Filed under: Developer, Features, Apple, Mobile Minute, iPhone
Mobile Minute: iPhone APIs are like life - they're full of compromises
Two weeks ago we saw the first wave of third party applications for the iPhone. But because Apple has yet to open up the device and provides an API (Application Programming Interface) for software developers, making third party applications right now is not for the faint hearted or even regular developers. A couple of weeks ago in MacBreak Weekly, Leo Laporte called for Apple to open up the iPhone immediately and he could not see any reasons preventing that happening. What Mr. Laporte, and most pundits, seems to imply is that providing an API is a straightforward process. Publish the API online and let the developers use it, right? If only it were that simple.But establishing an API also means restricting internal development freedom for the device. It is no longer simple to rework a particular function to provide better capability or performance without substantial testings to ensure the existing APIs are not broken. There are a few ways to deal with this situation.
With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet.
They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...
