flash player, let's use the Flash tools to compile a native iPhone application (ipa) which lives directly on the device. This initiative now gives the opportunity for ActionScript developers to develop applications for the wonderful iPhone and iPod Touch devices.

Snow Leopard Is Location-Aware

2009-10-15T15:04:46-08:18

Shortly after installing Snow Leopard I saw the first evidence of the new location services built into the operating system. I got the new version of Clarke, a Fire Eagle updater. After the install a window appeared that asked me if I wanted to share my location with an application. Finally! So how is Apple doing it? The same they do on the iPhone.

Could Adobe potentially harm the iPhone AppStore

2009-10-15T07:26:37-08:19

Adobe have spent a lot of cycles / years nudging Apple that Flash should be on the iPhone. Apple have firmly just said no, and despite the answer, Adobe keep expecting them to cave due to public demand. The problem with this logic is that Apple won't give in. Let's break this down into two parts: First, Don't poke the sleeping giant. Secondly, just because it's easy, doesn't mean its successful.

Happening Today: Augmented Reality in One Hour - Join us at 10am PT / 1pm ET today

2009-10-14T07:25:28-08:20

In today's free, live webcast Chetan Damani provides an introduction to Augmented Reality. In addition to answering the most common question, "What the heck is Augmented Reality?" he'll cover a range of topics, from the opportunities for consumers and businesses in augmented reality to augmented reality on the iPhone and more. Attendance is limited for today's event, so register now! More Upcoming Webcasts: Nuclear Energy: Future Directions Tokyo Cabinet in One Hour MurderBoarding: It's not about the ideas you keep, but the ones you kill Check out our Webcast page for on-demand videos of past webcasts and more upcoming live events!

The iPhone as a Gaming Platform: Share of Top Apps By Category

2009-10-08T08:27:14-08:21

As a follow-up to my recent post on the Top Grossing Apps list on iTunes, I examined three lists highlighted in the app store: the Top Paid, Top Free, and Top Grossing Apps. Believing that many users scan these lists, developers covet a spot on any of these Top 100 charts. In my previous posts, I've highlighted that Games is the largest† category, accounting for about 20% of unique apps. Let's take a fresh look at the numbers.

Should Apple Give a Rat's Ass that Developers Aren't Getting Rich off of the iPhone Platform?

2009-10-08T08:27:14-08:22

Apple's iPhone Platform is a runaway success relative to just about any metric that you can throw at it, save for one. Where are the breakout successful developers for whom the platform is a 'True Wealth' inducing moment? On the one hand, it is humorous to listen to the woes of 'aspiring' millionaires quibble. On the other, there is a valid argument that Apple's push to drive volume and ubiquity via "cheap" comes at the potential cost of cultivating breakout, transformational apps that cost more, require a longer sales cycle, and thus, more evangelizing to find their beachhead.

Developing iPhone Apps Requires Xcode on the Mac

2009-10-08T08:27:14-08:23

I've had a few questions about the software I used in my previous screencasts. I created the app using Xcode for the Mac. Xcode is a developer tool, and if you want to develop iPhone apps, you'll need to download both Xcode and the iPhone SDK.

Review: Kerchoonz K-box Portable Speaker

2009-10-07T08:55:02-08:24

Project Bar-B-Q is a great place to discover tomorrow's audio technology, so I was intrigued when someone on the mailing list mentioned the new Kerchoonz K-box portable speaker. Could "gel audio technology" really deliver unprecedented bass from a tiny box? The short answer is yes.