Missed yesterdays webinar?

Great news, that the new version of the builder is finally here. But I didn't hear much about new things for the stuff that I was hoping for. So just to check, if you just didn't mentioned them, or if they are planned, or not planned at all:

• In-app purchases. Will that be a possible with the new version?
• Any help towards building coloring pages? The system in v3 is impossible to use for anything practical.
• How will the market place work when it comes?
• Will there be an embed feature for the webbased apps, so they can be embedded on our websites and what not?

And another thing:
Are you working on fixing browser related issues? I clicked on the newsletter when it arrived, and the result in Firefox was less than overwhelming. None of the videos worked, and I couldn't turn the sound off (the last part sounded like something you meant to put in, so perhaps you just forgot). But I'm really concerned about only certain browsers working with it. Is it just video that isn't working, or is it other things too? I would never publish a browser dependent app (and neither should you). It should at least work with the latest major browsers.
Looking forward to trying it out, and to see if you fixed some of the issues from v3, since everything I tried to build, was flawed by something that should have been working, but didnt'.

I have waited for this new version, before deciding whether to stay with Interact Builder, or look for something else, and it looks like you've fixed some major problems like speed and other things, which is great :)

• In-app purchases. Will that be a possible with the new version?
  • This will not be available at release time.  We will hopefully have support for In-App purchases by end of the year.  Our focus was to migrate our engine first and then to start adding more features.

• Any help towards building coloring pages? The system in v3 is impossible to use for anything practical.
  • We have a lot of apps built in V3 with coloring pages, not sure what issues you ran into, but if you need some samples we can provide you with them.  It is possible that what you are trying to accomplish might simply not be possible using our engine, but I would need more detail to answer that.
• How will the market place work when it comes?
  • We will reveal more details on the marketplace once we are closer to launch which is still probably 2 months away.
• Will there be an embed feature for the web based apps, so they can be embedded on our websites and what not?
  • You can create a inline frame on your web site to host your app and embed it in one of your pages.

Browser Support
We have tested on various browsers including Firefox, in most cases we find that the apps work, we cannot guarantee that every version of every browser and every operating system will work, but we will do our best.  Our main goal is to support Chrome and Safari which are the most popular browsers followed by Firefox.  The reality is that certain versions of some browsers simply do not have the support built in to them in order to run interactive apps.

Thanks for hanging in there.  Hopefully the new version will work for your projects.

• In-app purchases. Will that be a possible with the new version?
  • This will not be available at release time. We will hopefully have support for In-App purchases by end of the year. Our focus was to migrate our engine first and then to start adding more features.
    • Okay. That sounds like a good strategy :)

• Any help towards building coloring pages? The system in v3 is impossible to use for anything practical.
  • We have a lot of apps built in V3 with coloring pages, not sure what issues you ran into, but if you need some samples we can provide you with them. It is possible that what you are trying to accomplish might simply not be possible using our engine, but I would need more detail to answer that.
    • You can read my post about it here: Coloring book feature enhanced.
• How will the market place work when it comes?
  • We will reveal more details on the marketplace once we are closer to launch which is still probably 2 months away.
    • I'll be looking forward to that :)
• Will there be an embed feature for the web based apps, so they can be embedded on our websites and what not?
  • You can create a inline frame on your web site to host your app and embed it in one of your pages.
    • I know, but I think, it would be great if you would consinder making a button for that, to make it easier. You know, click the <embed/> button, and get the code :) That would also enhance the chance of an app being used around the net by others, and thus spreading the word about you and about the app/developer.

• Browser Support
  We have tested on various browsers including Firefox, in most cases we find that the apps work, we cannot guarantee that every version of every browser and every operating system will work, but we will do our best. Our main goal is to support Chrome and Safari which are the most popular browsers followed by Firefox. The reality is that certain versions of some browsers simply do not have the support built in to them in order to run interactive apps. 
  
  • I was not talking about all browsers on all operating systems. I was asking for the biggest browsers right now. That would include: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari (in that order).
    
    I would love to pretend like Firefox and Internet Explorer doesn't excist, but that's just stupid. They excist, and millions of people are using them.
    
    Firefox works fine with the apps from GameSalad (here's an example). So I'm sure there's something you can do, to fix whatever is wrong right now :) To ignore every other browser is a bad idea, but it's a far smaller part of the pie, than the 4 big ones. Safari and Internet Explorer isn't that big in numbers, but to ignore either of those, would be a bad business decision, in my opinion. I would never tell my clients, if I build a website for them, that they'd only be able to view it in Chrome or Safari (and that they should let their visitors know that they don't give a flying f*** about them, if they don't use the browsers that we think they should use).
    
    So please reconsider this. It's important.

I appreciate all your hard work, and I hope that I'll be able to use IB for my apps :)