In this error statement:
$ sudo gem install technicalpickles-jeweler -s http://gems.github.com ERROR: Error installing technicalpickles-jeweler: technicalpickles-jeweler requires git (>= 1.1.1, runtime)
This is not talking about your git binary version, which at the time of this writing is 1.6.3.3. It’s talking about your git gem.
So just do a nice:
$ sudo gem install git
And you’re off. Rock on.
Now to go mess with actual rubygems problems…
It’s incumbent upon Apple to do the moral thing here. Treat your employees, customers, suppliers and partner companies better, by letting them participate in the thing most of your products are designed for: Human self-expression. If the ethical argument is unpersuasive, then focus on the long-term viability of your marketing and branding efforts, and realize that a technology company that is determined to prevent information from being spread is an organization at war with itself. Civil wars are expensive, have no winners, and incur lots of casualties.
YouTube – A Serious Man trailer.
I don’t remember ever being so… amazed at a trailer.
The Coen brothers have always been a mystery to me. O Brother, Where Art Thou was the first movie I saw by the brothers, and was thoroughly confused at the time of viewing. Then I saw The Big Lebowski, but this one was a bit more accessible to my tastes. I can appreciate that it is a cult classic, and leave it at that.
Most recently, I saw Burn After Reading about two months ago, and it’s probably going to require a second viewing. I understood that the entire movie was basically leading up to an explosive finale that left me breathless and surprised at the quality of the movie.
And now, A Serious Man. Looks amazing. Which only begs the question, when am I going to have the time to go through the Coen brothers’ entire catalog?
Note: Is there a word like “discography” for films?
How To Hijack ‘Every iPhone In The World’ – Forbes.com.
Good thing I don’t have a texting plan. Or ever plan to.
Will Apple Let a Spotify App Into Its App Store? .
Uh, No.
Why do we even ask questions like this?
If only I could get around the country restriction… ahem.
Should have released lite version from the beginning – There was no point to waiting and sacrificing the initial new release buzz. Since it is harder to get featured once your app is launched, say for app updates, it is important to strike early and hard with your app release.
Lite does NOT cannibalize sales – If your app is a gimmick then it might not make sense but in all other cases it only helps to increase sales (see our previous post on this topic)
Get the bugs out for your lite release – users churn lite apps and are fine giving you 1 star if they don’t like the experience. This is especially bad because the App store prompts users to rate an app when they try to delete it
Lite sales trail off too but paid sales remain higher – if you don’t have the x-factor that is needed to spread the word your lite downloads will fall as they have for iCombat, but in our case paid sales have continued to sell at a minimum rate several times higher than the pre-lite period
Frequent releases do juice downloads – Pocket God and other frequently updated apps have benefited from a weekly sales bump as they show up in the new releases section of the app store (users also like this episode style model)
via Just How Much Does a Lite Version Help Boost App Sales? « The App Farm.
I can attest to this. Demos are wonderful. A powerful marketing tool to get your product in the hands of potential customers. But there’s plenty more of things you’d have to do to make your iPhone application successful. Like this, writing about how your iPhone app did, providing insight for other developers, and drumming up the blogosphere (like what I’m doing right now). Simply having a lite version isn’t going to fix everything, although it’s a great first step.
Although, this whole “lite” version business is kind of a hack. There needs to be more of a connection between the lite version and the full version of an app. But Apple has bigger problems to fix on the App Store.
These numbers make it really obvious to me why most indie (and, in some cases non-indie) business models exist, and why they produce the games they produce. To be successful, you need to be in one of a few situations:
*A single developer that makes a good title (Petri, for example) *A single or set of developers with short release cycles to keep multiple games relevant over short periods of time. (Almost all iPhone developers). *A developer that has an already popular game and is able to get on one of the more visible services like XBLA, PSN, or WiiWare (That Game Company, the Behemoth, 2D boy, Number None)
via Is There Money To Be Made? – Jeff On Games.
It’s interesting to note that Xbox takes the same cut as the Apple for their Xbox Live Indie Games store. The number isn’t as wildly publicized as the iPhone’s 30%.
The entire section on Alternative Funding Models is begging for an entrepreneur to come on and figure out. With a couple of lawyers armed at his or her side.
This is why indie games experiment the way they do. Shorten the dev cycle, concentrate on mechanics and prototypes, keep art resources and requirements low, release lots of games quickly. I feel like there needs to be more available. I’m sure there are indies out there that want to experiment with things that take longer dev cycles, (weird dynamics, involved dynamic art styles, or, god fobid, strange narative structure), but can’t for survivability reasons, and that’s a damn shame.
it’s these limits that make Independent Games much more satisfying, when designed and implemented correctly. It’s kind of a reason why I’ve been meaning to start the Indie Gamer Podcast for spme time… Maybe I should ride this wave of productivity to that point.
via Tiny Cartridge.
Nintendo releasing firmware blocking flash cartridges isn’t really all that interesting. It’s the Facebook integration.
Is Nintendo actually becoming a tiny bit, for a lack of a better phrase, Web 2.0? Wait, no, I got a better phrase: Are they opening up a tiny bit in terms of integration with existing platforms and networks? We’ve got Xbox 360 shooting for Twitter and Facebook integration before the year’s end, but they’ve already got a very vibrant (and… I’m sorry, annoying) user base on Xbox Live.
Nintendo has mostly lagged in terms of obvious innovations; Think optical media, friend codes, and HD-ness. That’s not to say that they don’t innovate: Think analog stick, rumble pak, wiimote… the list goes on.
Developing software for the platform is like playing the lottery. Most people end up losing out while a select few strike it rich.
Read it. It’s worth your time. Also, I tweeted this earlier, noticing the general feeling towards the App Store in the past couple of months.
It’s as if the iPhone development world is waking up with a hangover. Seriously, it’s hilarious to see.
But since this is Apple, I sure do hope that this Trough of Disillusionment is followed by the Slope of Enlightenment. #hypecycle
Heck, look at Rails: Definitely at a Plateau of Productivity. I just hope that the Great Refactor triggers something awesome.
I’m talking about the Hype Cycle. I was a little late to the Technology Trigger, but I was definitely on board for around the Peak of Inflated Expectations. I think the App Store is trying desperately to get to the Plateau of Productivity… and failing at it.
The Google Voice rejection is the most recent addition to the growing list of problems with the App Store. Today, Apple announced a half-way fix for the broken searching in the App Store, and I certainly hope that this is one of many fixes that are to come to alleviate the problems with it.
I stopped doing iPhone development for a couple of reasons, and figuring out that the App Store didn’t really offer a sane viable business platform was one of them. (Although, the actual programming part was amazingly cool. Seriously, a phone… wait… a revolutionary Internet/communication device that I can program?)
But I was reminded by @amdev that Apple is indeed a hardware company. Here’s the conversation that took place. (By the way, where’s the “Export Conversation” feature for Twitter? I had to do this by HAND.)
@amdev: Eh, sad we expected anything else. Apple (company, not the reviewers who are blamed) is bending devs over w/ horrid policies. :\
@joshkim:Yeah, well if it starts affecting the bottom line, then changes will happen. They’re still selling iPhones like hotcakes, regardless.
@amdev: And that’s their business: hardware, so it will not hit their bottom line for a while (if ever).
@amdev: I mean really, who’s going to design something better in the next 6 months?
@joshkim: Exactly. I love the iPhone. It’s got it’s problems, but it’s the closest thing we got to the JesusPhone.
@joshkim: That’s a very good point. They really truly are a hardware company, with a bit of sprinkling of amazing software that works.
Until Apple actually sees a drop in iPhone sales due to garbage treatments of the iPhone developers, I don’t really forsee a large push in trying to fix something that barely works.
Sidenote: I’m sure Google’s first goal was to develop a useful product, but I wonder if the fallout in the iPhone development community was planned by the Google overlords.
Check me out... At the Union
Yeah, so that’s tonight. I’m getting a haircut tomorrow, but I still haven’t made up my mind about as to how short it’s going to be. I’m not so keen on going this far.
Me, back in Oct 7th, 2008
And it’s funny, I’m wearing that same Firefox shirt. Coincidence? Yes.
Is it just me, or do I look really really tired. And thinner.