Proposal posts

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Cult of Mac, Odds and ends, iPhone

Proposing with an iPhone app

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Feb 14th, 2009

Need to propose to someone? There's an app for that. Brian X. Chen at Wired reports that coder Bryan Haggerty proposed to his girlfriend Jeannie Choe this week with an iPhone app of his own making -- he sent her on a video scavenger hunt that marked points on a map drawing out the "<3" symbol (which has a lot of sentimental meaning to the couple -- he also gave her a necklace with the same thing on it), and then led her to a hilltop park, where he popped the question.

Unfortunately, Wired doesn't tell us if she said yes, but it's Valentine's Day, so we'll assume she did. The app must have been distributed ad-hoc, too, because we don't see it on the App Store at all (not too surprising, considering that as cool as it is, it's got some limited functionality). But congrats to Haggerty and Choe -- if they run into any issues at the ceremony, there's probably an app for that too.

Continue reading “Proposing with an iPhone app”

Tags: 3, app, app-store, heart, iphone, marriage, popped-the-question, proposal, valentines-day, video-scavenger-hunt

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Developer, iPhone, iPod touch

How to make an iPhone game

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Feb 11th, 2009

The folks at Gogogic asked Twitter if they wanted to see how the company's iPhone games were made, and since the answer was in the affirmative, we all get the benefit of looking into just how one iPhone developer put their game together.

It starts with a wiki; the company keeps a collaborative site of all the ideas they have for upcoming games, and if the decision is made to go ahead with an idea, that wiki page branches out into the planning documents behind the eventual app. Concepts are drafted in sketches, conversations, and outlines, and eventually they feel like they have the idea "fully developed," at which point the game goes into a proposal pool, and then is eventually picked for production.

That begins with an animatic, as you can see above -- before they ever write the first code line, they map out what will happen in certain game situations. It looks like they used Flash to put that together pretty easily, but you can see how well it shows off game design elements and how things should work during gameplay. After that, there's nothing to it but to do it -- the game is coded, art and sound elements are put together, and of course the usual run of playtesting and so on takes place (the company is going to show off how to test and publish games in a future post).

The game above turned out to be called Symbol6 (Hexago was a working title), and is in the App Store right now. Thanks to Gogogic for sharing a look behind their process -- there are tons of developers working on apps at the moment, and it's neat to see how someone else does it.

Tags: animatic, app, app-store, concept, concepts, design, development, fleshing-out, gaming, gogogic, hexago, iphone, peek, proposal, symbol6, wiki

Filed under: Apple Financial

Apple releases 2009 proxy statement

by Robert Palmer (RSS feed) on Jan 8th, 2009

Yesterday, Apple released a proxy statement detailing the financial compensation that executives enjoy as part of their participation on the board of directors.

Steve Jobs retained his $1 salary for 2008, but has over 5.5 million shares of Apple stock, which is worth over $500 million on paper. Jobs is worth about $5.7 billion, thanks largely to the fact that he's Disney's largest individual shareholder. Fidelity Investments continues to be Apple's largest investor with over 46 million shares of stock.

There are five shareholder proposals up for voting this time around:

Proposal 1 asks to re-elect the board of directors, consisting of Steve Jobs, William Campbell, Millard Drexler, Al Gore, Andrea Jung, Arthur Levinson, Eric Schmidt, and Jerry York.
Proposal 2 asks for more transparency surrounding Apple's political contributions.
Proposal 3 asks the company to adopt a statement supporting universal health care for everyone, and not just employees.
Proposal 4 asks the company to release a report on corporate strategies surrounding climate change and greenhouse gas emissions before July.
Proposal 5 asks to adopt a policy that gives shareholders more input on executive compensation. (Thanks, Scott!)

The board of directors, perhaps not surprisingly, recommends approving the first proposal, and rejecting the other four.

The proxy statement is available from Apple's Investor Relations website, and will not be mailed to shareholders unless requested.

[Via MacDailyNews.]

Tags: aapl, financial, proposal, shares, stocks

Filed under: Cult of Mac, Odds and ends, Other Events, PowerMac G5

She said yes!

by Conrad Quilty-Harper (RSS feed) on May 26th, 2006

Remember the dude that proposed via Apple's time lapse video outside the new Fifth Avenue Apple Store? Kottke.org received an email from his fiancé, Uschi Lang. That's right, she said yes! James, that's the name of the man in the photo, had been meaning to drop the big question for months before he had an idea when he was waiting with Uschi outside the Apple Store.

He sneaked back whilst she was sleeping and stood in front of the camera for 15 minutes with his proposal signs to ensure that the time lapse would pick him up. A few days later James led Uschi down a row of candles leading up to his G5 and showed her the video and of course, she said yes. Congratulations you two!

Now, about that row of candles leading up to his Mac. Is it normal to do that when you're not proposing? What?! I'm just asking...

Tags: Apple Store, AppleStore, email, Fiance, Fifth Avenue, FifthAvenue, G5, James, Kottke, Marriage, Proposal, time lapse, TimeLapse, Uschi Lang, UschiLang

Filed under: Apple Corporate, Retail, Rumors

More on the Boston Apple Store

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on May 8th, 2006

This story has almost as much drama as Apple's recent legal battle. Apple is planning on putting a new flagship store in Boston, Ma. The design initially proposed to Boston's Back Bay Architectural Committee (BBAC) was shot down (the BBAC didn't like its contemporary look). Next, a rumor surfaced that Apple may move into the building on the corner of Mass. Ave. and Newbury street that currently houses the Virgin Mega Store, thereby thwarting the BBAC's complaints by taking over a pre-existing building.

Today, the Boston Herald is reporting that Apple has proposed a revamped design for the original Boylston Street location (currently the Copy Cop across the street from the Prudential building). This new design supposedly features a circular staircase, rooftop garden and all-glass facade. Apple has stated that the only option is for them to demolish the existing building and start over, as fixing up the existing structure would add six months and nearly $3 million to their schedule.

Can't we all agree and just get this thing built already? I'm dying to check it out!

[Via ifoAppleStore]

Tags: apple store, AppleStore, boston, boylston street, BoylstonStreet, proposal, retail

Filed under: Humor, iPod Family, Cult of Mac, Odds and ends

iProposal: Getting hitched via iPod

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on Feb 8th, 2006

With less than a week until Valentine's Day, your favorite (unofficial) Apple bloggers are in a sentimental mood. Or perhaps we're just still swooning over that cool gestures video. Either way, we were thinking about all of those wacky proposals you sometimes see on TV, in which a lovelorn young man rents out the Goodyear Blimp or some such craziness. Then it hit us: What about a proposal via iPod? Arguably they're the hottest gift around. Wouldn't you rather receive a 60GB iPod than a diamond ring? I sure would. So, is it possible that someone, somewhere, sometime may have popped the big question with a shiny rectangle of plastic and metal?

Wonder no more, because it looks like it has happened. How sweet. Good luck, you crazy kids!

So, what's your romantic iPod story?

[Via Very Big Design]

Tags: ipod, nano, proposal, valentine's day, Valentine'sDay

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