Category: Development

“Must Fix for Next Release”

In the current version of xScope, there is a memory leak caused by a change in OS X 10.10.2. While the Loupe is in the background grabbing the screen, something in the frameworks is leaving images in the autorelease pool. The fix is literally two lines of code that forces the pool to empty.

But that’s not why I’m writing now.

This fix was submitted two weeks ago on February 2nd. A week later it went into review and was quickly rejected. The problem was that a buy button was accessible from our Help window.

The bulk of the help is static and built into the app, but there is a part online that we can update easily. This makes it really easy easy for us to add tips and other useful information for our customers. But since it’s just a web browser, it’s possible to wander into a part of our site that shows a header with mentions the word buy which is not allowed per rule 7.15. (Yes, the buy button is for something the customer has already purchased and is actively in the process of using, but technically it’s still a violation.)

My issue is the way that we must fix these problems. In this particular case, the issue was resolved by editing some HTML on our server, not by changing anything in the app itself. But we still must submit a “new” binary and go through the lengthy review process again. This is a huge waste of time for both developers and app reviewers (who are clearly lagging behind these days.)

I think there’s an easy way to fix these minor transgressions that would benefit both parties: add a new kind of approval with strings attached. A “Must Fix for Next Release” state where the app can go into “Ready for Sale” but the issue remains in the Resolution Center. At that point, both the app reviewers and developer know that an issue has to be dealt with before it’s approved the next time.

It would be like getting pulled over for a broken taillight on your car. You don’t need to visit your mechanic immediately to get the problem fixed. But you’ll certainly have to get things in order the next time you register the vehicle.

Please be sure to dupe Radar #19921616 if you agree that this would be a good change for iTunes Connect.

Written on February 23rd, 2015 for Development, Observation, Opinion

SuperPhish

Right about now, Lenovo is learning the implications of installing security software that has not had peer review. Keeping all the pieces of the puzzle in memory and not using strong pass phrases is incredibly sloppy engineering work.

Any software that gets between you and your chain of trust should be considered malware.

For hire

We’ve been making award-winning apps since the App Store opened. Now we’re doing it for clients.

My First Cocoa App

I just released the source code to my first Cocoa app.

You have no idea how embarrassing it is to reveal this code, but I hope it goes to show that we all have no fricken’ clue at various points in our lives.

Two Point Oh My

A lot can happen in eight years.

furbo.org Version 1.0

The site above was launched on June 26th, 2007—a mere two days before the first iPhone went on sale.

As we all now know, that little device has had quite an effect on our industry, especially on this site, where I immediately started exploring its capabilities.

One of the first things I wrote about was making websites look better on the iPhone using one line of code. As time went on, it was pretty clear that more work was needed and we started working toward responsive designs. The first site to get this treatment was, of course, my beloved factory followed by its blog. I’ve learned a lot about HTML, CSS and JavaScript along the way.

So now it only makes sense that a site that got its start with the iPhone looks great on the iPhone. And in Yosemite. And on Retina displays. And maybe even Android.

Finally.

A new addition is content at the bottom of the page. Sometimes you’ll see information about products or services from my company. Other times you’ll see posts that are my “greatest hits”. I’ve gone to great lengths to keep this site clean: don’t expect to see any crap there.

I’m also set up to do link posts, so those should start showing up as I find interesting stuff. Of course, there’s a full text RSS feed if you’d like to read that way.

Enjoy!

Written on February 6th, 2015 for Design, Development
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