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Wozniak to Judge American Idol-Inspired Mac App Contest
cmundhe writes "Mac entrepreneur Phill Ryu today launched My Dream App, a new American Idol-inspired online competition where contestants can win the chance to have their killer app idea realized by experienced Mac developers. Over forty industry luminaries, including Apple founder Steve Wozniak, have signed on to My Dream App as guest judges to help contestants hone their ideas."
If I thought up a killer app, I think I would like more then an Ipod in return.
I wonder if you can patent your idea first then submitt it for the competition.
Fair enough that someone else wrote it, but it was still your Idea.
So let me get this straight. There's a competition which is a derivative of a copy of a shit TV show. Thinking different was never so easy.
Programmers as such need a platform at times to capitalise their genius ideas.
This may be a short step in that direction but will give hope to lot of programmers(Mac only sadly :()
One the other side of the coin,the idea may be incorporated into Apple's products.
Definitely programmer got his idea shaping up and working but uder Apple's name.
lets see what programmer chooses :)
-- "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration" - TAE --
I'm alternating between thinking that this idea is ridiculously stupid, or alternatively, truly inspired.
..."
I propose an optimisation, let the winner be the one with the best elevator pitch - "It's like excel meets my-space, you arrange your friends into rows and columns
just like high-concept movie ideas where a one-sentence summary gets turned into a 90-minute film.
But what would be an application that would equate to William Hung ?
Is it still legal in the US to get inspired by other people's intellectual property?
When can we vote this whole American Idol concept off the island?
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
This is a not-so-expensive method of asking the userbase what it wants, and getting their ideas. I'm willing to bet a number of entries (especially of those which didn't win, or didn't even make it into the round of 24) will end up as features in the next MacOS.
I believe we will see more ventures of this kind in the future, even outside software. The ideas that "little people" never had the resources to implement are a resource that can be valuable and is easily tapped. What is funny is that the whole model started not in some corporate think tank, but in FPS mods. Final Doom is the first instance I can think of.
blow your mind already
Might work better if you download Linux before deleting your old OS.
Look, if you're not a programmer, your idea is basically worthless. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Programmers who actually implement your idea cost money. Now, you can either participate in this contest and (if you win) not only see your idea realized, but actually get a price and royalties if the app sells.
The choice isn't between owning a great idea which will inevitably make your rich, and giving it away for nothing, as you make it out to be. The choice is between nothing and seeing your idea realized while making money.
Obviously, if you're a programmer who has an awesome idea, don't participate in this contest. Implement it yourself. But I don't think there's even one programmer too stupid to realize this.
But unlike everyone else, we're not searching for skilled programmers. Instead, we're simply looking for the greatest ideas
The greatest ideas.. oh yeah! I found one! so uh, it would be a game, and it would be about bricks of different shape stacking up each other, and when you got a full line of bricks it disappears! oh wait I have another great idea incoming! It would be a lil yellow character, in a maze, eating pills and ghosts/monsters.
Damn it's too easy for me to come up with the greatest ideas, I only hope they didn't mean the greatest *original* ideas!
This being said, if the experience proves successful by having great thinkers connected with great developpers, maybe will we see the advent of a new type of site where people would post their ideas, get their ideas rated/favourites/commented and people in need of ideas would go there and get in touch with the people with the original idea in order to implement it. That would be great, we would live in a world where people with great ideas and no means to make them come true and people with big means but no ideas could collaborate to make the world a better place.
I would make the website right now, if only I wasn't that lazy
You just got troll'd!
It should be noted that author of Acquisition and GPL violator Mr. David Watanabe is one of the judges according to Phill Ryu's blog.
"Hi. My name is Phill and I am an 18 year old Mac user (the super cool, hip, college student kind)." - Phill Ryu
LOL!
- 1 shock every time user logs on to Apple hardware related forum to masturbate about what new hardware may or may not be revealed during Steve Job's next keynote address
- 2 shocks for every DRM ridden iTunes song downloaded by the user because "it works out better for the artists, and because it gives me the flexibility to do whatever I want with my music." Discretionary shocks may be assigned on the basis of whether or not the song is subsequently downloaded to an iPod (max. 1 shock), and if said iPod is a "special edition" U2 iPod (max. 2 shocks)
- 3 shocks for every "My mac 'just works'" comment. Additional shocks in the event that Mac breaks down 1 day after warranty expires (max 3 shocks); further shocks may be assigned if user has to go to friend who uses Linux to get the problem sorted out (max 4 shocks)
- 4 shocks for every time user says that Apple is the only sensible platform for him/her because he/she is an "artist."
- 5 shocks for every "I never get viruses" comment to a PC user. More shocks if the user is a graphic designer who uses his computer for nothing except photoshop (max 6 additional shocks). Fatal shock may be administered if user is a graphic designer talking to a sysadmin in charge of maintaining a network of PCs.
Now where's my iPod?Successful implementation of a good idea is incredibly valuable. You don't have to come up with a new idea, you just have to implement it better than others. Do you think the Ipod was the first mp3 player?
I didn't know you could jump the shark on a Segway!
The latest Slashdot meme.
That's okay, it wasn't a proper movie.
Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
Sounds like a cool competition; a word of warning to entrants- no-one call your project 'Lisa'.
:|
I won't go down too well
When the posters fear their moderators, there is tyranny; when the moderators fears the posters, there is liberty.
This MIGHT be ok, IF there was no money involved for suggesting the idea. As it is, you'll get dozens of people ripping off other people's ideas that have already been suggested on other sites, and get the credit for it.
I just hope there's some mechanism in place to prevent people from claiming ideas they took from elsewhere as their own. Please can go pretty low to try to get a buck!
How about a new Finder?
*hangs head*....
American Idol is going to replace democracy soon. I can see it now, invading far off countries to make sure they standardize voting based on american idol. OMG I need to get coffee before I get stupider.
"The ideas that "little people" never had the resources to implement are a resource that can be valuable and is easily tapped."
Unless they protect them with patents prior to entering them in the contest. Does the winner get a royalty? Ever wonder if the "recording contract" an American Idol wins is better than a regular "slave contract" other artist sign?
Hopefully just submitting the idea is considering publishing it. Software patents are bad enough without someone else patenting your idea.
Do you suppose the first caveman who sharpened a stick hired another caveman to club the second guy to sharpen a stick? Lawyer, world's second oldest profession.
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
Here's my idea.
/. reader) learning a computer interface isa chore that they do not want to relearn.
1 Make an x86 based O/S that runs on generic hardware and that looks and feels just like Windows. e.g. it should have the consistent UI of Windows applications.
2 Make it secure (perhaps use a *NIX kernel ?)
3 To stress the point; Make it look like Windows and make sure ALL the apps have consistent UIs that work just like their Windows counterparts.
4 Utterly clean up the market.
5 Massive profit.
Most people are sick of Windows and want something else. However most people are also too used to Windows and have neither the time nor the inclination to learn another O/S so OSX/*NIX are out of the question.
It doesn't matter if you make a Linux distro that installs itself and sits there talking to the users telling them how to get stuff done. People do not want to learn a new O/S. For most computer users (i.e. not your typical
This is a no-brainer.
And behold, a command prompt and he who sat upon it, his name was shutdown and -h 3:11 followed with him
Recently heard an interview of Tommy Chang on NPR. This Woz story reminds me of Tommy Chang - both cool dudes with beards, one in geek fashion, the other in hippie fashion.
That's funny. I make a trip into the real world of software development every morning except on saturdays and sundays.
...but we're not talking about those ideas here, now are we? We're talking about a freaking contest where people send in their ideas about new apps. Here's a hint: You have an idea which you think is great? There's a 99% probability that it's not. Your idea sucks.
And even if your idea were great, it's still worthless until you convince somebody who can actually do something with it to implement it.
That's not what I said. I said the opposite: Everyone can have a good idea (and most people think they do), but only programmers can actually do something with their ideas. And since everyone thinks he has good ideas, programmers will typically not want to implement your good idea, because they have good ideas of their own.
So unless you're either a programmer or can pay the salary of one, your idea is not going to be implemented, no matter how good you think it is.
And fools like you should learn to read before making absurd accusations. I've never claimed that only programmers have good ideas. Most programmers' ideas are just as stupid as everyone else's, but since they're programmers, their ideas are the ones that get implemented, like it or not.
Uhm, software houses don't need "domain experts, marketeers, analysts and consultants" to be successfull. Buy a Mac. Go to macupdate.com. Look at software shops like Delicious Monster, Ranchero Software or Panic. They were programmers who just happened to have an idea which accidentially turned out to be good, and now they're roasting around in Lotus Elises.
Although, frankly, now that I re-read your post I'm not sure what your point actually is. What the hell are you trying to say? Programmers need somebody to supply ideas and market analysis in order for them to create software? Or what? That is so utterly absurd that it's obvious that you don't have the first clue about software development.
Oh, and what's with the personal attacks? Don't you like video games and movies?
Virtual Valerie? I mean, come on, that was fun. Admit it. You know you liked it.
There exists no way of exchanging information without making judgments. --Bene Gesserit Axiom
Uhm, we're talking about software here, not ads.
I would tend to agree that advertising is a bit different. But even so: If you were to go out on the street and ask 100 people for their advertising ideas, you'd get 99 crappy ideas and maybe one which could be developed into something. That's why people pay you money: You are probably a person who can come up with good ideas.
Now lets go back to this contest. Imagine it was a contest for an ad. Your agency runs a contest asking people to send in ideas for an ad. How do you react to some random non-ad person on the street telling you that he's not going to tell you his idea because it's worth too much? The simple fact is that his idea is utterly worthless, and not only because it's probably crap, but because he can't do anything with it. What's he going to do, run his own ads? His idea is worthless regardless of the quality of the idea.
No, they don't. People with ideas die bitter because they never did anything with their ideas. People with ideas who are capable of doing something with their ideas and who are lucky enough to actually have a good idea and do the right thing with that idea change the world.
That is simply not true.
I'm a programmer. I have a drawer full of ideas for apps at home. About once every two weeks some random person who heard from a friend of a friend that I sometimes do small projects calls me because they have a great idea. Everyone has great ideas. Sometimes I have the time to do a few projects (most recently a portal for car pictures which has turned into the biggest car portal in Switzerland, although success is the exception, not the rule when implementing such ideas), but most often I don't. Everyone has ideas, but only very few people are capable of doing something with these ideas, and since these people have ideas of their own (which they probably consider to be better than everyone else's ideas), they are not very likely to implement everyone else's ideas.
Again, your idea is worthless unless you're capable of doing something with it, and chances are you're not. Most people's ideas are going to die with them.
...since there is a similar percentage of Americans and Macs in the world.
How about software to help me find a date.
seriously, they make Ipods/itunes, just add more DRM into it, make it spy on the myspace account of the person, and find me someone compatible. quick!
all i want is:
Someone who looks good,
someone who wil cook/clean
someone who will love me for me
someone who doesnt care im a nerd who earns an okay amount of money
well one out of 4 aint bad
Is Woz playing Simon, or is he going to be Paula Abdul?
AI style:
Randy Wozniak: "C'mon dawg! S'da right language selection, needs to be a bit optimized here but its ok."
Steven Abdul: "You have great potential and your code just moves me. The UI looks fabulous! Just keep shining, win or not, you're l337!"
Steve Cowell: "Appalling, simply appalling. Dreadful. It's a no."
I'm a big Mac fan myself these days, but I still got a laugh out of the original post.
Nonetheless, yeah - you make a great point. Windows users seem to think they've made the Mac irrelevant for graphic-artist type work because "all the apps" are available in Windows versions as well as native Mac versions these days.
To an extent, that's true - but it's usually the underlying OS-related issues that keep artists on a Mac. EG. An OS-wide color matching system integrated into MacOS, vs. loading application-specific stuff like "Kodak Colorwatch" software or what-not for Windows apps. Or maybe they're used to the Mac's way of doing font management?
But if your work crosses over into web design, the Mac has Windows beat hands-down in some areas. Look at something like Rapidweaver, for example. Windows simply has nothing that can crank out WYSIWYG pages with decent-looking templates included as starting points, and the ability to add on powerful plug-in modules too. Instead, it has garbage like MS FrontPage.
Now, I know this goes against the prevailing wisdumb, but ...
Whats wrong with this? If the person decides to enter this contest, they do so knowing that Apple will be taking their app and 'taking it and running with it'... so whats bad about this?
I know we're supposed to be against anyone doing anything thats not open around here - fine and dandy, but I'm sure there are some people out there that would love the
a) exposure (great resume fodder)
b) prize
c) coolness of having their app included in MacOS
So whats so bad about this? It's not like Apple is saying 'hey, you give us this idea, and we'll give it to the community' then turning around and taking it and not giving back. They're doing exactly what they say they will.
There is nothing wrong with a company wanting to make money, and make it off good ideas. To me, thats much better than making money off of bad ideas.
But hey, I don't toe the party line that well, so I could be completly wrong here.
We emerge from our mother's womb an unformatted diskette; our culture formats us. - Douglas Coupland
Mac entrepreneur Phill Ryu today launched My Dream App. He then shouted "SHORYUKEN!" and shot a fireball at John Blanka.
I put the 't' in electrical engineering.
There's nothing inherently wrong with it, but I'm inclined to believe it will play into Apple's continuing obfuscation about "openness" in its products, development practices, and so on. It's a sore point among many that Apple (until fairly recently) traded on the "openness" of its kernel, only to close it once again.
I guess I'm allergic to the Apple hype machine's emissions, is all.
shame it's for apple only :(
I have at least 3 projects I've been tossing around for a few years that i think the timing is right for.
Dean
Now implement that!
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
This is probably fairly high visibility stuff, so why not use it as a forum to push for anti-drm stuff.
Perhaps extending Front-Row to work on a Tivo, so i could stream my purchased itunes audio and video there.
There must be some good forward looking projects that would only be possible if apple loosened their grip.
Yes, if youre next big idea is a digital clock for your Mac's desktop, then you can realize it without being a programmer.
We're talking about ideas for new software applications here, not about AppleScripts that you use and then throw away. Even if you create your apps using Apple's Widget Studio (or whatever he heck it was called), you need to know how to program unless you're using one of Apple's templates. Not to mention that you're locked in Apple's Widget Sandbox, so good luck implementing your awesome ideas as widgets and AppleScripts.
No, they're not, and that's the whole point. There are constantly new apps coming out of the left field. Some of them from big vendors (Apple had a few in recent years: stuff like iPhoto, iMovie, Garage Band; Exposé could have been a shareware app if somebody outside of Apple had come up with the idea), some of them from smaller ones (again, check macupdate.com for tons of examples).
Hah, I'm glad I had no coffee in my mouth right now. So you're going to create account opening software using Mac OS X Widgets? You're going to destroy our workflow application with your clock widget based on Apple's templates? I'm telling you, I'm shaking in my booths.
And again, I must end this by saying that I'm not really sure what you're trying to say. We're discussing a competition where people can send ideas for new software applications. My argument was that non-programmers should send their ideas, because they're not going to make any money with these ideas anyway.
Your argument seems to be that first, yes they are going to make money because they can implement their ideas (no matter what they are) as widgets (because magically, you don't have to program if you want to implement your idea as a Widget). Second, nobody is going to make money with software because all the applications that ever need to exist already do exist. And third, programmers are going to make money after all because users are stupid, contradicting everything you just said. Oh, and fourth, Delicious Library is a useless piece of crap for vain people which, of course, has no real use whatsoever (I guess you never lent somebody a DVD, never got it back and forgot who the hell you gave it to, correct?)
Am I getting that right?
Isn't this already being done (at least in theory) for Web 2.0 stuff? Fergzample, at cambrianhouse.com.
No prizes, but royalties. They're looking for community coders, too, which I think is the limiting factor.
Still, an interesting idea. Dunno if it actually has any realworld promise, but an interesting idea.
Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani?
www.fogbound.net
Of course this had to come down to a platform war. Well you know what, my mother fucking dad can beat up your mother fucking dad on a mother fucking plane!
ender-iii
this also has all of jack to do with apple. they are in no way related to the contest other than it being the platform the app is developed for.
mmm, apple jack.
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