Check the points in bold under each podcast to see what its focus is.

Syntax – Tasty Web Development Treats

Web Dev * Tips & Tricks

Syntax is a fun — and sometimes funny — podcast for web developers hosted by Wes Bos and Scott Tolinkski, two independent full stack developers who create online training courses. In each episode Scott and Wes break down topics to provide applicable tips and nuggets of information to help Web Developers in their careers.

Under the Radar

Indie App Development * Marketing * Design

From development and design to marketing and support, Under the Radar is all about independent app development. It’s never longer than 30 minutes and is hosted by David Smith and Macro Arment.

Learn to Code With Me

Learning * Citizen Developers * Newbies * General Coding

The Learn to Code With Me podcast, created by Laurence Bradford, is for aspiring techies and self-taught coders looking to transition into the tech industry.

CodeNewbie

Newbie * Dev Stories * Citizen Developers

Stories from people on their coding journey. New episodes featuring stories from CTOs to indie developers, published every Monday.

Coding Blocks – Patterns, Architecture, Best Practices, Tips

Tips & Tricks * General Coding 

A podcast for software developers and computer programmers to educate on-the-go. It’s presented by Allen Underwood, Joe Zach and Michael Outlaw, professional programmers who were frustrated by the lack of quality programming podcasts.

Core Intuition

Indie App Development * Apple

A podcast about indie software development for the Mac, iOS and other Apple technologies hosted by Daniel Jalkut and Manton Reece.

XojoTalk Podcast

App Development * Dev Stories * Citizen Developers * Newbies

Paul Lefebvre talks with members of the Xojo community about how they use Xojo, technology in general and so much more.

What are your favorite tech-related podcasts?

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Show Notes

• Axis Direct
• Xero online accounting
• Wayne’s posts on Medium
• Axis Direct Xojo videos on YouTube
• Windows 10 Fall Creators Update
• Xojo 2017r2 Override Class Default Values feature
• Raspbian Stretch
• Great Lake Taupo, New Zealand
• XDC 2018

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Show Notes

• Softbase Development
• A modern alternative to Visual Basic
• Migrating from VB to Xojo
• AlgoRhythms

The week started in earnest on the evening of Tuesday, October 4th as attendees joined us for early registration. After people registered and got their cool XDC shirts and Xojo water bottles, everyone migrated to the Revolve Bar at Hotel Derek for conversation and Xojo discussions.

The Keynote Starts

On Wednesday morning, the keynote started at 9 and Geoff opened with an overview of the conference and Xojo (see what we live tweeted). Highlights include:

• XDC 2016 had attendees from 12 countries, with about 45% of the attendees from outside the US. About 25% were first-time XDC attendees.
• There are now over 15,000 forum members, a 36% increase over last year, with over 276,000 posts.
• And yes, XDC sessions were recorded again this year! They’ll be made available for free to all attendees and for sale to non-attendees later this year.

To finish the overview, Geoff talked a bit about Xojo Cloud security. Web servers are constantly scanned for vulnerabilities at an alarming rate. Xojo Cloud is no exception; it is scanned about every 10 seconds with zero known breaches to date. Xojo Cloud remains a safe, easy and secure way to host your Xojo web apps.

Xojo Design Awards

After the conference overview, Geoff announced the winners of the 2016 Xojo Design Awards, which honor excellence in software design. Awards were given in five different categories and Best Overall, which was awarded to EverWeb. EverWeb is a website builder that allows you to build a website with no code at all.

The winners are:

• Best Developer Tool and Best Overall: EverWeb
• Best Business App: Light Blue
• Best Consumer App: Alinof Timer Pro
• Best Cross-Platform App: PubCoder
• Best iOS App: Studiometry Touch

Congratulations to the 2016 Xojo Design Award Winners! It is an inspiration to us all to see such powerful and amazing apps made with Xojo.

Xojo Recent Changes

Geoff next talked some of the changes to Xojo since XDC 2015. There were many, including:

• 949 bugs fixed
• 187 new features implemented
• HiDPI support added for macOS, Windows and web
• Raspberry Pi apps
• 64-bit apps using the LLVM compiler
• Addressed the top iOS requests

By the way, be sure to give Xojo 2016r3 a try as it dramatically decreases 64-bit compilation times.

Xojo Roadmap

Geoff then presented a roadmap for Xojo for the coming year. First up was Xojo 2016 Release 4, which is expected to ship in December. Notable new features include:

• Better Xojo Cloud upload speeds
• Windows HiDPI will be out of beta
• The Windows IDE will be HiDPI
• The Windows graphics framework is getting an update to switch to Direct2D and DirectWrite for smoother graphics and hardware acceleration

For early 2017, Xojo is expecting 64-bit to be out of beta, enabling things such as debugging, XojoScript, Windows manifest and other features.

Later in the year, we expect 64-bit to become the default build target. But don’t worry, 32-bit is not going away! We are also working on the 64-bit version of the IDE itself. The new Xojo framework will be expanded to have feature parity with the classic framework to make it easier for you to start using it in your projects. Lastly, we are also expecting the ability to write plugins for Xojo in Xojo (first announced at XDC 2015) to be made available.

Towards the end of the year, Xojo is working towards shipping an updated IDE with simplified project layout and management. We are also working on a new SDK Interoperability feature (Interops) that will make it much easier use your Xojo apps with standard app frameworks for iOS and macOS. And this new feature will be leveraged to provide an all-new Xojo project type: native Android mobile apps!

Geoff closed the keynote by talking about the history of Xojo, the team and how everyone can help spread the word about Xojo. Telling friends and coworkers about Xojo is a great way to help others enjoy its benefits and grow the Xojo community. Lastly, since Xojo turned 20 this year, Geoff talked a bit about what has changed in the development world since REALbasic 1.0 (the precursor to Xojo) was first released.

We also introduced limited-edition 20th Anniversary t-shirts, if you are interested email hello@xojo.com to order.

General Sessions

Following the keynote, Susan Fennema did a talk on Managing Your Projects. Susan did a podcast with Paul back in August and this session had even more useful tips to help anyone become more productive at just about anything. Her Smarties giveaway proved quite smart, indeed!

After Susan’s talk, Travis and Joe tag-teamed a presentation on the new Xojo framework and then it was time for lunch!

Sessions, So Many Sessions

After lunch the breakout sessions started. At this point there were always two sessions going on simultaneously and attendees often said they wanted to be able to attend both so it’s a great thing they were all recorded. There were sessions on a wide variety of topics, including iOS development, testing, databases, reporting, REST and so much more. With 36 sessions altogether, XDC truly is a “firehose of knowledge”!

Activities

Coming to XDC is not all about work and learning – you also get to have fun! This year’s evening activities started with a rockin’ night of live music with Skyrocket, a fabulous 70/80’s cover band. Our fearless CEO, Geoff Perlman, even joined the band on stage to play drums in a rousing cover of American Girl by Tom Petty.

The next night everyone headed across the street to Grotto Ristorante for conversation, drink and a fabulous Italian dinner.

What Attendees Are Saying About XDC:

“This was my first XDC. Almost overwhelmed with information! I definitely enjoyed meeting everyone and I now have real faces (and accents) to attach to the forum posts.” – John Knight, Jr.

 

“2016 was my first time attending XDC, and it was amazing. I learned a lot, and met so many incredibly nice, interesting, and brilliant people. I want thank everyone for their kindness, generosity, and for the laughs. I feel like I’ve found my “tribe.” – Tim Dietrich

 

“I felt the same way at my first XDC 4 years ago, and still feel that way every year. It’s a great event, with amazing people, and I’m already looking forward to next year!” – John McKernon

 

“It was filled with useful information, of course, but more importantly, the people from Xojo and the other attendees were passionate about the platform and willing to dive in to help a newcomer learn.  I even had the opportunity to spend a couple hours with the CEO and some others and have a great discussion!  That says a lot about a twenty-year-old tech organization.  We will be converting our systems to Xojo-designed apps and I’ll be going again next year.” – Bill Kapeles

 

“I was another first timer at XDC. In my 30+ years of involvement in the software industry, this was one of the best development conferences I have attended. Professionalism and willingness to engage with new attendees was evident at every level. Wonderful experience!” – Karen Bintz

 

“The presentations covered such a wide range of topics. It was really cool to see all the incredibly different ways people use Xojo and to hear the depth of knowledge each one has in their particular areas. I learned a ton, and it was a privilege to present as well….. plus it was fun! It was particularly great to meet everyone in person. The whole event ran smoothly, the food was great, the entertainment was great.” – John Joyce

 

“This. This is why I go every year. Renewing friendships, meeting with clients (both old and prospective), learning new things, and talking Xojo non-stop makes for an awesome experience.” – Bob Keeney

Thanks!

The Xojo Team wants to thank all the attendees of XDC 2016. We could not do XDC without you. And a special thanks to all the presenters helping to make XDC so valuable by providing wonderful, varied content. We can’t wait to see you next time!

From left to right: William Yu, Paul Lefebvre, Stéphane Pinel, Alyssa Foley, Greg O’Lone, Dana Brown, Norman Palardy (seated), Travis Hill (standing), Geoff Perlman, Joe Ranieri, Robin Lauryssen-Mitchell, and Jason Parsley

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Show Notes

• Apple File System WWDC 2016 Presentation
• Advanced Revelation
• PowerBuilder developers may want to try Xojo
• Introduction to Programming with Xojo book
• Working from Home
• Contact Paul to join his fantasy baseball league
• Atari 8-bit
• Atari ST
• XDC 2016

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Show Notes

• Beyond the Chaos
• Favorite SaaS tools
• Improving your sales process
• Value Pricing

1. Manage Scope – Keep a Wish List

You want the client to dream, right? Having a place where you can keep things that they would like to do “some day” or brilliant ideas that weren’t in the initial scope will help you keep your project within scope. If you don’t actually complete a project, the client gets no value from it. You spend time upfront scoping the project based on the client’s needs and then the sparks of brilliance can get in the way. So, when that great new idea comes up, the answer can be, “Absolutely! Let’s get that on the list for after we finish developing what we said we’d develop.” Having a Wish List gives you a place to put things that are known to be out of initial scope. Plus, it gives the client a sense of, “Okay, good! This is going to get addressed one day and you heard what I needed.”

Here’s the secret: most of what goes on that list will never get done. The client will either forget what it is when you go back through the list after your project is complete. Or once they starts using the software, they will realize the solution doesn’t need it. But, you’re guaranteeing that what you’re creating ends up having real, lasting value for your client. A happier client will keep coming back to you for more work.

At the end of the project, you can go through the Wish List with your client and include the new requests in the scope for Phase 2 or write a Change Order to address them.

2. Projects Must End! (But What About the Bugs?!)

Let’s face it. When you deliver something to a client, you’re not guaranteeing it for five years, right? If the client finds a bug in five years, you’re not coming in and fixing it for free. It’s custom software; there will be bugs; there will always be bugs.

Part of your sales process needs to address that there will be bugs, how you are going to handle them, and how they get paid for. You can always fix newly found bugs as part of Phase 2 or a Change Order, so you aren’t telling your client they have to live with it forever. But, make sure the client understands that it is part of the process!

Plan to deliver a project based on when testing begins to ensure an end date. Tell your client that they have a certain time to do alpha testing. (Two weeks is a good time period depending on the scope.) Then, you can make some of your magic developer tweaks and fixes, before returning it to the client for two weeks of beta testing. Finally, take it live, possibly with known bugs that you will continue to work on as part of the original scope. Bugs and tweaks found after the timeframe can go to the Wish List.

It is your obligation as a professional to provide a completed project that brings value to your client. If you don’t make them test it by providing a consequence, they won’t do it. And then, they won’t have the value of the completed project. In essence, by forcing this, you are better serving him.

3. Project Manage Your Own Business

Where is your list kept? As a developer, you always have to-do lists for your clients. But, what about the things you need to do to run your business? How do you remember to invoice when you your head is buried in the development that you love?

First step: Stop managing projects via email. Stop the madness now! There are simple-to-use and inexpensive project management solutions out there, like Basecamp, that can be set up to manage your clients’ projects and track communications. You don’t have to insert a bureaucratic process to manage your work better; simply be more deliberate in how you communicate. (If you need assistance on how to set up Basecamp to work best for you and your clients, don’t hesitate to contact me.)

Second step: Don’t manage your business with sticky notes. Add a project into your solution (I call mine Operations.), and add your to-do’s into that project. Most of these types of software will allow you to set dates and reminders. You can even assign a to-do to your subcontractors to submit their timesheets.

4. Avoid Interruptions

Plan your tomorrow before you end today. Check your schedule vs. your to-do list and confirm you have a plan. Then, focus on what you’ve planned to do. You’ll be a lot more efficient, both in not burning your clients’ hours and in getting to completed work.

The only reason you should stop what you’ve planned to do is if the client has an actual emergency. The fact that the client found a typo on one of the layouts is not a reason to stop what you’re doing. You want to train your clients to work in a more efficient way. The benefit to them is that when you have six typos to fix at once, it’s going to cost them the same amount as if you had just fixed one. The benefit to you is you’re not thrown off your plan, and you don’t have to change directions in your mind.

You want to encourage your clients to use your selected project management software properly to report issues and to use email or the phone in an emergency only.

If you proactively change your schedule because you need to think about something else or you’re struggling to solve a problem, actively choose to change directions. However, if you’re reacting to an email or responding to a client call – that’s throwing you off, you have to limit those interruptions. You can close your email; emails don’t disappear if you don’t read them immediately. You can turn off your phone; we’ve had voicemail since at least the 1980s. (And, guess what? I had to do both those things just to write this blog post!)

5. You’re Always Selling

To help you gain better clients and also to keep your schedule more consistent, keep selling, even when you’re booked. Clients who really want to work with you are probably willing to wait a month or more to get started. Work on filling the pipeline so you are better able to pick and choose your clients, resulting in getting to work on projects and with people you like. Create a real sales process. For more details on a sales process development, check out this blog post: Lack of Sales Process Limiting Your Income?

Susan Fennema is the Chaos Eradicating Officer (CEO) of Beyond the Chaos, a consultancy helping small business owners gain control of their lives through better processes, organization, and structure of their business operations and projects. She has over 25 years experience in the software development, creative, marketing, and advertising industries, after receiving her BA in journalism from Texas A&M University. She lives and works in McKinney, Texas, with her husband, her dog, and two cats.

Website: www.beyondthechaos.biz
Twitter: @susanfennema
Facebook: Beyond the Chaos
LinkedIn: Susan Fennema

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Show Notes

• BKeeney Software
• Microsoft SQL Server
• Microsoft SQL Server on Linux
• Navicat
• Data Definition Language
• Tree swing Requirements
• ActiveRecord

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Show Notes:

• Varsity Systems
• Regatta Manager Assistant
• Raspberry Pi GPIO Library
• Z-Wave
• DuckDuckGo
• Windows 10 Insider
• Windows 10 with Linux Bash
• EveryMac.com
• MagicJack

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Show Notes:

• AcuGraph
• CubeSQL
• Computer Science
• How one developer broke several JavaScript libraries
• LeftPad as a Service
• Source Control
• Minimum Viable Product
• Xojo Developer Conference 2016 Sessions

To listen to this podcast, download the mp3 now.

Show Notes

• Sinclair ZX-81
• GW-BASIC
• OS/2 Warp
• Windows Store Desktop Bridge
• Michel Bujardet’s Apps
• Responsive Design
• RubberViews
• XDC 2016 Sessions

To listen to this podcast, download the mp3 now.

Show Notes

• Tim Parnell web site
• Answers
• HTML Edit
• Quill Editor
• Web Studio
• Bootstrap Controls
• OmegaBundle

Be sure to subscribe to the XojoTalk podcast for more great developer conversations!

To listen to the podcast, download the mp3 now.

Be sure to subscribe to the XojoTalk podcast for great developer conversations!

Show Notes

• ICAL Systems
• ICAL blog
• Jasper Reports
• SAP
• NSIS – Nullsoft Scriptable Install System
• New England User Group Forum Post
• XDC 2016 Registration

Be sure to subscribe to the XojoTalk podcast for great developer conversations!

To listen to the podcast, download the mp3 now.

Be sure to subscribe to the XojoTalk podcast for great developer conversations!

Show Topics

• Use Xojo to create your own apps for Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS, Raspberry Pi and web. Download and try Xojo for free. 
• BKeeney Software
• xDev Magazine
• Star Wars Trailer

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Show Topics

• OS X 10.11 El Capitan
• Xojo on Reddit
• Ghost Touches
• iOS 9
• Windows 10
• HP Stream 7 

Paul and special guest Geoff Perlman talk about the new features in Xojo 2015 Release 3 plus a a bonus announcement at the end.

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Show Links

• Xojo 2015 Release 3
• iOSContainerControl
• Uniform Type Identifier support for File Type Sets
• Collect Project Items
• iOSLabel wrapping
• Code Bookmarks
• Web Drag and Drop
• Raspberry Pi
• CanaKit
• 64-Bit Apps
• And a bonus announcement!

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Show Links

• PJJ Productions
• Mac mini
• Raspberry Pi
• Text Adventure
• HTTPSocket webinar
• Xojo Wars Contest battle

 …in your favorite RSS reader or Podcast software! You can also subscribe on iTunes or choose to get email notifications of new episodes.

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Subscribe to the XojoTalk podcast in your favorite RSS reader or Podcast software! You can also subscribe on iTunes or choose to get email notifications of new episodes.

Show Links

• Oracle Database
• Natezza
• IBM iSeries
• xDev Magazine
• Firebird Database
• Valentina Database
• ODBC webinar
• Mac ODBC Drivers
• Windows 10
• Kubuntu
• Linux Mint
• Raspberry Pi

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Show Links

• xDev Magazine
• SD Times 2015 Predictions

Send your feedback on the podcast to paul@xojo.com!

You can also subscribe on iTunes.