I recently read a blog post regarding the YAGNI principle of programming.The acronym stands for “You Aren’t Gonna Need It!”.The idea really hit home for me because, while I’ve never heard it before, I have seen its truthfulness play out time and again in my programming career.In hindsight, this approach could have saved me countless hours of coding/testing/debugging/refactoring on features that were not ever used.Putting that time and effort to good use on the parts of my projects that were actually used could have benefited not only me, but my managers…
A few months ago, I released my latest Windows Phone app, AssemblyMate.It’s a simple app designed for use by Jehovah’s Witnesses to take notes at assemblies and conventions.I have received a lot of positive feedback from users of the app, and I’ve enjoyed using it myself.But being available only on Windows Phone presented some limitations. First, the relatively small form factor of the phone makes note-taking a little tedious.It’s not terrible, but not ideal either.In the post where I mentioned the initial release of AssemblyMate, I mentioned that I was looking…
I am often asked by blog readers and users of my Windows Phone apps (MinistryMate, AssemblyMate, and TMS Tracker) if its possible to install the Watchtower Library program on their smartphone running Windows Phone 7.The question is understandable, because a few years ago, a version of the program was made compatible with Windows Mobile devices.And when running the setup for Watchtower Library, you are asked whether you want to install it on your computer or your Windows Mobile phone. Is It Possible? In a word, no.Unfortunately, since Windows Phone 7 was a complete reboot of Microsoft’s…
Beautifully Different – That’s been the marketing slogan for the new Nokia Lumia 900, the flagship Windows Phone in the US.I got mine two days ago and I could not be happier!I’ve been using a Samsung Focus since the day after Windows Phone 7 launched in November 2010, and it met and exceeded my expectations during that time.So it didn’t take a lot of convincing to get me to fork over the $99 for the latest greatest smartphone available.I love Windows Phone for everything that it is, as well as for what it is…
I submitted a new Windows Phone app today called AssemblyMate. Building on the success of my app for Jehovah’s Witnesses to use in the ministry — MinistryMate — I am hoping to address another common need with the new app.AssemblyMate will allow you to take notes at assemblies and conventions and have the notes stored right on your phone.You can also record details about the assembly such as attendance and baptism numbers. The assembly programs will be automatically downloaded to your phone as soon as they are available.Then you can set the dates for when you will attend.…
Today I submitted the latest update to the best ministry app on the Windows Phone platform, MinistryMate.As more and more users have downloaded the app, the feedback I have received has proven invaluable in deciding what changes to make and what new features to add.The latest release is another example of that.The goal of this app is to help fellow Witnesses be more organized and productive in their ministry, and incorporating the most requested fixes and new features is helping that goal become a reality.Here’s what’s new in 2.2: Improved navigation – A landing…
I just submitted the next update of MinistryMate for certification.I’m really excited about this release because of some of the new features I was able to add that will greatly enhance the user’s experience.Here’s a quick rundown of what’s included: [](http://www.wittersworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/PhoneNumberContextMenu.png)Phone Number Context Menu1. **Better backup and restore using [Dropbox.com](http://www.dropbox.com)** – I added backup/restore functionality back in version 1.3, but…
I just published an update to my MinistryMate application, but when I try to download the update on my phone, the process fails.I open up Marketplace, which shows one update available.Then I click on MinistryMate, and press the Update button.It then shows Queuing, pending, installing (very quickly), then back to a screen telling me ‘No downloads in progress’.The update was not applied and still shows in Marketplace.I did some quick Binging and found a thread on Microsoft’s AppHub forums describing this problem and acknowledging a bug.The thread can be found here. The most…