I am trying to create a service in this space. Basically I help you sort/search through all the resumes, obviously after knowing your requirements well enough.
If you are interested, send me an email at shail2@live.com. I can provide you with details.
Building an app store for ruby on rails apps. Just like any other app store, we will define some design guidelines and we will have apps submission and acceptance process. We will provide hosting and take between 15% to 30% from app revenues.
Obviously there are details which need to be ironed out.
Technology: RoR
Currently we are two guys, one purely technical and one purely business.
We have a MVP out. Checkout at http://hmpgr.com, Invite Code: HN
We are looking for 1 or 2 co-founders (mostly tech and partly business).
Current location: India (but we do not want to feel restricted by location)
The uniqueness is in terms of its simplicity and minimalistic nature. The apps which you mentioned are all great.
Running app is just an execution for the same requirements in the minimalistic sense. I agree it will not appeal to everyone, but I am trying to find out if there are any of us who likes such minimalistic apps.
I have approx. 500 links since I started using my own developed "Pins" app (couple of months ago). Check it out: http://hmpgr.com/apps/pins, Invite Code: HN
I will be releasing a developers kit very soon which will allow you to make such small apps for the Hmpgr platform. I will definitely let you know once I release that.
If you wish to contribute specifically to Running app, then let me know and I will send you required details as soon as I am done with developers kit.
I agree with what you said. Its what anyone would expect from an app like this.
Warning: what comes next is very opinionated :)
Let me put my perspective and I am aware its a bit different. And its a bit difficult to explain, so hear me out totally.
The point about exercising is all about staying healthy. Its about consistency with which you exercise.
Now let me give you an example where an automatic tracking was not helping me. An expense tracking app.
Now I am talking about actually improving my expensing habits and start saving for rainy day. There are lots of app which connect to your credit card and automatically know when you spent what and gives you pretty graphs. The problem with that most of the time it happens so automatically that it does not change your behavior. Changing spending habits requires those restrains which you put on yourself everytime you put your hands in the pocket for fetching your card.
Thats when I found that really tracking it myself (and not automatically by some third party) is the only way be aware of your expenses.
Same goes with exercising. Thats why this app only supports "yesterday" and "today" button. So its forces to record as soon as you ran. This forces a habit.
And I believe in habits.
I know its counter-intuitive and may be its just me. But thats what I am trying to verify :)
Thanks for the reply though. Loved it.
So I think my use of the word "automatically" was a bad one. I think I meant "super easy". For instance, when I step out the door, I open my Strava app, and I hit "Start Running", and then I start running. When I'm done, I hit "Finished" and it saves every stat it tracked about my run, and later after some processing, it tells me even more things, like whether this run was better than other runs or whether I ran a new route or whatever. The point being that I don't have to remember anything other than hitting "Start" and "Finish". For an app like yours, I have to go back to my computer or actually type a button in.
I read an article this morning -- I can't remember which one, sorry -- but the author basically suggested that any time you can eliminate typing on a mobile device, you should. If you can make everything tappable in a few seconds on a mobile device, you're golden.
That said, I think this particular activity is in need of new solutions -- not Yet Another Tracker.
Anyway, good luck. Hope this works out for you! Like you said, exercise is all about being healthy, so if this works for you, great! I'm purely offering advice from a business standpoint (as in, I would pay for this product if _____)
This app is mobile ready and can be "Added to Homescreen" for easy access.
My quest currently is to understand that do we really need all that details about the running (like paths, comparison with other runs etc.) because more data brings more complexity. I feel, in many cases, being simple is a feature in itself. Just my thought.
I am actually targeting that section of the users who want really simple apps.
For full-fledged requirement, I agree, MapMyRun, Runkeeper apps do the justice.
Thanks again for all the inputs. I really appreciate.
I am following the approach of putting minimal yet useful version out and then tailor according to early adopters. That way I will not end up cluttering it with things not needed.
Like for instance 3 exercises are ok, but if its goes more than that, I will have to develop a feature where you could hide an exercise you are not interested it (and may be add it later if needed).
But I will do it very soon. Best would be if you sign up and you would some to know immediately. Or follow us on twitter for updates @hmpgr.
BTW thanks for showing the interest. Would love to get more feedback if you find anything interesting to share about the app experience.
Why not allow users to add/remove their own exercises? They choose a name, and data they'd like to track for that exercise, such as distance, time, weight, reps. For example, they click Add Exercise, enter Squats as the name, and check the boxes for weight, and reps. Now, after their workout, they just click the Squats button under My Exercises, and enter the reps and weight they did for that day.
I am suggesting an approach rather than a source. Sources, as someone already said it, are far from rare.
I would say pick up a single system, say database (relational or document) or routing, OS, DNS, Web server, A compiler, Filesystem, NFS, etc. and study the hell out of it.
Once you know how to understand a particular system in depth, everything else will start falling in place.
We are in beta. Invite Code: HN
disclaimer: I am the developer behind it.