Using your Linked In Profile as your CV

Using your Linked In Profile as your CV.

Primary Colours are the new black …

 

OK, so they have never been out but what really nailed this home to me was when these two items popped up next to each other on my timeline this morning …

Guess Sony must be working on the white one ….

Thor: The Dark World. (Spoiler Free Review)

Apologies for the short digresion from development technology but …

.. with the luck of the devil I managed to snag a plus one for my daughter Daisy and I to a private screening of "Thor:The Dark Army" at the Cineworld/IMAX in Birmingham last night.  After being treated to a red carpet and champagne reception we duly sat down in the elevated comfort of screen 8 and, a pleasant change, we were straight into the film with no previews or ads.  One thing I would say is that the film has quite a few potential spoilers so be careful what you read before going out to the film yourself, Oh, and be sure not to leave during the closing credits! (The closing credits are some of the most incredible 3D cartoon graphics that I have seen, so you are not going to want to leave without seeing them all!)

First the cast, a well chosen ensemble, reprising their roles from the first film with Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and (of course) Anthony Hopkins providing the gravitas that allows you to absolutely believe in the Norse / Viking-esk world of the film (notwithstanding that much action takes place in London!).  For this film the primary bad guy isn’t Loki (yes, he is bad) but the leader of an elf army, played menacingly well by Christopher Ecclestone.

What made the film that little bit more enjoyable for me was the odd interjection of humour.  Loki’s humour was delivered with deadpan confidence that had the audience laughing out loud in several places.  But Thor also gets a look in – again, deadpan and raising a good few laughs that provide a welcome, if short relief to the tension and action of the film itself.

Now perhaps it was just me but I felt that there was definitely a nod to some sci-fi classics in this film.  First the elf army – reminded me of an enemy of the Dr himself:the Pertwee-era “Autons” (though, looking at them now, perhaps that is a stretch).  Did did I also detect some Star Wars like sound effects?  (An echo of a tie fighter engines mixed in with a smattering of the Phantom Menace racing pods perhaps?) Not to diminish the sound and visual effects of the film – which were Epic (3D was awesome too – effective, without being too ‘in your face’)

So no spoilers but how well does this trailer reflect the film itself?  Well it does manage to purvey the mood and excitement of the film without giving too much away, but the film itself is EPIC in 3D! So, don’t be mean to yourself, go out and find the biggest 3D screen cinema you can  – you are not going to be disappointed!

Windows 8.1 “Slide to shutdown”

 

One of the new exe’s in 8.1 :

C:\Windows\System32\SlideToShutDown.exe

Try it out (search for ‘run’ then paste it into the run box or run it from the command prompt)

 

Hidden feature or just not quite ready?

Getting the Current Windows Phone App Version in code.

 

It’s often useful to display the current App version (per your App Manifest) for support purposes.  I came across the following snippet that looks to provide the easiest option that requires no manual updates when you release a new version of your app:

VersionTextBox.Text = XDocument.Load("WMAppManifest.xml").Root.Element("App").Attribute("Version").Value;

I usually use this in my about box similar to this (add a textbox named VersionTextBox to your xaml first):

What is wrong with this picture?

My dialog with Microsoft about ‘missing downloads’ has been an agonising one in which I have simply failed to get through to anyone who believes that there is anything wrong with the above picture. (To paraphrase and simplify: ‘our system tells us that you didn’t have any downloads during that time period’)

If you work at Microsoft and are willing to help please get in touch, you will find that I am a reasonable and committed, albeit frustrated, independent developer.

Win – Win with Nokia’s DVLUP World Domination Challenge!

 

I have been a part of Nokia’ developer program for quite a while and thought I would take the time to point out a particular recent challenge in its’ DVLUP program that represents a quick win on three counts:

1.  The Challenge doesn’t require a new version of the App so consequently is very quick to implement.

2. You gain entry to a significant number of new Phone markets (equals increased revenue!) by completing this challenge.

3. It’s maybe one of the easiest ways to get 100 xp points in the DVLUP program!

For details of the DVLUP program and this challenge check out this link:

http://www.dvlup.com/Challenge/97#

When going through my own apps for this challenge I was surprised to find that the majority of them were not already submitted to all potential markets so I consider this challenge to have done me a service!  Thanks DVLUP!

Upgrading to Windows 8.1 (Preview) [My Experience]

I downloaded and installed the Windows 8.1 Preview from here:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/preview

NB The download is 2.4GB!  My device is an Intel Ultrabook running 64bit Windows 8

This was my experience:

Select YES:

 

Restart

Not sure what the deal is with the crazy fonts?

NB When you use a mouse to hover over the download you should get a percentage completed dialog (during BUILD the downloads are quite slow!)

---

Made in the UK

Very pleased to see that ‘Learn Piano’ is one of the featured apps in the Windows Store ‘Made In The UK’ spotlight section in the Windows Store.

Watch, Rewind, Pause and Play this stunning collection of videos aimed at helping you to learn the piano.
Beginner? Use ‘slow’ mode to play along slowly!

★★★★★ "What a wonderful App!"

★★★★★ "A very enjoyable way to learn"

★★★★★ "I felt good about my playing in no time, thank you!"

NB Learn Piano has consistently been in the top ten free Apps in the Lifestyle section of the Windows Store since it’s launch.

You can download ‘Learn Piano’ for free <here>

App Sales on the Windows Platform

Something strange has been going on with my Windows Phone and App store downloads.

Windows Store App Sales

So not a very inspiring story but this graph shows sales revenue (not ad revenue) for Apps between April and June this year.  The graph shows a regular income from App sales of between £5 and £10 per day up until around 6th May when suddenly not only are there no sales but there are more refunds than is the norm.

^{(Click on the graph to enlarge)}

And so I put in a request to Microsoft to investigate this strange phenomena.  Some weeks passed and after a series of exchanges I got a message back saying everything is normal (!?)

Windows Phone App Sales

A similar story with my Windows Phone sales (I have an outstanding request to investigate this from that team also).

To my mind the chances of this happening through the normal course of events are so small as to be discountable?

And so the purpose of this post   (and I feel a little bad that I have had to resort to this) is to ‘shame’ Microsoft into actually giving me an explanation of what is wrong instead of a series (of which the below is the latest) of emails attempting to persuade me that everything is OK.

NB I have replied to the email above with a link to this blog post.

If anyone else has experienced similar phenomena please let me know.

UPDATE – Windows 8 Apps

Here are the raw transactions for the Windows 8 Apps covering this issue:

"Date","App","Transaction type","Offer","Country/region","Currency","Transaction amount","Store fee","App proceeds","App proceeds(GBP)","Settled","Payment date"
"4/1/2013","Learn Piano","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/1/2013","Fishing Tips","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/2/2013","Comedy Gold TV","In-app purchase","HiDef","GB","GBP","4.34","1.30","3.04","","No","N/A"
"4/2/2013","Comedy Gold TV","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","4.34","1.30","3.04","","No","N/A"
"4/3/2013","Learn Piano","In-store purchase","N/A","KW","KWD","0.390","0.117","0.273","","No","N/A"
"4/3/2013","Learn Piano","In-app purchase","AddFree","KW","KWD","1.990","0.597","1.393","","No","N/A"
"4/4/2013","Learn Guitar","In-store purchase","N/A","GB","GBP","0.86","0.26","0.60","","No","N/A"
"4/4/2013","Learn Piano","In-store purchase","N/A","US","USD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/5/2013","Presenters Assistant","In-app purchase","AddFree","GR","EUR","5.21","1.56","3.65","","No","N/A"
"4/5/2013","Pranks!","Reversal","AddFree","US","USD","-1.49","-0.45","-1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/6/2013","Learn Piano","In-store purchase","N/A","US","USD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/6/2013","How to tie a knot","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","4.34","1.30","3.04","","No","N/A"
"4/6/2013","Learn Piano","In-store purchase","N/A","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/7/2013","ABBA Yearbook","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/7/2013","ABBA Yearbook","In-app purchase","HiRes","US","USD","2.49","0.75","1.74","","No","N/A"
"4/7/2013","Learn Piano","Reversal","AddFree","US","USD","-6.99","-2.10","-4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/7/2013","Learn Piano","In-store purchase","N/A","GB","GBP","4.34","1.30","3.04","","No","N/A"
"4/7/2013","Speeches","In-app purchase","AddFree","CA","CAD","4.99","1.50","3.49","","No","N/A"
"4/8/2013","Learn Piano","In-store purchase","N/A","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/8/2013","Learn Piano","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","4.34","1.30","3.04","","No","N/A"
"4/9/2013","Learn Drums","In-app purchase","AddFree","ID","IDR","60,000","18,000","42,000","","No","N/A"
"4/10/2013","Bowie 7885","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","0.86","0.26","0.60","","No","N/A"
"4/12/2013","Star Trek Hub","In-app purchase","HiRes","CA","CAD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/12/2013","Learn Piano","In-store purchase","N/A","GB","GBP","4.34","1.30","3.04","","No","N/A"
"4/12/2013","Learn Piano","In-store purchase","N/A","CA","CAD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/12/2013","Star Trek Hub","In-app purchase","AddFree","CA","CAD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/12/2013","Learn Piano","In-store purchase","N/A","CA","CAD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/13/2013","MegaStructures","In-app purchase","AddFree","AU","AUD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/13/2013","Sculpting","In-app purchase","HiRes","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/13/2013","Learn Piano","In-app purchase","HiRes","CA","CAD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/13/2013","Bowie 7885","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","0.86","0.26","0.60","","No","N/A"
"4/13/2013","Learn Piano","In-app purchase","AddFree","CA","CAD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/14/2013","Popular Board Games","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","4.34","1.30","3.04","","No","N/A"
"4/14/2013","Learn Piano","In-app purchase","AddFree","IN","INR","350.00","105.00","245.00","","No","N/A"
"4/15/2013","Live Tile News","In-app purchase","AddFree","AU","AUD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/16/2013","Star Trek Hub","In-app purchase","HiRes","GB","GBP","0.86","0.26","0.60","","No","N/A"
"4/16/2013","Early Symptoms","In-app purchase","AddFree","AU","AUD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/16/2013","Star Trek Hub","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/16/2013","Star Trek Hub","In-app purchase","HiRes","US","USD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/16/2013","Early Symptoms","In-app purchase","HiDef","AU","AUD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/17/2013","Popular Board Games","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","4.34","1.30","3.04","","No","N/A"
"4/17/2013","How to tie a knot","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/17/2013","Star Trek Hub","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","0.86","0.26","0.60","","No","N/A"
"4/17/2013","Country Music Stars","In-app purchase","HiRes","CA","CAD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/18/2013","Popular Board Games","In-app purchase","HiRes","GB","GBP","0.86","0.26","0.60","","No","N/A"
"4/18/2013","Country Music Stars","In-app purchase","HiRes","ZA","ZAR","10.00","3.00","7.00","","No","N/A"
"4/18/2013","Gadgets","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/18/2013","Country Music Stars","In-app purchase","AddFree","ZA","ZAR","50.00","15.00","35.00","","No","N/A"
"4/19/2013","Star Trek Hub","In-app purchase","AddFree","DE","EUR","1.03","0.31","0.72","","No","N/A"
"4/19/2013","Star Trek Hub","In-app purchase","HiRes","GB","GBP","0.86","0.26","0.60","","No","N/A"
"4/19/2013","How to tie a knot","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/21/2013","Upper Body Workout","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/21/2013","Country Music Stars","In-app purchase","HiRes","CA","CAD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/21/2013","Country Music Stars","In-app purchase","AddFree","CA","CAD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/22/2013","Country Music Stars","In-app purchase","HiRes","CA","CAD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/22/2013","Star Trek Hub","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","0.86","0.26","0.60","","No","N/A"
"4/23/2013","How to tie a knot","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/23/2013","Popular Board Games","In-app purchase","HiRes","AU","AUD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/23/2013","Sporting Disasters","In-app purchase","AddFree","CA","CAD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/24/2013","Hot Models","In-app purchase","AddFree","CA","CAD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/24/2013","How to braid your hair","In-app purchase","AddFree","NZ","NZD","1.99","0.60","1.39","","No","N/A"
"4/25/2013","Star Trek Hub","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/26/2013","How to tie a knot","In-app purchase","AddFree","CA","CAD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/27/2013","Live Tile Sport","In-store purchase","N/A","GB","GBP","2.25","0.67","1.58","","No","N/A"
"4/27/2013","Fishing Tips","In-app purchase","AddFree","DE","EUR","5.21","1.56","3.65","","No","N/A"
"4/27/2013","Bowie 7885","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","0.86","0.26","0.60","","No","N/A"
"4/28/2013","Shape Your Body","In-app purchase","HiRes","US","USD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/28/2013","Live Tile Sport","In-store purchase","N/A","TH","THB","110.00","33.00","77.00","","No","N/A"
"4/28/2013","Shape Your Body","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/28/2013","How to tie a knot","In-app purchase","HiRes","CA","CAD","3.99","1.20","2.79","","No","N/A"
"4/29/2013","Live Tile News","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/29/2013","Geek Porn","In-app purchase","HiRes","CA","CAD","3.49","1.05","2.44","","No","N/A"
"4/29/2013","Learn Piano","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"4/29/2013","Learn Piano","In-app purchase","HiRes","US","USD","3.49","1.05","2.44","","No","N/A"
"4/29/2013","Live Tile News","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"4/30/2013","7 Wonders I","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","4.34","1.30","3.04","","No","N/A"
"4/30/2013","Star Trek Hub","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","0.86","0.26","0.60","","No","N/A"
"4/30/2013","Star Trek Hub","In-app purchase","HiRes","GB","GBP","0.86","0.26","0.60","","No","N/A"
"5/1/2013","Baby Knowledge","In-store purchase","N/A","GB","GBP","0.86","0.26","0.60","","No","N/A"
"5/1/2013","Learn Piano","In-app purchase","HiRes","US","USD","3.49","1.05","2.44","","No","N/A"
"5/2/2013","Speed Painting","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"5/3/2013","Star Trek Hub","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","1.56","0.47","1.09","","No","N/A"
"5/3/2013","Country Music Stars","In-app purchase","HiRes","CA","CAD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"5/3/2013","Geek Porn","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"5/3/2013","Punk !","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","0.86","0.26","0.60","","No","N/A"
"5/3/2013","MegaStructures","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","4.34","1.30","3.04","","No","N/A"
"5/4/2013","How to tie a knot","In-app purchase","HiRes","US","USD","3.99","1.20","2.79","","No","N/A"
"5/4/2013","Learn Piano","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"5/4/2013","Learn Piano","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"5/4/2013","Easy DIY","In-app purchase","HiRes","US","USD","2.99","0.90","2.09","","No","N/A"
"5/5/2013","Country Music Stars","In-app purchase","HiRes","NZ","NZD","1.99","0.60","1.39","","No","N/A"
"5/5/2013","Popular Board Games","In-app purchase","AddFree","CA","CAD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"5/5/2013","Popular Board Games","In-app purchase","HiRes","CA","CAD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"5/5/2013","Lower Body Workout","In-app purchase","HiRes","CA","CAD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"5/5/2013","Technology Hub","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","4.34","1.30","3.04","","No","N/A"
"5/5/2013","Country Music Stars","In-app purchase","HiRes","CH","CHF","1.30","0.39","0.91","","No","N/A"
"5/10/2013","Country Music Stars","Reversal","HiRes","CA","CAD","-1.49","-0.45","-1.04","","No","N/A"
"5/22/2013","Learn Drums","Reversal","AddFree","ID","IDR","-60,000","-18,000","-42,000","","No","N/A"
"6/13/2013","Star Trek Hub","In-app purchase","HiRes","GB","GBP","0.86","0.26","0.60","","No","N/A"
"6/13/2013","Star Trek Hub","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","1.56","0.47","1.09","","No","N/A"
"6/13/2013","Country Music Stars","In-app purchase","AddFree","AU","AUD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"6/13/2013","Cajon","Trial upgrade","N/A","AU","AUD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"6/13/2013","Cajon","In-app purchase","AddFree","AU","AUD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"6/15/2013","Supermarket Hub","In-app purchase","HiRes","NZ","NZD","8.99","2.70","6.29","","No","N/A"
"6/16/2013","British Fashion","In-app purchase","HiDef","NL","EUR","1.03","0.31","0.72","","No","N/A"
"6/17/2013","Bowie 9401","In-app purchase","HiRes","US","USD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"6/17/2013","Upper Body Workout","In-app purchase","HiRes","CA","CAD","2.49","0.75","1.74","","No","N/A"
"6/17/2013","Upper Body Workout","In-app purchase","AddFree","CA","CAD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"6/18/2013","Technology Hub","In-app purchase","HiRes","US","USD","2.99","0.90","2.09","","No","N/A"
"6/19/2013","How to braid your hair","In-app purchase","HiRes","US","USD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"6/19/2013","How to braid your hair","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"6/20/2013","Popular Board Games","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"6/13/2013","Star Trek Hub","In-app purchase","HiRes","GB","GBP","0.86","0.26","0.60","","No","N/A"
"6/13/2013","Star Trek Hub","In-app purchase","AddFree","GB","GBP","1.56","0.47","1.09","","No","N/A"
"6/13/2013","Country Music Stars","In-app purchase","AddFree","AU","AUD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"6/13/2013","Cajon","Trial upgrade","N/A","AU","AUD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"6/13/2013","Cajon","In-app purchase","AddFree","AU","AUD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"6/15/2013","Supermarket Hub","In-app purchase","HiRes","NZ","NZD","8.99","2.70","6.29","","No","N/A"
"6/16/2013","British Fashion","In-app purchase","HiDef","NL","EUR","1.03","0.31","0.72","","No","N/A"
"6/17/2013","Bowie 9401","In-app purchase","HiRes","US","USD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"6/17/2013","Upper Body Workout","In-app purchase","HiRes","CA","CAD","2.49","0.75","1.74","","No","N/A"
"6/17/2013","Upper Body Workout","In-app purchase","AddFree","CA","CAD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"
"6/18/2013","Technology Hub","In-app purchase","HiRes","US","USD","2.99","0.90","2.09","","No","N/A"
"6/19/2013","How to braid your hair","In-app purchase","HiRes","US","USD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"6/19/2013","How to braid your hair","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","1.49","0.45","1.04","","No","N/A"
"6/20/2013","Popular Board Games","In-app purchase","AddFree","US","USD","6.99","2.10","4.89","","No","N/A"

No sales between 6th May and 13th June which given the trend before and after points to something being amiss (Note that the transactions between those dates are actually reversals)

UPDATE – Windows Phone Apps

I have a broadly similar issue with Windows Phone Sales – I don’t have the individual transactions to show but the graph below is fairly conclusive: