I'm curious - can't doctors tell if people are asleep/unconscious by shining light into the eye to look for dilation? Why wouldn't that also wake them?
And on another note, it seems like emergency alarm systems should alert people in a number of different ways. Apparently it's not unusual for kids to sleep through regular household smoke detector alarms.
You're welcome, and thank you for the comment. I noticed this as well; I'm definitely searching a way to make the vibration more noticeable. Someone else suggested abandoning the mobile phone platform altogether to make a more robust product in general. If not me, maybe Nest will do something like this with their smoke detectors. They're already connected to wifi, so it would just take a wifi-enabled vibrator do the same thing, perhaps more reliably. Still, it might be a while before every smoke detector is as smart as a Nest ;)
Hey everyone, I really appreciate all of the positive feedback. This is quite thrilling as a college student. It's the first thing I've made that people actually understand and consider useful.
If any of you download Deafalarm, please let me know how it works for you and what you would like to see improved.
I could also use pointers on getting the word out to people in this niche market.
I wonder the same thing. I find that I dream more when I can hear rain on the roof, so maybe ambient sounds (or a lack thereof) have a real effect on sleep
Thanks for the great comment. It's rigged to err on the false positive side, to be safe. I didn't expect this sort of interest, honestly, so I'll probably need to improve the app and make it as safe as possible if I find that people are actually using it.
I think audio recording is one of the few things you're allowed to do in the background. I didn't do anything special. Did they give you any specific reasons?
Yeah, I certainly hope that doesn't happen. I just wanted to make something that makes the world ever so slightly better for a few people. It's too bad if those are the consequences of making something with good intentions, ya know?
Thanks! It uses around a quarter of your battery overnight. Maybe less. The ideal place is somewhere close to you, like under your pillow or in your pocket, but pillows and covers may dampen the noise.
Any suggestions on getting the word out? I'm psyched that it's on the front page of HN, and never would have thought it would be, but it would be great if anyone knows of places to reach more of the target market.
Yeah, I sort of worry about legal and moral issues. I'd feel horrible if someone died in a fire or something while relying on my app. I want people view it as more of a backup that will at least improve their chances. It's better to have a chance than nothing, right?
Thank you! I'm a college student with an early class (so I have to go to bed earlier than most people), and my dorm can be pretty loud, so I often sleep with earplugs. I didn't like the idea of possibly not waking up in a fire, so I made this to cure my paranoia :p
I don't know how many people will find it useful, but it seemed like something that should exist.
That's when you become Elon Musk and actually change the world. But if we're talking about like $5M, enough to retire quite comfortably, I'd just experiment and not worry what others think of what I do/create.
Look at the generalist's source code to make sure it's coherent and original. It's not a problem if they use something online as a model, especially when they're unfamiliar with an API or something, as long as they understand what they're doing. Also, good generalists tend to be more prolific when it comes to entrepreneurial endeavors, so look for a bunch of original side projects. What's most important with a generalist is his creativity and ability to learn a new technology. How he does this is not really important as long as he can do it. But originality in side projects probably indicates a desire for originality in code as well.
No, it's not luck. Unless we're talking about growing up in Palo Alto at the dawn of computers, luck usually has very little to do with success. It's all about persistence and market understanding. In this case, it's mostly about creating games that people actually want. Good games are challenging and fun, so people buy them. Graphics, music, etc. are secondary. It doesn't take Bungie or John Carmack to make Tetris, but it's one of the best games ever made. Why? Because it's fun. I'd probably buy a knockoff Tetris app for $20 before I buy a beautiful but completely boring game like Infinity Blade for much less.
I'm an elitist when it comes to music, but I admitted to myself that Taylor Swift's I Knew You Were Trouble and a couple Backstreet Boys' songs are catchy, well-composed tunes. Good melodies are good melodies. But I'm glad I don't have to credit Taylor Swift anymore :p
A lot of these songs have much more musical merit than a lot of pretentious indie songs, which tend to be repetitive and lacking in melody. Contrary to unpopular belief (by the "hip" minority), you're not necessarily unsophisticated if you enjoy a wildly popular band like Coldplay.