iAd Producer Updated to 2.1.1 & WWDC Session Video Available

Apple have updated iAd Producer to 2.1.1. Looks like mainly bug fixes and some UI tweaks.

This update contains various improvements, including fixes that:
• Correct handling of assets with normal and high-resolution versions.
• Address issues with animation preview on canvas.

If you’re a registered Apple iOS developer you can get it from the Developer Portal. 

You can also view the iAd Producer WWDC video, session 605 available on iTunes. 

App Store Keyword Searching Optimisation Tips

From the iTunes Connect FAQ: [Developer login required]

“Your app is searchable by your app name, your keywords and your company name.”

This means you don’t have to waste valuable keywords by including your app or company name in the 100 byte keyword limit.

To gain a few more characters you can also remove the spaces in-between keywords and separate them with commas: just,like,this.

However; don’t be a dick. It’s tempting to fill your app name up with many keywords, this makes your app look cheap – don’t do it!

Status Barred: iOS Screenshot Status Bar Remover App

So many iOS apps developers forget to remove the screenshots from their apps on the App Store; often revealing the horrendous times the screenshots were taken and detracting from the actual app.

iTunes Connect recommends the removal of the status bar, and Status Barred removes the status bar perfectly regardless of the screenshot being retina, iPhone, iPad, landscape or portrait. For $0.99 it saves a bunch of time whenever submitting or updating an app.

Available on the Mac App Store

Last.fm doesn’t autostart with iTunes in Lion [Fix]

Update 04/08/2011: last.fm have updated their client, either use the Check for updates.. in the app or download it.

Still no scrobbling but the release notes show they’ve fixed it for Lion:

1.5.4.28012 (mac) (04/08/11)
—————————-
* Plugin fix for iTunes 10.5
* 64bit version of the plugin for iTunes on Lion

Original:
Sadly the last.fm client doesn’t autostart under Lion when you run iTunes; and there’s yet to be an official update. In fact the entire client has been rather neglected, seeing its last update in October 2010.

If like me, you’ve lost a bunch of scrobbles because you’ve forgotten to open it, you can add last.fm to your login items so it’ll automatically open when your Mac starts.

Open System Preferences then > Users & Groups; select your username and toggle to the Login Items page. Click the + and select the last.fm app to add to the list.

Mac System Preferences - adding last.fm to login items

If like myself, you have the last.fm not show in the dock (and only the menu bar), select the Hidden checkbox.

Unfortunately there’s no iPhone / iPad scrobbling support on Lion yet, and I’m not sure how iOS 5 WiFi sync will be able to handle it..

Xcode Install Requires iTunes to be Closed

When installing or updating Xcode you need to close iTunes for it to complete. If you’ve closed iTunes but still get this message:

In order to continue the install please quit iTunes

Open Activity Monitor and quit iTunes Helper. The installation will now finish.

This mainly seems to happen on beta versions of iTunes. The helper app runs to detect iOS devices being connected so it can auto-open iTunes.