Greetings Buzztouch Family. I'm so happy that I found a community to help teach the logistics of web apps. I've learned more in my first 5 lessons than I have in months of searching for how to create an app. My concern is that I have a PC & not a Mac. In the training lesson, it stated that I needed a Mac in order to compile iOS, sigh, my first dilemma. Are there any alternate ways to do both applications without buying a Mac? I'm lost... but not for long!:-)

Hello and Welcome to Buzztouch. Glad to hear it is helpful for you. As for Apple development ... yes they do require you to use a REAL mac computer to do anything for them (from what I have read so far) :-(

Welcome mate! I hit this snag too when I first started. Let me be clear: you pretty much NEED a Mac, all other methods are slow, unstable, and pretty horrible. BEST thing to do without breaking your wallet: Go on craigslist.com and find a Mac Mini (the cheapest model), make sure it can run the latest Xcode (this is important), and you should be able to get one at a very fair price for your wallet. Keep in mind: it's a great investment, you will not regret it. And great first post! :-) Cheers, David Van Beveren http://btmods.com/chat ^ Chat with other BT members live! http://btmods.com/hire ^ Hire MrDavid for one of his services!

Thanks Everyone for the feedback..... wow... so I have to buy a Mac, well? I guess I will be searching... never used craigs list before, guess I will be getting out of my comfort zone alot with learning The Buzzz framework. Things I need to learn: Craig's List How to use a Mac LOL The Buzz Software & plugins I'm officially enrolled in BTU LOL.... In the meantime I will work on the android side while I'm looking for a Mac :-)

Craigslist, is very straight forward and easy to use (in my eyes), you should have no problem at all in finding what you need. Hope things work out good for you. Using a MAC is not that difficult at all (I am PC/Android), and mac is extremely easy from what I have seen. Good luck on any development you do :-) ... hope to see some apps from you soon.

BTU is a very good learning process (although outdated at this point), it gives/shows you a good idea of what happens ... and why it happens, finish the BTU and you will have a good knowledge of how Buzztouch works and how to use it. Hope to see some posts from you in the future. Unofficially speaking, From most of the members on here, do not wait, to just do, the Android side of things ... start with the iOS and then at some point migrate/convert to Android. I personally see it backwards, in a way (but that is just me). The sooner you start developing the sooner you will have an app ready for the market. Good luck in all your app developing, Kevin

Thanks so much Kevin. Just to clarify, are you saying I should try the iOS first & then the Android?

Hi @GlobalLife, Welcome to Buzztouch! As you can tell, we have an amazingly helpful community here. You're going to fit right in! It doesn't matter which platform you start with first, because Buzztouch makes it easy to do both. Since you don't have to learn any code in order to create apps for iOS or Android, it's really which you prefer. Since you only have a PC at the moment, working with Android is the logical first step. Of course, that assumes you want your app available on both platforms, which indeed is the best thing to do. I have a YouTube channel that might help you out as well: https://www.youtube.com/user/gonorthwest If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to shout! Mark

Hi welcome to buzztouch, you will find lots of great advice and how do,s here, whatever your problem is, someone here pretty much points you in the right direction, when i first started couple years ago, i tried every kind of alternative ios way, which in the end didn't work, so i bought mac, i thought the mac would be much harder than the pc to build apps on, i was so wrong, i found xcode was quite solid as a platform, in my opinion. Play around with android while you don't have access to mac, but try and get mac asap as you will end up with finished app much faster with ios, android tends to be not as solid as ios, but you have to put lot more thought into ios to get it published, this is just my opinion and i prefer xcode over eclipse, however lost you feel with either platforms, the guys here have saved my bacon, many, many times :)

Even though I am a staunch iOS and Mac advocate, please don't go out and get a Mac right quick. Stick to what you have, the PC with Windows. You can make Android apps with it. That will get you comfortable with making mobile apps. There is a lot to this endeavor. It's a learning process by which you will take incredible baby steps. There will will be challenges and conquests. After your first app is done, then assess if you want to go further. Only then should the Mac debate take place in your home. Please do watch Mark's videos. He is a rock star in these parts Welcome to Buzztouch and enjoy your stay with us :-). -- Niraj

Thanks so much Kevin. Just to clarify, are you saying I should try the iOS first & then the Android?

Hi GlobalLife, It sounds like you already have what it takes to start tinkering with Android. Without buying anything. Almost everyone will agree that iOS is "easier" for newcomers but lets face it, EVERYTHING is hard if you've never done it before. Right? I'm with Niraj on this one. Break your brain a little bit trying to get your Windows PC going in the Android way. Lots and lots of the ideas are the same between Android and iOS. Get something going, get your feet wet on what the heck this is all about. If you haven't given up, found some enthusiasm for it, and think you can make something worthwhile, then go get a Mac. You'll need one to make any significant dent in the mobile game. Steps that have nothing to do with iOS or Android: --Art, design, images. Can you do this? Do you need help? --Understanding the relationship between source code (lots of it floating around here) and a compiled app. What's copiling anyway? --Understanding a development process and environment is needed. You'll be spending lots of time at your computer making apps for any platform. --Understanding the distribution challenges. App stores? Ad-Hoc? Enterprise? Side-loaded from a website? Lots to learn there. --Update strategies. What happens when the hardware and OS change? Hmm. Dive in, make something come alive on your gadget, see where it takes you. Oh, and lastly, Detroit Rocks! d.

Thanks Everyone, truly appreciate the advise given. David, to answer some of the questions in your post: 1. Yes, The art,design, images are the easy part since I've created websites. 2. Ohhhh yes, this will be a slight challenge to learn the compiling portion of the source code. Exactly one week ago, I never heard of Xcode & Eclipse. 3. Yes, the development process & environment is really going to take over my nightlife LOL. But I need this sacrifice. 4.I have Nooooo clue about the Distribution Challenge. I read in the forums of how the BuzzFam's Apps have been rejected, so I'm glad I read first, so I won't feel defeated if it happens. 5. Wow, never even took into consideration the Update Strategies. Thanks for the Heads Up. After reading many Buzz post, I did order a MAC Mini, because I want both ios and android apps. I will start off with a simple Android App. ....and YES, I am Soooo Lost, but I am Soooo Excited. I'm an Engineer by trade, so diving in to this process is going to be an AWESOME Brainteaser! ...just don't laugh at my Elementary questions though.... LOL. Peace to All who have taken the time to read this.

It's awesome to see your excitement at this process! There are going to be some serious head banging moments along the way...even for those of us experienced at it...but rest assured your questions will never be laughed at! We do appreciate if you search the forums for answers first, but ultimately your question will be answered in a professional manner. Have fun! Mark

Thanks so Much Mark. BuzzFam.... I see I have to learn Java too after taken BTU Lesson 3: Activities and Layouts... sigh.... this learning curve is getting steeper & steeper.... I'm determined to get thru this though....

The beautiful thing about Buzztouch is that you DON'T need to learn a lick of code! It's all been taken care of for you. The plugins, as they are now, are very powerful, and can help you make many types of apps. I have several on both markets, and didn't have to code anything. I like that! Of course, you're always welcome to use the Buzztouch code as a springboard to learning some code yourself. There are lots of people here who will help you with that for sure. Mark

Oh WOW, Thanks Mark, I will dive into the Guts of Eclipse this weekend. Right now I'm just viewing the Youtube Tutorials & Taking the tests to get familiar. I will be back soon.... I'm working towards more "stars" under my name LOL

My YouTube channel should get you up and running with Eclipse pretty quickly. But don't hesitate to contact me if you run into any problems. I've set up plenty of people via TeamViewer. Thanks! Mark

<-- PROUD ZZ MEMBER NOW :)

Thanks Mark, I watched your Vid on YouTube, Helped Tremendously!

Congratulations on becoming a member! Rock on!

Thanks Mark! Idea's are flowing around. I think I found my first issue about overlaying. I will post a question in the right forum If I don't find my answer after searching.