Side Project Spotlight Podcast

PhillyCocoa Presents Side Project Spotlight is a podcast for app builders, documenting the process of producing real apps for the Apple App Store.

This episode list is no longer updated. Please visit our podcast website to access our audio back catalog and subscribe on a variety of services.

Archived Episodes

#37: How to Learn

This week, Steve makes progress building a log screen, but not without encountering obstacles. Then the trio dives into a discussion about how we learn. What works for us, what doesn’t, what are good resources? It’s a content-rich episode full of tips, some possibly questionable anecdotes, a dash of philosophy, and so, so many links. It’s a little haphazardly presented, but that’s just our charm! Topics Discussed: PickleJarTodo Update [More Info]

#36: 1,000 Tablespoons of Salt

On this exciting episode, incremental progress has been made with PickleJarTodo! I know, you’re in awe at our productivity. But, the bulk of the episode is a semi-literate discussion about the latest crop of “AI” tools and their potential impact on our discipline of software development. From the current crop of tools like ChatGPT and CoPilot to potential uses in designer/developer collaboration and even full app generation, this discussion is preliminary, but interesting, and we will surely revisit the topic in the future as we gain knowledge and experience in the space. [More Info]

#35: A Hot Mess of Jank

Steve’s voice is back…like 95%! Tune in this week for an update about PickleJarTodo where, as usual, we quickly go off the rails into a classic Kotaro rant about JIRA! We also have some discussion about the perennial SwiftUI issue, integrating Core Data. Plus, some pros and cons we have found trying to use GitHub Projects and we end by setting some semi-realistic goals for next time! Topics Discussed: PickleJarTodo Update Side Projects Can Help Day Job Projects GitHub Projects Tickets Kotaro Rants About JIRA Slowness. [More Info]

#34: New Plan

Steve lives! The trio is back this week and while Steve still sounds like a frog has taken up residence in his throat, the show must go on! In this episode, we discuss the plan for the next few months, make some goals, assign some tasks, and go off on tangents about Apple backends, Disney World weirdness, and the awesomeness of the Ren Faire. New year, new plan! Let’s gooooooo! [More Info]

#33: A New Year

Steve is still recovering from some bad laryngitis and we should be back to our regular schedule next podcast. In the meantime, Kotaro provides some quick updates about the pod, the app, and his personal goals for the new year. Stay to the end to hear examples of what our future robot overlords consider developer “jokes.” Welcome to 2023! We hope you build some cool stuff this year. [More Info]

#32: A Developer's Journey to Embracing SwiftUI

It’s the final episode of 2022! This week, Steve is solo as he puts on his best “podcast voice” to talk about his personal journey to embracing SwiftUI over the last year. See you in 2023! Topics Discussed: Steve’s journey to embracing SwiftUI WWDC22 turning point Integrating SwiftUI and UIKit Living the SwiftUI Preview lifestyle Greenfield app prototyping with SwiftUI Better cross-platform collaboration with SwiftUI Feeling re-invigorated about Apple app development Intro music: “When I Hit the Floor”, © 2021 Lorne Behrman. [More Info]

#31: A Developer's Retro

The trio is taking a break over the holidays and so this is the first of a few special, short, solo episodes we are releasing until we get back to our regular routine in the new year. This week, Kotaro provides his retrospectives on our journey so far with this podcast and Side Project Saturday, plus lays out some goals for PhillyCocoa projects in the new year. Happy Holidays from Philly CocoaHeads! [More Info]

#30: Prototyping

This week, the trio finally remembers we passed our 1-year Podiversity before very skillfully transitioning into an in depth conversation on the topic of prototyping! What is it? How does it work? What are the tools and techniques? How is it practiced at a BigCo vs an Indie shop? The conversation is varied and interesting. Please note, this will be the last “regular” episode of 2022, but more content shall flow into your feed in the form of some special, shorter, episodes, so stay subscribed! [More Info]

#29: What Is an App?

Aaron’s out this week, so the inmates are running the asylum! Steve is embarking on some greenfield app work at the day job and asks, “What is a modern app?” Since Kotaro has a lot of recent experience with all the newest Apple frameworks and features, an interesting discussion ensues about both how you can expand beyond the in-app experience and why you should or should not. Plus, the entire pod goes off the rails for a while when Kotaro goes into significant detail about an infamous Side Project Saturday “bad app idea” for a next generation fart app! [More Info]

#28: A Bad Relationship With Testing

This week, we have actual PickleJarTodo updates! Plus, Kotaro gets up on his soapbox to rant about testing, but is coaxed down and a more nuanced discussion ensues. Plus, we have some thoughts on the recent Mohammad Azam article about SwiftUI architecture and the NSSpain presentation about rewriting SoundCloud in SwiftUI. Finally, Steve remembers some sage advice he read on the early Web in the 1990s…RTFM! Topics Discussed: PickleJarTodo Update Lots of UI Components! [More Info]