We've Moved

THIS BLOG HAS MOVED!

It can be found at the new website: http://fifteen15studios.com/blog/

Personal Blog

Want to know more about the man behind the programs? Check out my personal blog: http://havens1515.blogspot.com

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Epilepsy Awareness Month

This blog has been turned purple for epilepsy awareness month.

This year for Epilepsy Awareness month I will once again be donating all proceeds from Auto Respond Pro purchases to the Epilepsy Foundation.

The Auto Respond notification icon (and anywhere else that I could change it programmatically) will automatically turn purple starting tomorrow (November 1st) and will remain purple until the end of November. On December 1st, if you would like to keep the purple icon you can do so by enabling it in the options, otherwise the icon will return to its normal green. The option to change the icon color will be disabled during November.

As many of you know from reading my blogs in the past, I was born with epilepsy. The epilepsy foundation has helped me a lot throughout life, and they continue to help me and others through hardships. If you would like more detail on that, check out my personal blog which is linked at the top of this page.

Last year I posted one fact about epilepsy, on all of my social media sites, every day in November. I have been extremely busy lately, officially turning Fifteen 15 Studios into a business, changing jobs, and doing many other things, so I won't have time this year to research more facts to post (or to setup the automatic posting of those facts like I did last year.) I may however post the facts that I posted last year. I have them all in a word document, and will likely post them somewhere before the end of November.

If you would like to make your own donation to the epilepsy foundation, you can give to the national chapter at this website:
http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/give/index.cfm
Or you can give to my local chapter here:
http://www.epilepsyuny.org/donate.htm

Auto Respond can be found in the Play Store here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.havens1515.autorespond

Any additional donations are much appreciated!

You can also find a list of facts about epilepsy (that I posted to my social media profiles last November) here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4658512/Seizure%20Facts.docx

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Status Updates

I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything, so here's some updates.


Auto Respond

I released an update a few weeks back to Auto Respond Pro which allows you to respond to numbers which are not in your contact list. I still haven't built this into AR Free, but it will be there.

I'm working on theming AR purple for epilepsy awareness month in November. For those of you who were around last year, you will probably remember that I changed the icon to purple last year, and donated all November proceeds to the Epilepsy Foundation. I am planning on doing the same this year, but I also want to theme the ENTIRE app in purple. It's a lot of work so I don't know if it'll be done in time, but I'm doing my best. I'm also working on changing the icon programmatically, so that I don't have to put out an update to change the launcher icon. If you have any experience with theming apps, feel free to reach out to me. I can use all the help I can get.

Today Auto Respond Pro got its 100th download! I know that doesn't sound like a lot compared to other apps, but it's something that I'm proud of anyway. The free version has over 2,000 downloads, so there's a little perspective of free vs. paid.


Super Secret Project

Some of you may recall that I'm working on a secret project, and have been for a while. A lot is happening with that too. I can't provide any specifics yet, but here's some generic updates.

It officially has a name now, which is not in use by any other tech companies or software companies that I came across. I've got some friends working on design work (an icon, logo, etc.) based on the current name. I did some database work, which is going to make the app REALLY flexible and easily updated without having to update the whole app. I've got the basic UI designed and we have a list of features that we want to include in the initial release, as well as a list of LOTS of ideas for future additions.

I've got someone working on a website for me, which will likely be a huge focus of this project. The website will be where people go for a lot of setup and some more functionality, but the app will be an essential part of making it all come together successfully. I'm supposed to have a meeting before the end of the week to discuss what exactly needs to be done with the website, and hopefully see some initial progress and design work.

This project has been my main focus over the past few months. I'm learning a lot in this process, and I've got a LOT of things planned for it. I can't wait to get the name legally set in stone, and get a base product setup so that it doesn't have to be kept so secretive. (I'm holding back all details because I don't want someone stealing my idea or my name.)

I've got a plan for monetizing the project, so that part is taken care of as well. I think the idea is unique enough, functional enough, and desirable enough that I can bring in some good clients once the idea is presented. The app and website will be 100% free for users, and money will be made from other clients. I'm sure that not knowing the premise behind the app this all sounds very vague, but there is a plan and it includes no cost to the end user.


General Updates

I have decided to officially re-brand as "Fifteen 15 Studios" instead of "1515 Studios". My design guys are working on some new designs for that as well. (If you would like to try your hand at designing a logo for me, it would be much appreciated. I want to get a bunch of designs to choose from.) I'm going to do some DBA paperwork to officially turn Fifteen 15 Studios into a company. I've got some legal documents written up (a non-compete and non-disclosure agreement) for anyone who joins in on the current project, but I need an official company name to associate with those documents.

The new name will be official once I decide on a logo design that I like, and obviously will be legally official once the DBA paperwork is completed. I have most of the logistics of the switch worked out already, and just need to put some of the technical aspects into place.

All-in-all, despite my lack of blog updates, there is a lot going on behind the scenes with me, my apps, and my soon to be company. I'm excited for things to come, and I hope that all of you are as well.