Congratulations to Justin Williams on shipping Elements - a handy Dropbox-syncing writing tool for iPhone and iPad. I’ve been testing the app for a while, and found it to be really awesome at jotting down notes for potential blog posts. It’s a $4.99 universal app for iPhone and iPad.
I’m liking the look of the new Amazon Kindle - particularly the new pricing (£109 for WiFi, £149 for 3G), though you’ll have to wait to get your hands on one - the first batch has sold out and they’re currently shipping ‘on or before September 4th’.
If you’re looking for a new book to kickstart your iPhone development urges, this one from Iconfactory’s Craig Hockenberry is now available to pre-order from Amazon.
Some of you will no doubt be aware of our LittleSnapper for iPhone companion app, and today we’ve made it freely available on the App Store for a limited time. If you’re looking for a way to upload to Ember on the go, this is it.
Since my return from the Big Nerd Ranch just over a week ago, I’ve received a number of emails asking “What books are you reading and what would you recommend to those interested in Cocoa?”. Depending on your background, there’s a number of excellent books available. Here’s a low down of some of the books I’ve been enjoying and learning from recently…
Learn C on the Mac ~ Lacking any real background in programming, the first place to start is to learn C. There’s some well-respected books on the language, but they’re also incredibly dry and hard reads. This title from Apress is both approachable and full of the foundations you’ll need.
Learn Objective-C on the Mac ~ The sequel to “Learn C on the Mac”, this is another great title from Apress. Its worth remembering that before you get to the Cocoa framework, you might want to ensure you’re comfortable with Objective-C. This continuation from the C book is well-written, as you might expect, and one of the books used as course text for the first portion of the Cocoa Bootcamp.
Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X (Third Edition) ~ Widely known as “The Bible” you’ll want a copy of this for your bookshelf. After a bit of preparation with the previous two titles, this book will be the one to tackle: exercises, challenges and more to get you on your way.
Learn Cocoa on the Mac ~ I don’t actually own this one (yet - it’s not on sale until September) however after reading the first two in the series, I’ll be picking up a copy of this alongside the obvious Beginning iPhone Development title too.
There’s tonnes of titles out there for Cocoa: so if you’ve got your own favourite, post it as one of Tumblr’s spiffy Answers.
I’m in the process of selling a few items that I no longer require, and want to let folks know about them before I consider selling them on eBay. If you’re interested in the item below (UK buyers preferred - sorry!) please drop me a note hello [at] nikf [dot] org and I’ll get back to you!
17” MacBook Pro
A January 2007 vintage, this 17” MacBook Pro has a 2.33Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, with 256MB ATI X1600 graphics, a 160GB Hard Drive, 2GB RAM and the usual DVD±RW drive (+R Dual Layer). Despite being 2.5 years old, the machine is still as-new (apart from a slightly worn S key). I should also point out that in January 2008 the large (matte) display was replaced under AppleCare (which runs to January 2010) due to a backlight failing. I’ll ship it in the original box, with all original accessories and throw in a 17” laptop sleeve as a little thank you. The machine has a fresh install of Leopard - freshly-bought media included - and I’ll throw in family packs of both iLife 08 & iWork ‘08 with the Tiger restore disks that came with the machine as an extra bonus. Based on similar machines going for £800, Asking price: £650+ (excluding delivery) - though am open to offers :)
A quick note
In the four-and-a-half years I’ve owned Macs, none of my Apple hardware has ever been sold on. It pains me to part with “teh shiny shiny” however the MacBook Pro is (still) an incredibly fast machine that it’s simply going to waste whilst I enjoy my office laptop. If you’re interested, please don’t hesitate to drop me a note: I’d much prefer not to have to endure eBay with the MacBook Pro. Payment via PayPal (with the buyer covering fees) is much preferred.
Here ends this brief commercial interlude. Normal programming will resume shortly :)
Another great tee from Threadless - srsly.
I’ve never been further East than Poland, or farther South than Egypt, but I’ve always wanted to visit the Far East. China, Hong Kong, Japan. The culture shock, the utterly different history and the vastly different outlook on the world strike me as incredible things. Something to respect, admire and potentially learn from. I’ve also not read a great deal of travel literature, though that’s something may change after reading Peter Hessler’s “River Town”.
River Town is a fascinating diary about one Peace Corps teacher (the author himself) and his experiences teaching English (and English Literature) in a fairly remote Chinese river town through the course of 1996/7. It’s a thorough interesting read - particularly as it’s all happening alongside the handover of Hong Kong back to China, and I’d strongly recommend it if you’re at all intrigued by Chinese culture.
Thanks to Rebecca for the recommendation.
“The internet was closed so I thought I’d come outside today.”
Brilliant.
© Nik Fletcher 2010 ~ Contact
