Thursday, January 14, 2021
New iPhone Idea for a Hobby!
You Need to Make it first .. go here for information!
https://themobileiphonegamer.blogspot.com/2021/01/do-you-want-to-play-game-need-to-make.html
Thursday, July 23, 2020
It's Been Awhile Since I .. Had Windows 10.. An Apple dropped my way!
It' Been Awhile Since I .. Had Windows 10.. An Apple dropped my way!
!! Update: Still using a Mac BUT moved to my other hobby.. Hardware! Now a problem I found out about hardware development is all the development products are Win10 based! So now i'm back using Win10 again! In case if you wondering WHAT hardware i'm talking about, it is hardware that can be used in robotics. So now I am considering adding to this topic stream a site for robotics... so keep an eye out for this if interested! I just want to say thanks for visiting!!
Humm... sounds familiar... wasn't that a song back in the 80s? ...
Well that is what it feels like writing this post! You're probably wondering what I meant by the comment. Well if you seen any of my other posts you know that I like hardware and software. Back then I did a LOT of study into what I could do with the Raspberry Pi and to see if it was possible to be able to use it as a stand alone desktop computer and I can say it was successful!
Then I thought I would play with some Windows 10. I did and it was mostly with Visual Studio! One problem I've always have with Windows 10 is the working environment was tedious after using it for awhile.
Well, I decided to fire up my Mac Mini again and it just feels good to be back home again! I did several experiments using Parallels Desktop just because there were some programs that I liked in Windows and this gave me a way to use Win10 on the Mac, or Linux, or Solarus UNIX! You can tell I was a BIG expermenter! Now that was exciting experience but I learned it to the max too.. But it started to get boring again .. Win10. Ok now I said enough is enough! So back to the Mac environment!
Now that I was back on the right track, I jumped in to Xcode. Xcode is the Mac's way to develop software on the Mac. It has been around since the beginning, but because I was a Windows guy, I never got to really use it!
When I started out, I knew nothing about a Mac... Why? I was a die hard Windows guy! Well when I got tired with anything Windows, I wanted to take a look at the other guys.. and I was very impressed... impressed in the hardware, op-system and most likely the size! But I always had a bad feeling that the price to get one was way out of my league... reason being I was looking at the BIG All In One systems... you know big monitor.. where is the computer!
Very nice BUT my eyes poped out of my head... What!!? Price!!! Mac dreams killed!
But I saw something new ... MiNi?? What!!??
Big plus.. small .. er tiny! Price was more than Windows... but the OP System was so simple. This little Mac was like its big brother but it has the power and the OP System was so simple and clean to use! But What about the monitor.. I didn't want any monitor. I wanted an Apple monitor! So I looked around for a refurbished 27" older Mac 27" monitor and found one for less that $300 to $500! I think I payed for a used one in good condition for about $450! It looks like this one but it is all silver metal case:
It came fully protected and looks like brand new! I was totally happy! I searched and got a set of Apple cables with video converter to mate it to a Mac too ( this was an older model monitor that had the older style connectors. It been working well for over 8+ years now! You just have to search for whatever cables is needed for your Mac model.
Well finally I needed the Mac Mini. Mine is the older 2012 model but the new ones have more ports and ram plus a faster processor! I bought mine as a used model but was guaranteed to run with the Mac OS installed. When I got it, plugged in the cables and followed the instructions, it was that simple! It has since then been updated thru 3 op system revisions plus maxed out with 16 gigs of fast memory and max out with 2 1TB hard drives! Any additional storage is using WD 4TB USB drives.. and I have several! This Mac has been so reliable that I love the op system. Whenever there is a problem with the drive, the OS takes over and during a reboot corrects the error. When it reboots it is as if nothing has happened.. it is that simple!
And the Apple desktop is so intuitive and fun to work with... it all make sense! Very user friendly!
Now so much about hardware, I want software!
So I started reading 2 great books that really fit this area. If you really want to get serious programming on the Mac, these are a must have. They are basically a set of books for anybody interested into getting into the software development on the Mac. They are recommended to be used together, but the author recommends you study it like this. Here is the Amazon links:
This gets you started in Swift programming and Cocoa basics while learning XCode!
2nd: Programming IOS 12
This picks up where the 1st book ends and gives you groundwork for building apps!
Both of these are written by Matt Neuburg and he is excellent being a teacher!
Like I said above, if you want to make software on the Mac while learning the total process of what Xcode can do, this is the way I took.
Also if you want to see what Xcode is all about click on the link below!
Also while you are there, Apple has a HUGE section for becoming an actual Apple Developer! This is what really got me interested in Apple and Xcode. They have tons of videos and training materials. Also another thing I really look forward to is their 2 biggie online presentations on what the current state of Apple company and development seminars. I really look forward to these every year!
This alone beats the other guys by a long shot and this is what I did to get started!
OH! Most important is all this is free !FREEBIE! to get started! .. not the hardware!
What if you should get to the point that you want to !!SELL!! what you make!
So I hope this introduction of how I got started will help you in your future dreams of
becoming an Apple software developer! Apple has you covered in all aspects. You can't go wrong... sorry Windows!
Hey if all this helps you going the Apple direction, I would wholeheartedly want to hear from you! I wish you luck in any of your future endeavors and I am here to help!
Barry Selk
bdspvl@gmail.com
Attn: Apple Help Needed!
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Xcode?
Well it's been way over a year since I made a posting here so I thought I just fill in what I have been doing. As much as I want this site to be about Apple Mac and phone products, I decided at one point to look at Win10. as most of you know, Windows10 has to do with Visual Studio as a development platform. Also since I have Parallels running on a Mac, it allows me to run Win10, which in turn allows me to run Visual Studio. Now since I wanted to get into Objective-C, I decided to give it a try with Win10. Running it on a Win10 gave me the feeling of the old days of Dos development with a feel of a Windows environment. And basically even though Visual Studio has it's set of items that it is famous for, it didn't really have not much to offer when using the environment. During this time I also found out that Visual Studio was coming out for the Mac. I decided to give it a try, and it too reminded me of Win10 Visual Studio.
So then I decided to go back and study more on Xcode. As I began to use it, I realized that the environment has a lot more to offer for the developer. So since Apple was coming out with a new Obj-C and Swift, I turned my direction to these 2 areas for study. Now if you have never used Swift, it is designed for the entry level non-programmer type of person. I discovered this when my grandkids came home with their Apple iPads from school. I discovered that the school was now offering as part of their study Swift programming! Swift programming environment to me is more like the old school Basic programming environment. Everything you do gives instant results in a window. No complier to mess with because it asks like an interpreter environment. You type and make a simple program and run it with results instantly.
Now I also learned that Xcode offers Objective-C with Swift on Xcode, Once I started to use their environment it started to make sense on how Xcode works. But what I learned was Xcode also offers other programming options. This is where it really started to sink in on how thing work on an Apple product. Basically no matter if the output is for an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or the Apple Watch, they all use the same programming setup. Now you can write programs in Obj-C, Cocoa, C++, it doesn't change much. Also the environment has side columns that you can open and close to give you more programming features. The whole environment is highly user intuitive once you get used to it. It is a totally different process which you decide at the beginning to what is the program for what type of device. Once you learn the basics, it is a more interactive type of environment. It uses objects which for example on an iPhone you want a text box. From a list of objects you find a text box and drop it on a screen that resembles an iPhone. From that point on the code is already setup ready to add the guts of the program. Since everything is object oriented, it is far easier and faster to develop a program. The process of using objects was something I used to avoid for a long time because of the theory behind it. I was so old school was the reason why.
Once I started to understand the process, the power of this programming environment became a far better and intuitive way to develop for devices. Like I said the Swift code can also be dropped into the object environment for the programming so how cool is that! But this is a really brief overview of Xcode and there is a far more stuff I need to learn. But I tell you I have more enjoyment using Xcode than I do using Visual Studio, so isn't that what you want when using a tool? But there are far more options for the different programming options that you can choose from than what I talked about here. It is so much more intuitive and powerful in a new way of thinking and it really make a lot of sense. I may never go back to Windows and Visual Studio because this is far better than I ever imagined!
So then I decided to go back and study more on Xcode. As I began to use it, I realized that the environment has a lot more to offer for the developer. So since Apple was coming out with a new Obj-C and Swift, I turned my direction to these 2 areas for study. Now if you have never used Swift, it is designed for the entry level non-programmer type of person. I discovered this when my grandkids came home with their Apple iPads from school. I discovered that the school was now offering as part of their study Swift programming! Swift programming environment to me is more like the old school Basic programming environment. Everything you do gives instant results in a window. No complier to mess with because it asks like an interpreter environment. You type and make a simple program and run it with results instantly.
Now I also learned that Xcode offers Objective-C with Swift on Xcode, Once I started to use their environment it started to make sense on how Xcode works. But what I learned was Xcode also offers other programming options. This is where it really started to sink in on how thing work on an Apple product. Basically no matter if the output is for an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or the Apple Watch, they all use the same programming setup. Now you can write programs in Obj-C, Cocoa, C++, it doesn't change much. Also the environment has side columns that you can open and close to give you more programming features. The whole environment is highly user intuitive once you get used to it. It is a totally different process which you decide at the beginning to what is the program for what type of device. Once you learn the basics, it is a more interactive type of environment. It uses objects which for example on an iPhone you want a text box. From a list of objects you find a text box and drop it on a screen that resembles an iPhone. From that point on the code is already setup ready to add the guts of the program. Since everything is object oriented, it is far easier and faster to develop a program. The process of using objects was something I used to avoid for a long time because of the theory behind it. I was so old school was the reason why.
Once I started to understand the process, the power of this programming environment became a far better and intuitive way to develop for devices. Like I said the Swift code can also be dropped into the object environment for the programming so how cool is that! But this is a really brief overview of Xcode and there is a far more stuff I need to learn. But I tell you I have more enjoyment using Xcode than I do using Visual Studio, so isn't that what you want when using a tool? But there are far more options for the different programming options that you can choose from than what I talked about here. It is so much more intuitive and powerful in a new way of thinking and it really make a lot of sense. I may never go back to Windows and Visual Studio because this is far better than I ever imagined!
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
6. So You Got Your New Apple Computer, Now What?
If you are a Windows guy, well looking at an Apple desktop make you wonder. Where is the start menu, where are the programs at and how do you add programs? The Apple platform is one of the has one of the simplest desktops around. The programs that come preinstalled are shown at the bottom called the Task Bar, which is sort of like Windows. Win10 is sort of like that too.
Now at the top of the screen you see the Menu Bar. It has the same features as a Windows type menu bar. Now on the desktop you should be able to see the drives connected into the system. In my case I 2 hard drives shown and you may not on yours. The common setup usually has 1 drive as mine is called Macintosh HD. This is the main drive for the Apple system. It contains all the software needed to run the Apple OpSystem. The current op system is called OS X or as in my case Mountain Lion. Apple likes to call their op systems by their pet names to distinguish them for older op systems. It is sort of like Window Vista, XP, Win 7, 8 and 10. Then there is Win 7.1, 8.5, 10... and so on. I like the Apple way better because all the op system is FREE!
Now in my case I have a second hard drive called Macintosh HD2. This is for Apple Mac Server software. This option gives you everything you need to run a website server. I decided to get this because of my past work on making websites and it is not required.
Now for the bad news first. If you are running a Windows based op system, and they come out with a new system, it's gonna cost some money. When I went from Windows NT to XP, XP to Win8, Win8 to Win8.1 it all costs for the upgrade. Lucky when I went from Win8.1 to Win10, I signed up for the free update. But to get Win8 to the level that Win10 needed for all features, I had to buy Win8.1 Pro update. This is the main reason I got tired of Windows and all these updates. Now once I got the Apple, the install for the op system was FREE! Then as they updated from the original OS X, all the updates are FREE! One thing I really liked about Apple is they have at least 2 conferences a year where they have presentations about the latest op system fixes and new features. Now being a newbie to Apple, this I thought is fantastic because they are concerned enough to tell fellow Apple users what to look for in the new updates. This covers all Apple platforms from the watch, phones, pads, tablets, laptops, computers and servers. So anybody that is interested, the info is there.
As for running programs, the task bar on the bottom has icons with their labels as the mouse pointer goes on them. These are the apps icons that come with the Apple system. Some of the given are Numbers (spreadsheet), Pages ( word processor ), Keynotes (presentation), Safari (browser) and so on. And to run them is you click on them, thats all! No menus, submenus, etc to go through. Now when apps are installed or run other apps, look for them on the Launchpad. This shows more pages of more apps icons that have been installed. Now to group icons you don't need subdirectories like Windows. You just drag and drop an icon on top of another icon, give it a group name and that is it! No more submenus and sub directories to look for. Just point and click, can't get any easier! Like music? You get music composing software called GarageBand. It makes learning music really simple while using a guitar and a midi keyboard. For me just starting out in music, it is a fantastic way to learn. Also all this is available on almost all the platforms. You learn once and it is the same for all. So that is just a start of the Apple process and it is the best. Now do you think that Apple computer is expensive? Which can be the more fun when using a computer? I'll let you be the judge! Next topic we'll get into the fun topic of development! Thanks for visiting.
Barry
Now at the top of the screen you see the Menu Bar. It has the same features as a Windows type menu bar. Now on the desktop you should be able to see the drives connected into the system. In my case I 2 hard drives shown and you may not on yours. The common setup usually has 1 drive as mine is called Macintosh HD. This is the main drive for the Apple system. It contains all the software needed to run the Apple OpSystem. The current op system is called OS X or as in my case Mountain Lion. Apple likes to call their op systems by their pet names to distinguish them for older op systems. It is sort of like Window Vista, XP, Win 7, 8 and 10. Then there is Win 7.1, 8.5, 10... and so on. I like the Apple way better because all the op system is FREE!
Now in my case I have a second hard drive called Macintosh HD2. This is for Apple Mac Server software. This option gives you everything you need to run a website server. I decided to get this because of my past work on making websites and it is not required.
Now for the bad news first. If you are running a Windows based op system, and they come out with a new system, it's gonna cost some money. When I went from Windows NT to XP, XP to Win8, Win8 to Win8.1 it all costs for the upgrade. Lucky when I went from Win8.1 to Win10, I signed up for the free update. But to get Win8 to the level that Win10 needed for all features, I had to buy Win8.1 Pro update. This is the main reason I got tired of Windows and all these updates. Now once I got the Apple, the install for the op system was FREE! Then as they updated from the original OS X, all the updates are FREE! One thing I really liked about Apple is they have at least 2 conferences a year where they have presentations about the latest op system fixes and new features. Now being a newbie to Apple, this I thought is fantastic because they are concerned enough to tell fellow Apple users what to look for in the new updates. This covers all Apple platforms from the watch, phones, pads, tablets, laptops, computers and servers. So anybody that is interested, the info is there.
As for running programs, the task bar on the bottom has icons with their labels as the mouse pointer goes on them. These are the apps icons that come with the Apple system. Some of the given are Numbers (spreadsheet), Pages ( word processor ), Keynotes (presentation), Safari (browser) and so on. And to run them is you click on them, thats all! No menus, submenus, etc to go through. Now when apps are installed or run other apps, look for them on the Launchpad. This shows more pages of more apps icons that have been installed. Now to group icons you don't need subdirectories like Windows. You just drag and drop an icon on top of another icon, give it a group name and that is it! No more submenus and sub directories to look for. Just point and click, can't get any easier! Like music? You get music composing software called GarageBand. It makes learning music really simple while using a guitar and a midi keyboard. For me just starting out in music, it is a fantastic way to learn. Also all this is available on almost all the platforms. You learn once and it is the same for all. So that is just a start of the Apple process and it is the best. Now do you think that Apple computer is expensive? Which can be the more fun when using a computer? I'll let you be the judge! Next topic we'll get into the fun topic of development! Thanks for visiting.
Barry
Saturday, March 12, 2016
5. What Can Be A Make Or Break For Going Apple
Funny I just realized that by the title above this post gives you the impression that going Apple to make one or break it! Well depending on what side of the window you are on, it could fit that that situation. If you have been around computers as long as I had, that argument of Windows (now Win10) vs Apple (Macs) has always came up as it did for me.
It started out always Win10 because it is all over and cheap. Software for everything is out there, so you never have a hard time finding a type of software you are looking for. And for public domain software (free) is also all over the place. Building a Windows computer from scratch is easy and also there is a wide selection of features available to build a computer from scratch. The reason for this is Windows was originally based on Intel processors like 80286, 386, 486, pentium, pentium pro, etc, etc, etc.
So if you want development software for Windows, it goes from simple freeware to the big daddy called Visual Studio. Most developers go with Visual Studio and since it is made by Microsoft, you have every feature and a wide selection of programming languages to choose from. I used to use it in the past and I would start with Visual Basic to Visual C to Visual C++. One problem I found is you spend a lot of time trying to learn a programming language but because one language is good for simple easily programed programs to a specialized language for game development like Visual C++. But the cost for the full development package is very expensive.
Now for the other guys, Apple. It started out that the early models of Macs were designed so you had to buy a Mac to get a Mac. That was because they used a power pc processor(?? or something like that) in all their computers. That was how it was for a long time. Then several years ago Apple decided to design a Mac using an Intel processor, and it opened up a new way to build a Mac with basically the same components that were used on a Windows computer and gave a bigger selection of processors. Then Mac found out it was far easier to build a Mac as a single board computer. And they also got smaller. This in turn tended to make a Mac with new designs as used in a Mini, tablets, iPads and Macs. They got to where instead of having a computer, cables, monitor, etc. which needed a lot of space to a monitor with all the hardware built in as the whole computer. One thing I was always impressed by is Apple was always thinking outside the box. They had created a computer with features that were always steps ahead of Windows like high speed serial ports in the gigabit range, super high resolution displays, etc.
Now to develop for Apple computer you have only X-Code for coding. It is a complete developer's package which up to recently was only for Objective C and now Swift. As stated in the last post, X-Code is a complete development package for all Apple platforms from desktop Macs down to the iPhones. The library is all standardized so you run the same language for all platforms. The only thing you change is the device platform by selecting the model for example iPhone 4s to iPhone 6s. You write once and generate for others which is pretty cool. One thing Apple saw was that Objective-C has a long learning curve and it takes a long while to learn it. So what Apple did is took the features of Objective-C and made it super simplified and called the language Swift. The feedback for Swift as a development language was designed to speed up programming in less time and was simpler for even non programmers to learn to use. It was a big win for Apple to the point where Apple is now suggesting its use for all Apple programming, and it is free to all Apple developers as is X-Code.
Now for platforms, Win10 computers tend to be cheaper in price than is Apple computers. The first thing I noticed is Apple computers quality is considered high class. You can tell from the way it is built to the accessories are top of the class. A lot of thought has been put into the design of all Apple devices. So if you want a computer that will last for a long time then Apple is for you. Because the processors are built from several companies, the ICs are super customized depending on the device. iPhones and iPads because of the size of the device are super customized. One model for example gives you a complete computer in a package which is 7" x 7" x 1". My customized Mac has a quad core processor with 2 1TB hard drives and 16 gigs of memory in that small package. It also has super high speed serial ports, USB 3.0 and high speed port capability for different display adapters. For me this computer is capable of running as a Apple Mac Server or an Apple Mac. And it is fast. But also this computer is more expensive than a Microsoft PC. And this is true for all the Macs and other devices.
Now this is what I would call the make or break of going Apple. For me after looking at what the computer is capable of doing, the quality of the product, the free development software and the great developer support that comes from Apple, it was expensive at the start but I will never go back to a Windows PC! By the way I can also run Win10, Vista, Linux, Android and Crome op-systems in the Mac environment on this same Mac with no problems! So I know I made the right choice.
Happy computing!
It started out always Win10 because it is all over and cheap. Software for everything is out there, so you never have a hard time finding a type of software you are looking for. And for public domain software (free) is also all over the place. Building a Windows computer from scratch is easy and also there is a wide selection of features available to build a computer from scratch. The reason for this is Windows was originally based on Intel processors like 80286, 386, 486, pentium, pentium pro, etc, etc, etc.
So if you want development software for Windows, it goes from simple freeware to the big daddy called Visual Studio. Most developers go with Visual Studio and since it is made by Microsoft, you have every feature and a wide selection of programming languages to choose from. I used to use it in the past and I would start with Visual Basic to Visual C to Visual C++. One problem I found is you spend a lot of time trying to learn a programming language but because one language is good for simple easily programed programs to a specialized language for game development like Visual C++. But the cost for the full development package is very expensive.
Now for the other guys, Apple. It started out that the early models of Macs were designed so you had to buy a Mac to get a Mac. That was because they used a power pc processor(?? or something like that) in all their computers. That was how it was for a long time. Then several years ago Apple decided to design a Mac using an Intel processor, and it opened up a new way to build a Mac with basically the same components that were used on a Windows computer and gave a bigger selection of processors. Then Mac found out it was far easier to build a Mac as a single board computer. And they also got smaller. This in turn tended to make a Mac with new designs as used in a Mini, tablets, iPads and Macs. They got to where instead of having a computer, cables, monitor, etc. which needed a lot of space to a monitor with all the hardware built in as the whole computer. One thing I was always impressed by is Apple was always thinking outside the box. They had created a computer with features that were always steps ahead of Windows like high speed serial ports in the gigabit range, super high resolution displays, etc.
Now to develop for Apple computer you have only X-Code for coding. It is a complete developer's package which up to recently was only for Objective C and now Swift. As stated in the last post, X-Code is a complete development package for all Apple platforms from desktop Macs down to the iPhones. The library is all standardized so you run the same language for all platforms. The only thing you change is the device platform by selecting the model for example iPhone 4s to iPhone 6s. You write once and generate for others which is pretty cool. One thing Apple saw was that Objective-C has a long learning curve and it takes a long while to learn it. So what Apple did is took the features of Objective-C and made it super simplified and called the language Swift. The feedback for Swift as a development language was designed to speed up programming in less time and was simpler for even non programmers to learn to use. It was a big win for Apple to the point where Apple is now suggesting its use for all Apple programming, and it is free to all Apple developers as is X-Code.
Now for platforms, Win10 computers tend to be cheaper in price than is Apple computers. The first thing I noticed is Apple computers quality is considered high class. You can tell from the way it is built to the accessories are top of the class. A lot of thought has been put into the design of all Apple devices. So if you want a computer that will last for a long time then Apple is for you. Because the processors are built from several companies, the ICs are super customized depending on the device. iPhones and iPads because of the size of the device are super customized. One model for example gives you a complete computer in a package which is 7" x 7" x 1". My customized Mac has a quad core processor with 2 1TB hard drives and 16 gigs of memory in that small package. It also has super high speed serial ports, USB 3.0 and high speed port capability for different display adapters. For me this computer is capable of running as a Apple Mac Server or an Apple Mac. And it is fast. But also this computer is more expensive than a Microsoft PC. And this is true for all the Macs and other devices.
Now this is what I would call the make or break of going Apple. For me after looking at what the computer is capable of doing, the quality of the product, the free development software and the great developer support that comes from Apple, it was expensive at the start but I will never go back to a Windows PC! By the way I can also run Win10, Vista, Linux, Android and Crome op-systems in the Mac environment on this same Mac with no problems! So I know I made the right choice.
Happy computing!
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
4. What Can Hold You Back?
One thing I didn’t talk about is one of the most important things to think about before deciding to start anything. In the last post, I talked about getting the iPhone, but what I didn’t discuss was the cost. Now there were a lot of other phones out there where the price was cheaper and if I didn’t do my homework, I would have probably got a Samsung or other big name phone or an old Android type phone that was cheaper. But after reading about all the other people that had iPhones and really enjoyed them, I decided to bite the bullet and get one. Also having a payment plan helped also. So that is one item I decided to get started with. By the way, i'm still running the same iPhone after 4 years and still find no need to update!
So next I started studying about what type of development program Apple has and how to get started. The more I read about it, I saw that theirs was just as good as Visual Studio that I had experience with in the past. One of the things I was used to with Visual Studio is it costs some big money to get it. But I was used to the Microsoft way and paid the cost to get it. It is really good software because it covers C++, Visual C, etc. so it gives you a big selection of programming languages to pick from for the Windows op-system. It like having the kitchen sink and everything else and it is a top rate way to program. Plus I hope you like learning because there is a lot of languages there to program with!
Apple’s development software is called X-Code and even though it doesn’t cover the 6 or so different languages, Apple decided to stick with one, well two now. What I like is X-Code is it is used for all of Apple’s op-systems. These are the following: IOS, used in iPhones, iPads, and the small tablet like computers. OS-X is the op-system that is with all Apple computers like the iMacs and their different variations. The new kid on the block which just recently became available is IOSTV. This is a variation of the IOS op-system that just recently became available when the Apple TV4 internet device became available. What this has done was open a whole new market for making apps for the Apple TV!
Another thing is the Apple op-system is based on UNIX. UNIX is one of the first op-systems that was made for the bigger mainframes in the early days of computers. It was one of the first op-systems that did multitasking of programs via the command line. Because of this, it is one of the most stable op-systems around. And if you heard of Linux, it is a UNIX clone, also very stable. Later another computer system was designed by Steve Jobs, who after he was let go from Apple, started a company called NEXT. The NEXT computer was designed with a visual based op-system instead of the UNIX command line based. Then Apple, because of failing sales decided to bring back Steve Jobs, this is where Steve Jobs took the idea and made the first Mac. The Mac was all visual based with graphics and windows and also used the mouse! From this after lots of changes came the visual op-system which then became OS-X and later IOS. IOS is like it's big brother OS-X with icons, windows, etc. It totally change the whole idea how a phone based op-system looks and is used.
One big selling point I saw was this is given to developers for FREE! Everything you need for developing for any Apple device is included. It is also capable of drag and drop! Need a button or text box, just drag and drop. And it is easy to program these features in code too! Another plus is X-Code looks for errors as you program and if it can will suggest a fix in real time! Very Cool!
Another selling point is Apple has a Apple conference at least twice a year. It comes in 2 conferences. One is the Apple Conference where you find out about all the new products and features that are coming. The other one is the Apple Developer’s Conference. Here they talk about the the changes in features on the devices and also the programming changes and discussions for doing the programming with X-Code. They also caries the previous year’s conferences on the Apple developers site so you can see those videos. So that is a big plus for learning.
Another selling point is Apple has a Apple conference at least twice a year. It comes in 2 conferences. One is the Apple Conference where you find out about all the new products and features that are coming. The other one is the Apple Developer’s Conference. Here they talk about the the changes in features on the devices and also the programming changes and discussions for doing the programming with X-Code. They also caries the previous year’s conferences on the Apple developers site so you can see those videos. So that is a big plus for learning.
Another thing that I liked is the X-Code Simulator. Now for people that doesn't have a Apple product, that is iPhone, iPad, iMac etc. yet, the simulator will test your program as a software device. This is mostly used for the Apple iPhones, iPads and Apple TV4 for a start. So lets say I want to develop for the iPhone 4S. Set it for that and it will show a simulation for an iPhone 4S. Want to see how it looks for an iPhone 6, set it and recompile. The simulator works just like an actual device on the screen. Very cool!
Now how about for an actual iPhone? Well for only $99 a year, you will be able to do that too! Also you will now have access to a lot more X-Code development library and courses. And believe me, the first time you do that successfully it is a big thrill! This is the best way to test your app on an actual device, because if it runs on your device with no problems it will probably pass hopefully at Apple. And if it passed with Apple, you are on your way to having an app for sale in the app store!
The next post will discuss what can make or break your idea for becoming an Apple Developer, so we will discuss that next.
See you there!
3. How Things Started To Come Together And What To Think About.
Its a new day coming!
By now you can probably figure out what one of my platforms can be. Four years ago after all these years I finally decided to buy a phone. I mean considering all the features that are on a phone and and what they can do it started out as a hard decision.
After a while I noticed one thing that one particular phone had a big following. It was also made by a company that has a big history of being a great tech giant. It also just happened to be in the news big time because it had a big development coming.
Now as a diehard Windows person since the beginning of computers, I always didn’t really pay attention to the ‘other guys’. So I never knew much about them. Well the company is called Apple and they had just announced that a new phone with a lot of new ideas that nobody else had was coming out. It was the iPhone 4S and believe me when I read up on all the ideas and features it had, I thought of my dream idea.
So I bought one and since it was totally different than Windows in all aspects, I got used to how it operates with its new op-system. To me I was used to Windows op-system and I never really liked its interface. I totally never like the idea of updates all the time and when they didn’t work, it was a headache! It seamed like a bunch of extra steps to do things and it wasn’t too intuitive.
When I used the iPhone, it was like ‘hey this really makes sense on how you operate it’! So the more I read about the iPhone and Apple, I found out if you can run an iPhone, you can run the Apple computer! Now I thought why not, lower learning curve! And everything was the same as in operation and looks! So this was my initial entry into the world of Apple and computing! But one thing was holding me back and I'll talk about that in the next post!
Thanks for visiting!
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