Cambrian House
I think the application is filled out once the software is done. Sort of a "Look what I did, please place it in the contest to be judged" There is no initial signup required, just download the needed files. You don't even need to sign up for a developer key (like you have to do for other Google sponsored products like Google Maps and Picassa APIs) In fact I have already done this and have built my first "Hello World" application.
http://code.google.com/android/intro/index.html
I think I don't have the time to do that scale of a project
You can lead a new project if you want, will be happy to contribute where I can.
One of the things I liked about a collection of "small" tools is that the application could be useful soon and we can just add features to the core concepts. If the deadline comes there will be a core application and some number of features. If things get really busy, maybe there are only 5 gadgets and if the time is there and more people are interested 50 gadgets are in place. On the other hand, a more complex application may not be all that useful if something comes up and it can't be completely finished.
I also went with the collection of tools because it would give people a chance to participate who don't write software. In fact this is the main motivating factor behind my idea, to let EVERYONE have a real chance to participate.
Google is going to be including the API calls for a compass... but that depends on the phone manufacturer including it.
From the "Features" section in the What is Android page:
That would be REALLY cool to have that ability, but way over my resources right now. So far it's me doing the coding
Here's two links to get started:
http://techmagazine.ws/full-web-20-api-list/
http://www.programmableweb.com/apis/directory/1?&pagesize=All
Yes, a VOIP option would be really nice. You could then avoid long distance fees.
Right now there is a lot of controversy for including VOIP in the new Android Platform. The is activity on the subject almost every day over on the official Android discussion group. A lot of people are calling for it, but the support just isn't there yet. (It needs to be down low, in what is called the kernel... because it is a compute intense task)
Some of the speculation is that Google has intentionally left VOIP out to make Android more appealing to mobile carriers. As some one pointed out in one of the discussions, mobile carriers make money from voice calls, not moving IP packets.
Time will tell if VOIP support gets added.
GPS elements... like how? People need to actually raid a physical location if they want to do it in the game?
I don't think I can fit in a decent MMORPG in the time frame given, but I am very curious on the GPS aspects.
Here are some games which somewhat do what you describe, but i'm not sure what the maximum number of players is for these games so i don't know how big the massive element of it is or could be:
1) http://tinyurl.com/2hmots (Has a video showing the game)
2) http://tinyurl.com/3buf2s
Now that I have finished joking around, welcome to the community!
I hope you can connect with some of the cool people on the site.
Some of us are a little rough on the outside, but once you get to know us I tend to think we're not so bad
Some of us are a little rough on the outside, but once you get to know us I tend to think we're not so bad
Hey! I resemble that remark. *hits report inappropriate* lol
One thing that would stop this is the IR strength. Because on cell phones they only use low range IR for the parts.
Similar aspects to my pizza idea so there must be something good here. Except Google does have a map feature built in so it needs to be more then just map.
Well the cell phone company's can all ready do this as long as the phone has power and tower communication is on. Except you need a GPS or else the search area is to big for just a phone.
One thing that would be hard to do is make up for latency. Because it is all about timing.
Nice one.
However when a user is searching for a particular sign, then how to search for it on the phone?
Perhaps the signs can be categorized by shape and color.
For example if you want to look up a circle shaped red + blue sign then the user can go to the category "circle shaped", then to "contains red", then to "also contains blue".
That way one can isolate the group of signs the user has to browse through to find the sign he/she is looking for.
The main issue I can see is the usability. It would be hard to use while driving. How safe do you think it would be to be driving in a foreign land and entering data?
Same goes for a camera. However this does lead me to another idea. Take a picture of the sign and instead of doing complicated image processing just submit it to a crowd of people who will identify it for you. This idea is sort of a combination of two other idea here on CH, one where you can text questions to a crowd for an answer and one where you post pictures and people tell you where it is.
But sadly, this cool "idea" might be a project in and of itself and might not fit into the configurable "swiss army knife" goal.
If any one is noticing... there are some ideas here that are good ideas but not fit into my own goal. Feel free to start up a project you find interesting. Just be sure to return the same courtesy to the idea generator that I would by rewarding them if you make their idea happen.
Yes, you can use the phones camera. You would have to use the public class "android.hardware.CameraDevice"
Here is a reference to show what you can do with the camera:
http://code.google.c...re/CameraDevice.html
Revolutions come from standing on the shoulders of giants and facing in a better direction.Alan Kay
Cambrian House began as a crowdsourcing community using a wisdom of crowds based approach to discover new business and technology ideas. These pages are being kept online as a technology demo to showcase Chaordix™.
Looking to harness the power of your crowd? Find out about Chaordix™ - technology that enables enterprises to get the most out of crowdsourcing.
People
Gadget Ideas
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GroundLoad
    Member since: Oct 17, 2007 Rank: Viking King (545 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Ccozad, before you take this any further I'd like to remind you that the google competition requires you to fill an application and get accepted first. I'd hate for you to do all that work for nothing.
A
A
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Well you need to have a working app to apply
So once there is a working application... and some time has passed, I'll apply
So once there is a working application... and some time has passed, I'll apply
3. Submit your applications (between January 2 and March 3, 2008). A submission form will be available on this page starting on January 2, 2008.
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
On November 14, 2007, 2:19 am GroundLoad said:
Ccozad, before you take this any further I'd like to remind you that the google competition requires you to fill an application and get accepted first. I'd hate for you to do all that work for nothing.
A
I think the application is filled out once the software is done. Sort of a "Look what I did, please place it in the contest to be judged" There is no initial signup required, just download the needed files. You don't even need to sign up for a developer key (like you have to do for other Google sponsored products like Google Maps and Picassa APIs) In fact I have already done this and have built my first "Hello World" application.
http://code.google.com/android/intro/index.html
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
******** IDEA *********
Rich2809 posted this in the idea comments
Using location based info... good idea!
Let's get this thread back on track... ideas for gadgets.....
Rich2809 posted this in the idea comments
local emergency numbers
Using location based info... good idea!
Let's get this thread back on track... ideas for gadgets.....
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Rich2809
Member since: Nov 3, 2007 Rank: Warrior (116 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
things I have needed on business trips
local taxi numbers
Flight arrival and departures. You pick the flight etc
Hotel availability and rates
Does the hotel have a business center that is working
Local cinemas and start times
Books shops
Gift shops
Location of internet cafe
Embassy Numbers
Directions from hotel to the office I am visiting
Good places to eat and those with tables available
Things to do in the evening, NOTHING worse than spending hours in a hotel.
local taxi numbers
Flight arrival and departures. You pick the flight etc
Hotel availability and rates
Does the hotel have a business center that is working
Local cinemas and start times
Books shops
Gift shops
Location of internet cafe
Embassy Numbers
Directions from hotel to the office I am visiting
Good places to eat and those with tables available
Things to do in the evening, NOTHING worse than spending hours in a hotel.
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GroundLoad
Member since: Oct 17, 2007 Rank: Viking King (545 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Emergency numbers is a great idea.
Anyone remember an early 90's game called barcode battler ?
Wikipedia Link here
I'm curious if there may be another market for that. Instead of hulking around the huge apparatus that was originally used (early 90's) it would be a mobile app. Perhaps not with barcodes, but something remotely similar - trying to get the ol' hampster moving on the wheel for others.
Anyone remember an early 90's game called barcode battler ?
Wikipedia Link here
I'm curious if there may be another market for that. Instead of hulking around the huge apparatus that was originally used (early 90's) it would be a mobile app. Perhaps not with barcodes, but something remotely similar - trying to get the ol' hampster moving on the wheel for others.
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Rich2809
Member since: Nov 3, 2007 Rank: Warrior (116 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Local phrases
Local news
Local news
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Rich2809
Member since: Nov 3, 2007 Rank: Warrior (116 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
I would also like a list of local radio stations that I can listen to on my MB
What they play etc etc
Rich
What they play etc etc
Rich
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Rich2809
Member since: Nov 3, 2007 Rank: Warrior (116 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
I have various medications I have to take. They have different names in different countries. It would be useful to be told the name of the product in the country I am in
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Rich2809
Member since: Nov 3, 2007 Rank: Warrior (116 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
It would be useful to have medical details stored in the gadget as well
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Rich2809
Member since: Nov 3, 2007 Rank: Warrior (116 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
And...I would also like to be told simple things like meal times. In Spain for example we eat lunch at 2pm in Germany they eat lunch at 12 o'clock.
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Rich2809 is going to get the lion share of the idea revenue!
Great suggestions, please keep them coming.
I would love to hear some other ideas from people too.
Great suggestions, please keep them coming.
I would love to hear some other ideas from people too.
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zentropy
Member since: Jul 27, 2007 Rank: Warrior (247 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
- A little app that keeps a list of user added notes and makes the mobile phone ring or buzz to get attention to a particular note at a particular time and date.
- A voice recording application, that allows one to make voice notes or simply record something. (Often standard on quite some phones, though Google only released an API and not an entire OS yet, so perhaps there is still room for things like this)
- An application to make screenshots with of the screen of the mobile phone.
- A thumbnail image browser
- Mobile RSS reader (There will probably be made alot of these, but it doesn't hurt to be the first one using Google's API.)
- An app that can open .pdf and .chm files, so that you can read books on your mobile. (I know, not yet ideal, but there are mobile phones with quite big screens with a resolution of
640 * 480, not very big, but for some perhaps big enough)
Not all very original ideas, i know, but as of now there is only an API and not yet an OS.
- A voice recording application, that allows one to make voice notes or simply record something. (Often standard on quite some phones, though Google only released an API and not an entire OS yet, so perhaps there is still room for things like this)
- An application to make screenshots with of the screen of the mobile phone.
- A thumbnail image browser
- Mobile RSS reader (There will probably be made alot of these, but it doesn't hurt to be the first one using Google's API.)
- An app that can open .pdf and .chm files, so that you can read books on your mobile. (I know, not yet ideal, but there are mobile phones with quite big screens with a resolution of
640 * 480, not very big, but for some perhaps big enough)
Not all very original ideas, i know, but as of now there is only an API and not yet an OS.
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Fluent
Member since: Mar 19, 2007 Rank: Merchant (21 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
A BCD clock that can be used as a screen saver. Just to show off your geekness...
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Kevin_Cox
Member since: Oct 14, 2006 Rank: Viking King (557 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Google does not care about all of this stuff. We should find out what people at Google like and then make an idea around that.
How about this, a simple idea I got from the Google video on the site.
Make a pizza delivery service program.
You click pizza. Bam behold the power of double stuffed cheese pizza! That you can order on the go and on the spot. You could also find all the pizza locations around and get the phone numbers. Maybe even order the pizza on the spot if you got company's to sign on with the deal.
Also, you could pull up there menu of each pizza place.
What do you think: great idea or the greatest idea ever?
How about this, a simple idea I got from the Google video on the site.
Make a pizza delivery service program.
You click pizza. Bam behold the power of double stuffed cheese pizza! That you can order on the go and on the spot. You could also find all the pizza locations around and get the phone numbers. Maybe even order the pizza on the spot if you got company's to sign on with the deal.
Also, you could pull up there menu of each pizza place.
What do you think: great idea or the greatest idea ever?
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Google does not care about all of this stuff. We should find out what people at Google like and then make an idea around that.
How about this, a simple idea I got from the Google video on the site.
Make a pizza delivery service program.
You click pizza. Bam behold the power of double stuffed cheese pizza! That you can order on the go and on the spot. You could also find all the pizza locations around and get the phone numbers. Maybe even order the pizza on the spot if you got company's to sign on with the deal.
Also, you could pull up there menu of each pizza place.
What do you think: great idea or the greatest idea ever?
I think I don't have the time to do that scale of a project
You can lead a new project if you want, will be happy to contribute where I can.
One of the things I liked about a collection of "small" tools is that the application could be useful soon and we can just add features to the core concepts. If the deadline comes there will be a core application and some number of features. If things get really busy, maybe there are only 5 gadgets and if the time is there and more people are interested 50 gadgets are in place. On the other hand, a more complex application may not be all that useful if something comes up and it can't be completely finished.
I also went with the collection of tools because it would give people a chance to participate who don't write software. In fact this is the main motivating factor behind my idea, to let EVERYONE have a real chance to participate.
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Kevin_Cox
Member since: Oct 14, 2006 Rank: Viking King (557 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Just, off on a tangent. Thinking about the time CH gave Google 1000 pizzas. You would think they would remember us and make the connection.
http://www.cambrianh...ible-but-with-pizza/
It is not as complex as it sounds. Many pizza places all ready to allow you to order online, and Google earth can all ready do location searches. It would be a way to integrate and simplify everything.
It would be nice to have a suite of ideas mash-up. I just don't know how well it will do to impress. Converting Metric to English and having all the nice tools is great. But, a lot of people have done it before for phones.
http://www.cambrianh...ible-but-with-pizza/
It is not as complex as it sounds. Many pizza places all ready to allow you to order online, and Google earth can all ready do location searches. It would be a way to integrate and simplify everything.
It would be nice to have a suite of ideas mash-up. I just don't know how well it will do to impress. Converting Metric to English and having all the nice tools is great. But, a lot of people have done it before for phones.
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Ok, that's great. I encourage you to move forward with the pizza idea.
BTW, since we are on the topic of impressing Google... ever heard of the Google Tool Bar, iGoogle, Google Gadgets?
It would seem that Google is "impressed" enough with small useful programs to incorporate them into products in mass distribution.
I don't really want to debate the validity of the idea here. This thread is for gadget ideas.
If you want to debate the validity of the idea itself, please open up another thread or take it to the comments for the associated idea.
BTW, since we are on the topic of impressing Google... ever heard of the Google Tool Bar, iGoogle, Google Gadgets?
It would seem that Google is "impressed" enough with small useful programs to incorporate them into products in mass distribution.
I don't really want to debate the validity of the idea here. This thread is for gadget ideas.
If you want to debate the validity of the idea itself, please open up another thread or take it to the comments for the associated idea.
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Kevin_Cox
Member since: Oct 14, 2006 Rank: Viking King (557 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Not to debate or anything. I just think that there are going to be a lot of developers in the contest.
Anyways, I just though a great idea for the name of the program. Lets call it Army Knife.
Anyways, I just though a great idea for the name of the program. Lets call it Army Knife.
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fossiloflife
Member since: Apr 19, 2007 Rank: Warrior (236 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
an widget for tourists! places to visit..fine dinning and staying places etc.. it will allow them to choose what they like...rather than depending on tour operators!
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Rich2809
Member since: Nov 3, 2007 Rank: Warrior (116 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
I travel a lot and I am constantly being caught out by local holidays. In Spain each town has a holiday. Drive mecrazy
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Thank you FossilOfLife and Rich2809. I appreciate the feedback. And even a big thank you to Kevin_Cox for making me think and defend my position
I'll consolidate the list later today for easier viewing.
I'll consolidate the list later today for easier viewing.
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bentobox
Member since: Mar 23, 2007 Rank: Merchant (45 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Something here might be interesting:
http://plutohome.com
Here's the open source site:
http://plutohome.org
It would be cool to view TV listings on your phone then have it use IR to change channels on your TV (or use Bluetooth, or ssh to your personal video recorder if that is possible).
A set of guitar utilities would be handy (tuner, chord dictionary, etc.). If the application can capture the audio correctly maybe it could be turned into a game like Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero (but better because you're using a real instrument).
Are you using the Android Emulator for development? The FAQ says there's no support for audio capture or Bluetooth so I don't know how feasible these ideas are.
If GPS is supported, maybe a Starbucks (or nearest coffeeshop/meeting point equivalent) compass would be useful. Or a beacon/phone-home utility that sends out GPS coordinates if your phone is lost or stolen.
http://plutohome.com
Here's the open source site:
http://plutohome.org
It would be cool to view TV listings on your phone then have it use IR to change channels on your TV (or use Bluetooth, or ssh to your personal video recorder if that is possible).
A set of guitar utilities would be handy (tuner, chord dictionary, etc.). If the application can capture the audio correctly maybe it could be turned into a game like Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero (but better because you're using a real instrument).
Are you using the Android Emulator for development? The FAQ says there's no support for audio capture or Bluetooth so I don't know how feasible these ideas are.
If GPS is supported, maybe a Starbucks (or nearest coffeeshop/meeting point equivalent) compass would be useful. Or a beacon/phone-home utility that sends out GPS coordinates if your phone is lost or stolen.
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Google is going to be taking care of the maps application. They already have maps working in the emulator.
And yes, I am using the emulator, mainly because that is the only thing available right now. (Handsets aren't expected until spring '08... we'll see if that turns into summer '08 or Fall '08)
I like the guitar tab suggestion. Might not be able to include audio checking just yet, but something to keep in the back pocket.
I like the Pluto Home idea also... though this project might not go there... who knows, that company may already have engineers on the task of porting things to Android.
Thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate them!
And yes, I am using the emulator, mainly because that is the only thing available right now. (Handsets aren't expected until spring '08... we'll see if that turns into summer '08 or Fall '08)
I like the guitar tab suggestion. Might not be able to include audio checking just yet, but something to keep in the back pocket.
I like the Pluto Home idea also... though this project might not go there... who knows, that company may already have engineers on the task of porting things to Android.
Thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate them!
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
I skipped over the beacon idea... I like that one! I always lose my phone... in fact it is lost right now.
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GroundLoad
Member since: Oct 17, 2007 Rank: Viking King (545 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Ccozad I don't know if its plauseable without designing the idea into the phone itself - but I would love to have a compass on my phone.
Hold it flat and it will tell you which way the top is pointing or something like that.
Hold it flat and it will tell you which way the top is pointing or something like that.
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GroundLoad
Member since: Oct 17, 2007 Rank: Viking King (545 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
I'd also like to see a way to set / change your recording settings on TiVo / DVR - but perhaps I'd be the only one using it.
... unless you could design it so that you could watch whatever items you have recorded on your TiVo with your phone ... that would be awesome.
... unless you could design it so that you could watch whatever items you have recorded on your TiVo with your phone ... that would be awesome.
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
On November 15, 2007, 5:44 pm GroundLoad said:
Ccozad I don't know if its plauseable without designing the idea into the phone itself - but I would love to have a compass on my phone.
Hold it flat and it will tell you which way the top is pointing or something like that.
Google is going to be including the API calls for a compass... but that depends on the phone manufacturer including it.
From the "Features" section in the What is Android page:
Camera, GPS, compass, and accelerometer (hardware dependent)
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
On November 15, 2007, 5:46 pm GroundLoad said:
... unless you could design it so that you could watch whatever items you have recorded on your TiVo with your phone ... that would be awesome.
That would be REALLY cool to have that ability, but way over my resources right now. So far it's me doing the coding
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JimmyT
Member since: Nov 12, 2007 Rank: Peasant (1 Post) |
[Quote Member] |
Hi - I'm new to this whole forum thing but I have been working in the mobile business for five years, specifically on the content side and I have a number of ideas.
On the gadget/application side what about creating a social networking location based service.
You allow your friends to know where you are by using cell tracking triangulation. You send out text messages and friends can opt in to the service which will tell you where they are. You can scroll through your list of friends and see if they are nearby and then click through to the map location (using Google Maps). You can then send messages to catch up or find out what else is going on - could be used for dating services as well. Google could serve up text ads and offers for local based businesses - Get 50cents off your Big Mac etc. ie:
Joe (Junc George & Main, San Jose)Cheap Big Mac
Lucy (Venice Beach) Best beers in town
Anyway you get the idea
On the gadget/application side what about creating a social networking location based service.
You allow your friends to know where you are by using cell tracking triangulation. You send out text messages and friends can opt in to the service which will tell you where they are. You can scroll through your list of friends and see if they are nearby and then click through to the map location (using Google Maps). You can then send messages to catch up or find out what else is going on - could be used for dating services as well. Google could serve up text ads and offers for local based businesses - Get 50cents off your Big Mac etc. ie:
Joe (Junc George & Main, San Jose)Cheap Big Mac
Lucy (Venice Beach) Best beers in town
Anyway you get the idea
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Hi Jimmy, let me be the first to welcome you to Cambrian House!
Have you been writing software for five years? I could use your help on my project... of course with your experience I am sure you could successfully lead the very project you just proposed. I think it would be good to have more than one entry into the contest.
We are all making assumptions on what will win, so might as well attack from different angles for better odds. One of us HAS to have a winner....
So one cool thing about CH is that you can submit your idea into a weekly tournament and get feed back from the other community members. You keep the rights to your idea (i.e. when you submit it Cambrian House doesn't own the idea) and you just might grab $100 from winning the weekly tournament. Win the weekly tournament and you'll be entered in the quarterly Tournament of Champions and a chance at a few thousand dollars and what ever glamorous prize CH thinks up.
We could REALLY use your quality ideas... on top of that YOU can actual realize your ideas....
Have you been writing software for five years? I could use your help on my project... of course with your experience I am sure you could successfully lead the very project you just proposed. I think it would be good to have more than one entry into the contest.
We are all making assumptions on what will win, so might as well attack from different angles for better odds. One of us HAS to have a winner....
So one cool thing about CH is that you can submit your idea into a weekly tournament and get feed back from the other community members. You keep the rights to your idea (i.e. when you submit it Cambrian House doesn't own the idea) and you just might grab $100 from winning the weekly tournament. Win the weekly tournament and you'll be entered in the quarterly Tournament of Champions and a chance at a few thousand dollars and what ever glamorous prize CH thinks up.
We could REALLY use your quality ideas... on top of that YOU can actual realize your ideas....
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LarsBell
Member since: Aug 26, 2007 Rank: Noble (83 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Perhaps a way that we could go about this would be to create (or find) a complete list of "cool" web API that we could repurpose. Then see which ones would make nifty mobile applications and then make sure they are crowd sourceable.
There would also be need to just port existing mobile apps to the new platform.
What I'm trying to say is come up with a system for covering the universe of obvious ideas and then work through them to figure out which ones to implement first.
There would also be need to just port existing mobile apps to the new platform.
What I'm trying to say is come up with a system for covering the universe of obvious ideas and then work through them to figure out which ones to implement first.
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Rich2809
Member since: Nov 3, 2007 Rank: Warrior (116 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
I would like skype or similar avaliable on my MB
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zentropy
Member since: Jul 27, 2007 Rank: Warrior (247 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Regarding the compass, one doesn't necessarily need a charged metal indicator in the phone to be able to determine where North or South is.
Here's a way to determine it without such a mechanism using the time on an analogue watch and i think one can use this to program a compass tool on a phone using it's time:
Navigation:
1) When you are located in the Northern hemisphere of earth: Point the hour indicator of your watch towards the sun, then between the hour indicator and 12 o'clock in the middle lies South.
2) When you are located in the Southern hemisphere of earth: Point 12 o'clock to the sun, then between 12 o'clock and the hour indicator in the middle lies North.
* In the vast majority of the Northern hemisphere the sun
will always travel along the Southern sky.
These principles can be used for programming a compass tool using the phone's (local) time.
Here's a way to determine it without such a mechanism using the time on an analogue watch and i think one can use this to program a compass tool on a phone using it's time:
Navigation:
1) When you are located in the Northern hemisphere of earth: Point the hour indicator of your watch towards the sun, then between the hour indicator and 12 o'clock in the middle lies South.
2) When you are located in the Southern hemisphere of earth: Point 12 o'clock to the sun, then between 12 o'clock and the hour indicator in the middle lies North.
* In the vast majority of the Northern hemisphere the sun
will always travel along the Southern sky.
These principles can be used for programming a compass tool using the phone's (local) time.
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GordonMcDowell
Member since: Aug 15, 2006 Rank: Viking King (925 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
I hate to post ideas I can't follow up on, but my dream cellphone app is a MMORPG with GPS gaming elements.
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
On November 16, 2007, 12:13 am LarsBell said:
Perhaps a way that we could go about this would be to create (or find) a complete list of "cool" web API that we could repurpose. Then see which ones would make nifty mobile applications and then make sure they are crowd sourceable.
Here's two links to get started:
http://techmagazine.ws/full-web-20-api-list/
http://www.programmableweb.com/apis/directory/1?&pagesize=All
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
On November 16, 2007, 5:56 am Rich2809 said:
I would like skype or similar avaliable on my MB
Yes, a VOIP option would be really nice. You could then avoid long distance fees.
Right now there is a lot of controversy for including VOIP in the new Android Platform. The is activity on the subject almost every day over on the official Android discussion group. A lot of people are calling for it, but the support just isn't there yet. (It needs to be down low, in what is called the kernel... because it is a compute intense task)
Some of the speculation is that Google has intentionally left VOIP out to make Android more appealing to mobile carriers. As some one pointed out in one of the discussions, mobile carriers make money from voice calls, not moving IP packets.
Time will tell if VOIP support gets added.
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Very interesting! I have to think about this some more to digest the coolness of this idea....
Thanks Zentropy!
Thanks Zentropy!
On November 16, 2007, 9:46 am zentropy said:
Regarding the compass, one doesn't necessarily need a charged metal indicator in the phone to be able to determine where North or South is.
Here's a way to determine it without such a mechanism using the time on an analogue watch and i think one can use this to program a compass tool on a phone using it's time:
Navigation:
1) When you are located in the Northern hemisphere of earth: Point the hour indicator of your watch towards the sun, then between the hour indicator and 12 o'clock in the middle lies South.
2) When you are located in the Southern hemisphere of earth: Point 12 o'clock to the sun, then between 12 o'clock and the hour indicator in the middle lies North.
* In the vast majority of the Northern hemisphere the sun
will always travel along the Southern sky.
These principles can be used for programming a compass tool using the phone's (local) time.
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
On November 16, 2007, 10:04 am GordonMcDowell said:
I hate to post ideas I can't follow up on, but my dream cellphone app is a MMORPG with GPS gaming elements.
GPS elements... like how? People need to actually raid a physical location if they want to do it in the game?
I don't think I can fit in a decent MMORPG in the time frame given, but I am very curious on the GPS aspects.
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zentropy
Member since: Jul 27, 2007 Rank: Warrior (247 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
On November 16, 2007, 10:04 am GordonMcDowell said:
I hate to post ideas I can't follow up on, but my dream cellphone app is a MMORPG with GPS gaming elements.
Here are some games which somewhat do what you describe, but i'm not sure what the maximum number of players is for these games so i don't know how big the massive element of it is or could be:
1) http://tinyurl.com/2hmots (Has a video showing the game)
2) http://tinyurl.com/3buf2s
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
I'll check these out when I get home tonight, thanks!
Hmm... so many great ideas, so little time...
Hmm... so many great ideas, so little time...
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GroundLoad
Member since: Oct 17, 2007 Rank: Viking King (545 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Wow, really cool post zentropy. That looks like a blast. If kids got into it, it would give them a reason to be outside and burn some calories.
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Jairzinho
Member since: Nov 16, 2007 Rank: Peasant (2 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
i want that my gadget can have a lies detector, it could be funny and maybe can works come on this is the best post . say it !!!
att:Jair
att:Jair
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
You win the "Thinking outside of the box" award....
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
On November 16, 2007, 9:55 pm Jairzinho said:
i want that my gadget can have a lies detector, it could be funny and maybe can works come on this is the best post . say it !!!
att:Jair
Now that I have finished joking around, welcome to the community!
I hope you can connect with some of the cool people on the site.
Some of us are a little rough on the outside, but once you get to know us I tend to think we're not so bad
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GroundLoad
Member since: Oct 17, 2007 Rank: Viking King (545 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
On November 16, 2007, 10:18 pm ccozad said:
Some of us are a little rough on the outside, but once you get to know us I tend to think we're not so bad
Hey! I resemble that remark. *hits report inappropriate* lol
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Kevin_Cox
Member since: Oct 14, 2006 Rank: Viking King (557 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
It would be cool to view TV listings on your phone then have it use IR to change channels on your TV.
One thing that would stop this is the IR strength. Because on cell phones they only use low range IR for the parts.
If GPS is supported, maybe a Starbucks (or nearest coffeeshop/meeting point equivalent) compass would be useful.
Similar aspects to my pizza idea so there must be something good here. Except Google does have a map feature built in so it needs to be more then just map.
Or a beacon/phone-home utility that sends out GPS coordinates if your phone is lost or stolen.
Well the cell phone company's can all ready do this as long as the phone has power and tower communication is on. Except you need a GPS or else the search area is to big for just a phone.
could be turned into a game like Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero (but better because you're using a real instrument).
One thing that would be hard to do is make up for latency. Because it is all about timing.
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Rich2809
Member since: Nov 3, 2007 Rank: Warrior (116 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Hey ccozad
How about explaining various road signs.
Rich
How about explaining various road signs.
Rich
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zentropy
Member since: Jul 27, 2007 Rank: Warrior (247 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
On November 18, 2007, 8:25 am Rich2809 said:
Hey ccozad
How about explaining various road signs.
Rich
Nice one.
However when a user is searching for a particular sign, then how to search for it on the phone?
Perhaps the signs can be categorized by shape and color.
For example if you want to look up a circle shaped red + blue sign then the user can go to the category "circle shaped", then to "contains red", then to "also contains blue".
That way one can isolate the group of signs the user has to browse through to find the sign he/she is looking for.
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Rich2809
Member since: Nov 3, 2007 Rank: Warrior (116 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
could you use the phones camera in anyway?
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
On November 18, 2007, 9:05 am zentropy said:
On November 18, 2007, 8:25 am Rich2809 said:
Hey ccozad
How about explaining various road signs.
Rich
Nice one.
However when a user is searching for a particular sign, then how to search for it on the phone?
Perhaps the signs can be categorized by shape and color.
For example if you want to look up a circle shaped red + blue sign then the user can go to the category "circle shaped", then to "contains red", then to "also contains blue".
That way one can isolate the group of signs the user has to browse through to find the sign he/she is looking for.
The main issue I can see is the usability. It would be hard to use while driving. How safe do you think it would be to be driving in a foreign land and entering data?
Same goes for a camera. However this does lead me to another idea. Take a picture of the sign and instead of doing complicated image processing just submit it to a crowd of people who will identify it for you. This idea is sort of a combination of two other idea here on CH, one where you can text questions to a crowd for an answer and one where you post pictures and people tell you where it is.
But sadly, this cool "idea" might be a project in and of itself and might not fit into the configurable "swiss army knife" goal.
If any one is noticing... there are some ideas here that are good ideas but not fit into my own goal. Feel free to start up a project you find interesting. Just be sure to return the same courtesy to the idea generator that I would by rewarding them if you make their idea happen.
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Kevin_Cox
Member since: Oct 14, 2006 Rank: Viking King (557 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
could you use the phones camera in anyway?
Yes, you can use the phones camera. You would have to use the public class "android.hardware.CameraDevice"
Here is a reference to show what you can do with the camera:
http://code.google.c...re/CameraDevice.html
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Rich2809
Member since: Nov 3, 2007 Rank: Warrior (116 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
I think the system already has a compass
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Rich2809
Member since: Nov 3, 2007 Rank: Warrior (116 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
ccozad
could you have 'brain training' type exercises on the device?
This is huge at the moment.
could you have 'brain training' type exercises on the device?
This is huge at the moment.
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Rich2809
Member since: Nov 3, 2007 Rank: Warrior (116 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
ccozad
just so you know, I have spent a little more the 2 minutes thinking up ideas.
Richard (about to sulk) Adam
just so you know, I have spent a little more the 2 minutes thinking up ideas.
Richard (about to sulk) Adam
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
I will take that into consideration when dividing up the winnings
On November 19, 2007, 6:29 am Rich2809 said:
ccozad
just so you know, I have spent a little more the 2 minutes thinking up ideas.
Richard (about to sulk) Adam
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GordonMcDowell
Member since: Aug 15, 2006 Rank: Viking King (925 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Ccozad, I think your idea/project should remain one of the CH center's of focus. What do you think be the best means of maintaining that is? Your Project Army Knife is out of this week's IdeaWarz. And this thread has an ambiguous title.
How can we keep people brainstorming? Maybe start a new forum thread? I don't know if your idea is important in and of itself... it might be any Android project which is good enough should win IdeaWarz on its own rather than us trying to funnel ideas into your meta-idea.
I think this is important, but given CH ideas structure it might be simply a forum thread is best mechanism to discuss Android ideas.
What you think?
How can we keep people brainstorming? Maybe start a new forum thread? I don't know if your idea is important in and of itself... it might be any Android project which is good enough should win IdeaWarz on its own rather than us trying to funnel ideas into your meta-idea.
I think this is important, but given CH ideas structure it might be simply a forum thread is best mechanism to discuss Android ideas.
What you think?
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Well, at some point we need to get moving and start having things people can test and see if the applications are going in the right direction.
I know Kevin Cox has started to work on a game. I have made it through the Google tutorials that take you through the creation of a Note application (write, store and retrieve notes) My first target is going to be to adapt this sample application into one of the suggestions.
I will create a new thread to collaborate on. I'll also look for some more ways for everyone to participate in the project, because the chance for everyone to contribute meaningful things has been great for the site.
I know Kevin Cox has started to work on a game. I have made it through the Google tutorials that take you through the creation of a Note application (write, store and retrieve notes) My first target is going to be to adapt this sample application into one of the suggestions.
I will create a new thread to collaborate on. I'll also look for some more ways for everyone to participate in the project, because the chance for everyone to contribute meaningful things has been great for the site.
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Kevin_Cox
Member since: Oct 14, 2006 Rank: Viking King (557 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Yep, I started on a simple game but have run into a few problems with the emulator.
There is a Google tutorial? Could you point me to a link.
There is a Google tutorial? Could you point me to a link.
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ccozad
Member since: Jul 31, 2007 Rank: Viking King (918 Posts) |
[Quote Member] |
Android Tutorial, building a notepad application.
http://code.google.com/android/intro/tutorial.html
http://code.google.com/android/intro/tutorial.html
http://www.cambrianhouse.com/idea/idea-promoter/ideas-id/f4yqwP3/
In short the idea is to create a collection of small utilities ("gadgets"
I don't want to place too many restrictions on the thought process... so feel free to give ideas on ANYTHING that might be useful to SOMEONE.
So a Periodic Table Gadget would be a just fine to suggest because it might be useful to students studying chemistry. A Stop Watch gadget would also be great because it would be used by someone who needed to time something.
I'll consolidate any gadget ideas posted in the idea comments here so it is easier to follow.
Please include what your gadget would do and who would use it.
Posted: November 14, 2007, 1:13 am