Re: The First College Hockey iPhone App!
Right, you don't know how. I heard you the first time.
Right, you don't know how. I heard you the first time.
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The First College Hockey iPhone App!
- Thread starter cowbellguy
- Start date
Biddco
Follow me on Twitter: @Biddco
I should vet the iOS 5, but don't want to have it delete my contactsAt the risk of embarrassment, I'll tell you what the bug was.
There's a new "Alerts" button on the Teams view that brings up the preferences for notifications and alerts. One of the last things I did was give the button a blue tint. Apparently that method was new in iOS 5 and I never tested it in iOS 4 after making the change. Stupid reason, but there it is..
As for what's up next, game lines are being parsed on the server, so I'll be showing actual lines instead of rosters (when available). Head-to-head team comparisons will also be in the next version. After that (but probably not the next release) I'll be working on full (live) box scores. And if you have requests or suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
Push notications for who scored goals and how?
Handyman
Hug someone you care about...
Re: The First College Hockey iPhone App!
Dude...as of August Android outsold IPhone.
http://gigaom.com/2010/08/02/android-sales-overtake-iphone-in-the-u-s/
http://www.pcworld.com/article/240650/android_doubles_iphone_in_new_smartphone_sales.html
And, from just last month: Android Sells Majority of Smartphones Last Quarter
(those numbers are pre IPhone 4...but even after the 4 came out the numbers were close meaning Apple is hardly the mega giant you all pretend it is)
I don't care if you don't make an app, I get the final scores through the ESPN App anyways and that is all I honestly want. But this belief you (and other Apple Snobs) have that Android is teeny tiny and no one uses it is ridiculous. All evidence shows that even after the overhyped IPhone 4 Android is doing just fine and selling on par.
If you don't know how to program in Linux and don't feel the need to that is your choice and since you probably don't get paid for this I won't begrudge you this. But let's not pretend the reason you arent making the app is anything other than you choose not to. It has nothing to do with the hardware or the archaic language, since by all accounts that archaic language is just as popular as iOS and the Google Phones have been selling ridiculously. My guess is with Androids open source you could put together something rather quickly anyways and it would work on pretty much all of the phones. (there are plenty of devs out there that will help you, the Android Community is pretty open)
Dude...as of August Android outsold IPhone.
http://gigaom.com/2010/08/02/android-sales-overtake-iphone-in-the-u-s/
http://www.pcworld.com/article/240650/android_doubles_iphone_in_new_smartphone_sales.html
And, from just last month: Android Sells Majority of Smartphones Last Quarter
(those numbers are pre IPhone 4...but even after the 4 came out the numbers were close meaning Apple is hardly the mega giant you all pretend it is)
I don't care if you don't make an app, I get the final scores through the ESPN App anyways and that is all I honestly want. But this belief you (and other Apple Snobs) have that Android is teeny tiny and no one uses it is ridiculous. All evidence shows that even after the overhyped IPhone 4 Android is doing just fine and selling on par.
If you don't know how to program in Linux and don't feel the need to that is your choice and since you probably don't get paid for this I won't begrudge you this. But let's not pretend the reason you arent making the app is anything other than you choose not to. It has nothing to do with the hardware or the archaic language, since by all accounts that archaic language is just as popular as iOS and the Google Phones have been selling ridiculously. My guess is with Androids open source you could put together something rather quickly anyways and it would work on pretty much all of the phones. (there are plenty of devs out there that will help you, the Android Community is pretty open)
Last edited:
TonyTheTiger20
#SOAR
Re: The First College Hockey iPhone App!
Oh *snap*!
Haven't been able to use this in a while, but oh Lord'a'mercy does it ever apply:
Oh *snap*!
Handyman
Hug someone you care about...
Re: The First College Hockey iPhone App!
I am not trying to be a dick about it, like I said the ESPN App does an adequate job and it is not up to this guy to make the app available to everyone. I wish I knew how to program because I would do it myself. (maybe I should learn...) I was just disproving his point that Android is some archaic language and so on.
The guy gets all sorts of props for me just being able to do it in the first place
I am not trying to be a dick about it, like I said the ESPN App does an adequate job and it is not up to this guy to make the app available to everyone. I wish I knew how to program because I would do it myself. (maybe I should learn...) I was just disproving his point that Android is some archaic language and so on.
The guy gets all sorts of props for me just being able to do it in the first place
aparch
Acetaminamerican
Re: The First College Hockey iPhone App!
I think where he was going with his statement was that he doesn't want to deal with the flavors of Android software currently available.
It's a PC vs Mac argument. Think of Android as the PC. Lots of varied hardware running a wide variety of software. What may work for the Droid 2 may not work on the Droid X, or the Droid RAZR. If he designs it to run in Android Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0), that may break functionality in Android 3.0 (Gingerbread). And don't forget about Android 2.1 (Donut) and it's sister Android 2.2 (Froyo). And there are still versions of Android 1.6 being sold on smartphones. Every Android phone has different sized (shaped) screens and hardware pushing the graphics. What may look fantastic on one will look broken on another. Or take forever to load on some cheaper Android phones due to the lack of CPU and graphics power.
For Apple he can design for 5.0 and lock out older versions (lots of new apps in the App Store are doing this), or he can design for 4.2 and up with no worries of issues. All screens are the same size. Hardware is the same or better for new phones.
I think where he was going with his statement was that he doesn't want to deal with the flavors of Android software currently available.
It's a PC vs Mac argument. Think of Android as the PC. Lots of varied hardware running a wide variety of software. What may work for the Droid 2 may not work on the Droid X, or the Droid RAZR. If he designs it to run in Android Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0), that may break functionality in Android 3.0 (Gingerbread). And don't forget about Android 2.1 (Donut) and it's sister Android 2.2 (Froyo). And there are still versions of Android 1.6 being sold on smartphones. Every Android phone has different sized (shaped) screens and hardware pushing the graphics. What may look fantastic on one will look broken on another. Or take forever to load on some cheaper Android phones due to the lack of CPU and graphics power.
For Apple he can design for 5.0 and lock out older versions (lots of new apps in the App Store are doing this), or he can design for 4.2 and up with no worries of issues. All screens are the same size. Hardware is the same or better for new phones.
cowbellguy
Registered User
Re: The First College Hockey iPhone App!
Not sure why I'm even bothering to reply, but I will anyway.
"Program in Linux"
Linux is a operating system. Well, really a kernel that many operating systems use, not a programming language. Android apps are programmed in Java, which I am more than capable of programming in, but it's clunky, awkward, and tends to be everything that modern programming languages abhor. I, and plenty of other programmers, hate Java. So, yes, I choose not to do it (I don't think I've ever implied otherwise), not because I can't, but because I simply don't want to. I would prefer to spend my time making the iPhone app better than tackle an Android version. Besides, that would be twice the code to maintain and, at least right now, I just don't have time for it.
"this belief you (and other Apple Snobs) have that Android is teeny tiny and no one uses it is ridiculous"
Where exactly did I say anything even remotely close to that? I said it was a "fragmented hardware base on the wild west of operating systems." I'm fully aware of how many Android devices are sold. The problem is there are, what, a couple hundred different Android devices out there? And each manufacturer and carrier is free to customize the Android OS to suit their needs, often installing different versions across models within a brand or carrier. Plus, Android's rapid development means you have a wide range of OS versions across the install base, so in the end you have no idea what you're ultimately deploying to and it sounds like a nightmare to support. Android outsells iOS and has a bigger install base, but it comes at a price.
"My guess is with Androids open source you could put together something rather quickly anyways"
Your guess would be wrong. I have a friend who recently finished his PhD, was looking for something to do, and wanted to give an Android version a whack. I gave him my source code to play with and access to the data I'm parsing (since, you see, iOS developers are also very open and willing to help). He got very (very) basic functionality working, but pretty quickly came back to me and said, "Man, you've done a lot of work on this." And therein lies the rub. I could reasonably-quickly throw together something for Android that might work but would suck, but that's not how I roll. I spent untold hours shaving milliseconds off functions, making the memory footprint as small as possible, and optimized the data delivery to use as little data as possible. If it's not worth doing right, it's not worth doing.
See above, re: snap.
Not sure why I'm even bothering to reply, but I will anyway.
"Program in Linux"
Linux is a operating system. Well, really a kernel that many operating systems use, not a programming language. Android apps are programmed in Java, which I am more than capable of programming in, but it's clunky, awkward, and tends to be everything that modern programming languages abhor. I, and plenty of other programmers, hate Java. So, yes, I choose not to do it (I don't think I've ever implied otherwise), not because I can't, but because I simply don't want to. I would prefer to spend my time making the iPhone app better than tackle an Android version. Besides, that would be twice the code to maintain and, at least right now, I just don't have time for it.
"this belief you (and other Apple Snobs) have that Android is teeny tiny and no one uses it is ridiculous"
Where exactly did I say anything even remotely close to that? I said it was a "fragmented hardware base on the wild west of operating systems." I'm fully aware of how many Android devices are sold. The problem is there are, what, a couple hundred different Android devices out there? And each manufacturer and carrier is free to customize the Android OS to suit their needs, often installing different versions across models within a brand or carrier. Plus, Android's rapid development means you have a wide range of OS versions across the install base, so in the end you have no idea what you're ultimately deploying to and it sounds like a nightmare to support. Android outsells iOS and has a bigger install base, but it comes at a price.
"My guess is with Androids open source you could put together something rather quickly anyways"
Your guess would be wrong. I have a friend who recently finished his PhD, was looking for something to do, and wanted to give an Android version a whack. I gave him my source code to play with and access to the data I'm parsing (since, you see, iOS developers are also very open and willing to help). He got very (very) basic functionality working, but pretty quickly came back to me and said, "Man, you've done a lot of work on this." And therein lies the rub. I could reasonably-quickly throw together something for Android that might work but would suck, but that's not how I roll. I spent untold hours shaving milliseconds off functions, making the memory footprint as small as possible, and optimized the data delivery to use as little data as possible. If it's not worth doing right, it's not worth doing.
See above, re: snap.
cowbellguy
Registered User
Re: The First College Hockey iPhone App!
I updated my iPhone and iPad and didn't have any problems with data retention. As long as you sync with your computer before updating, you'll be fine.
Right now push notifications are limited to final scores for your favorite team, breaking news for your team (and theoretically really big general breaking news), and pre-game reminders at a specified time before each game (technically these are local notifications, not push notifications).
We may expand on this at some point, but frankly, I don't want to push everything you'd care to know since then you'd probably never have to launch the app, and being a free app, that wouldn't do me any good.
Something I've been contemplating is charging for premium features, which could certainly include something like goal notifications, but a) it would really have to have enough value added to meet my demands and b) the quality of the live score data makes me nervous. There are still two or three schools that consistently fail to provide live stats. If an Army fan paid a buck or two for premium features and never got updates from home games, neither of us would be satisfied with that. And when live stats are provided, there are often problems like the provider forgetting to change the game ID between games during tournaments, ending up with scores for a game earlier in the day.
I updated my iPhone and iPad and didn't have any problems with data retention. As long as you sync with your computer before updating, you'll be fine.
Right now push notifications are limited to final scores for your favorite team, breaking news for your team (and theoretically really big general breaking news), and pre-game reminders at a specified time before each game (technically these are local notifications, not push notifications).
We may expand on this at some point, but frankly, I don't want to push everything you'd care to know since then you'd probably never have to launch the app, and being a free app, that wouldn't do me any good.
Something I've been contemplating is charging for premium features, which could certainly include something like goal notifications, but a) it would really have to have enough value added to meet my demands and b) the quality of the live score data makes me nervous. There are still two or three schools that consistently fail to provide live stats. If an Army fan paid a buck or two for premium features and never got updates from home games, neither of us would be satisfied with that. And when live stats are provided, there are often problems like the provider forgetting to change the game ID between games during tournaments, ending up with scores for a game earlier in the day.
KnightsOfTheRound
Hockey Knight in Boston
Re: The First College Hockey iPhone App!
Cowbellguy, thank you for your continued support and development of this excellent app. I, and many others, owe you a good deal of gratitude for making it easier to follow the sport we love anywhere and everywhere.
Have you considered adding functionality to "swipe left" or "swipe right" in order to flip through days on the calendar screen and conferences on the standings screen? Currently you need to either use the arrows at the top of the screen or click on a conference on the standings screen, and the buttons are sort of small and out of the way (way at the top of the screen!)
Being able to swipe to move around would would make the app easier to use IMO.
Of course, I'd be willing to be told I'm wrong and it isn't as user friendly that way. Thanks again for your support either way.
Cowbellguy, thank you for your continued support and development of this excellent app. I, and many others, owe you a good deal of gratitude for making it easier to follow the sport we love anywhere and everywhere.
Have you considered adding functionality to "swipe left" or "swipe right" in order to flip through days on the calendar screen and conferences on the standings screen? Currently you need to either use the arrows at the top of the screen or click on a conference on the standings screen, and the buttons are sort of small and out of the way (way at the top of the screen!)
Being able to swipe to move around would would make the app easier to use IMO.
Of course, I'd be willing to be told I'm wrong and it isn't as user friendly that way. Thanks again for your support either way.
Re: The First College Hockey iPhone App!
Having recently gotten an iThingy, I'm quite happy with this app.
Considering the price, I estatic.
I do wish it could keep data from the previous load, since my touch is wi-fi only, so I can't see info until I'm hooked up. Other news apps let me download it, and read later.
Having recently gotten an iThingy, I'm quite happy with this app.
Considering the price, I estatic.
I do wish it could keep data from the previous load, since my touch is wi-fi only, so I can't see info until I'm hooked up. Other news apps let me download it, and read later.
cowbellguy
Registered User
Re: The First College Hockey iPhone App!
Definitely, I'm all for improving the UI, and this is definitely something that's been on "the list." Just haven't had a chance to add it yet. Thanks for the feedback.
Definitely, I'm all for improving the UI, and this is definitely something that's been on "the list." Just haven't had a chance to add it yet. Thanks for the feedback.
cowbellguy
Registered User
Re: The First College Hockey iPhone App!
Everything except news is retained in the app (teams, schedules, rosters, pairwise, standings). The only thing that isn't is news because, well, there were some issues allowing access to the CHN database from my server, so it relies on the RSS feed for now. I'm not particularly happy with that arrangement and perhaps I'll use your comment as fodder to get them to try harder. Thanks.
Everything except news is retained in the app (teams, schedules, rosters, pairwise, standings). The only thing that isn't is news because, well, there were some issues allowing access to the CHN database from my server, so it relies on the RSS feed for now. I'm not particularly happy with that arrangement and perhaps I'll use your comment as fodder to get them to try harder. Thanks.
Re: The First College Hockey iPhone App!
Dude. Leave him alone already. Not just anyone can program a Droid app.
Dude. Leave him alone already. Not just anyone can program a Droid app.
PenaltyBoxBeast
Black and Gold for Life
I bet your parents are real proud of you.
Re: The First College Hockey iPhone App!
Your reading comprehension needs help, he never said he couldn't do it, but go ahead and continue to look like a crying baby who didn't get his way.
Your reading comprehension needs help, he never said he couldn't do it, but go ahead and continue to look like a crying baby who didn't get his way.
Re: The First College Hockey iPhone App!
What do I care? I don't have any use for these apps anyway. It's just painfully obvious from his impassioned defense that he has no clue how to program it.
What do I care? I don't have any use for these apps anyway. It's just painfully obvious from his impassioned defense that he has no clue how to program it.
PcFriars13
New member
Re: The First College Hockey iPhone App!
Not to be stupid, but how do I dismiss the alerts?
Not to be stupid, but how do I dismiss the alerts?