

Ask HN: Review my (non-profit) startup, 20:20 - pavlov

Ok, maybe it's not technically a startup, but I just finished the first release of an open source application that I've been working on for a while:<p><pre><code>  http://anioni.com/2020
</code></pre>
I wanted to design a minimalistic multimedia format and an editor application that might also cater to the needs of those who either have no access to such tools, or insufficient education to use them. I think that a large number of people in the third world are never going to have access to a PC, but it's more likely they'll eventually have a computer-like phone with low-bandwidth mobile Internet access -- hence this project's focus on efficient compression and a non-textual user interface.<p>You can read more about that on the web site, so I'll just give a quick technical overview: the app is written in plain C (out of obvious necessity). I've made ports to Mac OS X as well as Maemo (Nokia N800/N810 web tablet OS), so I'm hopeful that it's a fairly portable app. The only external dependency is zlib for compression. The file format is Ogg with some custom stream types, and the amazing Speex codec is used for audio compression. You can find the source on GitHub (link is in the FAQ).<p>Any feedback is greatly appreciated!
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trevelyan
"Also, some of the most widely-used written languages like Chinese have very
complex character systems that are not really amenable to traditional computer
text entry methods. "

In my experience dumbing down the interface has two advantages: (1) it
somewhat reduces the complexity of the application on the development side,
and (2) it helps users in their learning curve. It is dangerous to assume the
user is not intelligent enough to pick the right tool for the job. Better to
assume they are more intelligent than you but ten times more impatient. The
competition for this application would seem to be the iPhone.

Anyway, a Chinese user will not look at your application and say, "it doesn't
support my language, but those vector graphics are nifty, I think I'll draw
everything instead of typing for once." They'll simply buy something with
Chinese language support like the iPhone.

~~~
pavlov
"The competition for this application would seem to be the iPhone."

One is a device and an operating system, the other is a free application. The
two are by definition complementary rather than mutually exclusive, so where
is the competition?

Your comment seems to be based on a defensive kind of thinking where
everything comes down to iPhone vs. the world -- "either you're with us or
you're against us".

In this case I feel that it's entirely unjustified, and overall I believe the
iPhone community might benefit from a more open attitude towards coexistence
and collaboration with others in the mobile space. Everyone who doesn't
support your preferred platform to the exclusion of others is not
automatically an enemy to your goals.

------
jwilliams
Hi - Interesting concept.

My first reaction was that the initial page is too wordy. I mean, I'm in
software and I found it a somewhat difficult read. (I know it's not about the
frontpage, but that's where I came in).

I think you need a simple byline - e.g. "20:20 is all about X with Y"...
Better yet, see if you can express this without text at all... Or have the
minimal text, but have some images that invoke what you mean.

I think the video is great, but I think some more fleshed out examples (not
necessarily in the video) would help.

Otherwise, I think it's an intriguing idea.

Good luck with the concept!

~~~
pavlov
Thanks a lot for the helpful comments!

I removed some unnecessary sentences from the frontpage, but I guess it really
needs a thoughtful rewrite to become easier to read. English isn't my first
language, so I always feel like my English writing ends up contrived and
doesn't quite grasp the natural flow of the language...

The idea of using primarily images on the front page sounds really good, I'll
ask the graphic designer to think about it (but it naturally depends on how
soon she wants to spend her free time on this project again).

Of course, if any of you native speakers feel like coming up with some better
copy for this software, I'd be absolutely relieved to take your help :)

