Author: George Henne

We’re thrilled to announce that AppStudio 6 is finally available. With over 100 enhancements, AppStudio 6 lets you do more. We’ve also worked hard to make the new features easier to use than ever.

Here are some of the major new features:

• Volt, our new hosting and web services solution. It replaces the AppStudio Server and adds powerful new features.
• Bootstrap framework added. Bootstrap is the most popular HTML, CSS, and JS framework for developing responsive, mobile first projects on the web. It’s well thought through and is easy to use with AppStudio. For more information, see Introduction to Bootstrap. Bootstrap adds 24 attractive and easy to use controls.
• Design Screen: Containers can now be nested several layers deep, and the Design Screen will let you drag and drop to them.
• Google Drive API. Now you can access files on your Google Drive from AppStudio. For example, use a Google Spreadsheet as a database for your app. You can add, delete and update rows in the spreadsheet from AppStudio.
• Stripe Payments: Now you can accept credit cards in your app.
• Subscriptions: AppStudio is now distributed using a subscription, rather than a flat license charge.

The full list what is new is here: https://wiki.nsbasic.com/Version_6

You can get AppStudio 6 here: https://www.nsbasic.com/i/Subscription

If you have an earlier version of AppStudio, we have an upgrade offer which includes a trial free subscription to Volt, plus a discount after that.

Stay tuned – we will be posting information about many of the new features in the coming days.

Special thanks to the beta testers who patiently helped us get it right!

Volt is a cloud service which provides additional functionality for AppStudio 6. It’s designed as a platform, so new features can be added.

It replaces the AppStudio Server, but does much more. Some of the initial features are:

• App Hosting: Apps uploaded to Volt can be accessed by users anywhere in the world. Permanent hosting is available.
• Custom Domains: Use the Volt assigned domain, or an existing domain that you own.
• App Management: The Dashboard lets you display and configure the apps you have on the Volt server.
• User Management: Allow your users to sign into your app with usernames and passwords.

Volt App Hosting

Volt’s App Hosting feature will do a lot to make life easier for AppStudio developers. One you have completed your app, you need a place to host it, so people can download it to their devices. With Volt, you no longer have to set up your own server.

Here are some of the problems it solves:

• Server Setup: It’s a lot of work to set up a server. The whole LAMP stack has to be installed and configured. Don’t forget to get the MIME types right!
• Server Maintenance: We take care of making sure all the latest patches and security updates are installed.
• DropBox: Until October 3, 2016, many of you used DropBox to host your apps. Due to changes at DropBox, that no longer works.
• Use your own URL: Soon, you’ll be able to specify the URL you want your customers to see.

AppStudio Registered Users

If you are a licensed AppStudio user, Volt replaces the AppStudio Server you were probably using before. Deploy works the same way. We encourage you to get your free Volt account: it will help you manage your apps.

If you do not want to use any of the additional features (such as Users, Email, etc.) don’t worry about them. There is no need to know more at this point.

The upgrade to AppStudio 6 is priced at $49.95, just as with our previous upgrades.

There are two ways to order the upgrade:

1. From the AppStudio 6 splash screen, click on the “Get It Now” button. The order form will open with your serial number filled in.
2. Go directly to the order form. Enter your serial number for a special upgrade offer. If you don’t have it, contact us. We’ll send it to you.

With the change to Subscription Billing, we want to provide a smooth transition to our existing users. We’re including 4 months of Essential Monthly support on Volt with the upgrade (a $60.00 value). After the 4 months are done, you will continue to get Essential Monthly for a reduced price of $9.95/month.

If you are not making use of the new Volt features, you can downgrade your Volt plan to a free account, which is more or less the same as the current AppStudio Server. AppStudio 6 will continue to work.

We will be sending free upgrades to AppStudio 6 for all recent purchasers of AppStudio.

We’re pleased to announce the results of our 2016 programming contest.

We had three categories: Business, Fun and Education. All registered NSB/AppStudio users were welcome to participate in the contest. Prizes were $100 USD in each category.

Judging was by NSB’s experts. All judging was arbitrary and final. We looked for quality, performance, ease of use, sophistication and overall coolness. Apps could be anything: Enterprise, business, commercial, education, games or even something whimsical.

All programs had to be created using NSB/AppStudio. Entries could be commercial, shareware or freeware, and for iPhone, iPad, Android or multiple platforms. Code could be written in JavaScript or Basic, HTML5 and css.

Without further ado, here are our winners: (full results are here)

Continue reading “2016 Contest Results!”

Our fifth NSB/AppStudio Programming Contest is underway! We’re looking forward to cool entries which take advantage of the capabilities of mobile devices and AppStudio.

We have three categories:

• Business – apps for business, government or non profit organizations
• Fun – Games, hobbies, entertainment or whimsical creations.
• Education – Apps written by students or teachers (or for them to use)

All registered AppStudio users are welcome to participate. Prizes are $100 USD in each category.
You may enter more than one program. Judging will be by our experts. All judging is arbitrary and final. We will be looking for quality, performance, ease of use, sophistication and overall coolness. Apps can be whatever you like: Enterprise, business, commercial, education, games or even something whimsical.

All programs must be written using NSB/AppStudio. Entries may be commercial, shareware or freeware, and for iPhone, iPad, Android or multiple platforms. Please indicate with your entry whether we can share your program or screenshots with the public.

NSB/AppStudio is an easy to use tool for creating iOS and Android apps. Use the Design Screen to layout your app, then add code in JavaScript or BASIC. AppStudio runs on Mac and Windows computers. Apps can be distributed directly or through app stores.

Send your questions and entries to support@nsbasic.com.

The deadline for entries has been updated to Monday, June 20, 2016 at 12:00 midnite EST.

Have fun!

Apple announced iOS 9.3 yesterday. Almost 80% of iOS devices are on iOS 9, so you can expect most of your users to be on it in the near future. What’s new for AppStudio developers?

Probably the biggest change is that the 300ms delay on tapping the screen is gone. We have been including FastClick as a workaround. Android Chrome got rid of the need for FastClick a while ago. Unless you have lots of users with old devices, you can probably set FastClick in Project Properties to ‘No’. Your app will be a little smaller and load more quickly.

There is no sign that the outstanding bugs we have reported were fixed.

Here’s a pretty good description of more which is new in iOS 9.3:
http://www.mobilexweb.com/blog/safari-on-ios-9-3-picture-shrink-fit-iphone-se

Let us know if you spot anything else!