So…
I went to IU’s first annual iPhone Developer Conference today. I saw that there were going to be some empty seats and then I basically got a personal invitation from the staff to come on in (”Who is going to eat these 37 leftover ham sandwiches?”). I couldn’t refuse.
The conference was hashed on Twitter (#IUiPhone) and very well documented on Google Wave (with:public IUiPhone), due in large part to @rec54 and @kmakice respectively – Thanks! Without trying to duplicate what has already been recorded, here are some key quotes from what I would characterize as a set of enthusiastic, insightful sessions…
Steve Hayman
National Consulting Engineer for Apple’s US Education Sales group, trombone enthusiast
From his keynote speech:
There are so many ways to wrap up public data and make it look nice… If you are already an HTML and JavaScript programmer, creating a web application for the iPhone should seem very familiar.
A key advantage of web apps over native apps is that you get them up quickly and deploy them without any hassle.
I cannot recommend the Stanford iPhone programming course strongly enough.
August Trometer
Co-founder and Lead Developer, Yowza!!
On the evolution of an iPhone app:
How to become a millionaire iPhone developer: First, get a million dollars. Then, develop an iPhone app.
The goldrush, the easy money, is over. Get over it. Now you need a great product that sets itself apart.
Apple has set the bar very high with their own design standards. Try to beat them at their own game! If you are successful, they will notice you.
You should spend 50% of your time on design, 35% on coding, and 15% on testing and debugging.
The new interaction metaphor is the finger. . . Now you can touch your data, interact with it. The finger is not a mouse! It’s 55 x 55 pixels, not 1 x 1. All design considerations must take this into account.
Use real-world metaphors in your design. . . A reader app that swipes like a real page, a tip calculator that mimics the bill you see.
Know the rules. Read the HIG (Human interface guidelines) over and over! If you don’t, the app will get rejected.
Focus on user-centered design. Figure out the easiest way for users to complete the most common tasks.
Paper is cheap. Prototype your ideas out on paper over and over again. Sketch every screen, every interaction. Sketch at the size of the iPhone and it will force you to make the app finger-safe.
When Apple reviews your app it will be rejected, and that’s a good thing. They go to the shadowy corners of your app to flush out bugs.
You should always be embarrassed by your 1.0 version. Don’t be afraid of lameness, just get developing.
I’ve downloaded over a thousand apps. I look at them for inspiration, particularly the shiny, graphically superior ones.
Apple has sold over 50 million iPhones and iPods Touch combined. If you write an app that’s useful for you then somebody, somewhere, in some niche will also find it useful.
Marie Kerbeshian
Vice President, IU Research & Technology Corporation
On copyrights, patents, and IU’s intellectual property policy:
If you are using university resources and you invent something patentable, it belongs to the university.
Copyright exists the moment you create something in a tangible medium.
It’s the person who solves the problem, not the person who identifies the problem, that gets the rights.
Overall the conference was well put together and well attended (over 200 people!). Among the attendees were programmers, designers, administrators, students, faculty, and others, and I haven’t met a person yet that wasn’t pleased with the experience.
In fact I’m starting to wish I was notified any time there were 37 leftover ham sandwiches waiting to be eaten somewhere on campus.
. . . Maybe there’s an app for that.