One of the first telepresence VR apps allows you to watch movies with friends in different locations

One of the first telepresence VR apps allows you to watch movies with friends in different locations

Plex media server app has new VR option so that you share a virtual living room, complete with avatars with others as you watch your virtual TV.

https://www.plex.tv/your-media/virtual-reality/

A rather harsh review of Apple's current product appearance

A rather harsh review of Apple's current product appearance

Mike Murphy of Quartz Media points out how Apple design has changed from a consumer-technology to a luxury brand. Ps. I see his point.

https://qz.com/1302494/apple-killed-fun/

Nathan Hillyer of SvvyApps Tips on developing with Swift

Nathan Hillyer of SvvyApps Tips on developing with Swift

The list is best for those moving from Objective-C to Swift.

https://savvyapps.com/blog/swift-tips-for-developers

Steve Jobs was not expecting the full success of the IOS App Store.

Steve Jobs was not expecting the full success of the IOS App Store.

9to5Mac discusses key points from the Wall Street Journal 2008 Interview of Jobs.

https://9to5mac.com/2018/07/25/steve-jobs-10-year-app-store-interview/

Forbes Magazine article on how Amazon is winning with Alexa

Forbes Magazine article on how Amazon is winning with Alexa

While Alexa 70% market sharing is shrinking to 62%, Amazon is pushing developers to create more Skills.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/andriacheng/2018/07/26/what-amazon-is-doing-to-keep-alexa-in-the-lead/

Requiring no headsets, this Kickstarter project is a 3D VR Monitor.

Requiring no headsets, this Kickstarter project is a 3D VR Monitor.

"Looking Glass generates 45 distinct views of a three-dimensional scene so that multiple people standing around a Looking Glass can see different parts of the scene in the real world."

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lookingglass/the-looking-glass-a-holographic-display-for-3d-cre

VUX World tries to be the "detailed guide through the voice-first revolution".

VUX World tries to be the "detailed guide through the voice-first revolution".

VUX World is a weekly podcast dedicated to being the "Home of Voice User Experience Design, Dev & Strategy".

https://vux.world

App Dev Mag explains the how's & why's that Kotlin is becoming the primary development language for Android.

App Dev Mag explains the how's & why's that Kotlin is becoming the primary development language for Android.

Kotlin growth is similar to Swifts, for a lot of the same reasons, and similarly, it is starting to be used outside the mobile platform.

https://appdevelopermagazine.com/6169/2018/7/10/why-kotlin-language-use-is-skyrocketing/

Excellent web source on all variety of subject for Programmers

Excellent web source on all variety of subject for Programmers

This site is hard to define, but I find it has great articles for all areas of development, and an excellent Top 10 list for programmers.

https://ourcodeworld.com

A great tutorial by Paul Hudson on Refactoring for Testability

A great tutorial by Paul Hudson on Refactoring for Testability

You should always write Unit Test as part of the design, but sometimes you don't. Here is how to fix that lapse.

https://www.hackingwithswift.com/articles/94/how-to-refactor-your-app-to-add-unit-test

Interesting notion, create Motion Capture data using Leap Motion sensor, not traditional reflective markers.

Interesting notion, create Motion Capture data using Leap Motion sensor, not traditional reflective markers.

iClone 7 Motion LIVE, A full body motion capture platform, has integrated support for the Leap Motion hardware.

http://blog.leapmotion.com/leap-motion-iclone-7-animation/

The definitive ACM SIG on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques will be in Vancouver this year.

The definitive ACM SIG on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques will be in Vancouver this year.

Too many others events (Origins, MacWorld, Pennsic) in Aug, so I never attended Siggraph, but I ALWAYS read their proceedings to learn what new areas were being worked on.

https://s2018.siggraph.org

CNN's List of 10 more important iOS apps.

CNN's List of 10 more important iOS apps.

Anyone can make a list of programs, this CNN article explains why these iPhone apps are important.

https://download.cnet.com/blog/download-blog/the-10-most-important-iphone-apps-of-all-time/

Teaching Laser Class

I am teaching the Laser 102 (Advanced Techniques) next Monday at Nova Labs. This is a lecture only class, so you do not need to take the required Laser 101 first. We cover a lot of different areas that I think are important to Laser Engravers. Come join us! 

https://www.meetup.com/NOVA-Makers/events/252470868/

I believe the record $5 Billion fine from EU against Google is going to cause fear of similar fines.

I believe the record $5 Billion fine from EU against Google is going to cause fear of similar fines.

Charges of violating competition rules could be leveled against other tech companies, including Apple.

https://www.tomsguide.com/us/google-eu-android-fine,news-27637.html

Related article regarding other Anti-Tech EU cases: https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/18/technology/eu-biggest-fines-tech/index.html

Related article regarding End of Free Android OS: https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/eu-fines-google-over-android-2018/

There is still a lot of Objective-C code that needs to be converted to Swift

There is still a lot of Objective-C code that needs to be converted to Swift

A very complete reference for those experienced Obc-C devs who are learning Swift.

https://www.hackingwithswift.com/articles/114/objective-c-to-swift-conversion-cheat-sheet

Special Announcement: looking for positions

To the Apple Ecosystem at large, I am currently between contracts and jobs. If anyone has Mac or iOS development work available, feel free to contact me. Or if you know of someone who would be interested, give them my contact information. Thank you! Steve

What is in a name? If it your app name, a surprisingly lot!

What is in a name? If it your app name, a surprisingly lot!

A simple checklist of Do's and Don't from Grant Polachek when naming your App.

https://appdevelopermagazine.com/5827/2018/1/26/app-naming-best-practices

Review Apple WWDC sessions faster by reading the Transcripts

Review Apple WWDC sessions faster by reading the Transcripts

When you are looking for specific details from a WWDC Talk, it is often faster to read the text.

https://www.macrumors.com/2018/07/09/apple-wwdc-2018-transcripts/

My daily Technical posts links

Just a reminder that for the past year, my daily Technical posts have covered Apple news, iOS/MacOS development, VR/AR announcements, and other technologies that have caught my interest. Hopefully, people are finding these links useful. You can follow my posting on a number of platforms.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/magesteve

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-sheets/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steve.sheets

Blogger: https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3585948302239767606#allposts

Apple's Project Titan described in court Documents.

Apple's Project Titan described in court Documents.

Only vague hints of how Apple is pursuing a self-driving car includes 5000+ team, integration with Apple Maps & active recruiting.

https://www.idropnews.com/rumors/court-documents-reveal-7-apple-self-driving-car-secrets/76377/

20 of the hardest iOS Tech Questions everyone should know.

20 of the hardest iOS Tech Questions everyone should know.

Remember to be knowledgeable, you have to know the answers AND know how to explain them to someone.

https://appdevelopermagazine.com/5686/2017/11/17/top-20-ios-interview-questions

Working long hours is not the path to success, you are being paid for ideas and results.

Working long hours is not the path to success, you are being paid for ideas and results.

This article applies to all industries, but I find it is especially true for Software Development.  All managers and developers should read this.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-allow-yourself-work-less-achieve-more-caterina-kostoula/

World's biggest collector of Apple devices shows off.

World's biggest collector of Apple devices shows off.

Hap Plain is a private collector of over 250 Apple prototypes (iPhone, iPad, Mac). Enjoy this video!

https://www.idropnews.com/news/man-owns-worlds-largest-collection-rare-apple-prototypes/76093/

Free Udemy VR Course available

Free Udemy VR Course available.

Created by Circuit Stream, this 9 part course covers AR/VR, Unity, C# and a variety of platforms (Vive, Oculus, Window MR, Gear VR, HoloLens, etc). 

https://www.udemy.com/the-complete-virtual-augmented-reality-course/?deal_code=JLL1010&siteID=VkwVKCHWj2A-9qWzce4s2sb.hreNE9F6TA&LSNPUBID=VkwVKCHWj2A

Just for fun, this is not CGI, but slow-motion video of how magnets interact.

Just for fun, this is not CGI, but slow-motion video of how magnets interact.

Someone should make a VR computer model of this. Hint, hint.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCRcB0SlnEs

Special Announcement: My "Dear Apple" letters will now be available on Medium

Special Announcement: My "Dear Apple", a series of open letters suggesting ideas to improve the Apple developer ecosystem, will now be available on Medium.  I am posting my first two letters, while the next one will be out within a week, and will cover the arguable success of CoreData.

https://medium.com/@magesteve

One of my favorite sources for new on AR news.

One of my favorite sources for new on AR news.

Several of my daily postings on Augmented Reality comes from this site. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in AR/VR, and other interesting techs.

https://augmented.reality.news/

Humble Bundles has a selection of VR Books for $15

Humble Bundles has a selection of VR Books for $15

You have 9 days to decided to buy 15 Springer books on AR/VR for $15.

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/virtual-reality-books

Has it really been that long? App Store turns 10

Has it really been that long? App Store turns 10

Apple and others, talk about how the App Store changed the world.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2018/07/app-store-turns-10/

MacRumor's retrospective: https://www.macrumors.com/2018/07/05/apple-app-store-retrospective-10th-anniversary/

Special Announcement: Young Friend running for town Office

Special Announcement: One of my dearest young friends (age 25) has decided she wants to make things better and is running for Commision in her small township of Casselberry. This is just outside of Orlando, FL. I think she simply wants to have things improve. Her budget is very barebone and has only recently started created a Funding page. Please take a look at it and her, and help out if you can.

https://www.gofundme.com/working-together-for-a-change

Mount the best hand motion detector to some AR glasses, and you have a recipe for Virtual Magic

Mount the best hand motion detector to some AR glasses, and you have a recipe for Virtual Magic

Leap Motion's North Star project continues. This time, an AR version of real-world Ping Pong.

http://blog.leapmotion.com/master-reality-project-northstar/

Swarms of LED Drones used in place of Fireworks in AZ Township

Swarms of LED Drones used in place of Fireworks in AZ Township.

A perfect July 4th Tech posting, several drought-stricken locations out west will be using safer Drones to simulate fireworks.

https://www.abc15.com/entertainment/events/carefree-resort-to-host-fourth-of-july-drone-show-after-cave-creek-cancels-fireworks

Intel Light Show Demo video: https://youtu.be/0FjhohHAsuc

Similar CNN Article: https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/04/us/drones-july-4-fireworks-trnd/index.html

Remembering how it was 20 years ago before the iMac launch

Remembering how it was 20 years ago before the iMac launch

At the time, as a developer, the iMac felts like another Mac to me. I missed the significance until you look back and realize how it changed things.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/06/technology/imac-anniversary-apple/index.html

Citi recommends buying Apple stock for some interesting reasons

Citi recommends buying Apple stock for some interesting reasons.

Citigroup Analyst site expanding Indi market (Applewood), Rising service revenue (App Store, AppleCare) and a Promising 2018 product lineup.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/02/5-reasons-from-citi-to-buy-apple-including-back-to-school-demand.html

Adorable Kitten playing with Laser Pointer with AR.

Adorable Kitten playing with Laser Pointer with AR.

Using Apple's ARKit, this developer proved even virtual cats love laser pointers.

https://vrscout.com/news/arkit-laser-pointer-cat-ar-game/

Direct Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYszXfkwYeQ