We produce our mobile applications for agencies who utilise scotchegg for development skills, but then brand and promote their applications themselves. As such we recently explored the idea of developing a solitaire game for a marking company who then dropped the idea for something else, however we decided we wanted to make the game anyway! So scotchegg developed a mobile solitaire application using JQuery Mobile libraries and PhoneGap, which aimed to emulate the well know PC based game of solitaire closely. The aim was to showcase our talent for building interesting, interactive mobile applications and also to demonstrate the development of a recreational application.

A game that uses complex logic to determine the correct moves and cards system, with pattern matching, random shuffling and subtle effects, the game delivers a clean experience. To build this application, we again utilised our wealth of known web technologies to implement a HTML 5 and Javascript game engine to power the logic of the application, then deploying and working with Phone Gap to develop this further for the android handset markets.

We also added a feature to allow users to take a picture in the application and apply this to the board background, so allowing a little customisation to the experience.

The application is available via the android market place soon to be released on the IPhone market place.

You can grab this game from the Android store today, or if your on your phone now click here.

A quick analysis of the new iPhone.

A few months ago, I gave a bullet point write up of what we were to expect in the coming Autumn with the new “iOS iPhone 5″. Well first of all,  it isn’t an iPhone 5 as speculated BUT an improved version of the iPhone 4 in the form of the 4S.

Here is a digestible sized list of iPhone 4s features;

• As promised-the new iPhone does have an improved 8mp camera, that records video in 1080p HD AND lets you edit pictures.
• A new chip-the A5 processor, used in the iPad 2, which makes the speed of launching apps, web browsing, graphic performance and overall navigation faster than that on the iPhone 4 (slightly). This additive will also improve the battery life, giving us more time to talk and listen-fingers crossed, battery life is dire on a slightly busy day with the 4.
• The Retina Display on the new screen gives the phone a sharper resolution.
• Twitter is integrated through the iPhone 4S. Signing into Twitter under settings allows the user to share anything on Safari, YouTube and camera.
• The new iOS5 operating system is built into the new 4s(those who have stayed loyal to its predecessor will be glad that you can update your iPhone 4 to the iOS 5 operating system online). Its features include iMessage, Twitter, Newstand, Notification centre with update in gallery and messaging.
• iCloud seamlessly pushes all your content from hand held to computer by storing and managing all your stuff in the..errm…cloud.(Another element from the ios5 operating system)
• Hoorah! The antenna has been moved from its troublesome area on its processor- and shall hopefully work to avoid causing carnage through signal failures.
• A voice recognition system has been implemented to make the new iPhone your PA, transforming your mobile phone into a supposedly helpful robot to allow handless networking. As expected, the system has been reviewed as working for some and not so with others, allot like all the other voice recognition systems. Its name is Siri and it types, calls, commands and reads for you in those situations you have no hands or just wish not to use them.(developers are working on making this available on the iPhone4, but will Apple allow Siri?
• The new technologies also allow us to communicate and work at quicker paces across the globe. The dual band GSM and CDMA have improved the download speeds by double wherever your travel takes you-perhaps.

Well those are the majority of new features found on the new iPhone 4s, as answered to our expectancy list. And although it may not be a 5, Apple have improved many elements as perceived.

I am about to update my iPhone4 with the new iOS5 system and I hope it meets my expectations and improves the magic I already hold in the smart little thing. A personal analysis of new model will be featured in our blog as soon as we receive it in the post (they sent us the wrong colour last week, and so we wait even longer to test it out ourselves)

Chrome becomes the UK’s second most popular internet browser.

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer still keeps 1st place in the UK’s browser competition, as the default browser on all lap-tops other than Mac. But recent stats show that Google Chrome‘s growth rate mixed with Firefox’s decrease, has allowed Chrome to marginally swipe 2nd place as the UK’s favourite web browser.  The stats also show Internet Explorer steadily loosing its grip on the top spot, and if its continuous downfall proceeds with Chrome’s continuous growth, Google Chrome will eventually become the number one browser for users globally.

Chromes browser market has grown around16% over the past 2 years, and continues to do so with a significant helping hand from Google’s entourage. Swiffy, Google+, the Chromebook, Google Android, WDYL, voice search, person finder, Google Galaxy tabs and the collection of mobile apps Google replenishes are all one huge advertising mogul connecting real time with the Internets fast forward, pushing Chrome past Firefox and towards Microsoft.

Its crazy evolution is looking to knock other sites into the abis as Google strives to keep up with Apple and Facebook, and with its clean interface and speed-even with add-ons and plugin’s- its easy for the everyday users following technology trends to follow; because Google is everywhere, its cool and therefore anything built be Google must be…hmmm.

The fact that Chrome is working to be completely HTML5 compliant (as it stands chrome 12 is 1st place in the HTML5 running-according to html5test.com) makes it the best browser for mobile, which is very appealing for techies and non-techies alike as our eyes turn into mobile screens and our business plans surround the mobile platform. Development and Internet design organisations all predominantly check work using Firefox and ie, due to their favouritism over other browsers, but now that Chrome is shining, web development teams will need to test with Chrome as it is now the 2nd favourite browser for UK nationals at least.

Is Chrome the browser for the future?

Google Swiffy produced in Google Labs converts Flash Files to HTML5 for mobile devices

HTML5 has only recently started to surface in web development, taking a whole new leap by integrating multimedia within development coding, eliminating the need for Flash installations on mobile platforms (more of this can be found here). But not all Flash content will disappear and neither will the development of Flash ads and banners, because Google Labs have created a system that converts Flash content into HTML5, making basic Flash files accessible on devices that don’t support Flash downloads such as mobile devices.

The first version of Swiffy has been injected into Googles’ entourage, raining happiness on Apples huge face. I’t started last year when Pieter Senster-an engineering intern- bagged a job with the mobile advertising team for his research into how to visualise flash animation on mobile devices. This swiftly brought together the Swiffy development team who have worked for the past year developing the system.

How does it work

Just feed the on-line system with an SWF file, wait a few moments, and Swiffy will give you a HTML5 rendition. The site only allows you to download the file within 15 minutes before the link expires, and implementing the code into this article proved to be more tricky than originally thought.  The good thing is you don’t need to start from scratch to build a whole new animation/banner in HTML5 in order for your file to work on devices that aren’t compatible with Adobe Flash, because Swiffy does all of that for you.  The bad news however is that HTML5 isn’t supported across all browsers, so it’s only those with Google Chrome and Safari who can truly benefit from the system. Although some elements of conversion are readable on Firefox, it didn’t work very well when I converted a small SWV file Flash animation banner in the browser.

This is where I went wrong in my first rendition when testing the system. I was using Firefox and when I uploaded Scotchegg’s flash banner and Swiffy’s digestion spat out a broken translation. But in Google Chrome, the finished product was exactly the same as the original Flash banner. Here is what Swiffy achieved when I put it to the test..

Original Flash version

Google Labs HTML5 Swiffy version

If you are viewing this page in Internet Explorer, Firefox, or any other browser that isn’t Safari or Google Chrome, Swiffy’s conversion will be broken, so try this page across the different browsers you have stored on your computer. The system is still under construction and, as this is a point brought up regularly when evaluating Swiffy’s compatibility, I’m sure the team will sort this out in due time. (Its quite frustrating that not all browsers are compliant, shouldn’t they all be?)

Here is the technical low down from Marcel Gordon,  the product manager for Swiffy who works at Google Labs posted on Tuesday 28^th June that distinguishes the technical elements that brings the system together. “Swiffy uses a compact JSON representation of the animation, which is rendered using SVG and a bit of HTML5 and CSS3. ActionScript 2.0 is also present in the JSON object, and is interpreted in JavaScript in the browser. This representation makes the Swiffy animations almost as compact as the original SWF files.”

Don’t get too excited. The first instalment isn’t going to do your Flash site for you, or transfer large amounts of Flash files, because its been introduced to web and marketing developers at the beginning of its journey as a test. I hope the system evolves into a magical Flash site converter that will be compatible across all browsers, because this my friends, is a big aspect to the worlds transition into a digital sphere.

Bitesized points to make Blogging work for your business.

The output of consistent content increases interest and conversations with our audience. The percentage of unused blogs is massive at over 90%. This is due to the fact that we are all too busy to spend time talking about our work to an audience we aren’t sure are listening. We have the perception that blogging is going to generate us a huge amount of leads because social media and digital marketing tells us so, and they are right. It isn’t going to happen over night or in the next month or so (unless you’re lucky) as it takes time.

What and who to consider when writing for your blog

Think of your blog as a rose bush. It needs to look beautiful to entice your reader, without showcasing how you prune it.  The content needs to be as relevant as possible to our READERS not to ourselves, just because we like the information we are implementing into our blogs doesn’t mean our readers are going to.

It needs to be interesting, don’t just involve information based on in depth analogies of how your business works or the technology jargon that quite simply is…well… pretty boring. Think about other passions your readers hold, the music they listen to, the kind of places they like to relax, what events do they go to, the role they upkeep in society, what drives them to read content-are they stress heads who want stress free answers to make their life easier? Are they too busy and want answers to save time? Are they teenagers who like pictures instead of text? Are they the owners of blue chip organisations or are they working to please that guy? Once you have analysed your target audience, your blog content will be easier to upkeep due to your knowledge of what your readers like to read, which will now be your blog.

Include links to relevant sites your readers would like to visit which provide multi-media such as images, events and videos that are relevant to your business, and get other sites linking back to your page. If another site recommends you, you must be good at your job right? Video is interesting and works by breaking up text with movement, as long as it holds an interesting concept relating to your business and your potential customers.

Portray to your readers how influential you are to your industry: if you’re up to date with all the latest news relating to your business, it shows your audience how professional and passionate you are. Showcasing the work you’ve done with clients through testimonials and diary style blogging gives your readers/potential clients a bite sized insight into the way you run your business. We don’t have to write page upon page of content or 1000 word articles every few days, but we do have to communicate with our followers to excel word of mouth and gather broader brand awareness on a regular basis.

All these elements give us a structure to work on and through. Putting the client and readers first is THE most important thing when blogging and it works if it’s regular and on-going. It could take up to a year to see an increase in income from online clients, because we have to build a wall of trust with our internet readers and research our whole online client base. With the digital switch in a hurry to commence, and many businesses turning to online marketing strategies and mobile platforms, it’s in our best interests to keep on top of our blogs by taking that positive step into the ever expanding internet.

What is Google+?

The giant of search engines has deployed their intentions of social media takeover. Google+ this week has begun to test its new social platform on a very few select people, beginning its task to overtake Facebook.

If you haven’t noticed, Google has been pulling ALOT out of its bag lately, with the arrival of wdyl.com(click to find out more) and Swiffy and a complete redesign of its navigation bar that’s clean to get ready for Googles mission to take over the world.

The site will differentiate itself from Facebook by creating a network where you can market your information to only your select circle of friends/followers called quite simply a “Circle”.  This element will allow you to keep social circles separate from others just like we do in real life, meaning we will have a work circle, friend circle and family circles or whatever circles you want to segregate your entire circle into. The added extra Huddle, whose purpose is to provide a group messaging service, lets everyone inside that circle know what’s going on. So no-one is going to be missed out when you go to see the latest movie.

The system is built in HTML5, making it easily accessible on devices incompatible with Flash and top of the range browsers like Chrome, Safari and Firefox, which will also make the site fun to travel through. Of course Google+ will also be available for download via app.

The social platform will also incorporate a group chat feature allowing circles of people to hang out online via web cams called “Hangouts” (an online video chatroom). There will also be a section where you can edit your multi-media files on the site.

Google-Sparks will be another element that collects content such as videos, pictures and articles grouped together by interest, and store it all under the interest’s topic (all content related to “Web Development” will be listed under this topic).

How do I get a Google+ account?

At present, the topic is a private affair and you have to wait for an invite in order to join Google+, But if you leave your email address with them, you should be one of the first to know when they are ready to invite more people (as stated on the holding page).

What are your thoughts?

My impressions at present are that this creative space takes the headache away from searching. I could spend hours searching and mumbling through the millions of sites the Internet galaxy holds, and each planet I descend upon pushes more links on to me and I end up reading something only of slight relevance to what I was originally searching for in the process.  But this newbie puts everything in-sight for me with videos, events, mobile, products, images, patents, debates and blogs segregated into sections for us visitors to find exactly what we are looking for quickly.

What I like is short to the point creations made in easy to eat chunks.  I have to give it to Google that they do this exceptionally; you get a description of their products in a few sentences, not a mile of jargon. This is what you get on the welcome page of wdyl.com.  Short descriptions of all elements related to your chosen subject, with multi-media, a cute heart button and easy to use design that’s clean and arty.

BUT ladies and gentlemen, I have a feeling this is a marketing ploy by the search engine giant. The page is split up into boxes, all holding information relating to the different areas of your “love search”. Your passion is pulled into all of Google’s products, with product names headering the different boxes.  Want to make a photo album of your “love search”? Use our Picassa. Want to measure popularity? Go to trends. Want to buy? Use our product search. Want to plan events for your “love Search”? Use our calendar….and so on and so on. Yawn.

Good idea to have everything in easy eyesight, as Google drowns what they think we want into their family of products. You can only share Google’s new breed of search on their own platforms like Plus 1, Buzz and Gmail, which means they are potentially marketing their products to themselves. Google must have some sort of short term memory loss to create a platform that only advertises themselves TO themselves, because I just don’t understand the lack of out sourced social media, do you?

What to expect on the iPhone 5

I have decided to write up a simple expectancy list for all you iPhone addicts to make knowledge on the subject easy to digest, due to the many long winded articles based on the new arrival. The new model available to us sometime in (now they say) October, will very possibly involve the following features;

• A more advanced camera that will be 8mp, even though there are phones out there with 12.
• A stronger chip-A5 processor- a system on a chip expected to power the next generation of Apple Smartness, up to 9 times more powerful than its younger self (A4)
• A higher resolution screen that will be bigger than its predecessor
• Highly integrated with Twitter so that practically everything you do can be shared with your followers from apps through to the calendar and everything else stored on your iPhone.
• iOS 5 operating system automatically finding iTunes in Wi-Fi areas to sync and back up our apps
• iMessage – the ability to chat on a platform similar to Blackberry messenger
• Secure end to end encryption to keep your details secure
• Newsstand feature- automatically updating your background image with the latest magazine or newspaper content you’ve subscribed to.
• Reminders- Simple to-do list function that reminds you on time, date and location
• I-Cloud- Seamless integration with all your apps to constantly keep all your information like mail, music, contacts, calendars, apps, books and media synced across all devices.
• Metal back to avoid antenna problems that came up when the iPhone 4 was released
• Feature to enable wireless updates, without going anywhere near a P.C
• Near Field Communications chip to allow wireless payments
• RSS style reading list allowing you to save articles you’d like to read later.
• Social networking game centre-post a profile picture, meet new friends based on the games you play, evaluate potential opponents based on an overall achievements score, make game choices and purchase them directly from within Game Center all through your phone through social network apps.
• Video mirroring allowing you to stream you’re video to an Apple T.V

So the iPhone 5 will practically be the iPad in a smaller hand held version.

Please leave comments to state what else you would like on the new iPhone. Personally, I would like there to be some sort of system where the phone can actually talk to me, with a touch screen umberella for updates in the rain. Then its almost everything you could ever want in a thing. Any suggestions?

Shortcodes are great little tools and easy to create, firstly you need to load up your themes functions page and add the following code.

function my_recent_posts_shortcode(){
				
$args=array(
	'post_type'=>'post',
	'category_name'=>'news',
	'max_num_pages'=>20,
	'posts_per_page'=>1
);


$wp_query = null;
$wp_query = new WP_Query($args);
while ( $wp_query->have_posts() ) : $wp_query->the_post(); 
$latest = get_permalink();
		 endwhile; 

	return $latest;
}
 
add_shortcode('recent-news', 'my_recent_posts_shortcode');

What you will see if your shrewd is the WordPress query code, the arguments to specify 1 post and in particular a category filter! Yes folks you get that bit for free! If you want to to just show the latest from a category use category_name=new. Now in your wordpress editor just drop in the tag

[recent-news]

As they used to say in the olden days,

Viola!