Tag Archive: Web

Social Proximity

A local startup was creating a way for people to  casually connect via their mobile devices. Some use cases included flirting at night clubs, games at events and apps for the classroom.

The launch app ran in Android and iPhone. I helped with some UI on this.

I helped with backend systems and the developer program. In a pretty rapid ramp up, I used CakePHP, Mongo DB and Amazon Web Services.

Unfortunately the seed funding ran out. Sigh.

ApplicationsForGood.org

My job at One Economy was to foster the development of public purpose applications. Externally, we started a developer community at ApplicationsForGood.org around four key needs related to poverty in the U.S.

Along with doing the information architecture, I wrote or edited many of the articles and business ideas. A4G was featured in this Huffington Post article.

A4G is intended to help developers and funders discover new markets among low-income people by creating apps that matter in their lives. In 2011, ATT and Papaya Mobile sponsored the first A4G apps contest.

The site was done in WordPress using custom post types for Needs, Solutions and App Catalog.

 

Ensuring Rest for Drivers

Many people don’t know that Qualcomm got its start in communications for long haul trucking. On my first project as a contractor there, we specified and wrote the  Qualcomm Hours of Service, a driver-tracking package used on most long haul trucks in the United States.

As you go down the freeway, notice the white dome on top of many truck cabs. This sends signals to a satellite about the truck’s position. The driver can also send and receive short messages from a device in the cab.

The drivers are required by law to rest a certain amount and the rules and monitoring are rather complex. Using C# and ASP.NET, we created the database, services and web site that tracks thousands of drivers and trucks in North America to be sure they stay in compliance.

WindowsMobileTraining

ViaTraining, now part of General Physics, creates enterprise learning management systems. Their original system was based in LAMP and they had a contract with Microsoft who, not surprisingly, preferred that ASP.NET and SQL Server be used.

I helped with the port to .NET technology and globalized the interface. Windows Mobile Training was in use for about seven years and typically had about 10k users in 13 languages at retailers like Best Buy.  The system managed their training progress and dispensed incentive rewards.

Motor Sports Scoring Site

This project was for a small startup that was creating a site for kart racers and their fans to see race results. There is a very enthusiastic culture of kids and their parents who go to weekend races. It turns out that the tracks all use an automated timing system that counts laps and tracks times using transponders attached to the karts. I deciphered the data format of the timing system, byte-for-byte and added various enhancements to the web site using ASP.NET and C#.

Hormone Test Analysis Site

I worked with a local developer, helping on a ASP.NET system that organized incoming hormone saliva test kits for analysis and diagnosis. We used ASP.NET, ADO.NET and C#.

Viosk, Public Information Kiosk with Videophone

While helping Intel create new uses for its ProShare videoconferencing product, I had two projects converge into a single product idea that I called a Viosk.

It’s a computer kiosk for customer service than contains a web browser and video conferencing. The customer and a service representative can see each other by video and share the browser window. For the two banks that were interested in this, it allowed helping customers at unmanned branches to complete forms while maintaining a more personable relationship.

The product got some attention in its day. It was shown at a national banking conference, made the local evening news and the city paper.

To create Viosk I used VB. I still maintain units in Washington, Oregon and Missouri.