

Show HN: I made a simple webapp to store your ideas. - alex_g
http://ideab.in/
It's dead simple. There's no fancy interface. Basic features are gone. That's all on purpose.<p>If you're like me, you're always writing down ideas on pieces of paper. My webapp is like that, but for the internet.  Let me know if you find it useful.
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ra3don92
I'll go ahead and make some suggestions: like dlf said, it would be nice to be
able to play with it before registering. Furthermore, you should allow the
user to login with OpenID services such as Google or Facebook, anything you
can do to reduce the time it takes for a user to get started.

You should add an easy way to edit the idea once it has been made. I
frequently want to revise or add some resources that go along with an idea I
may have.

It's a good start, but lacking some features that would prevent me from using
it as a way to store my ideas primarily. I'd be interested in hearing about
your progress, it's going to make for a great learning experience.

~~~
alex_g
Thanks for the feedback! I chose to do a standard registration/login solely
because it's my first php project- I want to learn how to handle forms and
interact with databases.

As per the editing, it seems that is something I should really implement.

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auston
Alex, you should seriously consider making this an iPhone app. You're probably
aware of how much more your peers are into mobile (instagram? tumblr? etc).

Additionally, I personally find the iPhone to be an amazing tool for ideation.

~~~
pcd
Yeah I like storing my ideas on my phone too. I'm hardly ever near a computer
when a lightbulb turns on! I use noted!
[http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/noted!/id504164257?ls=1&m...](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/noted!/id504164257?ls=1&mt=8)
Follows the same keep it simple stuff but with better tracking than the iphone
notes app.

~~~
adj
Nice to see someone else enjoying my app!

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dlf
I like the idea, but I don't see any reason why I should have to register
before playing around with the app a bit. Let the user submit ideas and only
require registration when they want to create their own private "bin".

~~~
alex_g
The point of the app is to list your ideas. The user must register in order
for the app to know which ideas belong to them.

~~~
dlf
And that's fine, assuming the user wants the app to know which ideas belong to
them. From a UX standpoint, it's so much better to let the user kick the tires
before requiring them to register.

~~~
alex_g
Where would the idea be assigned if it doesn't know who the user is?

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dlf
The idea is to fake the UX without storing anything permanently. Generate a
temporary ID to store data to while the user is playing with the site. If
they've added ideas they want to save permanently, overwrite the temporary ID
with the new user ID. Storing the data only matters if they sign up. I'm a
programming noob myself, but I think this should work. If I'm dead wrong, it
should only take a couple minutes for me to be corrected ;-)

A little inspiration: splendidbacon.com/

Congrats on building something cool, btw!

EDIT: Go to account and look at the email address... it's randomly generated.
Cool, huh?

~~~
alex_g
I understand now... I don't think I would go that detailed as they have,
though. I think I could achieve something similar with a demo made with
Javascript on the landing page, no?

~~~
dlf
Yep. I think so.

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indigo747
Hey, I built something similar to this a while ago. Find it at
<http://openthought.herokuapp.com/> Figured you might want to see it. I am
also 16.

~~~
alex_g
Nice! Our apps are definitely very similar (actually the same). I really like
the prompt you are given when you want to delete an idea. It's very... bold.

What is it built with? How does Heroku work?

~~~
indigo747
Didn't want people deleting their stuff accidentally. Built it with Rails.
Click the "Github" link at the bottom to see the source. Heroku is really
smooth (though expensive) Rails hosting. It's a little like magic.

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ra3don92
"IdeaBin was designed and developed by Alex Greene, a 16 yr. old student at
The Bronx High School of Science."

Keep up the good work, you've got some real talent for your age.
Congratulations on releasing!

~~~
alex_g
Thanks, I really appreciate it. However, I'd rather receive criticism as if my
age were not there. If I changed the 16 to a '35', would you still say the
same thing?

~~~
ra3don92
Send me an email ra3don92[at]gmail.com I've got some more in-depth criticism
i'll pass along.

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sturmeh
Why would this differ to a normal note taking webapp, apart from the fact if
you break into this database you are guaranteed only to see ideas?

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alex_g
You could use a note taking webapp. I use Evernote quote a bit. However, I
find myself making notes of different ideas, different categories, when
sometimes I just want to add an idea to a list, like you can with my webapp.
For other simple not-taking webapps, if you use it for just writing down
ideas, it's fine. However, I usually use note-taking webapps for.... taking
notes. When I put an idea on the list, it's immediately an idea among "non-
ideas". ideaBin is just for writing down your ideas.

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madhukara
If you have a demo on how it works it would be great

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pcd
So as the administrator you can see everyone's ideas? Nice for you.

~~~
alex_g
Technically yes. If I knew how to hide that I would. But seriously, I have
enough ideas on my mind, I don't need yours.

~~~
abdelm
Encryption maybe where the key would be something set by the user or
something?

~~~
sturmeh
What like zerobin?

