|
Paparazzi Interview
Team Name: Paparazzi
Application Name: Paparazzi
Institution: Nanyang Polytechnic
Team Members: Xu Ken Ying, Edison Chen, Scott Tan, Chong Zheng Long
How long did it take you to develop your project?
It took us two months to develop the application. We spent about one month conceptualizing the whole application before starting to build it.
How did you come up with the idea for your project?
Our facilitator was stuck in a traffic jam and thought how GPS would help reduce a jam if there was a way to capture the number of cars on the road through GPS. We expanded on that concept and in line with the theme of the Participation
Age; we wanted to create something that allowed everyone to contribute through GPS technology.
Could you describe your application to us?
Truly broadcast yourself, wherever you are. Be it your location, an event or a favourite place. You can upload photos, make comments, track where you've been or highlight special events.
What are some of the opportunities you have been given through this competition?
Meeting the developers are Sun Developer Days was definitely an eye-opener as through our interaction with the developers, we gained knowledge of the current problems in the industry and how they were being addressed. This understanding will serve us well when we embark on our industry attachment in our next year of school.
We were even offered jobs by one of the exhibitors at Sun Developer Days!
What are some of the problems you faced in developing this application?
One of the main problems was the lack of time. As this project is outside of our school curriculum, we had to manage our time well and make sure that we could do well in school as well as create a truly innovation application.
Some of the ideas that we had initially come up with were already in the marketplace so we had to do a lot of research to ensure that our application was unique.
Did you expect to win?
Yes, we went into the Finals to win. We were very confident of our project and the idea behind it.
What was the response like to your project at Sun Developer Days? What kind of feedback did you get from the industry experts?
We had very good response from Sun Developer Days. We even won the Sun Developers' Choice Award as 47% of the developers voted for us. Many people approached us and some said it would be a very useful tracking system. We will definitely use their comments and feedback to further enhance our application.
As far as being developed commercially, what have been the prospects for your project?
What kind of interest have you gotten, and from whom?
We have made contact with a number of commercial developers who have expressed interest in our project.
What are you going to do with your prize money?
We plan to use the money to develop ourselves further. We may put it towards paying for school or buy some technology textbooks.
What are your plans for the future?
The four of us may consider starting our own IT company in the future.
Juxtaposer Interview
Team Name: Juxtaposer
Application Name: jWatch
Institution: Temasek Polytechnic
Team Members: Darren Ang, Serene Tan, Goh Chew Yan
What course are you currently enrolled in?
We are all pursuing a Diploma in Mobile and Wireless Computing.
How long did it take you to develop your project?
It took us two months to develop the application but we are still refining it further, based on the feedback we received from the developers, Sun and IDA at Sun Developer Days, as this is also our final year project.
How did you come up with the idea for your project?
We sat down with our lecturer and one of our seniors to discuss ideas. From that discussion, we started to develop our project, giving it a cutting edge.
The theme this year was the Participation Age. How did you understand that and how did
you bring it your project?
The Participation Age to us is bringing together people from all walks of life to participate in something. Our project uses a wireless peer-to-peer network so if there are more peers i.e. more participation from people, it will make the
project bigger and better.
Was there anything you used as an inspiration when coming up with your project idea?
Most of us watch TVMobile on the bus, and have experienced times where we're watching the most exciting part of the show, but we've reached our stop and can't continue watching. But with jWatch, you can continue watching your show anytime, anywhere. There currently isn't any application that allows you to stream TV and videos to your mobile device.
Could you give us a brief description of your project?
Our project makes the viewing of videos on mobile devices easier and more cost-effective through the use of a wireless peer-to-peer network.
Did you face any failure while developing your application?
We did face a few problems while setting up but with the hard work and commitment from the team and our lecturers, we managed to develop the application successfully.
Did you have many late nights while developing this application?
There were some days when we would be in school till late at night, working on our application.
What was the response like to your project at Sun Developer Days? What kind of feedback did you get from the industry experts?
We had an overwhelming response from the Sun Developer Days attendees. We were constantly speaking to the attendees, who showed great interest in our application jWatch. The developers shared their thoughts on how our project can be enhanced and we appreciate their comments and feedback.
Did you expect to win?
No, as we were facing very strong competition.
How did you decide on which category you would enter?
Our project revolved around mobile devices and we are from the Mobile and Wireless course.
As far as being developed commercially, what have been the prospects for your project? What kind of interest have you gotten, and from whom?
There has been some commercial interest, but we can't mention names at this point of time. We have been approached by a few telcos and companies who hope to engage us to work with them. We are currently in talks with a couple of MNCs.
What are you going to do with your prize money?
Probably buy a few PS3 games to try out on our new PS3s, save some of the money or put it towards our university education.
What are your future plans?
We plan to go to university after completing our Diploma and possibly pursue a degree in Information Technology.
| 
