Geek Distractions

Category: iOS Development

  • Faking It in the Field: How I Shot a Rocky Mountain App Preview Without Leaving North Texas

    Faking It in the Field: How I Shot a Rocky Mountain App Preview Without Leaving North Texas

    There’s a moment every iOS developer dreads when building a location-aware app: you need to show it working, not just describe it. Screenshots are fine for static UI. But for an app whose whole value proposition is a compass needle pointing you back to your car in the wilderness — you need motion. You need a preview.

    I went outside to record a 30-second App Preview for GeoReturn. The problem was immediately obvious: the data on screen said North Texas. The motif said Rocky Mountain National Park. To explain how those two things ended up in conflict, I have to back up about three weeks.

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  • The Math Behind GeoLog’s Ephemeris

    The Math Behind GeoLog’s Ephemeris

    GeoLog’s Ephemeris: Reading the Compass Rose

    The screenshot above shows GeoLog’s Ephemeris view for Nubble Light, York County, Maine — April 24, 2014 at 9:30 AM Eastern Time. Before diving into the mathematics that make it work, it helps to understand what each element of the display represents.

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  • Getting Started with Flutter

    Getting Started with Flutter

    If you’ve been curious about cross-platform mobile development — building one codebase that runs on both iOS and Android — Flutter is one of the most compelling options available today. This guide covers what Flutter and Dart are, how they fit together, how to create your first project, and — critically — where Flutter shines and where it falls short.

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