Posts Tagged software development

Comments on comments and an upadate to WordFlash!

Got a good comment the other day and I was so impressed I took the time tonight to add mudixon’s suggestion to WordFlash. Here is the comment as I found it listed on 2nd grade app.

Could use one feature
by mudixon – Version 1.3.1 – May 15, 2010
This app is okay for what it does, but it would be better if you could turn off the word announce BUT allow the child to press a button to say the word if they are unsure of it. As of this review, the word announce is either on or off.

I thought that was fantastic! A review that is useful and intelligent with a valid suggestion that is meaningful and worth taking action on.

Recently I have found myself in many conversations regarding comments and ratings of iTunes apps. I always try to explain to people why they are basically useless. So many of the comments that are seen in iTunes are negative rants that add up to basically nothing informative. Cost’s too much, not enough features, to easy, yata yata yata… Well folks what do you really expect for a product that cost less then an average cup of coffee? 2 dollars for an application that may have taken me several weeks to develop seems to me to be a fair deal to me, given that most apps do not hit the charts and do not score the 100,000’s of downloads that make the headlines. Who says you have to buy our apps anyway? It’s your choice, just like that cup of joe, or a couple of cans of pop. Yet, after spending that buck or too, people feel totally and completely compelled to tear down the developer, the app or anything else they can wrap words around.  Not fair given the fact that we have no way to directly respond to the reviewer.

Anyway, enough with my little editorial. Hope you like the new feature.

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DirtMovers – Construction Counting

DirtMovers - Construction CountingIt’s Done! (Well Almost)

After 3 months of off and on development work, RatCat Software’s newest iPhone App DirtMovers – Construction Counting has been uploaded to Apple for review and approval.

Construction Counting is an action packed construction yard playground for your preschool aged kids that gives them multiple opportunities to learn numbers 1 to 10.

There is the excavator that announces the number and displays a new pile each time it takes a swipe of dirt.

Then there is bulldozer pile up, where you child pushes the desired number of piles of rocks then chooses when to check his answer to see if he is correct.

The dump truck fill up is where your child is instructed to load the dump truck to a desired amount, then the answer is checked when the dump truck pulls away.

There is the tap and count game where your child taps a number then watches the screen as that amount of items appears with real voice counting to follow along with.

For the more advanced counting fun, there is the count and tap game, where your child is instructed to count the number of dirt movers on the screen and tap the correct answer.

Features:
• Real Voice Counting
• Realistic Construction Site Sounds
• Illustrations by Cartoonist Robert Salanitro
• Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later

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Our first negative comment posted today

So how does one respond to their first negative comment?

Don’t get
by crazymama3 on Aug 3, 2009 Version 1.0.1
Doest attract kids because no pictures and voice kind of wierd

Even if we could directly respond (which we can’t), should we? I believe that criticism is a good thing, it means that someone cared enough to let us know what they thought. Be it good or bad. I have thick skin, If someone thinks my voice is kinda weird, so be it. As for the app having pictures?? Not sure I follow that one, its an ABC Matching and Memory game, not a Picture matching/memory game. So this piece of the comment leaves me a bit puzzled.  I wish the forum that apple provided was not one way. It would be nice to be able to ask some additional questions of crazymama3 and find out what improvements she would suggest that would make the Meghan’s ABC123 an app she would provide a 5 star “Have to have” endorsement. So, a brief note to crazymama3, if you read this post, please take the time to use our Contact Us form and give us some more detail to work with.

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Updated Meghan’s Memory Games now available

Meghan's Memory Game Preschool

Meghan's Memory Game Kindergarten

Meghan's Memory Game First Grade

RatCat Software is excited to announce that the latest version of Meghan’s Memory Games for the iPhone and iPod touch is available in the iTunes Apps store. This version currently available in Preschool, Kindergarten and First Grade edtions is certified for use with iPhone OS 3 and backwards compatible with OS 2. In this version we added an optional timed display of words prior to the start of the game. This new feature, as covered in a previous blog post, provides your child an opportunity to memorize locations prior to match play. The goal is to enhance memory, increase awareness and concentration skills.

Interesting observations for iPhone developers: these apps were uploaded on June 10th and took fifteen days for approval. Prior updates had only taken six days.  It would appear that apple is doing some new OS 3 compatibility checks or that there is some lag time with a rush of new apps that had been waiting for the new OS to be released.  Something else to note is that iTunes now indicates (iPhone OS 3.0 Tested) alongside of the version listing . I wonder if that indication will have a negative affect on two other editions of Meghan’s Memory Game (2nd and 3rd grade) which have been in-house tested for OS 3 compatibility but have not been released since the OS 3 hit the store.

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Updated our subscription options

Picture 4This morning I added Feedburner to our blog. This service from Google allows us to provide RSS and Email subscriptions of our updates.  This way, if my sister wants to read the blog via her Google reader, she’s covered, and if my Mom wants to see whats up, she can subscribe to the email notifications  and be notified when a new blog entry has been posted. Wordpress by default offers RSS feeds however Feedburner takes it to a whole new level. If you want to read more information about Feedburner it is available here on Feedburners site. Like the Google Analytics installed yesterday, Feedburner was very easy to setup and add to the site. You start by creating an account (which authenticates with a gmail account), adding your current feed url and shazam Feedburner creates a new url for you to begin using on your site immediately.

To make the feeds easy to sign up for I  also added a Wordpress plug-in called “Subscription Options” from a site called Digital Cortex.
This plug-in creates three buttons that link to each of the available feed options, RSS, Email and Twitter.

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