Ask HN: Please review my latest project (memodrops.com) | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Please review my latest project (memodrops.com)

memodrops.com

10 pointsnadam24 comments

I like the concept, but think it would be better and make more as an ad-supported webapp. It looks too simple to be worth the time to download, scan for viruses, install and run on my already-cluttered desktop.

By the way, while I like the Einstein branding, be aware that his 'personality rights' (to use his name and/or likeness commercially) were bequeathed to an Israeli university and the licensing is administered by Corbis: http://einstein.biz/ You may want to consider a more generic or abstract image, rather than get hit with a substantial bill later if your product takes off.

The reason that it is a desktop application is that it is able to run in the background, and pop-up a question dialog periodically. On the internet lots of things (for example advertisements) are competing for the the attention of the user. (Sometimes in distracting ways.) This program is also competing for the attention of the user, but it is very useful for her.

Thanks for the warning about the Einstein branding. While I like the Einstein branding very much, it seems that I will have to get rid of it as soon as I get any serious traction.

It could probably be implemented in an easier way to install with a browser extension.

"While I like the Einstein branding very much, it seems that I will have to get rid of it as soon as I get any serious traction."

It'd be better to get rid of it now, or be prepared to receive a letter demanding a payment of some X dollars. Corbis does not mess around.

I'd be careful about using that banner image

http://discovermagazine.com/2008/mar/05-einstein-inc/article...

Thanks for the warning. Now I've changed Einstein to Plato.:)

The home page made it very difficult to take seriously. A good spell-checker would be in order.

"From then on memodrops takes care about the word and you can be almost sure that you will learn the new word permanently without being a memory champion."

Try this:

"From there, Memodrops will take over and make sure you learn the word permanently like a memory champion."

Could probably do even better with a little more time and thought. Also, "With memodrops memorization is..." is a bit cludgy if you don't read it right the first time. I read it as "With memodrops memorization, is" instead of "With memodrops, memorization is" which obviously doesn't make any sense. So, how about "Memorization with memodrops is:"

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it. Unfortunatelly English is not my mother tongue. I've applied your suggestions to the site.

Idea: Make this a WepApp with a small application only for the popups. So, it could be used on phones and other systems. + The question would be saved in a secure place and I could add and access them from anywhere. Also, I find the main dialog page a bit clumpsy.. too much differents concepts.. a simple application in the status bar would do the job.

Finally, by using a small application like this, it'd make it easier to add new features and create new type of application that would use the already-existing questions. For instance, an application could ask questions from time to time while another would enable me to play a game with the questions, etc. However, everyone would be free to only use the app they want.

On a side-note, to have the background service running effect, plug-in in firefox or chrome could also be a good idea - or as a home page.

Thanks, these are good ideas. I have also thought about making it 'internet-based' in the future, so that using some kind of synchronization the user could use the same data on her desktop machine and on her phone.

Mnemosyne/Supermemo do not support crossword puzzles. Spicy Elephant is an online flashcard service.

Mnemosyne in particular is geared towards learning vocabulary, and includes 'three sided' flashcards for learning the meaning, non-roman characters and pronounciation of a word.

Something you should address in explaining your service is data export. If I am going to load a ton of words into memodrops, how can I get them out if I need to in a format usable in other programs?

Agree with the others who say make it a web app.

What is the business model? Ad supported? It's definitely a good effort. Thanks for sharing it!

I think having the user type answers is a huge problem. An SRS where you grade yourself (Mnemosyne, for example) allows for fuzzy answers and typos. Your system apparently does not. There are also SRSes which allow for audio and video in questions and answers. Clearly that is impossible to automatically check.

What differentiates this from a product like SuperMemo? I see your licensing cost is less ($9.99 vs $50), but I also know much more about what SuperMemo is and the quality of its results.

Or Mnemosyne, which is free and open source. And cross-platform for that matter.

Another competitor which I did not know about. Does it support cross-word puzzles? (I try to emphasize the fun element of this, in the future I may try to include other games also.)

Thanks for mentioning SuperMemo, I've known about some competitors but not this one. Currently I cannot answer you, I've have to look SuperMemo in more detail. Does it support cross-word puzzles? That's something what I did not find in (other) competitor products.

There is also Anki (http://ichi2.net/anki/), which is also cross-platform and already has an entire library of contributed flashcards.

SuperMemo looks dated (both the app and the web site) but it is very strong in the fundamental algorithms for learning and retention. The guy has been doing this for over 25 years! You'd do well to partner with him to produce a more modern offering based on his research than going alone. If I was serious about learning something I would live with his old school software because I'm really buying into the significant experience he has in the domain in question...

Site does not display right on android browser using tmobile mytouch. Text is weirdly cut off on right with no way to get to it.

Windows only. Looks useful, wish I could try it.

Other platforms will be supported soon, I've implemented this in QT. I just wanted to release as early as possible.

Add an 'I know it, next!' button

Hmmm, a valid point. So by trusting the user's own judgement, I could make the user experience simpler and faster. On the other hand it is a temptation to cheat, which might be a problem for some users... Maybe there should be an option in the Options dialog to turn this feature on, so that the temptation to cheat is there only if the user explicitly turned it on...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com