AndroidGuys

It’s time to take A Closer Look at another program from the first round of the Android Developers Challenge. This time around we’re talking with Mary Ann about her application, Cooking Capsules. Find out how this seemingly random grouping of people came together and what went into their entry.

Thanks for stopping by! Let’s start off with some background on the program and how it came about. What was the inspiration behind Cooking Capsules?

My friend Igor Stalew and I were brainstorming a broad range of video ideas together and over time I proposed we pursue the cooking one first. I wanted to make cooking fun and simple. Cooking shows, cookbooks and online recipes are great, but what about those days when you don’t cook because of all the logistical hurdles? We approached my friend Christine who loves to cook and has great ideas and a good personality for video. I told her about the all-in-one solution idea and she helped me come up with the name “Cooking Capsules”. Christine proposed a recipe (Brie with Port Sauce), which she tested and refined, and then Igor produced the video and I directed and edited it, adding my own illustrations and intro animations. Next, I approached another friend, Sukhjit, who has on-air experience and also loves to cook. She suggested a dish called Aloo Parantha. We shot a second pilot episode with her as host.

I continued to brainstorm the best way to distribute the videos. I realized that a short-format cooking show was only the start. It needed to offer an integrated solution. So I used my interface design experience to mock up a cooking application for mobile. Then I contacted my friend Daniel Pfeiffer, who runs a successful mobile and online games company called Thwart Poker. I took him to lunch and showed him the architecture and screen designs I had come up with to see what he thought about Cooking Capsules for mobile. He suggested I look into Android, and that perhaps I could find a developer to team up with on the Developer Challenge.

I went home and read about Android, the O.H.A. and the challenge, then zeroed in on the message boards and lurked for a while to see what people were talking about. I found Muthu Ramadoss, in Chennai, India, who was interested in teaming up for the Challenge. Then he and I spent full-time working remotely over e-mail and chat to adapt the concept to Android. We were both really pleased with the final result. He did an excellent job, and exceeded my expectations in terms of what I thought was realistic for the first phase.

That’s awesome! We were actually going to ask you how your team came together, but you took care of that. You actually didn’t start out with the intention of creating something for the contest. Ironic, since yours is one of the semi-finalists. So when did you end up working with Muthu?

Muthu had been using Android before I met him, but I didn’t find out about the Challenge or team up with him until late February.

What was your biggest obstacle in writing it?

I can’t speak for Muthu, but I would say it was that Android was (and still is) in development itself. It is hard for developers to know if they are doing something wrong, or if they have merely encountered a bug or current limitation in the SDK. Also, video wasn’t well supported yet, so I had to edit the videos way back and spend a lot of effort compressing them get them down to one meg (1MB), in order to embed them in the application. We chose not to serve them yet to avoid complications, but they will live on servers in the future.

Going in, what did you think of your chances in the Developers Challenge?

We felt we had a very good chance. We knew there would be a lot of great apps, but we believed in the strength and broad appeal of the idea and our execution of it.

What have you done with the first round money? Any big purchases or special plans for the $25,000 winnings?

Muthu has spent some of his to visit San Francisco. He and I attended Google I/O along with Travis Choma, who is a member of our Phase2 Challenge team. They both extended their visits so we have been meeting up, working and socializing too.

Muthu has a development company, with 40 team members called Intellibitz in Chennai, another Android project (a local search engine) his team is working on, and a wife and two little girls, so I’m sure he won’t have any problem spending the rest of his half!

My half is going directly into developing the company and content.

So a little bit of everything… We’d have a hard time not blowing a chunk of it on something silly. Kudos to you guys. Tell us, are you busier now than before or has it slowed down since the end of round one?

Let’s just say I haven’t been sipping umbrella drinks on a tropical beach somewhere (although I did manage to fit in an R.E.M concert).

R.E.M. is one of our favorite groups! Scott saw them in 1995 on the Monster tour right after the Bill Berry aneurysm. Moving on, Android and smart phones in general will appeal to males. Sell this program to a guy in just a few sentences.

A lot of guys I know like tools and useful gadgets. Men often seem to have a keen interest in utility, and this is the ultimate utility. Lots of men like to cook, and those who don’t might give it a shot if it took less time and planning, and the wisdom of a friendly show host. To quote an AndroidGuys review: It “could be the secret ingredient in wooing your next date!”

You noticed that quote huh? Ok, we’re sold. Tell us about your experiences with other platforms or programs. Was this the first application you worked on?

Yes, I had never designed a mobile application before. My background in web user interface design helped a lot, but I am learning as I go and seeking a lot of advice about the considerations specific to mobile design.

Do you plan to do any other applications?

I would like to do more in the future, yes. I have several ideas that I believe to be just as strong as this one. Right now, however, Cooking Capsules and the second phase of the Challenge is keeping me very busy, and I am placing all of my attention on the Challenge and the future launch of the app.

Speaking of the second phase, give us a glimpse if you could. Anything special lined up for the second round of the Challenge?

A lot of very hard work!

Understandably secretive. Sometimes people forget that this is still a contest and lose sight of the fact that you don’t want us to know what you’re cooking up. How’s that for a pun? Alright, let’s end it with a simple one - What’s for dinner tonight?

Halibut baked in parchment paper, French green beans with toasted almond slivers and a scrumptious chocolate pot de creme for dessert.

Sounds delicious! Good luck with the rest of the second phase and tell your team that AndroidGuys says hello. Please come back and share any new features or exciting news with us. The door’s always open.

Thanks again to Mary Ann for taking the time out of what seems like a busy schedule to answer our questions. If you’re interested in finding out more about Cooking Capsules, head over to their website.