Eric Rounds http://www.ericrounds.com digital media designer and developer Sun, 29 Apr 2012 17:35:28 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Mobile App Update Fequency http://www.ericrounds.com/2012/04/mobile-app-update-fequency/ http://www.ericrounds.com/2012/04/mobile-app-update-fequency/#comments Fri, 20 Apr 2012 01:31:54 +0000 Eric http://www.ericrounds.com/?p=327 Continue reading →]]> iTunes shows that I have 50+ apps that need to be updated. Now that might be more apps then some people actually have. I do load a lot of science/technology and fun stuff and a lot of free apps. Anyway… when was the last time that you had to update Word or Photoshop or any of your other desktop apps? Maybe you had to install updates for security purposes, but really that happens maybe only every few months.

I’m concerned about the standard acceptance and frequency of app updating.

So why are developers so frequently updating their apps? Were these apps quick to market? Are the apps being updated because they need to? Are they bug fixes? Or are they more compatible with iOS?  Is this a failure of the iTunes and iOS app ecosystem?

What I am noticing of the majority of my apps updates is that they are bug fixes, feature enhancements, or simple basic things like icon changes.

I thought that getting an app into iTunes Store was a lengthy difficult process. Maybe the update frequency is a result of the difficulty in getting apps approved and into the iTunes store. It’s probably easier to get a basic app into the store and slowly add new features and edits. Maybe it should be more difficult to update after the app is approved. I sure would like to have fewer updates.

And for those Adventure Time fans out there… “What the Glob?!”

]]> http://www.ericrounds.com/2012/04/mobile-app-update-fequency/feed/ 0 3D Apps for iBooks Author http://www.ericrounds.com/2012/04/3d-apps-for-ibooks-author/ http://www.ericrounds.com/2012/04/3d-apps-for-ibooks-author/#comments Thu, 19 Apr 2012 23:17:22 +0000 Eric http://www.ericrounds.com/?p=311 Continue reading →]]> As a designer and developer of digital media, it’s important to know which apps support which technologies for all of the various parts of any multimedia project. Apple’s iBook Author uses COLLADA format to display and render 3D models.

There are a growing number of low-cost and pro-level 3D modeling tools that export to the COLLADA format. Some are available through Apple’s Mac App store. Below is a list of low-cost and free 3D tools. Some of these have better support and more features than others.

I will post comparison charts and images in the future and will keep this list updated. I welcome any comments on your experience with these.

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