So, any bets on whether I’ll sell more than the 130 copies or so required to recoup the $99 developer fee?
Neat! Is it a lot of work to write for the iphone? Does yours update the icon on the iphone to show the current state? It’s annoying that weather apps don’t update the icon so you have to click to see the weather (or, I suppose, look outside).
Does it need cell towers to get its information? Or is somekind of almanac stored in the app?? I could really use that in an iPod Touch over here!
That’s really cool! Just one complain: It’s really hard for the app to register when I’m tapping the “i” in the bottom right corner to make changes. Other than that, very slick!
One more Q, because I’m an idiot. What’s the difference between civil, astro, etc?
The iPhone SDK is incredibly pleasant to work with. The tools are well-designed and well-integrated, the documentation is thorough and useful, and the API itself is logical, intuitive, and consistent. There are some wrinkles, but by and large it’s one of the best development environments I’ve used.
As for the amount of work, it’s really no different than writing an application with equivalent functionality for a desktop PC. Of course, iPhone applications are often simpler than their desktop equivalents.
Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t provide a way to update the icon.
It works fine on the Touch. You need an internet connection when you first configure your locations, because it needs to look up the latitudes and longitudes for the places you enter, but after that it can operate disconnected. It uses a fairly involved formula to calculate thes time of sunrise, sunset and twilight.
Yeah, that damn button. It is one of the Apple default controls - they don’t let you make it any better. I noticed the problem when I first started testing, but I eventually learned how to position my finger just right, and forgot about it. Within a few minutes of it going online I already had an email saying the button didn’t work. I uploaded version 1.0.1 to Apple a few hours ago that should fix it, but they will probably take their time in approving it. It took a week for the first version.
The selector bar lets you choose between the three standard definitions of twilight. Civil twilight is often used in laws - the basic definition is that during civil twilight, there is enough daylight remaining to see objects without artificial illumination. Nautical twilight lasts a little longer - it ends when the horizon is no longer distinct enough for sailors to use as a reference when sighting stars. Astronomical twilight is the longest - it ends when the last traces of the sun’s light are gone from the sky, and the faintest astronomical objects become visible - long after the sky is dark to the naked eye.
All three of these are formally defined by the angle of the sun below the horizon. There is more information, as always, at Wikipedia:
I love it!! Should I wait to buy it until after 1.0.1 goes live? Will up PM me when the new version goes up so I remember to go buy it?
Can I check sunrise/sunset times for dates in the future with this app? As a photographer, this would actually be quite useful info to have at my fingertips.
It works fine otherwise, you may just have to paw at the info button for a few seconds before it notices.
That’s a great idea! I will try to think of a user-friendly way to incorporate it.
Awesome, a doper iPhone developer! I can’t see it 'cos I’m at work, so could you describe it? I might have to take a look in case it’s worthy of inclusion in my second round of App Store reviews on the blog. 
Please let me know. I will definitely purchase it for that functionality. It happens to me several times a year when I need to schedule something well in advance and it would be useful to have sunrise and sunset times at my fingertips.
Well, they FINALLY let me into the developer program, so I bit the bullet and bought a Mac. Thank god for Business Expenses. Hopefully in a few weeks I’ll be announcing my app!
Hey, if any o’ you Doper iPhone devs wanna pass over some exclusives to be soundly blogged about then I’m available. 
Slight hijack, but - how hard is it to get into the developer program? Do you need to demonstrate some sort of bona fides as a programmer, or simply sign a loyalty other to Lord Jobs, or what?
Loyalty oath, I mean. Damnit.
In my case, I applied, answered like two questions (“What kind of apps do you want to develop” and “How many people in your organization”, if I remember correctly), then was told to sit tight until they deigned to accept me. Then you pay $99 for the honor and you can develop and test on the iPhone.
If you don’t get into the program, you can still develop, you just can’t test on the phone (you use their emulator) or actually sell your stuff through iTunes.
Do you have a link or description for those of us who don’t have iTunes installed on their work (lunchtime) PC’s?
I’m sorry to have to remove the link and close the thread, Absolute, because your program does sound worthwhile, but you really need to clear these types of threads with a mod beforehand. Because you linked to your app on a page where it can be purchased, you’ve basically turned the thread into an advertisement.