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Amorya · Oct 25, 2006, 07:21 AM

There have been a few threads about the My Dream App contest, and the finals are currently under way. Out of the six remaining contestants, three will turn into apps.

My favourite app is Hijack. It is a web forum reading program, designed to aggregate all your boards so you can do things like smart folders (to find threads you might otherwise have missed), a nice interface with no hassling with HTML, easy formatting messages without learning BBCode, and uploading images to Flikr or FTP or whatever.

Training Mode video

Full Screen Mode video

In this final we are not explicitly told how well each app is doing. But I have it on good authority that Hijack is currently in fourth place, with 600 more votes needed to get it up to third and into the running. I really want this app to be made! Please, if you like the idea please help out and vote for Hijack!

Amorya

Adam Betts · Oct 25, 2006, 09:54 AM

Agreed, I still don't get it why Atmosphere is at #1. It's a 2-weeks-then-trash software. Sigh.

Oh one thing worth noting is it's better if you vote just for Hijack and not other two apps. You can spend one vote to give Hijack even greater advantage.

Peter · Oct 25, 2006, 10:00 AM

stil not convinced of Hijack.
But voted for it anyway

SSharon · Oct 25, 2006, 10:06 AM

I didn't read into it too much, but I voted for it because it genuinely does sound more interesting than the others.

HungrySeacow · Oct 25, 2006, 10:29 AM

Mmmmmm Hijack....

Chuckit · Oct 25, 2006, 10:34 AM

Hijack is the only one that would even be worth downloading to try out.

Amorya · Oct 25, 2006, 10:41 AM

Peter -- cheers! Hopefully if it gets made it may be able to convince you

If Hijack is red on the voting results page (as I'm 95% sure it is), there is now a gap of around 300 votes needed. That's half the gap as when I posted earlier!

Basically, I'm a bit annoyed that a glorified weather forcasting program (albeit with nice graphics, but still...) may win out over what IMO is a really innovative idea that I would use daily. I read way too many web forums as it is, and if I could aggregate them in a nice interface, including offline reading, instant spotlight search and the like, it would make the experience that much easier, more enjoyable, and (dare I say it?) more Mac like. That's why I want Hijack to win.

Thanks to all the voters.

Amorya

Nebagakid · Oct 25, 2006, 10:47 AM

save hijack

Weezer · Oct 25, 2006, 10:47 AM

Whistler! I'd love to play around with it, not sure its gonna make it though

Chuckit · Oct 25, 2006, 11:14 AM

Originally Posted by Weezer

Whistler! I'd love to play around with it, not sure its gonna make it though

What self-respecting Mac user would buy an app named after Windows XP?

Turias · Oct 25, 2006, 11:20 AM

Sorry, Amorya. Cookbook, Portal, and Whistler are my favorites. Although Hijack was a close runner-up. I just really hope that Atmosphere and Blossom don't win. They both seem so pointless.

Amorya · Oct 25, 2006, 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by Turias

Sorry, Amorya. Cookbook, Portal, and Whistler are my favorites. Although Hijack was a close runner-up. I just really hope that Atmosphere and Blossom don't win. They both seem so pointless.

I agree with you on the last bit. For me it was hijack, cookbook and whistler, with portal as a close runner up.

paul w · Oct 25, 2006, 11:25 AM

I voted for Hijack, it's been the app that's most consistantly received my vote since the beginning.

I like the idea of some of the other apps (whistler, atmosphere and cookbook), but at this stage you gotta vote for the app you want to win. Hijack it is.

I'm assuming some of these other ones will evenutally get made anyway.

ashiver · Oct 25, 2006, 11:26 AM

Hijack is the only idea in the competition currently that really seems like a 'Dream App' and not a gimmick. Just my opinion.

Be sure to Digg it if you support Hijack.

Turias · Oct 25, 2006, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by ashiver

Hijack is the only idea in the competition currently that really seems like a 'Dream App' and not a gimmick. Just my opinion.

Be sure to Digg it if you support Hijack.

Mmmm, after the digg-promotion-scandal a couple rounds ago, I'd rather not see another digg-flood of MyDreamApp contestants.

mdc · Oct 25, 2006, 02:39 PM

Hijack and Portal are the only two apps I'd really like to get made.
Hijack has its obvious reasons and if Portal could be made like the guy claims, it would be great. I don't know any easy way to keep two Macs synced nicely and easily. Portal claims this, and until the software proves otherwise, I believe hit.

Something tells me it's going to be Atmosphere, Cookbook, and Hijack. I really hope Portal gets in there and not Atmosphere, but unfortunately I can't see Atmosphere not being in the top 3. I don't see the glory of the app, but that's just me.

Adam Betts · Oct 25, 2006, 02:49 PM

Apple is highly likely working on a new version of iSync and it will make Portal useless. Just a FYI, Philip Schiller of Apple said he cannot become a MDA judge although he'd love to due to conflict of interest with some of the apps (a possible hint.)

138 votes left for Hijack to catch up.

Turias · Oct 25, 2006, 02:52 PM

When Apple creates a good syncing app that doesn't require a .Mac account, I will be amazed. I really hope they do, but I just have this feeling that they are going to screw the rest of us over.

Peter · Oct 25, 2006, 02:52 PM

Originally Posted by Turias

Mmmm, after the digg-promotion-scandal a couple rounds ago, I'd rather not see another digg-flood of MyDreamApp contestants.

??
sounds interesting

Turias · Oct 25, 2006, 02:55 PM

Originally Posted by Peter

??
sounds interesting

The information is kind of scattered, but you should be able to follow a lot of what happened through this post and the links it contains.

In the end, I think it is great if there is a Digg post talking about the contest and all of the entries, but posting stories trying to get people to vote for one particular app is getting into hazy territory.

kmkkid · Oct 25, 2006, 02:56 PM

I voted Hijack, Atmosphere and the recipe manager. I only voted atmosphere because it was my least hated of the rest. I like the portal app, but alas, I only own one mac, so it's of no use to me.

RAILhead · Oct 25, 2006, 03:09 PM

No Hijack for me. Blossom, Portal, Atmosphere.

Chuckit · Oct 25, 2006, 03:12 PM

I am amazed that people actually prefer a tamagotchi plant and a glorified weather widget to a revolutionary way to use the Web.

RAILhead · Oct 25, 2006, 04:11 PM

Maybe most of us don't visit enough forums to bother with Hijack?

Turias · Oct 25, 2006, 04:19 PM

Originally Posted by RAILhead

Maybe most of us don't visit enough forums to bother with Hijack?

This would be slightly more believable if you had less than 4.5 thousand posts.

I'd consider using Hijack even if I only frequented one set of forums.

Chuckit · Oct 25, 2006, 04:21 PM

Originally Posted by RAILhead

Maybe most of us don't visit enough forums to bother with Hijack?

But you…erm…stare at plants enough to bother with Blossom? Or have enough trouble pressing F12 to bother with Atmosphere?

I just don't see how anyone could find those things more useful. Ah well.

itai195 · Oct 25, 2006, 04:26 PM

Personally, I think they're all pretty useless. Most interesting are Hijack and Portal, but I think both will be unnecessary in a year or two with evolving technology. Atmosphere, Blossom, and Cookbook are not interesting to me at all. Whistler is definitely cool, but I don't think it's anything more than a neat demo.

kick52 · Oct 25, 2006, 04:28 PM

looks good.

..and so does atmosphere.. because i like rain...

Chuckit · Oct 25, 2006, 04:28 PM

Originally Posted by itai195

Personally, I think they're all pretty useless. Most interesting are Hijack and Portal, but I think both will be unnecessary in a year or two with evolving technology.

Technology will obsolete both Web forums and file synchronization within two years? That seems like a pretty bold prediction.

itai195 · Oct 25, 2006, 04:29 PM

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Technology will obsolete both Web forums and file synchronization within two years? That seems like a pretty bold prediction.

No, but I think the kind of functionality these two apps have will be built into other apps by then. I agree with Woz that if Hijack really is (a) feasible and (b) useful, the technology will just get built into Safari eventually. I could imagine a sort of beefed up RSS for web forums. Also, I'm extremely skeptical of any app that promises to replace or simplify what a web browser can accomplish.

Same with Portal and iSync.

Chuckit · Oct 25, 2006, 04:34 PM

Eh, I can't really agree with that. Any app might someday be done one better by somebody else. That doesn't mean you should just give up and wait for somebody else to do it.

itai195 · 05:07 PM

That's fine. I am in agreement regarding the value of doing what Hijack does, I just don't feel Hijack is the right implementation. That's not to say it's impossible, but I think it'll be extremely difficult to get it working well and reliably with the dom scraping approach. You know in your heart of hearts that this is true

It's a great idea and perhaps it deserves to win based on that alone.

kick52 · Oct 25, 2006, 04:42 PM

how are you going to get this to work?

you would need different plugins for different forums.. if they use different forum engines

OwlBoy · Oct 25, 2006, 04:48 PM

Originally Posted by kick52

how are you going to get this to work?

you would need different plugins for different forums.. if they use different forum engines

If you read the voter comments on the site you would see one developer feels it is very doable, and that people who say it is impossible are being silly.
Vote Hijack!

-Owl

Adam Betts · Oct 25, 2006, 04:58 PM

Originally Posted by kick52

how are you going to get this to work?

you would need different plugins for different forums.. if they use different forum engines

It's already been discussed heavily at forum but here's a movie demonstrating the power of Hijack with different forum:

http://goodcomics.com/mda/hijack_training_h264.mov

It's very doable. One other app (which I can't mention yet) I'm beta-testing is doing almost the same thing and I believe in this.

RAILhead · Oct 25, 2006, 05:02 PM

Don't hear what I'm not saying: I think all the ideas suck. I'm just picking the ones that would seem to suck the least for my workspace.

Amorya · Oct 25, 2006, 05:38 PM

Hijack's into third place!

If it stays there, it'll be one of the winners. But it's only four votes ahead of the app it just overtook, so please keep voting everyone!

Amorya

itai195 · Oct 25, 2006, 05:40 PM

How can you tell? When i voted, the results were obscured. BTW, I did vote for Hijack... It is at least the best idea there, if not IMO a great implementation. Voted for Hijack, Whistler, and Cookbook, with the last one being a hohum idea but a nice implementation would make it something I'd buy.

TheoCryst · Oct 25, 2006, 05:46 PM

I voted for Hijack, Cookbook, and Atmosphere. They just seemed to suck the least out of my available options. As this is the only forum I frequent, Hijack wouldn't be all that useful for me. Atmosphere seems nifty, but altogether useless. And Cookbook... well, I've always wanted to learn how to cook.

Amorya · Oct 25, 2006, 05:47 PM

Originally Posted by itai195

How can you tell? When i voted, the results were obscured. BTW, I did vote for Hijack... It is at least the best idea there, if not IMO a great implementation. Voted for Hijack, Whistler, and Cookbook, with the last one being a hohum idea but a nice implementation would make it something I'd buy.

We figured out the colours. Hijack is red. It's just overtaken Portal (purple), and is a little behind Cookbook (blue). It involved watching someone vote for just one app, and refreshing immediately and seeing which app got the vote. Quite a few people tried it and agreed so it's pretty sound evidence.

There's also another method someone used, involving a clue from the devs and some horrible equation, but I haven't looked into that one.

I voted for the same as you. Shame Whistler is not really in the running (yellow).

Amorya

Turias · Oct 25, 2006, 05:51 PM

Cookbook is my number 1 choice. I hope all of you crazies don't push it off to number 4.

Atheist · Oct 25, 2006, 05:53 PM

I voted for Hijack even though I'm not sure I'd ever use it. For me the benefit of voting was a free copy of Overflow. My 30 day trial expired today and I was considering shelling out the $15 bucks.

Me = Happy

Amorya · Oct 25, 2006, 05:57 PM

Originally Posted by Turias

Cookbook is my number 1 choice. I hope all of you crazies don't push it off to number 4.

My number two choice. I hope it doesn't drop as well.

Originally Posted by Atheist

I voted for Hijack even though I'm not sure I'd ever use it. For me the benefit of voting was a free copy of Overflow. My 30 day trial expired today and I was considering shelling out the $15 bucks.

Me = Happy

Cheers for putting your vote towards Hijack. You may find you use it when it's made... I know you visit at least one forum

shadownight · Oct 25, 2006, 06:00 PM

Wow, now only 1 hour to go, and 2nd, 3rd and 4th positions are going head to head. Hijack is now in safe 3rd place, so iff you haven't voted yet, one other of my favorites is Portal: it lets you keep 2 or more Macs completely in sync, depending on your criteria: you can sync apps and apps settings, system settings, documents and folders, and all of that throught a really cool interface. The contestant has even come up with cool wormhole animations for syncing. Check out this full-size summary image with awesome mock-ups. And vote here!

rickey939 · Oct 25, 2006, 10:35 PM

Hijack took 1st runner up...sorry!

Third runner up: Dan Lundmark, Blossom, with 3868 votes (11.32%)
Second runner up: Richard Whitelock, Whistler, with 5401 votes (15.81%)
First runner up: Kevin Capizzi, Hijack, with 6104 votes (17.86%)

And the winners! These apps have fought their way through five grueling rounds of eliminations and the public has voted them the most compelling, most interesting, and most wanted.

Each of our winners will receive a MacBook and 15% royalties on their applications.

Third Place: Michael Yuan, Cookbook, with 6109 votes (17.88%)
Second Place: Farzad Sadjadi, Portal, with 6122 votes (17.92%)
First Place: Cameron Westland, Atmosphere, with 6566 votes (19.22%)

Chuckit · 10:48 PM

WTF? The weather widget won! Good grief, I should have entered an idea for an app launcher that lines all your icons up in a row and they get bigger when you mouse over them.

itai195 · Oct 25, 2006, 10:55 PM

People are obsessed with fancy weather thingies... I dunno.

Now, how about someone make a good banking app? Quicken for Mac stinks.

11011001 · Oct 25, 2006, 10:58 PM

Well, that sucks. None of the Apps I liked made it.

I particularly didn't want the Cookbook to win. I hate cooking

My favorite was blossom.

Chuckit · Oct 25, 2006, 10:58 PM

I don't even read the weather prediction in the newspaper. Either the forecast is wrong or it's so close that I can just look out the window.

itai195 · Oct 25, 2006, 10:59 PM

Well to be fair, we live in CA... we don't really have weather