Posts Tagged program

Announcing Orchid Album for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

“Orchid

With my forthcoming app, Cactus Album, still pending approval by Apple, I’ve been thinking about my next iOS project. Around the same time I commenced development on Cactus Album, I’d been considering another insistent idea. For years now I’ve received emails from people wishing I’d make apps covering some interest or other. Most of these ideas are well-served by existing apps in the App Store, and don’t typically sound like the sorts of things I’d care to invest months of effort into and years of support. However, some email last year piqued my interest, but I had to mull it over for awhile before deciding to proceed.

Since today is still Valentine’s Day in this part of the world, I figured it was the perfect time to announce my next iOS app, Orchid Album, coming to the App Store in Spring 2014.

For those who know me either personally or via Twitter, you’d be aware I have a bunch of interests in addition to app development. My interests lean heavily toward gardening-related hobbies, with bonsai, cacti and veggie gardening being chief among them. I’ve created a well-received bonsai app, and the aforementioned app for cacti and succulent collectors.

I was first introduced to the world of orchids during my childhood in Australia whilst enjoying the garden of some elderly neighbours. They had quite a collection in a shaded enclosure in their huge backyard, and it was always fun to see how their plants were progressing. Since then I’ve admired the collection in the greenhouses at the Chicago Botanic Garden, but hadn’t considered owning any until recently.

What changed was the announcement a few months back by the Chicago Botanic Garden of their forthcoming orchid show. I’ve been following their updates with keen interest as organization of the show progressed, and I’ve done some of my own research into these fascinating plants. I’ve since learned that northern Illinois is home to some great orchid nurseries within driving distance, as well as an upcoming show this weekend. With this nightmarishly cold winter we’ve been having, a taste of the tropics certainly sounds appealing! As of today, we have some nice Phalaenopsis orchids under lights in our basement, and have plans to attend the orchid show at the DuPage County Fairground this weekend.

During my research over the past few months, I’ve discovered that mobile options for tracking orchid blooms and other milestones are rather thin on the ground in the App Store. People seem to be getting by with spreadsheets and databases on their PCs, or they’re using specialist orchid applications for tracking their collections. These are often pricey, and quite possibly more than most people need. Since there seems to be demand for such an app, I’ve decided to make Orchid Album my next project.

I’m still considering the feature list, but you can get some idea of my plans for the general look and feel from my other gardening apps. Orchid Album will be a universal app, meaning it’ll work on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. If you’re interested in learning more about Orchid Album, visit the Orchid Album Facebook page or sign up at my website to be notified via email when the app launches (and also when the Beta test begins).

I can’t wait to get started on Orchid Album, and I look forward to providing more information closer to launch!

P.S. If you’re in the Chicagoland area, pay a visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden over the next few weeks. Their orchid show is in full swing, and it sounds absolutely fantastic.

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Cactus Album Preview #2

Track your cacti and succulent collection on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch – Coming Soon!

Last year I announced Cactus Album, my forthcoming iOS app for cacti enthusiasts. Development is progressing well, so today I’m posting a few more screenshots from the app.

Cactus Album is great for keeping track of the unique requirements and milestones of all your cacti and succulents. Better still, it’s all stored on your iOS device for quick reference and easy record updates.

If Cactus Album interests you and you’d like to either participate in the Beta test or be notified when the app launches, head on over to the email sign-up page. There’s also a Cactus Album Facebook page. If you’ve got any questions, suggestions, or other comments, I’d love to hear them either here or via email: CactusAlbum AT andrewnicolle DOT com.

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Cactus Album Preview

Track your cacti and succulent collection on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch – Coming Soon!

Last month I announced Cactus Album, my forthcoming iOS app for cacti enthusiasts. It’s still early in development, but I thought I’d give you an early peek at how the app is progressing so far.

Cactus Album is the app I wish I’d had back when I first caught the cactus bug. It quickly becomes overwhelming to keep track of the unique requirements and milestones of every plant in your collection, and having such an app on your iOS device is a great timer-saver for record-keeping.

If Cactus Album interests you and you’d like to either participate in the Beta test or be notified when the app launches, head on over to the email sign-up page. There’s also a Cactus Album Facebook page. If you’ve got any questions, suggestions, or other comments, I’d love to hear them either here or via email: CactusAlbum AT andrewnicolle DOT com.

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Announcing Cactus Album for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

“Cactus

Having recently completed the iOS 7 updates for all my apps, I began thinking about a new project for the iOS platform. It would have to be something I was personally interested in, and in a niche which is not currently well-served by any of the existing apps in the App Store. This is easier said than done, given how the App Store is stuffed to the gills in seemingly every category!

Today I’m pleased to announce my new iOS app, Cactus Album, coming to the App Store in 2014.

Anyone who follows me on Twitter knows I have a bunch of other interests aside from writing apps. While I’m heavily into Bonsai (and created an app for that), I’m also a collector of cacti and succulents. This hobby began as a child when a neighbour in Australia got me started with a few tiny cacti, one of which was already 10 years old at the time. Since moving to the US, my parents have looked after them, and from what I hear, they’re still doing great.

About 5 years ago I caught the cactus bug again and was always on the look-out for new specimens at nurseries and on eBay. You can see a bunch of my acquisitions on Flickr in the following photo sets: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Over the years I’ve also visited the fantastic cactus and succulent collection at the Chicago Botanic Garden, collections at the Royal Botanic Gardens (Sydney, Australia) and Adelaide Botanic Gardens (Adelaide, Australia), and the cacti and succulent show and sale at Chicago Botanic Garden.

One thing you’ll slowly learn is that while most cacti thrive on neglect, some are rather picky about exactly how they’re neglected. They need fast-draining and coarse soil, plenty of light, occasional fertilizing, and water free of many of the additives you’ll find in tap water. The more pickier cacti have specific watering schedules, sometimes requiring no water for months at a time. Failure to adhere to any of the above may lead to sick or dead cacti. RIP, poor Lithops.

It would be nice to have an app to keep track of specific cacti, wouldn’t it? For the longest time I resisted writing such an app, being rather busy on other projects. Over the past few weeks I’ve been researching apps on the App Store for keeping track of my cacti and succulent collection. While I found several with information or photos, I didn’t find much at all that would suit my purposes.

No doubt there are many other cacti fans who would appreciate an iPhone or iPad app to organize their collections. A good many of these are probably getting by right now with cobbled-together spreadsheets or databases on their computers, or maybe not tracking anything at all. This niche is definitely small, but it’s an area where there seems to be a noticeable gap in the market.

I don’t have a full feature list locked down at this point, but if you’re familiar with my Bonsai Album app, you should get a fairly good idea of what I’m planning for Cactus Album. It’ll be a universal app, meaning it’ll work on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. If you’re interested in learning more about Cactus Album, visit the Cactus Album Facebook page or sign up at CactusAlbum.com to be notified via email when the app launches (and also when the Beta test begins).

I’m excited about working on Cactus Album, and I look forward to providing more information closer to launch!

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