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I want to clarify here that feature complete and "done" are two different things. The app was not finished when it leaked and is still actively being worked on.

I want to clarify here that feature complete and "done" are two different things. The app was not finished when it leaked and is still actively being worked on. I also really want to emphasize that my time at Facebook was incredible and my reasons for moving on were remarkably complex, none having to do with any dislike for Facebook or ill feelings. The number of hours I put into the project were out of genuine passion for the product, not because anyone was forcing me to do so.

cletus 15y ago
"Feature complete" is subjective. Facebook has had the option of scaling the iPhone app to the iPad resolution and releasing it with feature parity for probably at least a year. Of course a better iPad experience comes from an app designed for that form factor but there's nothing to stop you releasing one version and then iterating on it. So one can quite reasonably argue that Facebook has been holding back the iPad app, which raises the question of why. I can't believe Apple doesn't want this app released given the popularity of Facebook. The original version of Ping was also integrated with Facebook that was pulled at the last minute due to "onerous terms" [1] (according to Steve Jobs). The prima facie evidence is that there is some kind of tussle going on between Apple and Facebook. Perhaps Facebook's "onerous" terms included demands on the iTunes service and Facebook integration (which is lent more credence given Facebook's recent moves into music)? Perhaps Facebook wanted Facebook login to iTunes and other Apple properties? I don't know. What I suspect is the iPad app is another bargaining chip. To argue it's not "feature complete" is disingenuous. This is a subjective measure of simply deciding "that's enough". [1]: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20015402-37.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20015402-37.html
- aaronbrethorst 15y ago
  Facebook has had the option of scaling the iPhone app to the iPad resolution and releasing it with feature parity for probably at least a year. This is not to say that your conclusion is incorrect, but unless something significant has changed with Three20 since the last time I used it, it isn't super-usable on iPad.
  - saurik 15y ago
    This is not true: the iPhone Facebook app has worked nearly perfectly on the iPad for some time now (I think almost a year, in fact). On jailbroken devices we have a hack called "FullForce" that flips the "this is an iPad-native app" flag for any app (its a new panel under Settings), and a lot of people jailbreak just so they can get a quite reasonable iPad Facebook app.
    - aaronbrethorst 15y ago
      Good to hear that this has changed. Thanks for the info.
    - ltamake 15y ago
      I'm still using FaceForward with Facebook version 3.4.4, and that's worked out well for me so far.
marcomonteiro 15y ago
How is this going to affect Three20 or your work on Nimbus? I'm really looking forward to seeing Nimbus develop as I've been fairly frustrated with Three20 so far. Best of luck on the new job and thank you for your contributions to the iOS community.
- featherless 15y ago
  Three20 is mostly in a bug-fixes only state right now. The fact is that the framework is complex enough that the cost of adding a new feature often outweighs the benefit. This is the main reason why I've decided to start anew with Nimbus and so far the progress has been really great. Going forward I'm planning to dedicate a chunk of my mornings to working on Nimbus, splitting my time between going over pull requests and building new features. I love building tools to accelerate the development process of other iOS developers and plan to continue doing so for the foreseeable future.
  - marcomonteiro 15y ago
    I'm definitely watching it and hope I can contribute in some way to the project.
Herring 15y ago
>I also really want to emphasize that my time at Facebook was incredible [...] I'm sure you're telling the truth, but the fact that you feel you should mention it speaks volumes about Facebook & the reputations we cultivate.

cletus 15y ago

"Feature complete" is subjective. Facebook has had the option of scaling the iPhone app to the iPad resolution and releasing it with feature parity for probably at least a year. Of course a better iPad experience comes from an app designed for that form factor but there's nothing to stop you releasing one version and then iterating on it. So one can quite reasonably argue that Facebook has been holding back the iPad app, which raises the question of why. I can't believe Apple doesn't want this app released given the popularity of Facebook. The original version of Ping was also integrated with Facebook that was pulled at the last minute due to "onerous terms" [1] (according to Steve Jobs). The prima facie evidence is that there is some kind of tussle going on between Apple and Facebook. Perhaps Facebook's "onerous" terms included demands on the iTunes service and Facebook integration (which is lent more credence given Facebook's recent moves into music)? Perhaps Facebook wanted Facebook login to iTunes and other Apple properties? I don't know. What I suspect is the iPad app is another bargaining chip. To argue it's not "feature complete" is disingenuous. This is a subjective measure of simply deciding "that's enough". [1]: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20015402-37.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20015402-37.html

aaronbrethorst 15y ago
Facebook has had the option of scaling the iPhone app to the iPad resolution and releasing it with feature parity for probably at least a year. This is not to say that your conclusion is incorrect, but unless something significant has changed with Three20 since the last time I used it, it isn't super-usable on iPad.
- saurik 15y ago
  This is not true: the iPhone Facebook app has worked nearly perfectly on the iPad for some time now (I think almost a year, in fact). On jailbroken devices we have a hack called "FullForce" that flips the "this is an iPad-native app" flag for any app (its a new panel under Settings), and a lot of people jailbreak just so they can get a quite reasonable iPad Facebook app.
  - aaronbrethorst 15y ago
    Good to hear that this has changed. Thanks for the info.
  - ltamake 15y ago
    I'm still using FaceForward with Facebook version 3.4.4, and that's worked out well for me so far.

marcomonteiro 15y ago

How is this going to affect Three20 or your work on Nimbus? I'm really looking forward to seeing Nimbus develop as I've been fairly frustrated with Three20 so far. Best of luck on the new job and thank you for your contributions to the iOS community.

featherless 15y ago
Three20 is mostly in a bug-fixes only state right now. The fact is that the framework is complex enough that the cost of adding a new feature often outweighs the benefit. This is the main reason why I've decided to start anew with Nimbus and so far the progress has been really great. Going forward I'm planning to dedicate a chunk of my mornings to working on Nimbus, splitting my time between going over pull requests and building new features. I love building tools to accelerate the development process of other iOS developers and plan to continue doing so for the foreseeable future.
- marcomonteiro 15y ago
  I'm definitely watching it and hope I can contribute in some way to the project.

Herring 15y ago

>I also really want to emphasize that my time at Facebook was incredible [...] I'm sure you're telling the truth, but the fact that you feel you should mention it speaks volumes about Facebook & the reputations we cultivate.