Progress: Barcode check-in app

I made some progress on my barcode scanner app for GVCC last night. After screwing around for 2 hours trying to compile zxing in Eclipse, I gave up and used the "cheap" way and just used the barcode scanner through Intents. What a difference! Used/modified the example code snippet that zxing posted on their website, and within 10 minutes I was scanning barcodes and displaying the results on the screen.

Now I just have to finish up by writing those scanned codes into a file and allowing the user to email the file to a configured email address once all of the scans are completed. I tried messing with the file system, but I don't think I have the permissions set right, or maybe I'm just not saving the file to the correct location. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out, but I just need to get in there and figure out why it's not working.

App idea: Simple gvcc check-in

This is probably the app that I will start with. Should just be a simple app that uses the camera to scan barcodes and saves them to a file. After everyone has checked in, just press a button to email the file to Todd.

I like this idea for a first attempt at Android development, since it utilizes an external component, helps me be come familiar with using intents to switch between activities, and has most of the basic components of an app (permissions, menus, etc).

App idea: NFL Mock Draft Creator / Analyzer

Social media is powerful. Not from an 'inspiration' standpoint, but from a data and statistics standpoint. Think about how many different websites you've posted your opinions on, and how many other people have done the same thing. Hell, I'm doing it right now!

After reading through a bunch of different NFL-related websites that I regularly visit, I realized that many of the people who were posting their opinions had to post the same opinion over and over again on different sites. I got sick of the talking heads predicting that the Jaguars will take Ryan Kerrigan with their first round pick, and other Jaguars fans posting their opinions of why that wasn't a good pick. Obviously most people aren't draft experts, but during the period of time between the super bowl and the end of April, we like to think that we are. I've noticed a huge increase in the number of 'mock draft' websites and posts. Unfortunately, nobody is a superfan of all 32 NFL teams, so mock drafts are generally pretty myopic. People know which players they want their team to draft, or how they think their team will draft, but it is difficult to get input from other 'experts' from other teams.

I'm planning on writing an app that will address some of the things that I find lacking in many of the mock drafts out there. Here are some of the features that I would like to include.
- create mock drafts using a database of all eligible draft prospects.
- Up to date draft order, including compensatory picks.
- Rank player prospects on your own 'big board'.
- Rank player prospects based on different defensive or offensive schemes. (4-3 vs 3-4 defense, etc)
- Allow users to add a quantifiable reason for the picks that they made. 3 rankings would be used with a scale of agree -> disagree:
     - This pick fills a team need
     - This pick reflects a player that I think this teams tm would pick.
     - This pick is the best available player on the board
- Users could rank the picks on other users mock drafts
- The cumulative data would be used to provide insight into average player rankings, as well as how well this player fits the teams draft strategy.
- After the draft, the mocks could be compared to the actual draft results to determine who had the most accurate mock draft.

Think of it as a continuously updated fan ranking of your mock draft. Even if fan perception of a certain player is off, you could have a record of how accurate your mock draft was after the real draft.

I've realized that many of my apps involve running statistics on large datasets. I love the idea of using many peoples opinions to find a general consensus, and then being able to read everyone's reasons for their decision.

Thoughts dumping ground

I figured that I should create some kind of area where I can keep track of all of my development ideas, and maybe even get some feedback from anyone who cares about what I'm working on. Here we go!