Publish!, The Final Frontier (formerly "write an app... get a phone!")

Tuesday's meeting is going to focus on getting your bits into the Windows Phone Store!
You will need to bring a laptop to get the most out of this meeting.

There are several hurtles which have to be leaped to get an app published in the store.

First, you need an app!
If you have an app that is ready for publication, now is your chance.
If you don't have such an app, we will help you craft THE SIMPLEST APP IN THE WORLD using Construct 2.0, a coding-free game generator that you can download ahead of time at this site. (https://www.scirra.com/construct2)

Second, you need Visual Studio (Express) for Windows Phone. It can be downloaded from Microsoft at this site. (http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/eng/products/visual-studio-express-for-windows-phone)

Third, you need a developer account on the Windows Phone Store.
If you already have one, you're golden!
If you don't, we'll help you set one up. That usually costs $19.95, but Nokia and Microsoft are providing us with tokens to make the account setup free.

Fourth, you will need icons.
Windows Phone Apps require four icons. We will have some icons with us, and there are lots more on the web. If you have time before the meeting and want to prepare a perfect set of icons for your app, here are the sizes for the images you should bring.

• 336 x 336 pixels

• 159 x 159 pixels

• 100 x 100 pixels

Finally, you will need patience, but not a lot of it.

By the end of the meeting, if all goes well, every attendee will have a shiny new app submitted to the phone store. Those of you who have never done this before are in for a very special reward. Microsoft and Nokia is awarding a free Nokia 800 Smart Phone to everyone who successfully publishes their first app in the store by September 31st. This isn't a single door prize that we're raffling off to one lucky attendee. This is an opportunity for everyone present to leave with the knowledge that they have earned a valuable reward. The patience will be needed because it may take a few weeks for your phone to arrive in the mail.

WRITE AN APP... GET A PHONE!