Cellphone Gadget and Technology News

The Apple iPhone is an amazing device that invites  creativity. You’ve probably said to yourself: ‘I wish I  could do that on my iPhone.’

With the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK), programmers can make your ideas reality – even if you yourself don’t know the difference between a C-pointer  and a SQLite database.

More than 200 iPhone application projects have already  been posted on Elance.com. Check out these tips in this article to get  your project kick-started.

We focus on the development of applications for the Apple iPhone, and we asked Nick Dalton, iPhone SDK specialist, to give Elance buyers a few tips on how to scope and post an iPhone Application project. Here’s what he had to say:

The iPhone is an amazing device that invites creativity. If you’re an iPhone owner I’m sure you’ve said to yourself: ‘I wish I could do that on my iPhone, or I have a great idea for an iPhone application’.

With the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK), programmers can make your ideas reality – even if you yourself don’t know the difference between a C-pointer and a SQLite database. But before you go ahead and post your application idea to the buzzing iPhone project area on www.Elance,com. here are some pointers to get your project kick-started:

Study the Masters

Apple has already spent a lot of time thinking about how to present information and build interactive applications on the iPhone. The applications that come with the iPhone are the results of this research. Study them in great detail and try to apply as many of the user interface metaphors as possible to your application.

Not only will Apple be flattered if you imitate the user interface in their applications, but they actually mandate it to a great level of detail as described in their Human Interface Guidelines.

Dream in Color Screens

Most applications for the iPhone will be very visual. Therefore it makes sense to provide your requirements as screen images or sketches. You don’t have to be a graphics artist to do this effectively. An iPhone programmer is looking for the following information:

- The type of layout each screen should have

- The buttons on the screens

- The actions associated with each button

The exact shape and format of your screen sketches is secondary. As long as they are readable, it’s a great way to communicate your application design to a programmer.

Be Realistic About Your Budget

Look at other iPhone projects posted on Elance to get a sense for the bid amounts on these projects. Read the descriptions of these projects to see if they seem to be larger or smaller projects than what you have in mind. If you set your budget to under $500 for something that is realistically going to take a programmer two months to implement, you are not likely to attract many bidders.

From a programming perspective, some things are easy to do on the iPhone, while other seemingly simple things are very time consuming. For example the beautiful cover-flow animation used in the music application on the iPhone should be simple to use in other applications. Unfortunately you can’t. If you want this animation within your application it will have to be written from scratch, probably costing a one month of work.

If you talk to an approved iPhone developer early in your application design process you can learn how to get most out of your budget by avoiding the things that are really difficult to do on the iPhone.

Don’t Be Too Original

iPhone users already know how to do certain tasks on their phones by convention. For example, if you tap an item in a list that has a > icon next to it, you expect to be taken to another screen with more information about that item. If your application needs similar functionality, don’t be creative and come up with a new way to solve the same problem. Use the conventions already established by Apple.

New conventions are difficult to establish especially with the touch interface because there is no way to discover how your application works on the iPhone. Unlike a website where you can hover with the mouse pointer over areas that look like you can interact with them and a tool tip or the status bar will reveal some clues to you.

Know Your Limitations

The current version of the iPhone SDK, which is used to write applications for the iPhone, has many restrictions and limitations. Some of them are common sense, e.g. you can’t send text messages from an application. Imagine an application that sends out thousands of text messages without your knowledge, who is going to pay the phone bill for that?

Other restrictions are maddening: applications cannot access the log of phone calls, or interact in any way with the calendar or the music stored on the iPhone.

To Apple’s credit, the iPhone SDK is an amazing piece of software especially given that it was publicly released as a Beta just three months ago. Some of the shortcomings listed above will likely be addressed in future releases of the SDK.

As a buyer with an idea for an iPhone application, you should educate yourself about these limitations before you spend too much time designing an application that is impossible to implement. Talk to a developer or company that specializes in iPhone development (and there are many available on Elance) and they can help you get on the right track from the start.

About

Nick Dalton (username: 360mind) is an experienced iPhone SDK specialist and Elance.com service provider. He has 15+ years of background in programming, and currently focuses his business, 360mind, 100% on the development of iPhone applications. For more information on Nick, check out his book, 101 iPhone Tips and Tricks.

 

When you press the power button on your computer and it just sit

there with none of those clicking and beeping sounds along with

the monitor still having that blank screen,you know that you’re

going to have a bad day.

A computer that fails to boot can be one of the most pain

staking things that can happen to a pc user.And in most cases,

the user don’t have a clue as to what procedures they can take

to get the PC up and running again.

When you do experience pc bootup failure, always start your

troubleshooting by checking the obvious.It the cord plugged into

the wall outlet and is the other end securely plugged in the

rear of the system unit.

In many cases the cause is a corrupted startup file which

prevent the computer from going through the bootup from start to

finish.In this case, an easy way to start your PC is to have an

emergency boot disk handy.

A Boot Disk contain copies of critical files needed for startup

that you should have made earlier.To use the floppy disk, all

you need do is to place it in the floppy drive and reboot the

computer.

As the computer start the boot process, Windows will use the

good files to get itself going.The Windows XP boot disk will

enable you to resolve a corrupt Ntbootdd.sys driver, missing or

corrupt Ntdr or Ntdetect.com files.

These files are used by Windows XP and are crucial to its

startup and configuration.The boot disk have also repair a

damaged MBR or Master Boot Record.

The MBR is a small program executed when the PC boots and

resides on the first sector of the hard driveIt looks up the

partition on the hard drive.You can create a MBR with the FDISK

/MBR coomand

A damaged boot sector can also be corrected with the boot

disk.Your Windows XP boot disk will be a life saver when you

have pc bootup failure and you need that file for your next

interview.

A sector is the smallest unit that can be accessed on a

disk.When a disk is low level formatted, it will be divided

tracks and sectors

When making a boot disk make a mental note of the files being

copied.This will give you added knowledge when you will need to

help in making their boot disk.To make a boot disk, perform the

following.

Place a blank formatted floppy disk in your floppy drive and go

to My Computer in Windows XP.Click the hard drive icon and on

the toolbar, click Tools, Folder Options, and then click the

View Tab.

And scroll down and check “Show hidden files and folders” and

just below uncheck “Hide protected operating system files

(recommended). Now we’re getting a little slower.

Take note of this process and as you become more familiar with

this task, you’ll be able to make a boot disk for others in no

time and help them save on down time.

After unchecking “Hide protected operating system files, click

OK.Some grayed out files will now be visible in the drive

window.These files are protected system files.

Now you’re ready to select the boot, the NTDETECT, and the ntldr

files.Now right-click, click Send To, and select Floppy ( A:

).When you have copied all files to the floppy, you now have a

Windows XP boot disk.

You should make two or more boot disks and place them in a safe

place away from any type of magnetic or static charges.Before

putting them away don’t forget to label your life saving floppy

disks.

Should you be unfortunate enough to have to put one of your boot

floppies to use, remember to replace the startup files on the

hard drive with the ones on the floppy.

If you overlook this critical step, you’ll have the same boot

up problem every time.Take your time as you copy the files and

be sure not to reverse the copy procedure.

This is why its important to make two or more boot disks. This

way should you have an accident with one disk, so what, you paid

attention here and made several copies.

You’ve done it.You’re now armed with a repair tool should your

XP computer fail to boot.All Windows 98, 2000, and Me users also

have the resources to create a book disk.

Public schools play a vital role in shaping this nation’s future. As I write this article, we are about to elect a new President. It is probable that a change in administration will result in a new policy effecting education. The direction and quality of this policy will have a lasting effect on our public schools and on our nation as a whole. So where do we go from here?

At this moment, sitting in a classroom somewhere in America is a future Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffet, and Martha Stewart. Will these students have the necessary tools to rise to the top of their profession or will we become dependent on other countries to provide leadership in this global economy? Education may be the determining factor.

“The economy of the future will be dominated by industries in microelectronics, telecommunications, robotics and biotechnology – not to mention new fields that haven’t even been predicted.” – NEA TODAY, March 2008

The essential focus in education must be to prepare American students for the challenge of the twenty-first century workplace. It is abundantly clear that our drop-out rate is too high and student performance levels are too low. Identifying these problems may be the first step toward a solution but current solutions simply don’t work. Under NCLB, academic testing has become the main focus for education reform. An emphasis on test results has forced educators to direct their energy and resources directly toward teaching to these tests. The irony is that some career-related courses and arts programs that clearly motivate students to stay in school and perform have been weakened, or even eliminated, in the process. The pressure that this type of reform has placed on educators can negate innovation and creativity in the classroom. Current policy hinders the teacher’s ability to inspire students.

Future planning for education must include a focus on changing technology and introduce the student to the necessity of lifelong learning. Programs like Tech-Prep, School-to-Work and Career Academies have successfully introduced these ideas to some high school students but have not gone far enough. No plan is complete without a delivery system that motivates and inspires students to learn. Such a plan must be implemented long before high school and have the potential to impact every student. When students are motivated to learn, test scores will rise. So where do we go from here?

A successful plan for education will include structured partnerships. As described in the book Facing the Future Together, educators should never plan or implement a program in isolation. Through structured partnerships with those who are stakeholders in education (business, industry and other agencies in the community) every program becomes stronger and every student benefits. Business and industry have an enormous stake in student achievement. Where will future customers, clients and skilled employees come from if not from the school system? Partnerships bring us closer as a community to address our common concerns and everyone benefits. Since we all have a stake in the student who exits our school system, the number of potential partners is almost limitless.

A successful school-business partnership is well structured, sustainable and clearly designed to show students the connection between education and the world beyond the school’s walls. This approach brings relevance to learning and helps to keep students motivated and in school. As previously stated, students will perform better in class and score higher on tests if they understand the relevance of subject matter they are expected to learn.

Taking that first step toward building a successful partnership can be a challenge but the result is that everyone wins. As a new administration takes office in Washington D.C. and a new education policy is formulated we have an opportunity to gain some of the ground we have lost in recent years. Facing the future of education together as partners gives us a strong foundation to build upon.