My Dream App - Martin

In Search of a File Synchronizer

2006-11-10T17:39:20Z

Usually, I start development with trying to identify the core problem of the application to be made. This core problem then needs an adequate solution because otherwise the whole app is not gonna work at all. For Portal we need a decent file synchronization engine. I started digging around for some cool algorithms at CiteSeer or Google Scholar. Here is a list of some seemingly relevant and interesting papers:

This makes a good pile of bedside reading. Well, I’m just kidding. You want to read this hard-core stuff any time during the day but certainly not before going to bed. I’m going to weed through these papers in search for an applicable algorithm or at least for some inspiration. Now I’m off for some reading…

From 2700+ to 24

2006-09-16T06:27:45Z

Now they are out of the bag. We have selected 24 finalists and I think they are a great mix of the 2700+ ideas that have been submitted. Well, there have been a few that didn’t fit so well into the scheme of the contest. Jason already wrote a post about that. He didn’t mentioned the so-called ‘world peace’ submissions. Gaining world peace with just one click and not only on planet earth. There were a few of them and the made my day although they didn’t quite fit into the picture.
Again, I want to thank all of you for submitting your ideas and making this contest a huge success so far.

The 24 finalists represent a broad range of ideas which might polarize the community but also show the variety of submissions in general. While working my way through all the entries my opinion was once again confirmed that people are looking for solutions. They need tools to get their stuff done. Some of them are in need of applications to get their specific job done others want something to express their creativity and emotions. But what all have in common is the need for something that not only just works but is also fun to use. It should be worthwhile to use and it still should not stand in the way.
You can think of the 24 finalists what you want. They might not be world-changing but if you put them into the perspective I gave you then imagine how the final products could affect people’s life.

So now it’s up to you to figure out who will be the final three. Let the elimination rounds begin.

Judging is in full swing

2006-09-03T15:21:51Z

I was blown away by the number of ideas submitted. Over 2700 entries in 12 days. That’s amazing. Thank you all out there for your creativity and enthusiasm. We started to judge the entries a few days ago and still haven’t had the chance to look at every entry. But we will be ready when we announce the first finalists next week. With the announcements of the first finalists, My Dream App is entering the next phase and it’s getting even more exciting.

Back to work…

Tell us what you dream of

2006-08-21T05:29:36Z

The My Dream App contest has finally started. Though I joined the team just a week or so ago I have awaited eagerly that we reveal what has been brewing for some time now. The whole crew worked very hard to make this happen. We have a fabulous line-up of guest judges. Everyone is ready and we have everything in place. Now I’m very excited to see what all you out there come up with.

For me, it will be a whole new experience building an app from the ground-up with community participation in every step of the process. In the past developers often sat down in front of their machine and thought about what would be the next killer app. They often ended up developing something they would benefit from in their daily work. Often it turned out well because someone else also was in need of their apps. Today we turn the table and let the community tell us what they dream of and what they would need.

Together with the MDA team I’m looking forward to work with you and making your dream come true.