29 Aug

Mooshup

Mooshup is a resource collection to build new apps using other existing services. These existing services include technologies built with JavaScript, Node, Rails, Git, Swift and other common tools or languages used today.

Technology

With the readily available SaSS solutions currently the barriers to build new applications are lowered. Most database, infrastructure, bandwidth and communication issues can be easily resolved with tapping into resources of tech giants as Amazon and Google.

Skills

Beyond the lower costs of technology, the costs of training and skill acquisition has become lower as well. For someone who wants to learn coding, there are many training platforms out there which can be used to get practical coding experience for only few dollars a month.

The Rise of JavaScript

JavaScript was originally invented in 1995. It has gone through many iterations and was not expected to live beyond year 2000 in commercial environments. However, this approach is now changed and especially with the rise of Node.js, JavaScript has become an universal programming language. Now JavaScript is used both in client-side and server-side mission critical applications. Also the JSON notation has become a widely used standard in many configurations and data communication.

02 Jul

Android becomes the world’s most popular mobile platform. What that means to app developers?

It is now officially estimated that everyday more than 1 million new Android devices are activated worldwide. This is a pretty impressive statistic given that the platform was released only few years ago. When we consider the number of activations, it has now surpassed Apple’s iOS and we can expect it to grow exponentially in the near future.

So what does that mean to Android App Developers?

As android app developers, this means you’re at a growth stage of a massive career opportunity. With all these devices and rapid adaptation worldwide, there is an ever-increasing need to power them with new apps and real-time communication.

With the open-source nature of the platform, and the multi-handset vendor process, the barrier to entry as a new app developer has become low. Even though there is a steep learning curve, anyone can get a foundational knowledge of Android app development using freely available tools on the Internet.

With the agreements with handset manufacturers, the prices of devices are dropping as well. Many developers from developing countries get the ability to buy a low-cost device and enter the App markets relatively easy.

However there’s a drawback to this. Since the barrier to entry is low, this makes the standard of some apps low as well. But this will not be a problem for a skilled developer, as they understand the fundamentals of programming. Some developers try to do the full app from design, development and marketing. However only a limited number of developers have those all-rounded skills. If you’re a new developer, I would suggest that you focus on development and hand-over the design to an experienced app designer.

12 Jan

The Battle for Talent – PHP vs Rails

As the world of technology has started to heat up with the large billion dollar acquisitions and IPOs, there seems to emerge an shortage of technology talent. Unlike the early days, now we’re seeing a higher demand for mobile and web development Engineers.

One of the important decisions a Tech Lead will make is, deciding on which languages and frameworks to use for their product. Often we see most start-ups adopt Ruby on Rails as the de-facto framework when it comes to backend development. But PHP seems to be a strong contended. So which option is right, Rails or PHP?

First of all Rails can’t be compared with PHP. Because Rails is a framework and PHP is a languages. We should be comparing Ruby to PHP. Both languages provided all the structures and local management, so for a competent developer either language shouldn’t be an issue.

So what about the framework? What can we compare Rails against? Well, there’ isn’t a single PHP framework that can offer that comparison. This is probably the reason why most tech leads and CTOs prefer Ruby on Rails, because that’s just one less decision to make. In recent years, we see the Laravel framework gaining a lot of traction as a solid PHP framework using most of the best parts from other frameworks such as Ruby on Rails. So the question of PHP vs Rails should be re-worded as Laravel vs Rails.

Well then, should you choose Laravel or Rails? The answer to this lies in the availability of talent. Generally Rails developers seem to have more experience, not primarily because the structure of the framework, but because developers who apply for Ruby on Rails job vacancies have at least few years of experience with some other programming language. Where as candidates applying for PHP job vacancies may not have that much experience.

So in conclusion, the answer comes down to how much existing experience you have with Ruby or PHP. The selection of the framework will not make your project success. If you have access to a lot of Ruby Engineers, go ahead with Rails. If you have access to a lot of competent PHP developers, go ahead with Laravel or a similar framework.

02 Sep

Simple Guide to App Marketing

So you’ve developed your app. You’re excited. You published your app to App Store and Google Play. And you’re waiting for a stampede of app downloads. You’re waiting…., and still waiting.

What’s going on here?

Most developers have this belief that if you build a great app, it will get downloaded millions of times. However the truth is far from that. There are hundreds of apps released daily, and you need to do some work up front to market your app to ensure the right people are going to hear about it.

This is where an app marketing strategy comes in.

App marketing is not creating a Facebook page and few videos. If your app is completed on a weekend, that is a reasonable approach. But most companies spend thousands of dollars and months developing an app. So the launch and promotion of your app must be planned well in advance to ensure that it is going to deliver value to your business.

A proper app marketing campaign will have release dates in phases. Beyond social media and videos, you need to use PR, blogs and even NPR to get the word out at the right time. Alternatively you can contact an app marketing agency such as app marketing australia to do this for you.

In summary, just because you can build an app, the success is not guaranteed. You need to have a proper marketing plan to get the word out there at the right time and right place.