[phillryu]

Hey guys,

We just launched My Dream App, a sort of American Idol for software development. Basically, we're inviting people to submit their ideas for apps, and if they make it into the finalist rounds and get the user votes during elimination rounds, Jason Harris (ShapeShifter), Austin Sarner (AppZapper) and Martin Ott (SubEthaEdit) will produce each of the three winning ideas into full blown shareware apps. (With royalties for the winning contestants of course, not to mention a bunch of iPods and Macs as prizes for each finalist!)

We've worked really hard on this, and I invite you guys to check it out. One of the cooler parts of it is also the guest judges we've rounded up to give opinions each elimination round on the remaining ideas (40 guests total). I'm talking Mac and tech world celebrity judges, like Kevin Rose (Digg founder), David Pogue, Guy Kawasaki, even Steve Wozniak! Here's what Steve had to say:

"It's always fun when someone innovates in the computer world. My Dream App is doing that by turning software design and development on its head. It's going to be interesting to see how this all turns out"

Looking forward to what you think.

[Obi Wan's Ghost]

What about if I don't have a patent or copyright on my idea?

[demograph68]

Are we limited to how many ideas we can submit?

[rickey939]

Originally Posted by demograph68

Are we limited to how many ideas we can submit?

Nope.

[turtle777]

Cool idea.

I want software that makes coffee and breakfast, brewes beer and cleans the kitchen.
I'm sure it will win.

-t

[rickey939]

Originally Posted by Obi Wan's Ghost

What about if I don't have a patent or copyright on my idea?

Haha.®

[demograph68]

"Please shorten your Idea to under 500 characters."

This limit really sucks.

[Obi Wan's Ghost]

Honest I have a great idea. REALLY revolutionary. I was either thinking of going down the GPL route or private route with patents and copyright. This competition is cool but I don't like the sound of the contract on the site. It's basically saying I get paid 15% but if someone steals my idea I can go and suck on my ass.

[Obi Wan's Ghost]

Originally Posted by demograph68

"Please shorten your Idea to under 500 characters."

This limit really sucks.

Exactly. And what about illustrations?

[rickey939]

Originally Posted by demograph68

"Please shorten your Idea to under 500 characters."

This limit really sucks.

My Dream App / 500 character (w/ spaces) MAXIMUM in app description!?

Amen!

[Landos Mustache]

What percentage doesn't the person who submits the idea get?

I'd hate to come up with something wicked that makes $500,000 and get 5% of sales plus an iPod.

[mitchell_pgh]

I feel like most of my application ideas really could simply be rolled into other applications... so I wonder if I should even bother submitting?

PS. GREAT idea.

[Obi Wan's Ghost]

Originally Posted by Landos Mustache

What percentage doesn't the person who submits the idea get?

I'd hate to come up with something wicked that makes $500,000 and get 5% of sales plus an iPod.

15% and a 1.83ghz MacBook

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally Posted by Obi Wan's Ghost

15% and a 1.83ghz MacBook

That seems rather fair IMHO.

[Landos Mustache]

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

That seems rather fair IMHO.

AppZapper sold at least $500,000 in sales and that was months ago.

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally Posted by Landos Mustache

AppZapper sold at least $500,000 in sales and that was months ago.

You don't think 15% is fair?

I think it's fair considering:
1) you don't need to know how to code
2) you don't need a dime to invest
3) There is zero risk to you.
4) You don't have to manage anything
5) There is no guarantee this application will make a dime

All you need is an idea.

[Landos Mustache]

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

You don't think 15% is fair?

I haven't really decided yet.

It may be smarter to find a developer and make an agreement where you each don't have to spend money just time and you share the profits 50/50.

[Chuckit]

Good luck finding a developer who is willing to give you 50 percent of his profits in return for not more than an idea. Most would consider that a bit of a gyp, I think. In my opinion, a MacBook + 15% of the profits is a completely fair deal.

[ambush]

I was offered a developer role, but didn't want to get involved.

It's a really great idea though and good luck to everyone.

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally Posted by Landos Mustache

I haven't really decided yet.

It may be smarter to find a developer and make an agreement where you each don't have to spend money just time and you share the profits 50/50.

I guess if you have a fantastic idea, it would be, but it's a BIG investment in time searching for a designer, convincing them this is a good idea, etc. etc.

This is rather simple... 500 words and your are done.

[Silky Voice of The Gorn]

The contest basically assumes this will be a pretty Cocoa app, but I wonder if other frameworks are in the running, like a Rails app?

Oh, and for people whining about 15%, give me a break. That's a potentially NICE slice of a pie, considering yer not writing a single frikkin' line of code, not to mention a free MacBook.

[Chuckit]

I don't think the implementation is relevant — that's their side of things. It doesn't sound like they're talking about Web sites, though, so it's not likely they'd use Rails.

[Obi Wan's Ghost]

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

That seems rather fair IMHO.

There is the chance even if a great app comes out of it that it doesn't sell well or gets pirated the hell out of it and you get like $150 and a laptop. Business is always a gamble and getting your original idea in the right hands is a gamble too. These guys might be great coders but whats their distribution like? Will publicity pay off? Would it be better to patent the idea and try to sell it to a big software company instead? I mean in business anything can happen. Snakes on a Plane had huge internet hype but did $10 million less at the box office than expected. The power is all in the hands of customers at the end of the day. They can make you or break you. So many choose to buy Dells and eat at McDonalds so........its so hard to tell

[Chuckit]

Hey, if you plan to start your own development company, don't give these guys your idea. If you just have an app you'd like to see made, this contest is for you. My wager is that most people here who have not started their own development company already do not plan to do so.

[torsoboy]

I think one of the biggest advantages here is the HUGE amounts of publicity that your app would have. You would probably only sell 15% or less of the same app if you did it on your own as compared to if these guys did it for you. They have the whole world (well, lots of people anyway) waiting for the aps that they make, regardless of what they are or what they do.

It's most likely that most developers and idea people suck at sales and marketting, so even if you have the best app on the planet (whatever that means), you probably wont get jack because nobody else will know about it.

So basically, I agree that 15% is a good amount for 0 time invested in the development and marketting of the product.

Oh, and 500 characters is a crappy limit. Seems like 1000 would help get your idea down quite a bit better.

[rickey939]

It appears that everybody is posting their entire application ideas and comments in the MDA Forums after submitting their 500 character proposal...

My Dream App / My Dream App Discussion

[Landos Mustache]

Originally Posted by rickey939

It appears that everybody is posting their entire application ideas and comments in the MDA Forums after submitting their 500 character proposal...

My Dream App / My Dream App Discussion

What a bunch of ****ing geniuses.

If their idea's are equally brilliant I feel sorry for the people reading through the results.

[Landos Mustache]

"What's one of the greatest features of OS X? It's appearnece. Well, with MyGUI, not only can you change the Finder's appearnece withpout affecting the rest of OS X, you can also choose to chamge certain parts"

They are in for a ride.

[MaxPower2k3]

Originally Posted by MyGUI

not only can you change the Finder's appearnece withpout...

I prefer to change my Finder's appearnece with a smile

[Chuckit]

I hate the Finder's crappy appearnence. Chamge it immediately.

[davesimondotcom]

My dream app is the finder, re-done with some new features that are really impressive.

Other than that, it would be cool to have a single browser that can imitate all the other relevent browsers behaviors for testing HTML/CSS. Perhaps implemented as a Firefox plugin?

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by davesimondotcom

My dream app is the finder, re-done with some new features that are really impressive.

Already done?

[davesimondotcom]

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Already done?

I've used PathFinder on and off for a while now, but I wish that Apple would put some of those kind of features in the real finder.

That said, I often find PathFinder like using a sledgehammer to put a nail in a wall for hanging a picture. Too powerful. Too much. Too complex.

[loki74]

My dream app would be a 3D animation/artistic simulation app that balances technical aspects (which offer fine tuning, optimization, and unprecedented control) with artistic aspects (so that users have artistic control over simulations/animations, and don't need to know calculus to understand what the app is telling them).

Examples of technical aspects--
Ability to re-order Euler rotations, to fix gimbal lock w/o quaternions
Dynamics that allow you to intuitively and easily "build" simulation calculations
Ability to keyframe nearly everything

Examples of artistic aspects--
Ability to control and direct simulations (that is, keyframes in simulations)
Ease of use and self explainatory-ness of most systems
Highly mutable, pretty looking, UI ...with full antialiasing, even in 3D viewports



Tall order, and very very very limited market... but hey I think I might just submit it anyway.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by phillryu

We just launched My Dream App, a sort of American Idol for software development.

*cough*

There's Idol in the rest of the world too you know.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - -

*cough*

There's Idol in the rest of the world too you know.

Yeah, but only whatever country had that ugly plumber guy is better than ours.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Yeah, but only whatever country had that ugly plumber guy is better than ours.

That would be us

I seem to recall one sore ass loser running off after the show without even congratulating the winner. Heh.

[demograph68]

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

You don't think 15% is fair?

"THE ONLY ROYALTIES WINNERS ARE ENTITLED TO ARE FIFTEEN (15) PERCENT OF THE NET INCOME OF THE APPLE MACINTOSH-COMPATIBLE VERSION OF THE PRODUCT "

Of course, this didn't stop me from submitting my own mediocre idea....

[demograph68]

Originally Posted by Landos Mustache

What a bunch of ****ing geniuses.

If their idea's are equally brilliant I feel sorry for the people reading through the results.

Microsoft?

[- - e r i k - -]

I like this concept: CatFood

[Naaaaak]

Originally Posted by demograph68

"THE ONLY ROYALTIES WINNERS ARE ENTITLED TO ARE FIFTEEN (15) PERCENT OF THE NET INCOME OF THE APPLE MACINTOSH-COMPATIBLE VERSION OF THE PRODUCT "

Of course, this didn't stop me from submitting my own mediocre idea....

Yeah, they pretty much leave the door open for full income from any other versions. While 15% royalties seem great considering the submitter is not doing any of the actual development work, it's crappy for the submitter to be excluded from development on other OSes.

I wonder how an inevitable Windows knockoff or open source clone will be handled.

[Naaaaak]

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

You don't think 15% is fair?

I think it's fair considering:
1) you don't need to know how to code
2) you don't need a dime to invest
4) You don't have to manage anything
5) There is no guarantee this application will make a dime

I agree. The contest is targeted to people who have no or few programming talents but probably a knack for design or mockups with nothing to lose. If you have a really good idea and want more than 15%, learn to program and make it yourself. Or get a team together and work on it. MDA is mostly for those who want an app to come together but don't have the time or resources to pull it off. Mass market appeal in this case is key, but it kind of sucks you give up any profits from any non-Mac versions that might arise, no matter how "Mac only" MDA claims to be.

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

3) There is zero risk to you.

I'm not so sure about this. The agreement says:

Originally Posted by My Dream App Rules

7. Ownership of Submissions. (I) When You send MDA your submission, You are assigning MDA all rights and interests – including all intellectual property rights – in the Submission, and MDA shall be the absolute owner of all rights and interests therein ...
13. ... IN NO EVENT SHALL MDA OR ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AGENTS, SHAREHOLDERS OR SUCCESSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOSSES, EXPENSES, CLAIMS OR LIABILITY WHATSOEVER ... THE ENTIRE LIABILITY OF MDA FOR DIRECT LOSS SUFFERED BY YOU IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY SUBMISSION BY YOU, AND YOUR EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, SHALL BE LIMITED TO PAYMENT OF ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100.00) BY MDA TO YOU.

MDA claims complete ownership of your idea, makes the app, sells the app, claims 85% income, and says they shall not be liable for anything. The non-liability claim is pretty standard, but in this case it does not extend to the idea submitter. That seems standard as well, as does their disclaimer for any loss in connection to the submitter.

However, should some litigious jerkstore want to cash in on a successful app that comes from this, I see a lot of potential problems. If MDA is sued because someone claims your idea infringes on theirs, does MDA basically say "well, this guy had the idea and signed over his rights, so you need to go after him?" Like "No officer, I'm not guilty. I shot that man, but it was HIS idea so he should be arrested" pointing to you? Or will you just be dragged into a court case as part of the defense?

If MDA is sued for some other reason and if things go sour, the rules give you very limited protections. If you sue them, you'd get $100 per the agreement. That's not the case the other way around. Then again if MDA and idea submitters are suing eachother, chances are both will be devastated and the app will be pulled.

I can see MDA wants to protect themselves from litigation, from both the non-idea submitters who think they have a claim and potentially shady idea submitters who might want more than 15% should the app really take off. But there is still risk to the idea submitter should something go wrong.

[rickey939]

The character limit has been increased to 800 w/ spaces.

[Landos Mustache]

"7. Ownership of Submissions. (I) When You send MDA your submission, You are assigning MDA all rights and interests – including all intellectual property rights – in the Submission, and MDA shall be the absolute owner of all rights and interests therein ."

Does that mean that even if they don't CHOOSE your app immediately they can still at a later date develop it on their own because once you submit it it is their property?

[Dakar]

Originally Posted by Landos Mustache

"7. Ownership of Submissions. (I) When You send MDA your submission, You are assigning MDA all rights and interests – including all intellectual property rights – in the Submission, and MDA shall be the absolute owner of all rights and interests therein ."

Does that mean that even if they don't CHOOSE your app immediately they can still at a later date develop it on their own because once you submit it it is their property?

Yuuup

[Landos Mustache]

Originally Posted by Dakar

Yuuup

Not sexy.

[Adam Betts]

Originally Posted by Landos Mustache

Does that mean that even if they don't CHOOSE your app immediately they can still at a later date develop it on their own because once you submit it it is their property?

Originally Posted by Dakar

Yuuup

Nope, in FALQ:

"After I submit an idea for an app, who owns it?

My Dream App owns your idea up until you are eliminated from the contest. So if your idea doesn’t make the cut for the 24 finalists, then all rights to your idea will be released back to you. If you become a finalist but are eliminated at some point during the remainder of the competition, then ownership of your idea is yours."

[Landos Mustache]

Originally Posted by Adam Betts

Nope, in FALQ:

"After I submit an idea for an app, who owns it?

My Dream App owns your idea up until you are eliminated from the contest. So if your idea doesn’t make the cut for the 24 finalists, then all rights to your idea will be released back to you. If you become a finalist but are eliminated at some point during the remainder of the competition, then ownership of your idea is yours."

That's better.

So many jobs i have been at they had in the contract that anything I invent on my own time becomes their property. Ya right, I make them take that out.

[torsoboy]

Originally Posted by demograph68

"THE ONLY ROYALTIES WINNERS ARE ENTITLED TO ARE FIFTEEN (15) PERCENT OF THE NET INCOME OF THE APPLE MACINTOSH-COMPATIBLE VERSION OF THE PRODUCT "

Of course, this didn't stop me from submitting my own mediocre idea....

That sucks. I changed my mind about this contest. Two things suck about this... 1) they said NET INCOME instead of GROSS INCOME, meaning that they can claim it cost 1 million to develop and $50k a month to host, and you end up with nothing even if it makes 1.5 million the first year; 2) They own the rights to the idea, but you only get paid for the Macintosh-compatible version. Yeah, I will be staying away from that "contest" of who can make them the most money.

[Dakar]

I stand corrected. Good on them.