Sunday, October 21, 2012

Summing It All Up

Summing It All Up

As time passed and I learned about new and different materials in the technology field, my entrepreneurial idea has definitely evolved throughout the semester. Because of me gaining knowledge on so many things during IST 195 class, I was able to use the material I learned with my idea to make it an even great idea.

One way my entrepreneurial idea has evolved over time is after I learned about cloud computing in class. Cloud computing is such a useful thing that people use mostly everyday and I feel that if i added cloud computing to my app, it would be a greater success. While using the My Virtual Fridge app, one can now log on using any computer with a special login username and password and can access all their information that is stored on the application.

Another way my entrepreneurial idea has evolved throughout the semester is when I learned about it's current competitors. Knowing about my competitors really helped me make my idea even better because I found out what my competitors had and what they were missing. I definitely made sure my application were better than its competitors. One strong idea I stole from my competitors and used them with my application is the listing of prices from online websites too. Before I read about my competitors, my application only listed prices from local stores, I know made sure to include online prices with my application too so online shoppers can be able to use my application too.

Additionally, one really strong way my entrepreneurial idea has evolved over time was adding the use of Excel. I learned in my IST 195 class that Excl is currently being used with so many companies and that we are slowly relying more on it each day. With that being learned, I definitely incorporated Excel with my application. With the use of my application, A user can keep track of how much they spent weekly, monthly, or yearly at supermarkets. Charts can even be made from Excel to show the user’s finances in a visual format. The app will even categorize the items the user bought. For example, daily products, poultry, snacks, drinks, etc.

In conclusion, after I learned so many different topics in IST 195, I was able to use my knowledge to better my entrepreneurial idea. The outline to actually make my entrepreneurial idea into reality will be to first to make the application first. I found a great step-by-step guide online on how to make an application. After I make it, I will incorporate all the features, like the GPS function that comes with the phone and scanner, and a lot more.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

My Virtual Fridge App Uses Computer Security

This app is a virtual fridge on your smart phone that tells you when your items are running low. Items are scanned onto the phone using the barcode scanner. When an item is running low, the app will notify the user. This app also allows users to save time by giving the quickest route to get all items at a supermarket along with helping users stay on their diet when they continue to scan and buy special products.  

My Virtual Fridge App Uses Computer Security


       When using an app like My Virtual Fridge, it it important to make sure that the app secures the information stored. In the My Virtual Fridge app, it contains many important information that can be private to some people like weight ( for users using the diet feature), items bought, supermarkets a user shopped at, amount of purchases and a lot more. With all this valuable information stored in this app, the app uses computer security to make sure all information is secured.
        The way computer security works with the app is that it protects the information from theft, corruption, or even a natural disaster. However, it still allows the information to be accessible for a certain user with a login username and password. The information that a user stores in the My Virtual Fridge app will always be secured because this app uses the best and most updated computer technology to keep valuable information secured.
         Because of the information being secured with the most updated computer technology, all information stored on the My Virtual Fridge app will not be affected by malware. Malware is a software that is used to create or disrupt computer operation, gather sensitive information, or gain access to private computer systems. With many programs being affected by malicious software  you can't ever go wrong with using this app because all of a user's information will be secured and protected at all times.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

My Virtual Fridge App Compatible with Different Operating Systems

This app is a virtual fridge on your smart phone that tells you when your items are running low. Items are scanned onto the phone using the barcode scanner. When an item is running low, the app will notify the user. This app also allows users to save time by giving the quickest route to get all items at a supermarket along with helping users stay on their diet when they continue to scan and buy special products.  

My Virtual Fridge App Compatible with Different Operating Systems

          The My Virtual Fridge App can be used with many different phones, such as Apple, Android, and Blackberry. Although these smartphones all use different operating systems, this incredible app is functioned to work with all operating systems used by smart phones. The My Virtual Fridge App is very compatible since it is able  to work on all operating systems  and only a few apps can do that!

            The reason why this incredible app is able to work with many different operating systems is because the app only uses main functions that every operating system has. For example, the app's main uses are the camera which is uses as a barcode scanner, mobile navigation to help a user navigate while in a supermarket, and so much more!

           Many apps now a days are only compatible with some types of phones. For example, there are many apps that can only be used with Apple, and some that are not compatible with Blackberry phones, and some only for Android. But this app, unlike the rest, can be used with all smartphones, now you can't go wrong with this!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Blogger Review

Blogger Review

                The professional blogger in the technology industry that I am critiquing is TechCrunch. The URL to this blog is http://techcrunch.com/. TechCrunch was founded in June 2005. TechCrunch is a very popular blog, it gets 2 million unique visitors and draws more than 37 million page views per month. 
                TechCrunch is dedicated to profiling startups, reviewing new Internet products, and breaking tech news. I noticed that TechCrunch stays very updated with all the new news in the Technology field. Whether its with a new technology product, or interesting news for people interested in Tecnology, they always stay on top of the stuff.

               What I really enjoy about TechCrunch's blogging style is their use of headings and pictures. I believe it makes the website very organized and easy to navigate. Their use of pictures make it easy for viewers to read an article that they seem attracted to by the pictures. Another thing I like is the colors, they go with the Technology field, and seems very techy. 

Blogger URL: http://techcrunch.com/

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

My Virtual App Uses Cloud Computing

This app is a virtual fridge on your smart phone that tells you when your items are running low. Items are scanned onto the phone using the barcode scanner. When an item is running low, the app will notify the user. This app also allows users to save time by giving the quickest route to get all items at a supermarket along with helping users stay on their diet when they continue to scan and buy special products. 


My Virtual Fridge App Uses Cloud Computing

            My Virtual Fridge app will use cloud computing in various ways. My Virtual Fridge app is able to maintain many data about a user over the Web, with the user's permission of course. Two different data types that My Virtual Fridge will be using with cloud computing is purchases made and fridge details. The user will be able to access this data over the web with a login username and password.
            When a user logs online with their username and password one of the data types they can access on the Web is their purchases made. A user will be able to see every item they have bought, including the name of the item, price of the item, and where the item was purchased. This will be very useful for the user because they will be able to keep track of the items they bought and how much they have been spending in the supermarkets.
             Another data type that can be found on the Web for My Virtual Fridge users is details about their fridge. When the user logs on the Web, they will be able to see every item that is currently in their fridge, and how long it is suppose to last for. This is useful because lets say a user is at work and they forgot their phone home that day, they can log onto the Web, insert their username and password, and see the items in their fridge and see what items they need to purchase at the supermarket before they come home.


Monday, September 24, 2012

Competitive Analysis

This app is a virtual fridge on your smart phone that tells you when your items are running low. Items are scanned onto the phone using the barcode scanner. When an item is running low, the app will notify the user. This app also allows users to save time by giving the quickest route to get all items at a supermarket along with helping users stay on their diet when they continue to scan and buy special products. 


Competitive Analysis


Competitor 1 URL: http://techland.time.com/2011/05/27/supermarkets-map-app-shows-quickest-routes-to-things-on-your-list/              This competitor is called Tesco. It is similar to my app because this app also gives a turn by turn route to give the user a suggested route  that is quickest way for finding all the stuff on a shopping list. The difference with my app is that it is for all smartphones and not only for Androids like this competitor. Also for this app, this is the only feature that is used for the app. On the other hand, my app comes with different features, for example, the virtual fridge, the diet feature, and the coupon feature.

Competitor 2 URL:http://redlaser.com/
                This competitor is called Red Laser. It is similar to my app because it also scans items and finds the prices of the item at different locations. This app is also available for all smartphones. The difference with this app is that it shows prices from local stores and  online websites, when my app only shows local supermarkets. After reviewing this competitor, I feel like it would be better if my app included prices from online websites too.
Summary
               In conclusion, after reviewing these competitors I have noticed that my app can add more features to top my competitors. The positive thing about my app is that it  does not only have one use for the app but it has several uses. This makes my application top my competitors because most of their apps have only one main use.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

My Virtual Fridge Uses Hardware and Computer Forensics

This app is a virtual fridge on your smart phone that tells you when your items are running low. Items are scanned onto the phone using the barcode scanner. When an item is running low, the app will notify the user. This app also allows users to save time by giving the quickest route to get all items at a supermarket along with helping users stay on their diet when they continue to scan and buy special products.


My Virtual Fridge Uses Hardware and Computer Forensics 




Hardware Used for My Virtual Fridge App

One important hardware that is used for the My Virtual Fridge App is the barcode scanner built in the smartphone. This piece of hardware is the main component used for this app. The barcode scanner scans the barcode using a light source, lens, and a light sensor that translates the information from the bardcode. With the barcode scanner, it scans the product information of any item onto the smartphone using computer forensics, which is mentioned below.

Storing Product Information onto Smartphone

Using the My Virtual Fridge app on your smartphone will definitely be using a lot of computer forensics in multiple ways. One way that this app uses computer forensics is when it stores product information into the cellphone. Once the item is scanned onto the phone, the phone will now have a full description of the product. Some information that will be stored on the phone is the name of the product, the price, the size, and etc.

Storing User Information onto Smartphone

Along with storing product information onto the smartphone, the My Virtual Fridge app will also be storing information about the user onto the phone. Some information about the user will be stored, for example, what supermarket  did the user buy items from, what items the user bought, what time did the user buy items, what diet the user went on, and a lot more.  This will be stored on the phone just in case a user needs to look back on their phone to see some information that might come in handy to them.