Development Tip of the Day: When do I start testing?

When to begin testing, is a question that always leaves development teams wondering. Ideally, testing begins at the same time as development. When developers kick start a few user stories, testers should already be preparing test cases and plans for the same. This kind of look-ahead approach keeps the developers from prematurely calling a task “done” and automatically makes it a habit for everyone to call a deliverable complete only when it has been thoroughly tested.

Testing is not just the test engineer’s responsibility, instead it is the developer’s responsibility too. This thought has led to the evolution of a popular new software development technique called Test Driven Development. Read more about Test Driven Development HERE.

School in Your Pocket [Video]

 

Last summer our mobile solutions division teamed up with Alvarado ISD’s Director of Technology, Kyle Berger, to create the district app for Alvarado school district. Mobile Education has been a hot topic over the last few years and the chatter shows no sign of slowing down in 2012.

Mobile apps are a great tool for education in a variety of ways. Whether your providing textbooks online, engaging students in educational games, or creating additional revenue streams through in-app advertising and booster club sales, apps are a powerful way to engage teachers, students, and parents right in the palm of your hand.

Tip of the Day – Iterative and Incremental Development

A useful way to achieve customer satisfaction in an incremental development approach is to always decide the priority of tasks picked in a specific development iteration. The priority order should be based on guidance from the customer, keeping them fully involved throughout the entire scope of the project. Complete customer involvement prevents unnecessary surprises and full understanding of the expected deliverable.

Throwback Wednesday: 2006 to 2011 – Tech Trends, Then and Now

This past year was a social and mobile whirlwind. From Facebook timelines and the mobile photo craze to the death of the great Steve Jobs, the social mobile landscape is changing the way tech is evolving. With 2012 predictions pouring in as quickly as 2011 went, I thought I would take a look back at some of tech’s biggest predictions from just 5 years ago, then recap the year in tech and some of the top predictions for 2012.

A Look Back: The Hottest Predictions in Tech 2006

• WiFi Expansion: from mobile hot spots to city wide “hot zones” people will have wider access to the internet, but beware…you might have to pay a small fee.
• Video Blogging: with blogging already  hitting the mainstream 2006 will introduce Vlogging. People will start incorporating video more and more into their daily posts.
• Digital Living Rooms/Video on Demand: video will start to dominate not just bloggers lives, but your personal and business life as well. Not only will videos be accessible straight from your TV, but your TV will become fully customizable. Video will start to dominate your device with accessibility straight from your iPod and phone.
• Internet Phone Service: with companies like Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft getting into the internet phone service business, you’ll start to see discounted international and long distance rates and phone to phone internet calls available for free.
• Office to the Web: companies will be able to store important documents and information for their business on the internet. This will introduce more mobility and ease of access for the employer and their employees.

Introducing SorrisoOrtho for iOS – Now on iTunes

Say Cheese!

SorrisoOrtho, created by WorldLink Apps, is intended to WOW! the orthodontic experience for the patient, the parent, and the orthodontist. SorrisoOrtho captures your smile throughout your entire orthodontic experience and creates a fun video for you to share with your friends and family. Let the countdown begin to beautiful, pearly whites!

WorldLink partnered with industry leading orthodontists to create an effective application that will keep you on track, on time, and in touch with your dentist during the entire process.

Orthodontists use SorrisoOrtho to give instructions to kids and parents by recording videos right from the patient’s chair! If mom can’t make the appointment – send the video.  Patients can also send treatment updates to keep dentists involved in the process.

Patient Features

• Time Lapse Smile – creates a video of your changing smile, day by day
• Smile Countdown – tells you exactly when braces come off!
• Clear Aligners – create a custom changing schedule with alerts!
• Reminders – sends alerts to your phone to keep treatment on time
• Updates – sends pictures instantly to Facebook!
• Videos – create videos about you and your smile

Orthodontist Features

• Your logo in the app when registered on www.SorrisoOrtho.com
• Powerful practice marketing
• List your referring dentists*
• Communicate with dentists* and parents in a matter of seconds at the chair
• High tech with high touch, no more letters!

Parent Features

• Track multiple kids
• Time Lapse Smile for each of your kids!
• Appointments sync to iPhone calendar
• Reminders to keep your child motivated
• Quick and easy communication with your doctor

*Doctor subscription required

Visit www.SorrisoOrtho.com for more details

Download the app HERE

The Social Mobile Movement

Keeping your customers socially engaged with mobile apps!

There’s been a lot of chatter recently about the sustainability of social media and mobile apps. Over the last decade the term “social media” has evolved into more than a place to connect with friends, but into a vehicle to connect with brands and businesses of every size on a deeper level. Social media is more than a fad, it’s a layer of communication between businesses and their customers that is now becoming an expectation.

So where does mobility fit into the equation? Not only are your customers online, they’re browsing the web more than ever via their mobile phones.

Introducing Farmer Joe’s Fruit Harvest: Now on iTunes

I’m excited to announce WorldLink Apps’ first mobile game developed for the iPhone. For our first game we wanted to develop something that was aesthetically pleasing to the eye, challenging, and fun for all ages. Thus, Farmer Joe’s Fruit Harvest was born.

Synopsis – Help Save Farmer Joe

In a small Midwestern town, farmer Joe and his orchard farm have fallen on hard times. Last season was abundant for Joe and his family, but this year mother-nature is raring her ugly fist and causing farmer Joe great distress.

The changing winds and odd weather in the Midwest has produced an abnormal amount of creepy critters on the farm. Squirrels and woodpeckers, frogs and monkeys…even Toucans and Sloths are eating their way through farmer Joe’s crop. The orchard farm needs your help.

Harvest all 40 levels of crop to help save Joe from bankruptcy. Hurry and get started before another batch of apples fall victim to another worm infestation.

Farmer Joe’s Fruit Harvest Contest

Download the Farmer Joe’s Fruit Harvest app, then successfully play all levels to unlock the contest. Click on the Contest button after you finish the final level and accept the agreement. Each randomly selected winner will receive a fruit basket. Please review the full contest rules here>

Farmer Joe’s Fruit Harvest is available on iTunes for 99 cents! DOWNLOAD HERE

Visit WorldLink Apps

Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds Released on iTunes

Derived from the popular iTalk to God series, released in September of 2009, Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds is now available on iTunes for free. GTGWGD facilitates a personal and meaningful conversation between the user and Ahura Mazda. Ahura Mazda is the highest deity of worship in Zoroastrianism. The app also contains the 101 names for Ahura Mazda.

Key Features:

• Personalized experience specific to your current feelings
• 7 categories to choose from, each with a specific prayer
• Favorites
• Post verse to Facebook wall
• Email share
• SMS text share
• App remembers last favorite viewed, displays new one
• Encouraging commentary on each verse

Requirements:

• Compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch
• Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later

Download Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds

Visit WorldLink Apps

Mobile Learning in the Classroom

It’s the start of a new school year for thousands of students across the country, and 98% of returning high school students have access to a Smartphone. Instead of fighting mobility in schools it’s time to embrace it – and today’s technology leaders are doing just that. Educators from kindergarten to the collegiate level are integrating mobile technology into their every day curriculum.

Children as young as 2 years old can be seen playing educational games and increasing their motor skills on a mobile device. With the iGeneration being raised in a socially integrated, technological world, it’s a prime time for developers to seize the opportunities in mobile learning.

Medical Apps Mobilizing Smartphone Users to Better Health

Mobile apps aren’t just for check-ins and increasing revenue streams, they’re also monitoring your blood pressure and even mapping out a detailed view of your skeletal system.

The app industry has catered to everyone from gamers and music lovers, to the avid traveler and everybody in between since the inception of the app store in 2008. Over the last few years we’ve seen some amazing applications use some incredible technology, and the medical industry is no different.

According to Research2Guidance 2010, 500 million smartphone users worldwide will be using a health care application by 2015.* According to those stats it should come as no surprise that nearly 72% of physicians have tossed their beloved beepers for a Smartphone. With the mobile health market expected to hit $9.6 billion by 2012 there’s no doubt we’ll continue to see an increase in mobility for physician and patient use.