Android Versus Apple IOS – In the Long Run

I have spent a little time experimenting and developing with both for Apple¬¨‚Ć IOS¬¨‚Ć and Android.¬¨‚Ć Just this wee little exposure using both Eclipse with the Android SDK and XCode for Apple IOS¬¨‚Ć in order to produce working and accessible apps on both devices has given me (in my opinion) enough information to make a prediction.¬¨‚Ć Android in its current state is a generatio behind Apple IOS¬¨‚Ć in terms of overall polish and end user ease of use. ¬¨‚Ƭ¨‚Ć Despite Apple’s more refined system,¬¨‚Ć the framework and process underlying development behind each platform is different philosophically and market wise.¬¨‚Ć This difference in approach I believe will ultimately lead to Android overtaking Apple IOS and becoming the biggest player in the mobile market (and Tablet).

Philosophical Difference:

In something that can be seen as a comparison to the early days of Microsoft versus Apple (With Microsoft winning big time) Android and Apple IOS seem to be in taking up similar positions.

First off Apple IOS only runs on Apple Hardware, this uniformity allows for a great polished feel but also limits the ability of this platform to evolve to meet market demands.¬¨‚Ć On the development front Apple developers have strict guidelines and can only use approved software API’s.¬¨‚Ć This creates a more stable system (less variables) but in many ways stifles the market and ties developers hands.¬¨‚Ć Developers are often left to do a variety of tricks to accomplish tasks that are simply disallowed (special API’s only available to Apple).

Lets looks at Android.  The OS is free and allows all major players to use it in their devices.  This equals good for market and gets big name players behind it, Samsung, Motorolla and HTC are all making excellent smart phones running Android.

Not only does Android open hardware policy encourage competition and innovation in the hardware arena but on the software front its open door policy will win out in the long run.¬¨‚Ć For everyone who has developed an app for the iPhone you know the process of ad-hoc profiles, provisioning profiles, certificates, developer certificates, submission, waiting and rejection.¬¨‚Ć On Android this simply does not exist, you can create an app – and it is almost instantly available online or if you want in the marketplace (literally it appears minutes after submission).¬¨‚Ć Many have commented that this leads to some low quality apps and junk in the market place, this is true but in the long run this is not a major issue.¬¨‚Ć Rather Apps that people want will be created for Android devices – and this will increase the functionality and appeal of Android devices to a larger and larger audience. Lets say I am a nerd and want to run Dosbox on the android – I guarantee it will be available in just a matter of time, no need to jailbreak, no need to do anything special, simply click and install.¬¨‚Ć Apple’s game of cat and mouse with jail breakers may become irrelevant as people who are interested in running special or custom applications will simply move to Android (in fact I think this is already happening).

Imagine you wanted to build a quick little app that allows you take mobile surveys easily from a mobile device.¬¨‚Ć This app could be done at the High School level in a programming¬¨‚Ć class – or could be done in smaller markets who may have use for this.¬¨‚Ć Now the question is how to deploy this custom little app to the market – in Apple’s case you can try the ad hoc provisioning method which equals giant hassle – dealing with provisioning devices and certificates (registering each device individually up to 100) – in other words NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.¬¨‚Ć Or you can try to submit your custom app to the App Store only to be rejected on grounds the App is intended for a small audience – App Store – takes to long – to restrictive = NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.

Compare this to Android build your app, test it, put the APK package on the market place store or simply put it on your website for easy download (skip store all together).¬¨‚Ć End users click on the package install and that’s it.¬¨‚Ć With this open framework the device becomes more useful, apps can develop quicker, and the end user is never left with a feeling of this is restricted and that is restricted.

For those history tech buffs out there, you may remember that Steve Jobs early philosophy on computers was an emphasis against upgrading, against peripherals, and focused on an all-in-one approach.¬† It seems this philosophy is still at work with the iPhone and the iPad.¬† Where is the usb port?¬† You know the simply little port on all cameras, netbooks, laptops, desktops, that allow you to connect to anythings Рlike a keyboard, a mouse, a printer, a memory stick.¬† Where is the slot to add an SD card to give it a little more room, you know like in all those digital cameras or in any other electronic device?

Android based devices are filling in where apple left an open gap and are succeeding.  The Samsung Galaxy and Droid X are good examples, they can do everything the iPhone can and already can start to say plus more.  HDMI out? why not easily put on an android devices.

Despite Apple’s huge early jump start and big lead I believe just like in the 80 and 90’s apple will decline in this new market because it operates in too tight a philosophical control scheme.¬¨‚Ƭ¨‚Ć Android may still be a bit clunky as of this writing but it is catching up fast and developing at a quicker pace.¬¨‚Ć No Flash debate needed here, people ask for it, Android delivers.¬¨‚Ć In fact more and more people are going to lean towards Android when they see that the device is open and able to develop into what they want both on the hardware and software front quickly.

Developers will hang on to Apple in the short term because their App store equals big money.¬¨‚Ć But like all business as the numbers for Android users continues to explode these developers will turn and build for Android. Some will say but what if¬¨‚Ć iPhone goes to Verizon won’t this change the scenario?¬¨‚Ć I argue that a move to other carriers will equal big money for Apple and is probably inevitable, despite this the philosophical approach taken by Apple will still allow for Android to develop and dominant.¬¨‚Ć (Verizon move would simply buy them time.)

I predict 3 Years out Android will dominant the market.  (Apple will still be profitable and going strong as they have a great product but will be noticeably a secondary smaller market.)

Prediction Android Wins

Combing PDF’s with Snow Leopard Preview

With the newest version of Mac Preview the process of combining PDF’s changed slightly.¬¨‚Ć This change has thrown a lot of users off since the graphical display of combining is different and honestly easily confused.¬¨‚Ć Here is a ultra quick podcast on explaining the difference between combining a PDF versus listing 2 PDF’s in the same window.

Mac 10.6.5 Snow Leopard Server Update – LDAP Bug

After updating our podcast server to 10.6.5 the other day users emailed me that they were unable to login to services on the server.¬† Sure enough on closer inspection the Open Directory LDAP server was stopped and continued to try and restart every 10 seconds.¬† The problem it turns out is in the slapd.d configuration file Рapparently during the update this file is updated and will no longer match any SSL certificates that were installed.

The fix is quite easy.

1.  Go to /ect/openldap/slapd.d

2.  Edit with a Texteditor the file cn=config.ldif

3.  Look for the following lines and remove them.  Save.  (You will need Root access)

4.¬† Now either wait for the Open Directory service to restart, manually restart it, or better yet simply restart the server.¬† The file will regenerate Рand LDAP will start working again,¬† Kerbersos start soon after.
Some users have had this service stop in the past due to DNS issues,  but if this just stopped working after an update to 10.6.5 chances are this is the problem.

iPhone – An Emotional Bond to the Most Revolutionary Device in the last 3 years

I have been a lover of all things computer since I was in 4th grade, (1985). I have had a 286, a 486 (skipped the 386) a every variety of Pentium PC based computers – even as a young child I formed what can probably be called an somewhat unnatural bound to computers. Fast forward to the year 2010 and I think having such a connection to a computer device is no longer that strange – and in fact most people feel a sense of loss if they are not able to get online when they want (ISP service problems, computer in for repair, you name it).

The iPhone is really the first mobile device that brings the type of connectivity that steps us closer to realizing a vision of a high tech future that was only dreamed about a couple of decades ago. As a young student I remember daydreaming about a future when I could have a miniature television, hand-held gaming device, internet browser, remote access to other machines all from a small pocket size James Bond like device. Strangely this future came a lot quicker than I thought at the time, and is here now.
The iPhone simply makes me more productive, I respond and solve¬† problems faster, am able to retrieve and test solutions on the spot, or network and contact others in a matter of minutes. In fact My laptop is starting to become a little bit more of a desktop in that my phone can substitute itself for over 50% of the daily functionality of my laptop. Once upon a time I cracked my iPhone and shattered the screen (3G model) РI will admit I felt a sense of loss РI was truly hurt.¬† This loss comes from knowing that for the time being I no longer will be as efficient or productive, will not be in as much contact with friends and co-workers, and a seemingly infinite amount of information is now out of reach. On a side note I fixed the broken phone (http://www.gcsdblogs.org/roodhouse/?p=650).

Perhaps you think I am a cult like fanatic of all things Apple since I give such a positive response to the iPhone – if this is the case you would be mistaken.¬¨‚Ć I have multiple PC’s in my home, run Windows 7 ( and two flavors of Linux, and OX 10.6) and in fact have been more of PC guy most of my life.¬¨‚Ć I feel I am just being honest when I call the iPhone a revolutionary device.

What about the Droid you ask?¬† My wife has the Droid X and this phone has potential РI would say in its current state not quite as polished as the iPhone but sure is getting close РI can relate to someone who would claim to have a similar connection with an android based mobile device.

What about the iPad, Zune, iPod touch, or other mobile platforms?¬¨‚Ć No these are all definitely interesting devices but I think they don’t quite hit the mark in the sameway as the iPhone, I need access everywhere and at anytime, it must fit in my pocket -, last all day – and help me in my life and work – so far this is only the iPhone (with newer Android phones getting a close second place)- Windows Mobile 6 and 6.5 are just not good (have not played with Windows Mobile 7 so will hold off for now on any comment).

Why not the iPad?¬¨‚Ć So far in its current state this machine just doesn’t have all the necessary components and its restrictions make themselves felt just a little too strongely.¬¨‚Ć Data and file management is poor on the device are still in early stages of development, there is too many things I cannot do with the device at the moment and its overlapping with functionality of the iPhone just doesn’t quite give it the Ummph that it needs in my book.¬¨‚Ć Close to size of a laptop but with only 256 megs of Ram a little weak on specs (Most laptops come with 4,096 megs standard)- ARM processor that is efficient and good on battery but is just not really that powered for day to day computing, no camera, no SD slot, and still a little too tightly controlled via Apple (missing some needed Apps).¬¨‚Ć The device is still just frustrating in terms of productivity and is geared more towards passively reviewing information than in actually creating something new, although I must admit it is definitely fun to surf the web on and take on long commutes – just not needed daily.

iPhone Apps – updated WGRG and added 2 new Book Apps

I updated the WGRG 100.5 Radio app (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wgrg-100-5/id374941547?mt=8) to bring it up to the firmware 4.x.¬† The main update is that the app is now able to stream the Geneseo High School Radio station in the background so you can listen to the game and check you email or surf the web.¬† I also changed some of the graphic layout and added a audio signal bar.¬† I have had a few people point out that this app no longer works with the 3.x firmware and that is indeed true, since the API ability to run music in the background is only available on firmware 4.x Рif you update your device it will work well.

I also added a new App the Princess and Curdie (http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/princess-and-curdie/id395437348?mt=8) which is a sequel App and Book to the Princess and the Goblin.  This app has been available for 28 days and is averaging 10 download a day (not too bad since it is new).

Also just finished an app that I was originally making iPad friendly but instead grew restless (am busy)- moved it back to iphone and quickly finished it while on a trip in Arizona.  This app is called Old French Fairy Tales and is another story I think my3rd grade daughter would enjoy, this book has excellent illustrations by Viginia Frances Sterett (Born In Chicago.)

Roodhouse

My Most Popular iPhone App – Princess and the Goblin

With the start of the new school year one thing I have not had time to work on is iPhone App development.  This evening I decided to login to one of my iTunes Connect accounts and see the status of some Apps I already had created.  I am surprised to find that the Princess and the Goblin App for iPhone is the most popular app by far still averaging 85-90 downloads a week since it was created.  At one point I had started on creating an identical app but of the sequel novel, the Princess and Curdie but only got about 40% finished.  My only guess is that this book is either more popular than I originally thought or that perhaps it is required reading in some classes and students are finding it free on the iPhone store.

My app on Itunes.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-princess-and-the-goblin/id371774919?mt=8

I also have a Princess and the Goblin iPad app Version which is around 60% done and may try to pick up this project when I get a little time.¬¨‚Ć Another similiar project around 60% done is a novel called Old French Fairy Tales – which is another children’s story with excellent illustrations.¬¨‚Ć All of these book iPhone apps feature novels with no copyrights as the illustrator and authors have been dead for over a century.

Reports on iPhone App Download – iTunes Connect

This week.

Last week.

A Few weeks Back.

Installed New WebServer (kind of) – District 228 Site now Powered by XServe G5

The District’s main server http://www.dist228.org or http://www.geneseoschools.org has been powered for years by a Mac Pro G5 standalone machine.¬¨‚Ć This unit was top of the line in its day with a 1.5 gigs of RAM, a G5 1.6 GHZ processor, and a SATA hard drive with 80 gigs of storage.¬¨‚Ć Unbelievably this unit is actually water cooled and is the only Apple water cooled computer that I have ever seen.¬¨‚Ć To the credit of Apple this machine has worked well and continues to run although the hard drive has shown signs of wear and will soon fail.

Old Webserver Mac Pro

At one point in the School Districts history student records were managed with PowerSchool, to power this program a rack mountable XServe G5 was purchased.¬† This unit has 4 gigs of RAM, dual G5 PPC processors at 2.3 GHZ, and three drive bays with a RAID storage controller.¬† PowerSchool no longer exists here in District 228 (and rumor has it will no longer be supported anywhere in 6 months РThis project once was owned by a startup, then Apple, then sold to Pearson in 2006) and thus this server has not really been used for anything or than storing student transcripts for its brief time in service.

This little used PowerSchool Server has the perfect specs for an excellent web server more RAM, more processing power, better storage capabilities.


Steps taken to Move the WebServer to New Hardware

1. The Project consisted of backing up existing Web Server. (Simple used TimeMachine on external Drive).

2. Fixing the XServe needed a new Power Supply, needed to be upgraded from 10.3 to 10.4 so that it was able to restore a backup from 10.5.  Most time consuming step,  since the XServe was running 10.3 Panther, it had to first get upgraded to 10.4 before it would accept or run installer to restore a time machine image.

XServe G5 PowerSupply (135.00$ GSX Price)

XServe G5 Internal – New Power Supply Installed

3.  Restore Backup Image to XServe

4.  Fix the Apache Configuration on new server (install new PHP module 5.2).  Good to run latest stable builds of Apache and PHP when moving to a new system.

5.  Test new system (fix minor errors, PostFix problems, permission errors)

6.  Go Live and Power Down old Server.

Site is up and running on the XServe and is working well.

New Webserver Rackmounted at the Middle School

IPhone App WGRG 100.5 Approved – Geneseo High School Student Radio

Last Week Apple approved my iPhone app WGRG 100.5 FM.¬¨‚Ć This app connects to the ogg online radio stream for WGRG 100.5 FM, Geneseo’s High School radio station.¬¨‚Ć This was created with Geneseo sports in mind,¬¨‚Ć often I find myself out of town on the weekend and it can be difficult to get a live or current score on Geneseo Football.

Click here to view the app in iTunes

With any iPod, iPad or iPhone and a signal you can now listen to the live broadcast anywhere in the world. Works well on EDGE network so app is great for the iPhone.  I have considered making a blackberry version of this app but will wait and see if there is sufficient interest.

The radio feed itself is being broadcast using winamp and edcast (lame mp3) to capture the audio and is streamed using icecast.  All products are open source and free.  You can read about how I stream the audio online in an earlier post here.

App is free on available on the iTunes app store.

Two New iPhone Apps approved (Princess and the Goblin & Emergency Dial)

My two new iPhone Apps

Emergency Dial

Princess and the Goblin

My First iPhone App

Roodhouse Tech Blog iPhone App

I have spend a little more time familiarizing myself with mobile app development on the iPhone and now have two more approved apps on the itunes app store.¬¨‚Ć The first app is called the Princess and the Goblin and is my first attempt at creating a mobile reading platform for the iphone.¬¨‚Ć The app is free and straightforward featuring over 30 high res illustrations and sketches along with the entire text of the novel. Since this is a chilldren’s fantasy story I thought including full illustrations a definite must and was surprised that larger free domain literature warehouses like Gutenberg do not include illustrations.¬¨‚Ć I also have hopes for this being my first iPad specific app as well since I am almost finished working on a modified version of this app that uses the better screen resolution on the iPad and includes more illustrations.

Here is a screen shot of this app from the itunes App Store.

My next recently approved app is called Emergency Dial.¬† The concept is simple and comes from a friend of mine(Thanks Tom).¬† How does a 3 year call for help on an iPhone?¬† With many families abandoing landlines and only having cell phones this can actually present a real issue.¬† This app Рcurrently free as of this writing is straigtforward and acts like a modified Speed Dial.¬† With a Red Phone Icon you simply go to settings and setup a special emergency number (the police, 911, relatives, etc).¬† Then when you hit the red button this number is automatically dialed.¬† Simple and to the point, a 3 year old can simply hit the red help phone button and help is called.

Here is another iTunes App Screen shot.

Created First IPhone App – Repost of Guide to Submitting IPhone App

Using the 3.2 SDK development tools from Apple I developed my first IPhone app.¬¨‚Ć The goal of this intial project was to simply create a working functional app and submit it to ITunes – as a kind of test run to see what is involved in the process.¬¨‚Ć The SDK tools for XCode are well polished and their is a multitude of API’s available to get things moving.¬¨‚Ć For this App I decided to make a simply program that launches a web browser (without an address bar – so you get a more full screen effect) and add two buttons at the bottom for Back and Forward.¬¨‚Ć This App simply goes directly to my IPhone optimized blog and is able to play embedded podcasts etc.

The process of compiling the software with the correct Iphone framework and correct security certificates is not that straightforward.  There are guides available from Apple but I found this guide to be the most useful.  So useful in fact I will post it in its entirity here in case anyone else is looking for a step by step method of submitting an app.

http://adeem.me/blog/2009/04/04/list-guideline-for-submitting-iphone-application-to-apple-store/

—— Start of Guide ——

I assume that you have iPhone Developer License. Please follow the following steps, one by one:

  • Step 1:

    Certificate is very important part for submitting or testing your application on iPhone. It has the code-sign(Signatures) which will be checked when you submit your application on apple store or to test it on your iPhone. (You can bypass those to install application on your jail-break iPhone or to submit it to Cydia but you will not be able to submit it to appstore. Check my previous post to bypass code signature).There are two steps to create a certificate from developer portal. I simply copied those two from “iPhone developer portal”

    1. Generating a Certificate Signing Request
    2. Submitting a Certificate Signing Request for Approval

    Generating a Certificate Signing Request

    1. In your Applications folder, open the Utilities folder and launch Keychain Access.
    2. In the Preferences menu, set Online Certificate Status Protocol (OSCP) and Certificate Revocation List (CRL) to “Off”.
    3. Choose Keychain Access -> Certificate Assistant -> Request a Certificate from a Certificate Authority.
    4. In the User Email Address field, enter your email address. Please ensure that the email address entered matches the information that was submitted when you registered as an iPhone Developer.
    5. In the Common Name field enter your name. Please ensure that the name entered matches the information that was submitted when you registered as an iPhone Developer.
    6. No CA (Certificate Authority) Email Address is required. The ‘Required’ message will be removed after completing the following step.
    7. Select the ‘Saved to Disk’ radio button and if prompted, select ‘Let me specify key pair information’ and click ‘Continue’.
    8. If ‘Let me specify key pair’ was selected, specify a file name and click ‘Save’. In the following screen select ‘2048 bits’ for the Key Size and ‘RSA’ for the Algorithm. Click ‘Continue’.
    9. The Certificate Assistant will create a CSR file on your desktop.

    Submitting a Certificate Signing Request for Approval

    1. After creating a CSR, log in to the iPhone Developer Program Portal and navigate to ‘Certificates’ > ‘Development’ and click ‘Add Certificate’.
    2. Click the ‘Choose file’ button, select your CSR and click ‘Submit’. If the Key Size was not set to 2048 bits during the CSR creation process, the Portal will reject the CSR.
    3. Upon submission, Team Admins will be notified via email of the certificate request.
    4. Once your CSR is approved or rejected by a Team Admin, you will be notified via email of the change in your certificate status.


    Download/Installing Certificate on your machine

    1. Upon CSR approval, Team Members and Team Admins can download their certificates via the ‘Certificates’ section of the Program Portal. Click ‘Download’ next to the certificate name to download your iPhone Development Certificate to your local machine.
    2. On your local machine, double-click the downloaded .cer file to launch Keychain Access and install your certificate.

    Certificate is installed on your MAC now the next step is create a App ID. (Note:You have to follow this step only once and later you don’t have to make certificates for your other applications.)

  • Step 2:

    Creating an App Id is very easy, you have to follow few simple steps:

    1. Log in to the iPhone Developer Program Portal and navigate to ‘App IDs’ and click ‘Add Id’.
    2. In “App Id Name” enter the name of your application (i.e iphoneapp) and in “App Id” enter something like com.yourdomain.applicationame (i.e com.adeem.iphoneapp) and clicked on Submit
    3. Please write done the “App Id” because you will used this in Info.plist, Bundle identifier tag

  • Step 3:

    Now the next step is to create a Provisioning File for your Xcode and this will be your last step for creating binary which you submit it to appstore.

    1. In to the iPhone Developer Program Portal and navigate to ‘Provisioning’ > ‘Distribution’ and click ‘Add Profile’.
    2. Now select “App Store” in “Distribution Method”
    3. In “Profile Name” type your application name (i.e iphoneapp) which will be your provisioning profile name as well.
    4. In “App ID” select the app name (i.e iphoneapp) which you created in Step 2
    5. Download the Provisioning profile and copy it to your /YourUserName/Library/MobileDevice/Provisioning Profile

  • Step 4:

    Now everything is step up, open your project in Xcode

    1. Select your project from “Group & File” in left side bar and click on “i” ( info ) button.
    2. Move to “Configuration” tab and select “Release”. Press the “Duplicate” button from bottom, name is “iphoneDistribution”.
    3. Click on “Build” tab and select “iphoneDistribution” and type in “Search in Build Settings” filed ‘Base SDK’ and select the current selected Device and change it to what device your application is targetting ( I prefer “Device – iPhone OS 2.0)
    4. Now in “Search in build setting” field type “code signing identity” and select the provisioning profile you created in Step 3. Also do the same thing for the child property “Any iPhone OS Device”.
    5. Now Close the Info screen and select the “Target” > “YourApp” from “Group & File” in left side bar and clicked on “Info” button again from Xcode.
    6. Repeat the step 3 and 4 again for safe side.
    7. Now Info screen is still open clicked on “Properties” tab and in Identifier field type the “App Id” (i.e com.adeem.iphoneapp)
    8. Everything is set up, click on “Build”(cmd+B) from Xcode>Build
    9. Now right click on “Product”>”YourApp” and select “Reveal in Finder”. This is your binary file so please zip this file.

  • Step 5:

    Now you are done from Xcode and iPhone Developer Protal. Now you will submit this binary to itunesconnect.

    1. In your browser type https://itunesconnect.apple.com/ (this website is very slow over https) and login using your iphone developer account.
    2. Click on “Manage Your Account” > “Add Application”
    3. Now answer simple question from apple and submit your application to appstore. Few thing you should have before you submit your application there in System/Mind:
      • Application Name ( must be uniqe)
      • Application description
      • Application Category
      • URL for your application feedback
      • Icon of your application in 512‚àö√≥512 size
      • Main picture of your application in 320‚àö√≥480 or 320‚àö√≥460 size. (Optionaly you can submit up to 4 more pictures of your application as well)

—– End Of Guide —–

As you can see the process is a little intensive probably requiring 2-4 hours of time.
Here is a screenshot of my App. (Roodhouse Tech Blog – bottom right hand corner).

It still remains to be seen if Apple will approve of my free App but I am now familiar and confident in the process of design/compiling/and submitting.¬¨‚Ć With this first project down I am going to start development a more full featured and functional application.¬¨‚Ć If you are looking for my app – it is not yet listed as it is still being “evaluated” by Apple :).

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