A game of cat and mouse

As if iPhone developers don't have enough challenges simply dealing with Apple's somewhat unpredictable and arbitrary approval process, now there's the software pirates to worry about, too! There have been recent articles in the tech news circles talking about a new utility called Crackulous which makes it fairly simple for someone with a "jailbroken" iPhone or iPod Touch to steal apps rather than buy them in the iTunes store.

Since I am trying to make a living developing iPhone apps, I'd prefer people pay the 99 cents for my app rather than steal it. So, in my recent Time Bomb app, I included some code to detect when an app was running when it hadn't been purchased. I figured I'd be obvious about it and I pop up a message on the offending iPhone or iPod Touch and tell the user that the app was stolen and it won't function properly. And then, as promised, the app won't function properly.

Surprisingly, I just discovered that my app was in fact pirated and thieves users have begun reporting receiving the friendly message I included. It was even written about recently on CNET.com. You can read the brief article here, or read my take on it on my Stormy Productions blog here.

Ah, the joys of software development. Never a dull moment, that's for sure!

I wouldn't be surprised if some pirate with a bit of free time on his or her hands will take the time to work around my anti-piracy code. And then, I suppose I'll add a few more counter-measures to the next update of my app, requiring a pirate to spend a bit more time to crack it. All this for something that only costs 99 cents, too.

The frustrations of developing apps for the iPhone

After yet another rejection of an iPhone app submitted to Apple, I've posted a rant about it here on my company blog:

http://www.stormyprods.com/blogger/2009/02/biggest-hurdle-with-iphone-app.html

If you are thinking about developing software for the iPhone and iPod Touch, it's good to be aware of the major source of frustrations that come with it: Apple's review process!

But what kind of professional?

This ad on Facebook gave me a chuckle:



Just what kind of professional is she trying to be? I've worked in the office environment for 20 years and have never seen anyone (man or woman) sitting in front of their computer in such an oddly contorted position.

Zen goes mainstream

Being self-employed, I now have to purchase my own health insurance. Ah what joy! But that's not the point of this post. As part of my health plan with Blue Cross Blue Shield, I receive a periodic magazine (hmmm... a periodical?) called Choices. The point of the magazine is to give you tips on a maintaining a healthly lifestyle, since if you stay healthly, your health insurance provider makes more money. You pay them, and they can just keep the money.

As a health insurance provider, it is in their best interest that they keep their customers as healthy as possible. After all, they are a business and businesses want to optimize their revenue. So, it was nice to see in this current issue of their magazine that they make some mention of the health benefits of Zen meditation and Buddhist philosophy. They don't actually use the words Zen or Buddhism (probably to avoid scaring off their readers) but the advice is definitely the same.

An article on avoiding or reducing stress lists "3 tools to try" to manage stress and all three have direct correlations to Zen/Buddhist ideas:

1) "Short-circuit the stress system" by deep breathing or meditation. The article goes on to describe various breathing and mediation techniques.

2) "Challenge your thoughts. Your thoughts are what create your feelings... Treat your thoughts as hypotheses, not fact." Again, this is a Zen philosophy.

3) "Be in the moment." This item also provides a quote from a doctor at Harvard Medical School who says, "In Western culture, we're always way in the past or way in the future." Sound familiar? That's a portion of my favorite Buddhist saying. (See the sidebar on the right for the complete quote.)

It's nice to see the health benefits of the Zen/Buddhist philosophies are starting to make it into the mainstream.

Time Bomb

I'm am very happy to announce my latest iPhone game is now available for purchase on iTunes.


It's called "Time Bomb" and is basically a simple "beat the clock" dexterity game. You are presented with a time bomb and need to use your assortment of tools to deactivate it. Use a screwdriver to remove the access panel, then a probe to listen for the armed wires, and finally cut the proper wires to complete the job.


The bomb settings are all customizable and the top ten times for each bomb type are saved.

You can read more about it (and watch a really rough video demo) at the official web site TimeBombGame.com.

This concludes this commercial interruption of my normal blog service. Thanks for reading!

The Gavel!

My first "non-free" app is now available for purchase in the iTunes store for 99 cents. Here's a snippet of its description:

Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.
-West African Proverb

Having trouble keeping order in your meetings? Not receiving the proper level of respect from those around you? Then buy this app! Badger your peers into submission with the constant banging of a judge's gavel or several other thumping items. There's even a Krushchev mode for thumping with a shoe. (Please refer to 1960s political history if you don't know the reference.) And if thumping a virtual shoe at someone doesn't get one's attention, you can always try a real shoe, but this app doesn't include a real shoe. You'll need to supply that yourself.

What this app does include are several virtual items with realistic sound effects: a gavel (in a few different styles), a wooden mallet, a carpenter's hammer, a sledgehammer, a dead fish and more! The attention each item demands will vary depending on the anger in your swing.

Here's a video demonstrating its usefulness:



Check out the full description in iTunes here.

The Amazing Exploding Bowl!

This morning I opened one of my kitchen cabinets and found this unexpected view:

A large plastic bowl had somehow "exploded" overnight. (Note one of the pieces of the bowl made it's way to the lower shelf on the left.) At first I thought someone must have been playing a joke on me by sneaking into my condo and replacing a perfectly good bowl with this broken one. Although that does seem like the oddball subtle type of prank some of my friends or family might do, I eventually came to the conclusion that the bowl must have exploded on its own.

Here is a picture of all the pieces - it seems the bowl just couldn't take the stress of staying bowl-shaped anymore and tried to unwrap itself. Good thing I wasn't using it for eating hot soup at the time of the breakdown...



I think this embossed stamp on the bottom of the bowl explains it all, though:



And yes, Mom, if that bowl looks familiar, it's one you gave to me full of fruit last year.

Playmobil Security Toy

A friend sent me a link to this toy for sale on Amazon.

It's just what every child needs! The best part about this toy is reading the comments on Amazon. Click on the link above and scroll down to the comment section. They're quite funny!

Kokusai-dori

Kokusai-dori (International Street) is a very popular shopping street in Naha, Okinawa. It's probably the most popular destination in Okinawa and has lots of very interesting shops and restaurants. This particular store, pictured above, has a giant animated white cat attached to the side of the building. The cat's paw slowly moves up and down. It's symbol or good luck charm for successful business. A lot of stores sell much smaller versions of the cat. Also, depending on the color of the cat, it is a good luck charm for different things. This type of figure is called a Maneki Neko ("beckoning cat") and you can read more about them here on Wikipedia.

The sharp-eyed observer might also notice Ronald McDonald and Buzz Lightyear in this picture. They're both a little easier to spot if you click on the photo for a larger view.

Adjusting from Japan back to the US

I've been back for a few days now, and still haven't gotten my sleep schedule back to US time. Today I woke up at 3:00am and couldn't get back to sleep. I finally decided to get out of bed at 6:00am and start my day, but by 11:00 I was dozing at my desk. I figured it might be good to take a short nap, and to my unpleasant surprise I woke up at 4:30 in the afternoon! So much for a short nap.

One of the most noticeable adjustments coming back from the US was the reverse culture shock. After spending a couple weeks in a society where courtesy and thoughtfulness seem to be a way of life, it was a totally jarring experience to encounter American culture again. It started as soon as we got on the plane in Osaka heading back to Detriot. The flight attendants were all American and at first I was wondering if they were all just grumpy that morning. After a while I realized they where just acting like normal American flight attendants. It was such a noticeable difference from the Japanese flight crew going from Okinawa to Osaka. No longer did the flight attendants actually seem care about helping anyone - they were just doing their job and seemed visibly annoyed whenever they had to actually help anyone.

This came as a sharp contrast to Japanese workers encountered both on the plane and in shops. As another example, in Okinawa I was attempting to purchase something with a credit card at a department store. I went up to a cashier, showed her my credit card and asked if I could use it (credit cards usage isn't anywhere near as common in Japan as it is in the US). She signaled that I couldn't use it at this cash point, but then explained I could at a different one across the store. I proceeded to pick up my pending purchases and bring them to the other checkout location, but the clerk insisted on walking me over to the proper register, and also insisted on carrying all my items for me! I don't think that would ever happen at a store in the US.

Even at the McDonald's in Okinawa, they actually deliver your food to your table if it's not going to be available immediately. And they RUN to help you.

I'm also having a little trouble adjusting to the driving back home. Driving on the right hand side is not a problem (thankfully!) but I keep turning on my windshield wipers every time I intend to use my turn signals. In Japan they drive on the left and the wipers and turn signals are swapped in comparison to the US cars. I actually didn't have this problem very often driving in Japan, but for some reason now I've gotten in the habit of the Japanese layout for turn signal and wipers and keep turning on the wipers when I make a turn.