For the last week or two I have been watching podcasts from Stanford University on iPhone Application Programming (CS 193P). The videos are recordings of an actual class at the university, where the instructors are Apple employees who have developed for the platform. I have now watched six hours worth, so I think I am starting to at least get a better grasp of what all application development on the iPhone/iPod touch entails. However, I do not have an Intel-based Mac, so I am just an observer and cannot actually complete the assigned homework.
I am pleased that the portion of my brain reserved for sitting through a lecture was not completely wasted after I received a degree. For the most part, I can still pay attention and follow along. The instructors are not quite yawn-inducing, but if I try to cram in another lecture (or even half of it) after sitting through the first, my vision begins to blur and I feel a bit drowsy. My goals for all of this are really undefined, but it would be good move to at least understand the fundamentals of another programming language and development framework. In this case, that would be Objective-C and Xcode.
While I do not maintain any illusion that I will write the next killer app and retire to some island in the Caribbean, I think it is a good use of my free time.