Posted on 12-13-12 06:12 am
Time to take care of some house keeping, some explanations of what's coming up, project statuses, etc.
1. Server Stuff (blah blah blah)
The first item of business is simply an explanation regarding the site itself. I did some work over the weekend to restructure the server, after some unfortunate package incompatibilities required me to completely reinstall Ubuntu. As a result, I took the time to do some much needed tidying, as the software for WPH was actually written when I was 13. I've so far switched from raw text databases to MySQL, cleaned up and optimized some code, and fixed some navigational issues. There's still a lot to do, and if anything comes to mind that you'd like to see changed, do tell me.
2. Notification Center
Microsoft started looking over my notification center submission last night, according to server logs, but has yet to give me a solid certified/rejected in the developer hub. I'm honestly not sure if NC will pass certification; for one, it's a rather sketchy application, and it doesn't work 100% of the time. It also doesn't support WP8, which they definitely tested... on several devices, you know, just to be sure I wasn't lying in the description. In the event that NC makes it into the Marketplace, I will publish it and send the improved version with new features (nudges, double wide, etc are on the todo list) to everyone on the beta list. In the event that it does not pass certification, I'll switch it over as a homebrew app, probably some sort of donation-ware for the sake of server costs, and add people manually to the Marketplace beta, so they won't need unlocks. If anyone has a better solution, let me know.
3. WP8, upcoming projects, etc
I have a few upcoming projects I'm working on, one of which specifically for WP8, and not a homebrew app at that. I also have at least one homebrew app I want to work on for WP8, but I'm not sure what the proportion of developer unlocked WP8s is, so I'm not sure if it's worth it yet. My other project, hopefully a Marketplace project, is coming along nicely, with the unfortunate caveat that I don't actually own a WP8, which means all development is based on what I hope the emulator is conveying. Why don't I have a WP8? Well, simply put, I'm a student, and getting a WP8 will run me about $350, which simply isn't chump change for me. One of my followers suggested I set up a "campaign" to raise funds for a device, but I'm not entirely sure how this would sit with my audience, so I'm leaving that idea on the table for now. If anyone knows of a way to get a WP8, preferably in the not-expensive range, do let me know.
In the meantime, I'll be working on finishing my semester, but first, a little sneak peek.
Questions, comments, concerns?