Day 1 of 30

Ben -  Well the big day is almost here and I am a bit nervous.  I am also pretty excited to get a new App submitted and added to the Zenerdgy line of Apps.  Family Bank and Letter Rain took up more time than I expected, so we decided to keep this app simple.   I also think that it should be a Universal app, which means it will be designed to work on both an iPad or iPhone like device.

- Geek side note - someday I probably will tinker with the Android toolkit again and port some of our apps, but at the moment, I am swamped learning all I can about iOS and Objective C.   My previous development background includes a strong Java background and the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) uses Java as the programming language.  Yes, the irony has not escaped me.

Today I am trying to fix an icon problem with the latest release of Family Bank on the iPad in iOS 7.  One of the small glitches that keep this type of development interesting.   After this, I will start to design a product statement and initial screen design for the new App.  Eventually, I will need to name the App, but that can be challenging with so many App names on the market today.  For now, it is just getting the concept defined and the product design tested out on family and friends.  The official name will come later.

So what is the App idea?  I got the idea from a friend of mine, Amee, who wanted an App that could record the scores of games while you play.  For example, you are playing a card game, like hearts, and you need to keep the player scores recorded.  Pull out your device, record the player names, and get to playing.  Is there an App like this already?  Probably, but I refuse to check.  Will it be the same App?  Very doubtful.  App design is really tied to the whims and design decisions of the development team.  Although it would be useful to see another similar product, I don't want to influence my design with someone else's design.  This adds an element of trial and error to the process, but it much more fun and creative this way.  Who knows?  Maybe this will become a popular utility App?
We shall see.

- Geek side note 2 - I want to have icons next to my posts to indicate if I or Rebecca are writing.  I haven't figured out how or what the icon would look like, but I like the cartoon/character drawing look.  Kind of like my friend, Jaime's Blog picture at http://www.devwiththehair.com   It adds a face to the writing.   I will have to look into it.