Flash on the Beach iPhone app version 1.1.1 update

Posted on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 @ 11:05 CET

On Thursday last week, one day after the app being released on the App Store we found a major bug in the Flash on the Beach iPhone app.

We didn't find this bug until Chris and Paul finished the map bit of the new Connect site, which is launching very soon. Basically when you choose to update your location from the iPhone we send your current GPS position (latitude/longitude) up to the BackNetwork. However, a nasty bug was recording the location as being in the middle of Brighton no matter where you were on the planet. So you and all your friends would be in the same place, effectively rendering this extremely cool feature completely useless.

Shit.

You see the iPhone Simulator that comes along with Xcode lets you run and test your apps on your PC. However, it fakes the GPS behaviour by locating you somewhere in Cupertino, CA no matter where you are. So to avoid this I added a small check that when running the app in the simulator it would say that you were in the middle of Brighton. Since all the other places are in Brighton this made testing the app faster.

The check was as follows:

Of course it should be if TARGET_IPHONE_SIMULATOR, not ifdef since the TARGET_IPHONE_SIMULATOR variable is defined on both the iPhone and simulator, but set to false on the iPhone since its not the simulator.

Doh!

A super simple, stupid bug (that I will never, ever forget) that is extremely easy to fix and submit an update. So we submitted on Friday, September 11, with the conference only 10 days away. The first version took 14 days before it was approved...

Shit.

Seemingly up a creak and paddle-less, Chris sent an email pleading our case to the Apple App Review Team™ who out of the goodness of their hearts responded with:

OMFG!

So a massive thank you to the review team that saved my ass. Having to explain why that feature didn't work would have royally sucked in addition to being just a little embarrassing. There's also a tiny schedule change - Rob Chiu and Jeremy Thorp switching slots.

Anyways, go get the 1.1.1 update right away! :)

- paulo

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