Saturday 30 June 2012

The Node Beginner Book A Node.js tutorial by Manuel Kiessling


The Node Beginner Book

A Node.js tutorial by Manuel Kiessling

About

The aim of this document is to get you started with developing applications with Node.js, teaching you everything you need to know about "advanced" JavaScript along the way. It goes way beyond your typical "Hello World" tutorial.


Read more at

Source: http://www.nodebeginner.org/

The Best Web Apps of 2010


The Best Web Apps of 2010







2010 has been quite a year for web apps with HTML5 and CSS3 really beginning to catch on, giving web apps more power and capabilities than they’ve ever had before and bringing them closer to their desktop rivals—or completely redefining the way we do certain things (social media?).
With 2011 right around the corner, the AppStorm team thought it would be a great time to take a look back on 2010 and some of the best applications developers have brought us. So we bring you 20 of the best web apps from 2010.
In preparing this post, I was taken back by the incredible number of fantastic web apps I’ve seen this year, so it’s very possible you’ll find something new and amazing yourself. Go on and take a look!

Dropbox

Dropbox
Dropbox
Although Dropbox’s primary function isn’t its web app, it’s still one of our favorite apps with so many uses it’ll blow your hair back. The desktop application is, without question, the world’s best multi-platform, multi-system data sync software.
The number of tips, tricks and hacks for Dropbox make it one of the most versatile apps I’ve likely ever come across. The combination of the powerful desktop and web apps ensure you always have access to your data, regardless of where you are.
Be sure to take a look at our Ultimate Dropbox Toolkit & Guide for a massive (and growing) list of ways to use this amazing app.

Facebook

Facebook
Facebook
You’re probably wondering why I’m even including Facebook on this list considering it’s user-base is so massive it could be its own country, and one of the largest at that. But, let’s face it, Facebook has changed the way we interact socially and it’s been in the news more than any other app—especially for its privacy concerns—and has also changed dramatically over the last year.
Facebook is “THE” social network. There’s just no better way to stay in touch with your friends, family co-workers, favorite brands, bands or media. Web.AppStorm has also covered Facebook incredibly frequently; see a few of the following posts.

Google Products (Apps)

Google Products
Google Products
Google is a killer app producing beast, no doubt—possibly the king of web apps. Not only do they run the worlds most popular search engine but they also offer apps that are arguably the most popular in their own categories; GmailGoogle MapsYouTubeGoogle DocsPicasa and Google Chrome.
You’re all likely familiar with at least a few of Google’s amazing apps and the reach they have in the web world, so I need not further explain!

SmugMug

SmugMug
SmugMug
As great as SmugMug is, it’s still hard to choose between it and Flickr considering they’re both top of their class but work better for different people’s needs. Over 2010, however, I’d have to go with SmugMug considering the number of improvements and new features they’ve implemented.
SmugMug is one of the best apps you could choose for storing and sharing images, not to mention the abilities it gives users for customizing galleries and printing & framing options. SmugMug also has options leading their field in video, allowing 1080p quality at up to 10 minutes.

TweetDeck

TweetDeck
TweetDeck
While there are several fantastic Twitter web apps, TweetDeck stands out of the crowd and isn’t just popular on the web but also one of the top choices for desktop users as well. TweetDeck offers a version of their app for essentially every major device and platform, from desktop to mobile and as of just recently, the Chrome Web Store.
TweetDeck isn’t just a Twitter powerhouse, it’s a social media connection hub for pretty much everything.
Runner up: HootSuite

Aviary

Aviary
Aviary
From image editing to music creation, Aviary is a powerhouse of killer web apps. While their primary apps are Flash-based, they’ve recently launched a lightweight HTML5 image editor that can even be embedded in your own apps. Aviary isn’t the only ones providing a fantastic online image editor, but they certainly have one of the best (if not the best) collections of great apps for tackling lots of different media types.
Runner up: Splashup.com

OnLive

OnLive
OnLive
OnLive is attempting to revolutionize the way games are made available and against all odds, they’re doing a pretty dang amazing job of it. They’re pushing their new game system pretty heavily but you can just as easily play via browser capable computer and most recently view live players with an iPad.
The OnLive team is taking their technology even further, however, with rumors and demos of video streaming and remote system access (e.g. Windows 7 through a browser). While OnLive’s game list is still pretty limited, it’s growing and the service is taking fantastic steps forward all the time, recently even offering unlimited gaming for $10 per month!
If you want a deeper look at OnLive, be sure to read our early review (with video preview), OnLive: Next Generation Gaming.

Hulu Plus

Hulu Plus
Hulu Plus
Hulu was quite the hit as soon as it was released and it’s been in the news quite a bit through this last year for the struggles they’ve had obtaining and offering more content. One thing’s for sure though, Hulu is arguably the best place to catch up on your favorite TV shows.
With the addition of Hulu Plus, you can get all your favorite Hulu content shortly after airing, usually in HD and on a solid number of devices including the iPhone and iPad. At $7.99 per month, it’s not a bad deal. Unfortunately it’s not available outside the states just yet.
Runner up: Netflix

Groupon

Groupon
Groupon
Groupon is a relatively new app but has really begun catching on this last year, introducing many to the new concept of social shopping. It’s popularity and success has really taken off this year and it doesn’t look like it’ll be slowing down any time soon.
The concept behind Groupon is pretty simple; you subscribe to daily deals (just notifications) and purchase deals you like along with your friends and family (though you can purchase them alone). In some of the deals, groups are required and it can be much more fun snagging a deal on an event with your friends.

Grooveshark

Grooveshark
Grooveshark
While Pandora is still one of the most popular music streaming web apps, it’s still only radio via the web and hasn’t changed all that much this year. Grooveshark, however, is a music library with access to music and “radio stations”, all for free (with an optional VIP paid subscription).
Throughout the year, Grooveshark has made lots of improvements to their web app along with offering mobile apps for all the major mobile platforms (including Blackberry and Palm). Grooveshark works amazingly well, has a great selection of music and the price is hard to beat!

Evernote

Evernote
Evernote
Evernote is similar to Dropbox in that it’s a powerful data sync tool compatible with nearly every platform; desktop, mobile and web. It’s not exclusively a web app and requires a downloaded app whether on windows or a mobile device to really make use of it but all your data is accessible via the web as well.
Evernote differs from Dropbox in the type of data typically stored, based on a note and notebook concept and built to help organize your notes and data (including images, files, etc).
If you want to learn more about Evernote and how to take advantage of its awesome capabilities, check out the following posts.

Kickstarter

Kickstarter
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is easily one of my favorite apps of 2010, making things possible for people in a very elegant and social way not previously possible. Users can start projects, requesting backers to reach the projects financial goal. If the goal is reached, the project is funded (by the backers). Other users can back any project they’d like (I’ve already backed two, both reaching their goals) and if the project reaches its required financial goal from their backers, you’ll then be required to pay the money you backed the project for.
It’s a fantastic idea and makes it much easier for every day people to back projects and achieve their goals. They’ve already had tons of fantastically successful projects! See Rocking Kickstarter for Easy Project Funding for a more in-depth look.

SlideRocket

SlideRocket
SlideRocket
SlideRocket is a presentation web app that really shows what kind of incredibly powerful apps can be developed for the web. In my opinion, even current desktop powerpoint apps fail to offer the capabilities SlideRocket does. It’s even available on mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad.
SlideRocket is free but many of the more powerful features are reserved for the Pro plan, which will be well worth it for business or heavy presentation users. See our review of SlideRocket,Power Your Presentations with the New SlideRocket, more a more in-depth look but keep in mind they’ve added many fantastic features since then.

Freshbooks

Freshbooks
Freshbooks
It’s difficult to say Freshbooks has been the best invoicing app for freelancers as there are definitely others that are more appealing to those with different levels of needs. Freshbooks does, however, offer one of the widest range of capabilities and features and is certainly one of the most widely used.
Invoice, track time, organize expenses, manage clients and integrate with many other amazing web apps for your business needs with Freshbooks.
Other invoicing apps I would highly recommend are BlinksaleCurdBeeRonin and Invoice Machine. I’d encourage you to also take a look at our review of Blinksale—Blinksale:
A Revamped Butt Kicking Invoice App
.

Penzu

Penzu
Penzu
When it comes to private journaling, Penzu has rocked 2010. They’ve added plenty of new features and more recently released a full HTML5 app for mobiles that rivals some native apps. The app is a pleasure to use, not to mention how therapeutic private journaling is, and offers plenty of features for you to customize your journal and connect with services like Flickr for adding your photos.
Be sure to check out our reviews of Penzu’s apps for a more in-depth look.

Threadsy

Threadsy
Threadsy
Threadsy takes a different approach to email and social media, bringing the two into a single app but in a way that makes it easier for you to organize and stay on top of everything. So many of us have multiple email and social networking accounts—Threadsy enables you to pull them all into one place to easily manage it all.
Although it’s still in beta, it’s come a long way this year and boasts some really killer features, proving just how powerful web apps can be.

Forrst

Forrst
Forrst
Forrst is a fun and creative app for designers and developers to share links, snapshots of their work, code and ask questions. Although some might argue Dribbble should be here instead, Forrst brought the Dribbble concept to a new level and with more creativity.
Both are invite-only apps, meaning you must be invited by current members who are encouraged to only invite those who will compliment the community. For creatives and coders, it’s a valuable resource and a great social community.

FontStruct

FontStruct
FontStruct
Font creation and sharing used to be a much more exclusive club, not to mention much more difficult. FontStruct changed that and opened up the world of fonts to every day users with an app that anyone can start using without extensive training. It’s also free!
There’s a lot more to the app, community and website though—definitely worth checking out if you’d like to design fonts or are interested in the subject. Take a look at Creating Fonts with FontStruct for a more in-depth look at the app.

FormStack

Formstack
Formstack
Online forms and their associated data can be a massive pain to build and manage, especially for those who aren’t web developers. FormStack takes the pain out of this whole web forms nightmare, making it incredibly easy to build and manage forms and the data you’ll receive from them. It really doesn’t get easier than this!
In 2010 Formstack has made lots of great improvements and added incredibly useful app integrations to easily enable things like payments. They even offer a free plan should you not need more than a few simple forms, but pricing plans are very reasonable should you need more.

LastPass

LastPass
LastPass
We all know how important password security is and how difficult it is to manage and remember more than a few complex passwords. LastPass takes care of it all for you on Mac, Windows and Linux with integration in every major browser and even mobile access on iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows phone, Symbian and Android. That’s impressive app support but your passwords are that important and the LastPass team knows it!
LastPass has been around for awhile but they deserve a spot on this list as they’ve acquiredXmarks, the best browser bookmarks sync app around, saving it from shutting down. Hopefully the two will be combined but either way, LastPass is a stellar group for keeping Xmarks alive.

A Few Favorite Posts

We’ve reviewed and rounded up some truly fantastic web apps this year and I can’t wait to see what next year holds. There are a few posts I’ve really enjoyed this year as Web.AppStorm and our fantastic team has grown and I’d love to share them with you. Take a look!

What’s Coming in 2011?

Looking back on 2010 we’ll see that web apps have really started coming of age and are further blurring the line between desktop and cloud computing. This is really just the tip of the iceberg though, with new web technologies like HTML5 and more powerful browsers making their way into people’s day to day lives. So, what do we have to look forward to in 2011?
For starters, the just launched Chrome Web Store and Chrome OS will further develop and hopefully flourish. These two products are a unique perspective on the world of web apps and one that many feel is overdue. Google may just be able to start the full-on cloud computing revolution and we might see it blossom next year.
As more people shift to entertainment sources on the web, we’ll very likely continue seeing the growth of apps like Hulu and Netflix, possibly even getting a truly usable system to access our content in the living room—potentially allowing more people to “cut the cable” and ditch their cable TV providers.
One development I’d absolutely love to see next year is for OnLive and their collection of games and media offerings. OnLive’s technology has capabilities that could change the way we compute and consume media. They’re off to a great start already and moving ahead quickly so I have high hopes for them in 2011.
With all the incredible developments and advancements coming out at break-neck speed, it’s hard to keep up on it all—and not just in web apps.

The Best iOS and Mac Apps of 2010

If you’re a fan of the your trusty Mac, iPhone, or iPad (and let’s face it, who isn’t?), you may also like to take a look at the companion posts published across the AppStorm network. These include some seriously amazing software, and it’s a good way to quickly see what you might have missed over the course of the year.
Take a look at:
Thank you so much for reading AppStorm in 2010. We’re really excited about everything that 2011 has in store, and I hope you’ll take a minute to subscribe to the site if you haven’t already! The AppStorm team of sites will be working hard to bring you the latest in reviews, roundups, how-tos and more.


Friday 29 June 2012

Think Vitamin



Loads of cool tutes

Source: http://thinkvitamin.com/

Teamtreehouse.com




Source: http://teamtreehouse.com

Top 10 Tips To Creating Profitable iPhone Apps


If my blog helped you and your business, I'd like to ask you to help me raise money to securedrinking water to 25 people in a developing country.
It's charitygood karma and a chance to give back to the people. Learn more.
Top 10 Tips To Creating Profitable iPhone Apps
I write a lot of technical articles about iPhone/ iPad development and I’ve published 2 books and contributed to a 3rd one. This time though I’ve compiled a short list of advices based on my 18 active months in the App Store. If you are a beginner in the App Store or you already published few titles, but looking at why you maybe are not selling as much as you want – I hope my article will help you succeed. I have written the Top 10 advices article as a part of a bigger project aiming to help iPhone/iPad developers and indie publishers, so if you find the article helpful please answer the 2 question poll at the bottom of the text.

1. Look for a niche or an up-going trend

When you are brainstorming about your next (first) app use all the freely accessible information on the Internet. First check what is selling at the moment – open iTunes and see what apps are in each category of the app store in the top 100 and “what’s hot” charts.
Now be sure to make the diference between an over-saturated market and an opportunity market. The first fart app made tons of money, the second was a hit, but fart apps (in general) were a trend for such a long time that eventually Apple started denying them into the App store.
So have a look what’s selling and if you think there’s still some $ for yet another app of the kind go ahead, otherwise see if you could develop the trend in another direction and release something that is not already on the market (even better).

2. More work does not mean more proft

Let’s say you want to create a 3d racing game – there is defnitely a big market for such games already and there’s a lot of $ to be made by anyone who can deliver. The thing is a 3d racing game is a lot of work, and of course as a good programmer (or outsourcer) you are not afraid of it, but the problem is that the more work you’d put in your product does not necessarily mean more proft for you. With this type of game you are in direct competition with companies like Electronic Arts and Gameloft. The fact they own big and professional marketing departments is likely to demean the value of your work hour – so get to know your competitor, be sure they don’t have big advantage on you in sales and make sure you’ll get the real $ value of the hours you intend to put in your product.

3. Always check if your app is not already existing

This is probably the very first and most common mistake potential developers do. An idea strikes them while in the bath tube and they spend hours, days if not weeks, fantasizing about what functionalities their app will have and how beautiful will it look and so forth and so forth. Until the time they finally mention it to a friend of theirs and he/she points them out to a very similar app in the app store which is already live and has X more features and its design was contracted to a professional designer.
If you have an idea – open iTunes and spend 15 minutes to make a research.

4. Name it right

Probably the hardest task will be to come up with catchy and reasonable name: it has to not be already taken, it has to say what the app is all about with one to three words and it has to be international. You hit the curb. Search everything you come up with first in Google, you’d be surprised how many and how awkward game titles exist already. Think hard and good. Don’t make a poll or a focus group with your friends. No great invention has been made by a focus group. Furthermore your friends will tend to be more critical of your ideas since you are “not a real company” – this advice is for free. Better ask your wife/husband instead of your friends, signifcant ones will be in general more supportive and criticize your ideas only if they really think are bad (for the family peace’s sake).

5. You have 2 seconds to turn a visitor into a customer

Facts are facts – most visitors on your iTunes page or your app web site will have had made their minds about whether to buy or not after the first 2 seconds. They may stay longer on your site – even browse around to see your testimonials etc., but they will rarely change their minds after that first decision.
Your most valuable marketing assets are your icon and the app name. These are what the visitor will first see on your iTunes page or your web site. If those two don’t sell the app it’s almost over for you. You can highlight all the great features in the app description, but sadly people just don’t read text (furthermore only the first line of text is visible and almost no-one will click the read more link).
if your icon is catchy be sure your screenshots are too – this is the next thing people will look at and those screenshots are the deal closer, after the screenshots is either buy now or leave to another page/app.

6. Don’t invent the wheel; use a framework

You might be a very good programmer or a first-time app developer – that does not really matter – code is just code and sooner or later it gets written and does what you want the way you want it. What really matters is how much efort you put into it and whether you can spend less time and get better quality in the same time.
There’s a ton of frameworks out there, some are commercially supported (but still free to use) and some are community developed (which still provides you with lots of opportunities to ask about your troubles in forums).
Imagine how much time it takes you to write an OpenGL ES engine for your 2d game: let’s for the sake of the article say it takes only two months to have everything coded, tested and optimized: that’ll be around 400 hours x let’s say 40$/hr; you end up with a 16,000$ budget and you still don’t have a single line of logic for your game. Swallow your pride and spend a week to master one of the 2d frameworks out there.

7. Don’t overcomplicate

This is a real story: I have a long history of developing for the desktop and the web, I’ve been doing consulting, software architecture and product design – I defnitely do know about software. While developing my first serious app for the iPhone I was trying to use all my expertise in software development to develop an awesome product. But what has happened was: I was trying to apply knowledge in space rocket engineering to build an awesome spoon. First of all space rockets and spoons have diferent users and as well diferent cost to design and produce. Don’t make your users feel (or worse: pay) like if they were using a rocket. Why? Because there are a lot of spoons out there and if you challenge or make your user uncomfortable they’d just get another spoon for a minimal price.

8. Decide on a business model before doing any work

Before you put any time into designing an icon, coding, hiring freelance copywriters, etc. etc. be sure you know what your business model will be and be sure you feel comfortable with it and it has the realistic possibility to provide you with some income.
if you plan on releasing a simple app much like a bunch of other apps on the store for the minimal price of 0,99$ be sure anyone with a similar app is selling. You won’t be able to put ads in a paid application (or better you should not if you don’t want to piss off your users) and the next thing when your sales hit the rock bottom will be to go free – then would be kind of late to add adverts inside. Be sure you plan ahead.
if you plan to release a small free app in the wild – be sure it could bring you some income. if you are depending on advertisement $ ask yourself how many times per day is the user likely to start your app? if they use it 3 times and never start it again they will never see the ads in your app.

9. Don’t use your valuable time on a dead cat

Almost all apps have similar sales graph. Release, then being quiet for a few days, then skyrocket and then slowly sink towards a plateau close to the bottom. There are a million and one tricks how to make your sales’ peak unload more apps and how to make your downtrend flatter, etc. but remember once you hit the bottom it will never be a hit app anymore, you can keep it alive and sell some more, but eforts vs. proft ratio will only get worse and worse.

10. Make fuss about it

Now that you are all done and you have a great app at hands and you are ready to start selling: don’t rush it! You won’t have patience to see what’s going to happen, and how your sales are going to do, but hold the release! Even if you are not a social media expert you do have some friends, some family, colleagues, and x-roommates, former girlfriends with whom you already speak again, and so forth. Make them all know you are releasing an app for the iPhone, tell them 3 times until they have written about it on their Facebook walls and until some tell you to stop bothering them.
Make sure to follow up with them when you do release the app.
Another step you defnitely should take is make a press release. It is not likely that this is going to get you on first page of your local newspaper, but if you use a service which automatically sends your release to a number of press release web sites they will publish it. That efectively creates hundreds of links to your iTunes page or your website and you defnitely want to be friends with the Google search engine.

Poll

1. Did you find the subject of the article interesting/relevant to your business?
Yes
No
Not applicable to me
2. Where do you find information how to market/sell your apps on the App Store?
Blogs on the net
Specialized web-sites
Books
Nowhere, I just release the apps and wait
Not applicable to me
Photo: Gabriella Fabbri

Marin Todorov

is an independent iOS developer and publisher. He's got more than 18 years of experience in a dozen of languages and platforms. This is his writing project.
» Marin's homepage    » Contact    » Marin's Cocos2D game creation course


Source: http://www.touch-code-magazine.com/top-10-tips-to-creating-profitable-iphone-apps/