Release Notes

In this episode, we begin making a wish list for iOS 8. First up: Problems that we experience as users. We share tales of woe connected to the keyboard, autocorrect, music player, and Siri. Then we take a broad look at some rough edges that were never rounded over in iOS 7 on the iPad, […]

Today we’re talking about beta testing. We start with the beta strategy that Bombing Brain Interactive is using for their upcoming release of Teleprompt+ 3.0, and discuss the merits of giving a testing checklist to members of your beta pool. We consider what kind of feedback we solicit from our beta testers, and what kind […]

We continue our conversation on discretionary spending by taking a closer look at conferences and other sorts of social events. We calculate the real cost of attending WWDC, and look at a few conferences that we recommend if you can’t bankroll a trip to San Francisco in June. We make a business case for spending […]

Today we begin a conversation about expenses, particularly discretionary expenses, and how we justify them. We start by discussing the value of travel and socializing, and the sometimes intangible benefits that we derive from them. We take a look at hardware purchases and consider how important it is to have the latest and greatest gizmos […]

Today we look at the controversy surrounding the game Threes! and the many inferior clones of that game that have appeared in the App Store. We start with a brief recap of the Threes! saga to bring those listeners who may not be familiar with the controversy up to date, then we discuss what the […]

Today we have a wide ranging discussion about collecting customer data. We talk about privacy policies, whether anyone actually reads them, and Apple’s sensitivity to privacy issues. Then the conversation turns to a discussion of what kind of information is acceptable for a developer to collect, what information should be out of bounds, and some […]

We’re joined again by special guest Justin Williams of Second Gear Software for the conclusion of our conversation about his acquisition of Glassboard and his experience as an indie software developer. We talk about making data-driven decisions and his choice to drop support for some underperforming platforms. We discuss his aversion to venture capital, the […]

This week we’re joined by special guest Justin Williams of Second Gear Software, purveyor of fine software products like Glassboard and Elements. We cover a lot of topics this week, starting with Justin’s experience with selling entire software products to other developers when he no longer has the time or interest to properly maintain them. […]

Today we explore in a little more depth the dangers of relying on third party dependencies. Specifically, we discuss the problems that Charles has been dealing with as he prepares for the shutdown of his backend provider, StackMob. We discuss the reason for the shutdown, the problems that this has caused for Charles, and his […]

Today we talk about gaming the App Store, and where exactly the fine line is that separates ethical from unethical behavior. Should developers feel uncomfortable in steering only their happy customers towards leaving a review? Is it unethical to incentivize customers to download a free app in the hopes of it climbing the charts? Listen […]