The Beta Is Full, I Left That Post Up Too Long
Posted November 10th, 2009 by Howard TaylerThe Schlock App engineer at Plus14 has more than enough beta testers now. Anybody else will just get turned away.
Impatient? I think our biggest delay between now and launch will be getting it approved by Apple…
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November 10th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Is there gonna be any sort of post letting us know that all of the beta versions have been sent out, so that we will know wether we made it or not?
November 10th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Hopefully that won’t take too long. Will we be notified if we aren’t chosen as a beta tester? And how long will the selection process take?
November 11th, 2009 at 12:27 am
I’ll be sending the beta version out in the next couple of hours, and I will be notifying people that haven’t made it.
Big thanks to everyone who offered.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:45 am
Are there any plans for expanding the app beyond Apple? Maybe for the Droid and other smart phones as well?
November 11th, 2009 at 1:56 am
The betas have been sent out. Increased the number from 30 to 40, so more people will be getting the build, but unfortunately there are still quite a few people who missed out.
November 11th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
I’m one of the lucky ones.
Wow, the app works pretty fine and looks good. The panel-by-panel navigation is a treat, you especially notice the work that went into it when you hit a comic in the archive that hasn’t been updated yet :-)
I’ve send in a few suggestions. Minor ones, really. There’s one thing I miss, but they’ve already promised to add that: a bookmark feature. That way you don’t forget where you left off on your archive perusal.
So: looking forward to a few minor UI tweaks. After that, the app is good to go. Personally, I wouldn’t have mind if they shipped it in the current state!
Great app.
November 11th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Yeah, I’m definitely hoping they get done with it soon. I wasn’t one of the lucky ones.
tarlen: If I recall correctly, the amount of ad-hoc installations you can do is limited by Apple to 100, correct? If I’m remembering correctly, then I’m curious why you decided to only have 40 beta testers. My guess is because you didn’t want to have to deal with a huge influx of input.
November 11th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
The limit is that you can only add 100 devices to your iTunes account PER YEAR. If I filled my account with beta testers, then I wouldn’t be able to add anyone new until next September.
That would include myself if I lost or upgraded my phone.
So I set myself a limit of 40 (originally 30). That leaves me sufficient breathing room for future additions, such as beta testing a different app.
November 11th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Of course I already have a number of other devices in there, so I don’t have anywhere near 60 left.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Ah…I thought it was 100 devices per app. That seems pretty limiting of Apple to do that.
November 11th, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Ugh. I’d heard that Android was more developer-friendly than iPhones. Now I begin to understand.
November 12th, 2009 at 12:26 am
Tarlen: Be sure to have the list of “Seven habits of Highly Effective Pirates” there for reference – and one of these days we need to fill in the gaps.
A vote for Android and/or WinMobile when you are ready.
I’m jumping to the Droid when they get most of the bug-fixes done and basics running properly (like voice dialing over Bluetooth, camera auto-focus, volume going mystically silent, scheduled “Quiet Time” for notifications, the Contacts list with no Notes or Categories…)
November 12th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
@Sam – I wouldn’t say more friendly, just friendly in different areas.
Apple has these limitations on Adhoc releases and app store review issues, but ultimately you’re developing for devices with a known and well documented feature set, with consistency in the base hardware (screen size, keyboard, WIFI etc).
The adhoc limitations are the fault of one developer who used the adhoc mechanism to sell his app outside the app store.
Android devices vary wildly in screen size, keyboard implementation (hardware vs software), device capabilities (GPS, Accelerometer etc) to the point that it makes it a lot harder for a developer to cover all bases for their apps.
And the Android marketplace is not even close to the App Store in terms of maturity and reach yet.
November 12th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
“developing for devices with a known and well documented feature set, with consistency in the base hardware”
Right. That’s always the advantage of developing for Apple. They’re almost like game consoles that way.
“The adhoc limitations are the fault of one developer who used the adhoc mechanism to sell his app outside the app store.”
Yeah, I get why Apple does that. But I’d expect anyone except Apple to think “Oh well, at least it’s another app increasing demand for our product.”
November 12th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Ooh. Anyone except a game console maker. There’s a thought.
November 12th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
http://xkcd.com/662/
November 13th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
I find it odd that the app choice people suggest is between Apple and Android, when the biggest smartphone manufacturor is Nokia (50% worldwide) followed by Blackberry (20% worldwide), and then apple (14% worldwide)