Editorial: Build awesome Windows Phone apps with no coding...and other lies

Crapps

Being a developer is tough, and every developer will concord. If they don't, they're in deprival. We have long hours, we get no sleep, nosotros spend hours tweaking things that ninety% of users will never discover (much like designers), and ofttimes get no recognition for any of this. Y'all don't but wake up 1 twenty-four hour period and are suddenly a coder, it takes work.

I used to lecture Microsoft technologies at a University and the number one reason students gave as to why they were studying programming was: "I heard in that location was lots of money in it". Surprisingly, those were the same people that now work at McDonalds (and make astonishing burgers I might add together!). And as far as I tin can work out, it's also these types of people that make 5 infinitesimal apps.

There are lots of generalizations in this mail service, and then I apologize if you become offended.

Back nigh the get-go of Windows Phone'southward life a service called AppMakr added support for WP7. This service allowed a user to create an app in a few clicks with absolutely no coding, and no prior cognition of the platform. This sounds groovy in theory. But in practice, information technology only produces thousands of cloned apps that each look at an RSS feed and spit out the issue. I had presumed that one of the Microsoft blogs had posted an example RSS reader and people hadn't bothered to change annihilation bar the URL it looks at. I was incorrect, and later discovered the source. This all wouldn't be besides bad if the app that was generated was mildly attractive, merely the results are pretty shocking (for the most part).

For an example of one of these apps, look no farther than "wpcentral". No, not our official app, but this one.

Fake WP Central app

Okay, so looking past the garish color scheme, it is still a really horrid app to utilise. It adds nothing to the mobile site. In fact, our mobile site has a comment system, which the app doesn't. Plus, it reflects desperately on WPCentral because some unlucky sod has no-doubtfulness downloaded this past mistake.

This isn't just a problem for us though, it's just a practiced example. Head over to the marketplace and search for any reputable news site and there will exist at to the lowest degree i (but usually multiple) of these "RSS Reader" crapps.

Here are some examples, for your enjoyment!

CNN
BBC
CNET
Gizmodo
Engadget

One item gem, pointed out past Dan, is the fine developer named "rrrrgarg". He/she has spent endless seconds generating 53 unique and heady apps for Windows Phone users to enjoy. And they must know how much nosotros hate diversity, because most all of those point to just 3 particular outlets. There are 21 BBC apps, twenty CNN apps, and 10 Virginia Tech apps. Hey, on the bright side, most of them are fabricated with probably the least horrible of all the crapp generators, Follow My Feed.

Scumbag spammer or not, with that many apps, they much exist making an absolute killing with all the adverts being served! Well, except that they're not. If I look at ane of my apps that has a pretty terrible user-to-review ratio (meaning that lots of users only equals a few reviews) - information technology show that per 100 downloads, it only gets i review. Now counting up the reviews from rrrrgarg's apps, so multiplying that with 100 we can see they accept probably had virtually 100 users. Considering that serving 1000 adverts can net you less than a single dollar sometimes, it looks like this isn't such a great money making scheme after all.

Keep in listen that the above is probably as inaccurate as proverb that Google never strays from their motto. One problem is that for my App I am using the number of reviews from all marketplace regions (not only US), but not for rrrrgarg'south. So although information technology'south not scientific, I think you get the gist.

Besides Follow My Feed, there are other generators that seem popular. 1 of the oldest ones is AppMakr - and this is what the unofficial WPCentral app was made with. To go a full understanding of what creating an app entails, checkout the post-obit video:

Despite the confusing UI of AppMakr, information technology takes simply a infinitesimal or two to make something market place set up. Please note that I said marketplace prepare, non marketplace worthy.

Side by side upwardly is Conduit. When I saw this detail name pop-upward recently I was especially excited. No, not because I'm lazy, but because I thought it may be a version of The Conduit for WP7, which was a surprisingly enjoyable Wii game. Alas, it was all a conspiracy (come across what I did there?).

The UI of Conduit is a little amend than AppMakr, and doesn't look similar a Web one.0 yahoo folio, but it'southward still rather confusing. Oh, and in that location were some glaring bug which made me desire to nail my cute LCD, like it randomly refreshing the page half-way through and losing all progress. And when I needed to login (yep, I had registered and activated my account beforehand) to salve, it went into an countless bicycle of hate. I did eventually get it to salvage, but only after much gnashing of teeth. I guess that could really count as a point in Conduit's favor - I take been looking for a reason to use the word gnashing in an article.

Hither is the video of my Conduit experience:

Now before the pitchforks come up out, and we get nasty emails from the aforementioned companies let me point out that these services practice actually have a worthy place in life. In that location is a pocket-sized percent of people that need a elementary app for their website, just do not have the resources or knowledge to go one made or to make ane themselves. These are the people that own smaller low-income websites. And because they have an invested interest in the app (because it reflects on their site), they will accept care in generating information technology. With enough time put into Conduit or Follow My Feed, it would actually be perhaps to make a semi-descent app. Of course it wont compare to a lovingly mitt-crafted app, but at least it won't count as spam.

Merely then yous become the dark side of the story. And the thing that still puzzles me is WHY. Why do these people experience the need to spam the market? If there was a chance in hell of them making money and so I would understand information technology, but for the 99%, I but don't run across how that is possible. It'southward really surprising how few of these apps are paid. If a person is scummy plenty to create 53 cloned spam apps, and so I would wait that they are scummy plenty to also charge for the app and have no trial - to sucker in a few innocent marketplace browsers.

So is there a solution? YES! If you are the possessor of a site that has a bunch of illegitimate apps trying to make money off your name, then written report it to Microsoft. There is a pocket-sized chance that claiming copyright on your make can get these scumbags out. And in an ideal world, their AppHub accounts would be disabled and tossed into Mount Doom. Although, due to geographic issues, I don't run across this happening.

To shut, let me reiterate: It is non that these services are terrible. They provide something that a few people may find actually useful, and may help some small-business concern owners to become their business into the mobile space. Information technology isn't them that'southward the trouble, it'south the pesky people that remember it's alright to create reams of crappy RSS reader apps for websites that they are non affiliated with. Although, I gauge it needs to be said that if these services weren't around, there would be no trouble at all. Information technology also isn't Microsoft's fault. In that location is no way that they could create certification requirements that would be able to weed out the spam from the salary. This isn't only a problem on the Windows Phone Market place either - information technology's every mobile platform. Oh, and don't even get me started on e-book apps...

If you are a legit business possessor that is looking to get into the mobile space, and then I wish you the best of luck. If yous are looking to create a better feel than these can provide, then the best places to start are our forums and create.msdn.com. Microsoft has made it really easy to get going, and the tools are free and fantastic. If y'all are a scumbag spammer (as Dan puts it), my pitchfork is looking for you lot.

EDIT: One of our users, whatisvisceral, has pointed out a developer by the name of "Scace". They accept managed to publish six individual apps, all of which exercise naught just display a single color on the screen. My mind is diddled.

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