Keef Moon

BBC News for iOS 2.0

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 20:34:53 +0100

For just over the last 4 months, I’ve been leading a small team that has been working to update the BBC News App for iPhone and iPad.

This new version went live this week and is a significant update. The App has been re-built from the ground up, allowing for a refreshed UI, and addresses a number of bugs and stability issues with the previous version.

The update also improved the accessibility of the App, ensuring VoiceOver users can navigate the App with ease.

Response to version 2.0 has been overwhelmingly positive:

Rupert Maspero (@rmaspero)

BBC’s update to their news app is a huge improvement!

https://twitter.com/rmaspero/status/319043775282421760

Lance Andrewes (@lanceanz)

Today’s update of BBC News for iOS is a major one. Layout has been revamped, and it’s clearly faster.

https://twitter.com/lanceanz/status/316972126756286464

And the iPad App was picked an Editor’s Choice by the App Store:

We have noticed a few niggling issues, that will hope to address with an update soon, but in all a very successful launch, and an App we are proud of.

Sponsor me to run the London marathon (almost) barefoot

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 08:40:24 +0000

I will be running in this year’s London Marathon, and to be honest, I’ve left the fundraising quite late.

I am running to raise money for the NSPCC, which is a fantastic charity that does great work.

This is my first marathon, although I’ve run 2 half marathon’s previously. As if that wasn’t enough of a challenge, I’ll be running it barefoot…. sort of.

Instead of running in cushioned trainers, I will be running the marathon in minimalist footwear that does little more than stop my feet getting cut on sharp stones.

You can find out more about barefoot and minimalist running on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barefoot_running

I am looking to reach a sponsorship goal of £2,000 so please sponsor me anything you can spare.

To sponsor me, please visit http://keef.me/barefoot-sponsor or you can text KEEF55 and an amount to 70070. For example, sending the following text:

KEEF55 £10

to 70070 would sponsor me for £10 and be much appreciated.

Great iOS Bluetooth Tutorial

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 23:59:06 +0000

Great iOS Bluetooth Tutorial:

Looking forward to trying out some Bluetooth goodness.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 23:27:56 +0000

Friday was my last day at Hotels.com, I’m leaving for a new contract at the BBC.

I have been working there for nearly a year and have enjoyed my time immensely. I have made some really good friends and greatly improved my understanding of software development practices, and I put that down to the great working environment and the skill and patience of my colleagues.

My team bought me the most amazing leaving present ever, THE BIGGEST MUG IN THE WORLD, which they all signed. Thanks all :)

IT Project Team of the Year Finalist

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:35:12 +0000

The Hotels.com iOS team has been named as a finalist for the BCS IT Industry Awards 2012, in the category IT Project Team of the Year.

I wrote about being shortlisted, but we have made it to the final, and representatives will be attending a black tie awards ceremony tomorrow (Wed 14th Nov).

Fingers crossed!

Shortlisted for a UK IT Industry Award

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 13:30:50 +0100

The Hotels.com iOS team (which I am currently a part of) has been shortlisted for a UK IT Industry Award in the category of IT Project Team of the Year.

UK IT Industry Awards Shortlist

I’m told the award is specifically for the iPad App project, which we as a team have been improving over the last year.

You can download Hotels.com HD for your iPad from the App Store

: iOS 6 Features I Didn't Know About

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 15:17:34 +0100

: iOS 6 Features I Didn't Know About:

The second to last feature is an amazing attention to detail:

Metallic sliders across the OS now have a subtle reflection effect that is created with the accelerometer. See a video here.

chadwilliamsblog:

I have compiled a list of features that I have found in iOS 6 that I did not know about. These are things that Apple has never mentioned and I love them.

Notification Center:

Notification Center now includes the end time of calendar events. Before, you could only see the start time and…

I was asked to provide an simple explanation of how an iPhone...

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 10:06:30 +0100

I was asked to provide an simple explanation of how an iPhone App interacts with, and retrieves data from, a web service, such as we use at Hotels.com. It seems to have been really helpful for some non-technical people here, and so I thought is might be helpful for others.

Created on my journey home one day, using OmniGraffle for iPad.

Shakespeare’s London, the App I built with Victor Keegan...

Tue, 15 May 2012 21:18:37 +0100

Shakespeare’s London, the App I built with Victor Keegan was featured in this week’s Time Out.

Lightbox Blog: Lightbox is joining Facebook!

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:54:20 +0100

Lightbox Blog: Lightbox is joining Facebook!:

I used to sit next to these guys. Congratulations Lightbox!

lightboxapp:

We started Lightbox because we were excited about creating new services built primarily for mobile, especially for the Android and HTML5 platforms, and we’re honored that millions of you have downloaded the Lightbox Photos app and shared your experiences with the Lightbox community.

Today,…

Victor Keegan demoing our iPhone App Gems of London

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:32:10 +0100

Victor Keegan demoing our iPhone App Gems of London

Entertaining recruitment video from Expedia, featuring the...

Fri, 04 May 2012 13:12:11 +0100

Entertaining recruitment video from Expedia, featuring the building I currently work in for Expedia/Hotels.com

NCT Babychange listed in the Top 10 Parenting Apps

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:38:06 +0100

NCT Babychange listed in the Top 10 Parenting Apps:

I’m a bit late in posting this as it happened a couple of weeks ago, but my App for the NCT has been listed by The Independent as one of the Top 10 App for parents. Details here http://keef.me/Top10Parenting

AudioFuel in the Top 50 Innovative UK Apps

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:44:23 +0000

My AudioFuel App has been listed as in The App Side’s list of 50 Innovative App from the UK. The report is embedded below.

Apps Report5

My new App, Hidden Gems of London, built in collaboration with...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:32:09 +0000

My new App, Hidden Gems of London, built in collaboration with Victor Keegan, is now live in the App Store!

http://keef.me/LDNGems

Our App shows you a London that isn’t in the guide books, highlighting hidden places and features.

The award-winning NCT Babychanging App that I built for the...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:47:08 +0000

The award-winning NCT Babychanging App that I built for the National Childbirth Trust has now had a new honour bestowed upon it. Two weekends ago it was selected for the Sunday Times App List, which selects and categories the 500 best Apps in the App Store.

I didn’t get a copy of the print version, so here is a screenshot from the Sunday Times iPad App.

What I have to do to get Siri to tell me the time Siri is...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:45:15 +0000

What I have to do to get Siri to tell me the time

Siri is awesome and I use it all the time, but sometime it seems to over complicate things.

Before Siri there was Voice Control, it did simple things like playing music, voice dialling and tell you the time. However in some instances, Siri seems like a step backwards.

For something as simple as asking for the time, instead of just repeating the iPhone’s current time, it now requires an Internet connection and uses your location to determine your time zone…. except that it doesn’t seem to be able to tie your, very accurate, location to a particular time zone.

High Schools Are Step One Of Two

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:52:25 +0000

High Schools Are Step One Of Two:

Not sure how I feel about Apple owning the whole education market, which is clearly what they are trying to do. But change is needed and if this is how it happens then so be it.

mckaythomas:

MG Siegler in his latest TechCrunch article posits that although Apple’s new iBooks strategy is admirable in its effort to fix problems in public high schools, that it’s not realistic and that their market strategy should revolve around colleges and college textbooks.

On the surface, which seems logical enough, his argument is sound. But It ignores the one, HUGE driving force in education: money.

Nearly all high schools are public, or receive public funding in one way or another and help to satisfy the law which states that students of high school age must attend school. Textbooks are merely a means of teaching these students topics which help these schools qualify for their funding. That’s basically the business model for most high schools in the US. Teach what the state and federal governments mandate to receive funding.

Universities do not work that way. Even so called “public universities”. These are institutions that operate on revenues, which come from donations, returns from investments, tuition, and from selling products. That last item is particularly important when applied to the university bookstores.

Bookstores are profit centers for universities. Big ones. As tablets (by tablets, I really mean iPads) have come out over the last few years startups have emerged to help university students get their hands on digital textbooks. And it’s exciting. We can look at the the progress they are making and feel like the education world is progressing. But it isn’t. Kno, one of the most prominent digital textbook sellers, still only offers a very small percentage of textbooks required for university classes. And many textbooks still require the purchase of a physical book to qualify for the digital version. This is because students are currently not the customers of textbook publishers. University bookstores are. And by removing the university bookstore middle man, you evaporate millions of dollars in revenue for each university. And they know this. And are fighting hard for the publishers to maintain the current model.

Here’s where Apple’s brilliant strategy comes in. They know the power of amazing devices in markets. They know the strength of the consumer’s collective voice. They watched as the nation coalesced behind their $.99 solution for music, which ended up cutting the size of the music industry in half. The new iBook textbooks are being marketed in a way that circumvents the university bookstore. Brilliant. Go right to the student in high school. Make them a true believer. Give them an amazing textbook experience starting in 9th grade. By the time these students hit university in 4 more years they aren’t going to know how to not use an iPad while studying. The iPad will be synonymous with learning, and that’s when education shifts. If textbook publishers continue to exclude students from their market strategy students will take matters in their own hands. Things will get crazy. And that’s when industries get disrupted. When the end user is fed up and frustrated and motivated to make a difference. And college students have always been the most adept protestors and rioters.

Apple, by going high school first, is applying the heat to university textbook publishers and bookstores. They are saying “Fine. If you won’t work with us, then we’ll empower a generation to change your industry for you.”

And they will.

To MG’s point, the high school strategy is still tricky. We are dealing with young teenagers here and PUBLIC schools, which means there isn’t a lot of cash to go around. But they’ll figure it out. The iPad is only on its second generation and my mom, a 9th grade history teacher, already has one, curtesy of her school. Students are next. Then on to the revolution.

Free Scrum eBook

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:28:43 +0000

I’ve been wanting to learn about the Scrum framework for software development for a while, and I now find myself knee-deep in it with my current iOS contract.

It’s a lot less scary than it seemed and here is a free eBook with practical implementation examples:

http://www.infoq.com/minibooks/scrum-xp-from-the-trenches

A Rainbow At Its Peak

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:35:41 +0000

Nice graph. Will be interesting to see the update in 5 or 10 years.

parislemon:

Horace Dediu presents yet another amazing way to look at the rapidly evolving computer industry (here are Dediu’s other fascinating looks of the past few days).

The PC looks like a rainbow at its peak.

The Macintosh looks like a roller coaster with a misleading small first hill that tricks riders.

Android, iPhone, and iPad look like fireworks just taking off…