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Erica Sadun

Biography

Erica Sadun holds a PhD in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She has written, co-written, and contributed to almost two dozen books about technology, particularly in the areas of programming, digital video, and digital photography. An unrepentant geek, Sadun has never met a gadget she didn't need. Her checkered past includes run-ins with NeXT, Newton, and a vast myriad of both successful and unsuccessful technologies. When not writing, she and her geek husband parent three adorable geeks-in-training, who regard their parents with restrained bemusement.

Books

Articles

Blog

iPhone Backups: Part 4

May 30 2008

Embedding data, particularly text-based data back into an mdbackup file isn't just a matter of setting the value in the dictionary for the @"Data" key. Instead, you need to serialize your output. The code that follows demonstrates a simple way to serialize property lists into an mdbackup-compatible format read more

iPhone Backups: Part 3

May 23 2008

Parts 1 and 2 of this mini-series introduced you to mdbackup files. When backing up your iPhone or iPod touch, iTunes stores files in mdbackup property lists. The name mdbackup comes from mobile device, the name of the private framework that's responsible for handling the iPhone backups. Today, you'll discover… read more

iPhone Backups Part 2

May 19 2008

To back up an attached device, you must specify its target ID. This is the name used for the folder in the MobileSync/Backup directory. The target ID also appears in the Info.plist file. Issue the following command using the target ID for your device. read more

iPhone Backups: Part 1

May 19 2008

Whenever the iPhone backs up to your Mac, iTunes copies certain files to your computer. These include your settings files, from the preferences library, and databases, such as your calls, notes, bookmarks and so forth. read more

Using the Open SDK with 2.0 Firmware

May 19 2008

A lot of people have been asking about using the existing open SDK for 2.0 application development. A few betas back, my answer was "Hey, no problem". But with the last two betas, I'm not quite so sure. We haven't seen pwnage compatibility since the third beta and there hasn't… read more

Thoughts on 1.1.4 programming

May 02 2008

Quite a few readers have asked me whether I intend to continue programming for 1.1.4 firmware. In a nutshell, the answer is "no". And here are my reasons why. read more

iPhone SDK4 debuts, Panda/P2 protocol goes MIA

April 25 2008

As the new iPhone SDK hit the streets, I decided to take another look at those iPhone Panda protocols I wrote about just a month ago. To my slight surprise, the protocols disappeared from Apple's public iTunes listings. read more

Seven hours

April 24 2008

Seven hours. Go on and ask. I know you're dying to. What could possibly waste seven hours of time in a developer's life? Why downloading an SDK and installing new firmware! Needless to say, I'm in a particularly grumpy mood this morning. read more

Open iPhone: unsandboxing apps on pwned development iPhones

April 18 2008

So you pwned your 2.0 dev phone. Now what? You can use the open source toolchain to build a limited set of tools, primarily command-line ones or you can use your SDK to build real apps that you can run outside the sandbox. Here's how. read more

Just Enough Computing: Part 1

April 11 2008

When it comes to portable computing, the iPhone works in that it gets the job done. Its screen is barely big enough to read comfortably. Its onscreen keyboard will never match up fully to the needs of a trained typist accustomed to physical data entry. It's a gadget made from… read more

Open iPhone SDK: Adding Application Badges

April 04 2008

If you’ve used the iPhone or iPod touch for any time, you’ve likely seen the small red badges that appear over applications on the home screen. These might indicate the number of missed phone calls or unread emails that accumulated since the user last opened Phone or Mail. read more

Open iPhone SDK: Building a UIProgressBar

April 01 2008

Progress bars allow end-users to anticipate wait times. They present bars that fill from left to right. These bars indicate the degree to which a task has finished. Progress bars work best for long waits where providing state feedback allows your users to retain the feel of control. read more

TMI: Apple's AppStore Protocol Goes Live

March 24 2008

At this time, Apple provides 5 AppStore calls to its new p2-panda service plus a call to legal terms and conditions. I'm swayed by Ryan Block's excellent insight that p2 probably stands for Purple 2, the iPhone's code name read more

iPhone: Open SDK vs Closed SDK

March 21 2008

Hackers have been hard at work updating the open source iPhone SDK to work with Apple's newest unreleased firmware and here is what they have found: nearly everything that worked with earlier firmware continues to compile and work with the newer firmware. read more

iPhone developer program rejection notes

March 14 2008

What happens when you offer free technical support and application distribution for only $99? An oversupply of iPhone developer wannabees and an undersupply of Apple developer support resources. read more
Erica Sadun