Simon, I would love to have an app to view and add entries of my collection Keep up the good work.
Brian......
Simon, I would love to have an app to view and add entries of my collection Keep up the good work.
Brian......
I still have a flip phone with NO camera!
Yes. Whether it will have iPad specific features is TBD.
As stated in the 1st post, Windows Phone 8 and Blackberry versions are almost certainly not going to happen, it's just too much work for 1 person.
It's the equivalent of writing a Novel in German, then writing it again in Italian, ensuring the grammar and flow of the story are correct for a native speaker to read it, then doing it again in French and once more in Japanese...
I know there are members who would like to see Android first, but in all honesty it will slow me down. I can work MUCH quicker in iOS and iron out all the design and functionality on that platform and then have a good solid foundation to transpose it into Android.
I'm still considering the "write once, deploy many" approach to build the prototype and get user testing and feedback - this will be the fastest development route as it is the one I am most familiar with, but it will have limitations.
"A real limited edition, far from being an expensive autograph stapled to a novel, is a treasure. And like all treasures do, it transforms the responsible owner into a caretaker, and being a caretaker of something as fragile and easily destroyed as ideas and images is not a bad thing but a good one...and so is the re-evaluation of what books are and what they do that necessarily follows." - Stephen King
I like it!
Since some of the books have multiple states of the 1st/1st there should be some way to indicate this.
"One day you're going to figure out that everything they taught you was a lie."
I was kidding when asking for android first or simultaneously. If it's quicker, do the ios first, then android adaptation.
"A real limited edition, far from being an expensive autograph stapled to a novel, is a treasure. And like all treasures do, it transforms the responsible owner into a caretaker, and being a caretaker of something as fragile and easily destroyed as ideas and images is not a bad thing but a good one...and so is the re-evaluation of what books are and what they do that necessarily follows." - Stephen King
I think pricing will be very useful. It helps with buying decisions and perhaps to "value" your collection.
For sources, I'd say initially:
- eBay completed sales
- Abe (but I think this will have to be for sale prices as I don't think you can see completed sales on Abe).
- User generated (What do the 'experts' value the book at. Especially rarer items that you may not see too much for sale. Would require users to take the time to update pricing tables. For example, you may have your proof/ARC expert who could update a table with what they feel are fair current market prices.
- The Collector? I don't know where/how Thomas determines his pricing data, but I find myself frequently looking at his site for an idea on what's a fair price.
I believe Tomas updates his prices manually.
The current for sale items he gets from eBay and Abe. I've been looking into this and both have web API's that can be interrogated.
If Tomas is reading this, I'd love to get his input on this.
The more I think about it, the more I am leaning to having prices as v2 functionality. I think getting the main database and personal collection capability should be the extent of V1
"A real limited edition, far from being an expensive autograph stapled to a novel, is a treasure. And like all treasures do, it transforms the responsible owner into a caretaker, and being a caretaker of something as fragile and easily destroyed as ideas and images is not a bad thing but a good one...and so is the re-evaluation of what books are and what they do that necessarily follows." - Stephen King
This is a GREAT idea! I have been needing something just like this. For me I would use this most while out checking second hand book stores, thrift stores, etc. So having information on different states of dust jackets or release info on variations would be SOO helpful. For example, if I'm in a book store and I find a Rose Madder first edition. I know that I already have a first edition but to have at my fingertips which variation I already have would be incredibly helpful. I, too have bought duplicates before and passed on books that I wished I had gotten because I just couldn't remember. So info on variations, dust jacket states (with pics for clarity), us & uk firsts would be appreciated. I have an iphone (I hate apple and steve jobs, but I get mine for free) so if you release this I will be snagging it up quickly. I don't know if you had this already, sorry if I missed it, but a small area for personal notes on each release might be nice. I know this is a big enough task as is, but having the option to add other authors that are popular with this crowd would be nice. Thank you!
Completed some more mockups tonight. First up is the splash screen. I have deliberately put ZERO effort into this as I'd like some designs from everyone else Feel free to change the app name to something better as well. Over to you! Bear in mind that the splash screen will need to be sizeable to cover a variety of screen sizes...
"A real limited edition, far from being an expensive autograph stapled to a novel, is a treasure. And like all treasures do, it transforms the responsible owner into a caretaker, and being a caretaker of something as fragile and easily destroyed as ideas and images is not a bad thing but a good one...and so is the re-evaluation of what books are and what they do that necessarily follows." - Stephen King
Perhaps, "Stephen King, My Collection"????? Looks great and now I want a "smart phone"!!! LOL LOL
28 in 23 (?)!!!!
63 in '23!!!!!!!!!!
My Collection: https://www.thedarktower.org/palaver...ion-Merlin1958
The Houston Astros cheated Major League Baseball from 2017-18!!!! Is that how we teach our kids to play the game now?????
This is the main list screen. By default it will show all books. Functionality:
- The top menu button will slide in a filter menu (see next screen).
- The check box shows you have a copy, a cross means you are missing this book in your collection and then we have an indicator if you have multiple copies (these icons will probably change)
- Obviously the list scrolls to see more books
- The bottom menu bar allows sorting (ascending or descending) currently I have by Title, By Year and by original price - more ideas for sorting appreciated.
"A real limited edition, far from being an expensive autograph stapled to a novel, is a treasure. And like all treasures do, it transforms the responsible owner into a caretaker, and being a caretaker of something as fragile and easily destroyed as ideas and images is not a bad thing but a good one...and so is the re-evaluation of what books are and what they do that necessarily follows." - Stephen King
This shows the result of pressing the top menu button - the menu slides in from the left.
Selecting an option allows the list to be filtered to books that match.
If no filters are selected - all books appear in the list
Filters are cumulative, so Selecting US Books, Limited Editions will show all US Limited Ediitons.
The bottom Icons are further filters based on your books, so you can filter by signed and For Sale, etc. again these filters are cumulative with the others. ("Show me all UK Signed books that I have for sale")
Note I have added an icon for "Remarqued"
"A real limited edition, far from being an expensive autograph stapled to a novel, is a treasure. And like all treasures do, it transforms the responsible owner into a caretaker, and being a caretaker of something as fragile and easily destroyed as ideas and images is not a bad thing but a good one...and so is the re-evaluation of what books are and what they do that necessarily follows." - Stephen King
"A real limited edition, far from being an expensive autograph stapled to a novel, is a treasure. And like all treasures do, it transforms the responsible owner into a caretaker, and being a caretaker of something as fragile and easily destroyed as ideas and images is not a bad thing but a good one...and so is the re-evaluation of what books are and what they do that necessarily follows." - Stephen King
I am obviously quite the neophyte on this subject, but is info regarding "How to identify a First Edition" included? If not, that may be worthwhile. Especially, if you find yourself in a used book store. Pardon my ignorance if this has already been covered. "Remarques" is a really nice touch.
28 in 23 (?)!!!!
63 in '23!!!!!!!!!!
My Collection: https://www.thedarktower.org/palaver...ion-Merlin1958
The Houston Astros cheated Major League Baseball from 2017-18!!!! Is that how we teach our kids to play the game now?????
Thats it for tonight - heading for bed...
"A real limited edition, far from being an expensive autograph stapled to a novel, is a treasure. And like all treasures do, it transforms the responsible owner into a caretaker, and being a caretaker of something as fragile and easily destroyed as ideas and images is not a bad thing but a good one...and so is the re-evaluation of what books are and what they do that necessarily follows." - Stephen King
"A real limited edition, far from being an expensive autograph stapled to a novel, is a treasure. And like all treasures do, it transforms the responsible owner into a caretaker, and being a caretaker of something as fragile and easily destroyed as ideas and images is not a bad thing but a good one...and so is the re-evaluation of what books are and what they do that necessarily follows." - Stephen King
hmm - just looking at those screenshots - the blue on the dark background looks bad - I'll probably make the icons white. Colour schemes are subject to change!!
"A real limited edition, far from being an expensive autograph stapled to a novel, is a treasure. And like all treasures do, it transforms the responsible owner into a caretaker, and being a caretaker of something as fragile and easily destroyed as ideas and images is not a bad thing but a good one...and so is the re-evaluation of what books are and what they do that necessarily follows." - Stephen King
28 in 23 (?)!!!!
63 in '23!!!!!!!!!!
My Collection: https://www.thedarktower.org/palaver...ion-Merlin1958
The Houston Astros cheated Major League Baseball from 2017-18!!!! Is that how we teach our kids to play the game now?????
Hey Simon. It's looking really sweet. Amazing work so far...
So you asked for some input on the splash screen design. I mocked this up this evening. Of course, just an idea, and open to hacking up or trashing... and the size is likely not correct but I can easily change to whatever size you need.
I had to squish the books a little to get them all in... but anyway, like I said, just an idea.
Edit: Of course, this limits the app to SK collecting only.
Simon, I really like how this is looking so far. Great work. It's inspiring me also to dump my DumbPhone and get a SmartPhone.
You may already have this implemented but I'd like to see the list search by books that are missing so if you're out looking you can quickly see by date or by title all the ones you still need.
Also, I see you spelled The Shining as The Shinning. Was that an honest mistake or a reference to The Simpsons?
Maybe include Other International Books as a category.
Edit: I tried to fit all the books.
Firstly - Love the name, I am going with this until the unlikely event that someone produces something better! It also has the added advantage of NOT being used as the title for another book. I like the font too - (Please confirm the font name you used - looks like Hoefler with enlarged capitals and a modified K)
I DO like the idea of the covers as the background, however I foresee it causing some issues.
1. I will need a splash screen for a multitude of different devices, Android has a multitude of variations and with the advent of iPhone 6, iPad Air, iPad Mini, they all require scaling to different resolutions and this will distort the book images.
2. It's a snapshot of 'Now' as new books come along, I would have to redo the image to include them (or not include them which will 'date' the app)
A better approach (IMHO) would be some sort of central image or logo. or a plain bordered image (The border can be enlarged or reduced depending on device).
"A real limited edition, far from being an expensive autograph stapled to a novel, is a treasure. And like all treasures do, it transforms the responsible owner into a caretaker, and being a caretaker of something as fragile and easily destroyed as ideas and images is not a bad thing but a good one...and so is the re-evaluation of what books are and what they do that necessarily follows." - Stephen King