My Simplest App — Selector
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65CX0gNfKmg
Between work and being a dad, it’s hard to find the time to work on apps. But I hit on a super simple idea that I thought I might be able to do in a weekend (it actually ended up taking a few months) — make an app that just chooses someone. I wanted it for our boardgames group (in order to pick who goes first) but it could have other uses as well. Most importantly, I came up with what I considered an elegant way to do it:
- have everyone hold their finger on the iPhone
- start spinning and then select one of the touches
The nice thing is that you don’t need any instructions, or any options. It knows how many people to choose from based on how many people are touching it. And it knows when to start spinning as soon as someone touches it. So I coded it up and after some back and forth with Apple (which you can learn about in the video), it got accepted. Check it out on the iTunes Store!
September 21st, 2012 at 2:13 am
おめでとう！ ほんとうに素晴らしいです。
沢山の人が喜んで使ってくれると良いですね。
September 21st, 2012 at 7:19 am
As a bridge between your choose someone to go first app and your dice app, have you seen Go First Dice? http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/130357/go-first-dice
The dice aren’t that exciting but the math that shows they’ll give a no-tie result with even odds for each position is pretty cool.
September 21st, 2012 at 7:52 am
Ohh, those are neat dice. They remind me of non-transitive dice. But I’m not sure they’re always even odds. For three players, there are 20^3 = 8000 possibilities, which is not divisible by 3. So one person has an ever so slightly lower chance of going first… =)
And thanks, Mom! I’m glad you like the app.
September 25th, 2012 at 7:29 pm
Hey Mach. I wish my being a fan of yours (and your simple yet elegant apps) could make everyone else in the world a fan, too, but hey. You’re awesome. Your videos are always a pleasant surprise – wish I had an iPhone! Soon, soon…
September 26th, 2012 at 10:24 am
Thanks, Jesse! Your comment means even more to me than the $0.99 would have. =)