Safe Python playing with Virtualenv

Python is a pretty great programming language. It’s fast to write, easy to read, and extremely flexible. It’s a good language to have in your arsenal for when you quickly need to write a web scraper to quick app prototype (although Go Lang is also quite popular for the latter task as well).

You’re going to make mistakes when you first start with Python, and you’re going to want to try the latest and greatest tools (like IPython). Unfortunately, this kind of playing/learning can have a negative impact on your computer, so it’s important to set up a safe environment in which to play. That’s what we’re going to be doing today, by setting up secure environments using virtualenv.

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034 : The UX of time travel with SFCD Agency

SFCD AgencyIt’s a seemingly simple problem — tell the user what time it is in different countries around the world — with an endless number of solutions. There are a few questions you need to ask yourself before even touching pencil to paper: What’s the best way for humans to manipulate time? And really, what is time?

SFCD Agency took a break from client work to put out its first mobile application: Miranda. It’s a time zone converter with an elegant and unique user interface. In this episode, Yasser, the Head of Product and Strategy, and Dmitry, the Creative Director, share their experience making Miranda.

It’s an inside look at the app creation process within an agency, where ideas are brainstormed and workshopped into their final form.

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033 : Bestselling indie games with A Dark Room’s Amir Rajan

Amir Rajanawake. head throbbing. vision blurry.

So begins one of the most unique games to ever hit the App Store. What follows is an experience that takes the player through a dystopian world that starts with the simple gathering of wood and slowly grows in scope to places you’d never expect.

Amir Rajan discovered the original web-based A Dark Room (developed by Michael Townsend) on Hacker News and knew it needed to be on mobile. He negotiated the rights to create the iOS app and began his journey into RubyMotion and Objective-C development. He shares how he promoted his app and what it felt like to have a meteoric rise to the top of the App Store.

You should listen to this episode if you’ve ever wondered what it takes to have a best-selling app.

NOTE: It’s highly recommend that you finish A Dark Room before listening to this episode!

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032 : Building an app business not just a product with Dan Counsell

Dan Counsell Realmac SoftwareWhat is one of the biggest mistakes made by aspiring app entrepreneurs? Confusing a product with a business. If you build and release an app, you’re selling a product. What happens when sales dwindle? Do you have a plan for sustainable revenue?

Dan Counsell is the founder of Realmac Software, creators of applications such as RapidWeaver, Ember, and Clear. He’s been in the software business for a while now, and has learned some extremely valuable lessons along the way. In this episode, he shares the story of his very first piece of software, and his shock when people started sending him money for it.

He also walks me through the design, development, and launch of his most recent app, Clear (which I personally use every single day). The app is available for both iOS and an OS X, and he talks about why all developers should be targeting both App Stores.

This episode is about creating an app business, not just a product.

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031 : How to raise money to fund your app with Hunter Gray

Hunter Gray from KlutchIn 2011, Hunter Gray turned his app idea into the capital needed in order to get the product built. In this episode of the podcast, he shares exactly how he pitched his idea for the original version of Klutch to investors, and how the venture capital world has changed in just a few short years. Not everyone will be able to turn their ideas into cash, but Hunter explains the methods that worked for him and talks about what might work for you, too.

There’s so much discussion of bootstrapping today (and for good reason, it works), but it’s nice to have a different perspective on building an app business. If you’re dying to get your app idea in front of investors, Hunter explains exactly what you need to do to make that interaction as successful as possible.

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