Beta testers wanted: Glaurung for the iPhone

[Tord Romstad]

Hi all,

My work on the iPhone port of Glaurung is progressing nicely, and I expect to have a beta version ready for testing within a week or two. There will be two versions of the final product; one for distribution through Apple's App Store (assuming that Apple accepts it), and one version for jailbroken phones. The version for jailbroken phones will be free, and the App Store version will probably be free, but I may still decide to charge a dollar or two. The bureaucracy surrounding developing and distributing apps through the App Store is insane, and I even have to pay USD 99 per year for the privilege of being a member. It would be nice to get at least some compensation for all the incredibly boring work I have to go through just to be able to distribute a simple program. It is still most likely that the App Store version will be free, but I can't promise anything at the moment. In any case, the source code will of course be free.

At the moment, I am looking for beta testers. I'd like to get in touch both with testers with jailbroken phones and with non-jailbroken phones, to make sure both versions of the program work as intended. If you are interested, please drop me an e-mail or a private message on this board, and tell me which of the two versions you would like to test.

Tord

[Tord Romstad]

Screen shot (the clocks are not running, simply because the program isn't quite finished yet):



Tord

[Titu]

Your program should work on a IPod touch 2nd generation (software 2.2) as well, right?

Regards,
Titu

[Tord Romstad]

Your program should work on a IPod touch 2nd generation (software 2.2) as well, right?

Yes, certainly. In fact, that's probably the best possible platform for running it at the moment: I think the 2nd generation iPod touch has a faster CPU than the 1st generation iPod touch and both generations of the iPhone.

Tord

[Mark]

Screenshot looks great!

How would beta testing work on the iPhone? I thought the only way to get programs on non-jailbroken iPhones was through the app store. Or is the testing on a virtual iPhone on the pc?

[Mark]

Get ready for quadcore iPhones! From the MacRumors.com site:

"ZDNet reports that the iPhone 3.0 firmware will support quad-core processors in an upcoming iPhone hardware revision. While Apple has not yet detailed iPhone 3.0 firmware, MacRumors has independently heard from a reliable source of this same multi-core support in the 3.0 firmware which should accompany the next iPhone."

[Tord Romstad]

Screenshot looks great!

How would beta testing work on the iPhone? I thought the only way to get programs on non-jailbroken iPhones was through the app store.

For beta testing, there's another way:

Developers can create something called an "Ad Hoc Distribution Provisioning Profile" which allows distribution to beta testers. The distribution profile makes it possible to send the program and an associated .mobileprovision file to up to 100 users, who can simply drag the application and the .mobileprovision file to their iTunes application window, and it will be installed on their iPhone the next time they sync.

Unfortunately, the procedure I have to follow to obtain an ad hoc distribution provisioning profile is painfully complex. For instance, I have to register the device IDs of all the iPhones and iPods on which my beta testers want to run the program. I am not even sure it is possible to add more device IDs after the provisioning profile is created, which is why I want to get in touch with interested testers a little bit before my program is really ready for testing.

Tord

[Tord Romstad]

Get ready for quadcore iPhones! From the MacRumors.com site:

"ZDNet reports that the iPhone 3.0 firmware will support quad-core processors in an upcoming iPhone hardware revision. While Apple has not yet detailed iPhone 3.0 firmware, MacRumors has independently heard from a reliable source of this same multi-core support in the 3.0 firmware which should accompany the next iPhone."

I've also seen this rumor, but I am skeptical. It seems a bit weird that Apple would release quad-core phones before they release quad-core laptops or consumer desktops.

Tord