Ideas for iPod App, but where to start?

Recently, I have the sudden urge to write an Apple iPod / iPhone App.  I know, the new hype is the iPad, but surely, not everyone want to carry an iPad around.  So the iPod / iPhone still have its place in the pocket.

So I have some ideas on an app, but have no idea where to start.  Doesn’t take long to do some research.  First, I need to learn Objective-C and the Cocoa framework.  Then I need a Mac and register for the online developer program from Apple.  Then I can download Xcode (probably something like what Visual Studio is to Windows) and start developing new apps for the Mac and/or iPod / iPhone.

And here comes the catch.  I need to pay $99USD per year in order to test my app on a physical iPod / iPhone and/or put my app in the App Store, even if I do not intend to charge for my app.  And then Apple take 30% cut on whatever I sell.

So that’s how Apple makes money, other than selling iPod, iPad, iMac and iWhatever.  Just imagine that 120,000 odd apps in the App Store.   Even if each individual hobbyist developer develop 3 apps each, and each pay $99 per year, that’s $3.96million for Apple per year.  That’s gross assumption, of course, but still.  Apple is making a healthy profit.

Nothing is free, even an idea cost at least $99.

How to use AppBox Lite on your iPhone to hit on chicks

Warning:  Success is definitely not guaranteed.  Perform them at your own risk.

Imagine this scenario, you see this hot chick sitting all by herself at a bar.  You want to hit on her, but you are afraid that her boyfriend will suddenly show up and bash your head in.  So you search for a more suitable candidate.  You found a geeky looking one next to her.  That will have to do, you look kind of geeky yourself anyway.  Why not use AppBox Lite to help you?

First, use the Date Calc to work out a) the number of days between today and your birthday and b) the day of the week when you were born.  Then approach her and pick her up with “It has taken me 6,294 days to find an angel, but it was worth the wait.”

She will probably wonder WTF are you on about.  You then introduce yourself, “Hi, my name is Joe, I was born on a Thursday, when’s yours?”  If she is half as geeky as you are, she won’t call over her friend (probably that hot chick you want to hit on) and run away.

So you chat with her, yada, yada, yada.  It’s time to go and you want to set up a date.  Pretend that you are looking at your schedule, but in fact, you are using the Holidays function to check out the closest holiday (international or local).  Ask her out on the next holiday you can find.  If she make an excuse saying that she has to work that day, just tell her that “But it’s a holiday in Greece!”  Continue to book a holiday until she agrees to meet you.

Go home and set up a Days Unitl entry to remind yourself how many days left till the date.  Meanwhile, if you need to borrow $5,000 to hire a Ferrari for a week, use the Loan apps to keep tab on your repayment.

On the date, you’ll probably have dinner with her.  Why not show how generous you are by giving 20% tip?  Use the Tip Calc to work out how much is 20% tip and how expensive your MacDonald’s meal has just become.  If your geeky chick happens to be an illegal immigrant who has no idea how much is too much, just convert the meal cost into her own country’s local currency and show it to her.

So you have a $5,000 loan to repay, paid extra 20% for the burger and coke you have just consumed, and the only reward you want is to sleep with her, then pCalendar is your friend.  Just ask her when her last period was.  You might just be able to have sex with her without condom.  You can’t do that?  Well, fear not, just use Price Grab to work out which one is cheaper, a pack of 12 or a pack of 24 condoms.

And yes, you can use the Date Calc to work out how many days have passed since you last had sex, the holiday function to ask her to introduce you to her friend, and the Date Until function to countdown the number of day until the threesome session.

There, a perfect real world application of an iPhone app.  Best of all, it’s free.

Quest for a iPod case

So I went shopping last week and ended up getting a hardcover case for my iPod Touch.  Now you might say, “So what? Every man and his dog have an iPod.  They probably have a case for it too.”  Well, you would be correct.  But this iPod Touch case, I got it for cheap, like dirt cheap.

The story goes something like this.  Normally, cases for the iPod sell well over $30 on my side of the world.  I consider that expensive (come on, how expensive is plastics? Or silicon?).  So it came as a surprise when I saw a plastic case selling for less than $5.  You heard me.  Less than five bucks!

Then I thought, ‘maybe the case is for previous gen iPods.’  Nope, I checked and double checked and triple checked the price label.  The description matches that on the package.  It is for the 2nd gen iPod Touch.  Next thought was ‘maybe there is something missing, or something broken.’  No again.  Everything is in perfect order.  So I happily went to the checkout counter with the case in hand.

The CSO scanned the item and it came back $35.  I was like, “what?  That’s not what the price tag says!”  So he got a floor guy to do a price check.  I guided him to the price label.  He saw the tag and checked the description.  All he could muster after that was one word, “Fuck.”  I kid you not.  He said that.  He was obviously annoyed.  So we went back to the counter and processed the sale at the cheap cheap price.

Guess that was my lucky day.