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Apple Design Awards

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:18 pm
by bsweetser
This doesn't really fit on any of the prescribed forums, but I hope you are planning to submit iScore Baseball for the Apple Design Awards. I think others monitoring the forum would agree.

http://developer.apple.com/wwdc/ada/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false

ben

Re: Apple Design Awards

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 5:20 pm
by jdonato
I second that motion and vote a strong YES.

Re: Apple Design Awards

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 5:32 pm
by FTMSupport
Very nice of you guys... thank you.

It would just take quite a bit of time to fill out all the paperwork in the way Apple wants, and we would rather spend that time developing the product more. It is much more exciting for us to hear positive feedback from happy users.

Re: Apple Design Awards

Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:16 pm
by heroes
wow,

you guys are the too-good-to-be-true developer to say the least!

I still think your work should be recognized in some way.

anyhow, I sent you guys a few graphic ideas we talked about.
please check your email!

Re: Apple Design Awards

Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 10:15 am
by SharkBait
That award is going to be geared towards apps that are for the masses. While there might be lots of baseball fans, only a percentage of those keep score. I know that's still a lot of peeps, but it's a small fraction compared to the number of people who would download an app that emulates a glass of beer or some other silly something.

The numbers just aren't there, even though this app deserves all the accolades!

Re: Apple Design Awards

Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 10:35 am
by Bevo
Man, if you guys can praise and live with this crappy piece of software, more power to you. I purchased the latest version three days ago, and have tried three times to score a game. I've had nothing but multiple crashes, issues with data not saving, the -1 as well as positions that get lost. Players don't show up in the substitution selection list, I could go on and on.

How any of you have made this thing work is beyond me.

And now these guys are going off to work on a basketball app without fixing the issues in this thing. Too bad the Apple app store has no way to demo apps. But then I guess no one would ever buy half the crap up there.

Re: Apple Design Awards

Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 11:16 am
by sportsdoc
Bevo wrote:Man, if you guys can praise and live with this crappy piece of software, more power to you. I purchased the latest version three days ago, and have tried three times to score a game. I've had nothing but multiple crashes, issues with data not saving, the -1 as well as positions that get lost. Players don't show up in the substitution selection list, I could go on and on.

How any of you have made this thing work is beyond me.
Well, I'll be first to admit that as of yet, it is not perfect. However, I have had very little trouble scoring a game and have had no crashes to date. IMO, the developers have been very responsive to problem solving and enhancement request. I'm sure that the "work arounds" are only temporary fixes until a new version can be sent out to fix these problems. The last update was way ahead of the first and I'm sure the next will be further ahead than the present one. If you have ever been involved in writing computer applications, you should know that the only way to discover problems is through use of the program in every possible situation. These guys have been far more responsive that almost every other company that I have ever dealt with.

Instead of WHINING so much about the problems, why don't you help become part of the solution?

Doc

Re: Apple Design Awards

Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 11:26 am
by FTMSupport
If you could go on and on, we would really appreciate it if you would so we can be sure all issues are fixed. Are there other issues you did not mention?

The -1 issue is documented and fixed for the next release.

What data has not saved for you?

You say you had multiple crashes --- what were you doing when it crashed? Was it in the same place each time?

Players not showing up in a substitution list really sounds like you are not using the software properly. From your other post, it sounds like you tried to remove all players from your lineup that were not starting the game. This would cause players to not show up in the substitution list. The players available for substitution comes from the players that are marked as "Out" in your lineup.

Did you watch the YouTube videos before using the software? These things are explained in those videos. Specifically, part 2 covers substitions (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6UeanYIgmo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false).

If you would email us directly at support@fasterthanmonkeys.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false, we can help you work through any issues you may be having.

The first step would be to send us your database so we can take a look at how the 3 games you scored were done. To do that, you can click the Options menu, and then click Export. This will send a copy of your database to our server. Then email us with the customer ID that appears in the bottom left of the Options page.

Thank you.

Re: Apple Design Awards

Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 2:23 pm
by bsweetser
I will be the first to admit that I've been bitten several times by the -1 bug and that there are other areas where it can be improved and fixed, but overall I've enjoyed using the program very much. Even outside of scoring software, you will find any number of different scorecards. Everyone has their own preferences. The same is going to be true with software. It will fit with some people and won't with others.

I haven't had this app crash on me yet, but there are other apps I've downloaded where my phone did. A reboot fixes that issue for me when I see it. I'll admit to thinking similar things when I read reviews about software that does it to me that people seem to rave about. Learn more, though. Find out if something is happening. Particularly if the app has responsive support like we've seen with FTM.

ben

Re: Apple Design Awards

Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 7:02 am
by bsweetser
I had a couple thoughts to add on to what I said in my previous post on this thread.

iScore was built by someone trying to solve a problem - they wanted to score baseball games on their iPhone in a way that was more intuitive and didn't just mimic scoring on paper. With all of the different things that can happen in a baseball game this is quite an undertaking.

FTM uses the app, too. It is like the old reassurance in the Hair Club for Men commercials where the guy wasn't just the president, but he was also a member. They are scoring games with it, too, so even they are going to run into the issues and work to get them fixed.

Some of the limitations are related to the App Store... Bevo, I noticed you berate them in one of your posts because all they were able to offer up was a workaround. When dealing with iPhone apps, they cannot just post an update to their website. The update needs to go through an approval process before they can be posted to the iTunes store for download. Sometimes it will take some patience for the update that fixes an issue to become available.

I'm sorry to hear that you've been having such issues with it. After watching the tutorials and practicing scoring with a game I previously attended from my paper score sheet, and then scoring one live game with both iScore and paper, I feel comfortable scoring games just on my phone now and have done two that way. I think this is a testament to its ease of use and my comfort level with it. As disclaimers often state, results will vary.

ben