A Closer Look: Cooking Capsules

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A Closer Look: Cooking Capsules

Written by AndroidGuys <http://AndroidGuys.com/author/admin/>

It’s time to take A Closer Look at another program from the first round
of the Android Developers Challenge. This time around we’re talking with
Mary Ann about her application, Cooking Capsules. Find out how this
seemingly random grouping of people came together and what went into
their entry.

*Thanks for stopping by! Let’s start off with some background on the
program and how it came about. What was the inspiration behind Cooking
Capsules? *

My friend Igor Stalew and I were brainstorming a broad range of video
ideas together and over time I proposed we pursue the cooking one first.
I wanted to make cooking fun and simple. Cooking shows, cookbooks and
online recipes are great, but what about those days when you don’t cook
because of all the logistical hurdles? We approached my friend Christine
who loves to cook and has great ideas and a good personality for video.
I told her about the all-in-one solution idea and she helped me come up
with the name “Cooking Capsules”. Christine proposed a recipe (Brie with
Port Sauce), which she tested and refined, and then Igor produced the
video and I directed and edited it, adding my own illustrations and
intro animations. Next, I approached another friend, Sukhjit, who has
on-air experience and also loves to cook. She suggested a dish called
Aloo Parantha. We shot a second pilot episode with her as host.

I continued to brainstorm the best way to distribute the videos. I
realized that a short-format cooking show was only the start. It needed
to offer an integrated solution. So I used my interface design
experience to mock up a cooking application for mobile. Then I contacted
my friend Daniel Pfeiffer, who runs a successful mobile and online games
company called Thwart Poker. I took him to lunch and showed him the
architecture and screen designs I had come up with to see what he
thought about Cooking Capsules for mobile. He suggested I look into
Android, and that perhaps I could find a developer to team up with on
the Developer Challenge.

I went home and read about Android, the O.H.A. and the challenge, then
zeroed in on the message boards and lurked for a while to see what
people were talking about. I found Muthu Ramadoss, in Chennai, India,
who was interested in teaming up for the Challenge. Then he and I spent
full-time working remotely over e-mail and chat to adapt the concept to
Android. We were both really pleased with the final result. He did an
excellent job, and exceeded my expectations in terms of what I thought
was realistic for the first phase.

*That’s awesome! We were actually going to ask you how your team came
together, but you took care of that. You actually didn’t start out with
the intention of creating something for the contest. Ironic, since yours
is one of the semi-finalists.* *So when did you end up working with Muthu?*

Muthu had been using Android before I met him, but I didn’t find out
about the Challenge or team up with him until late February.

*What was your biggest obstacle in writing it?*

I can’t speak for Muthu, but I would say it was that Android was (and
still is) in development itself. It is hard for developers to know if
they are doing something wrong, or if they have merely encountered a bug
or current limitation in the SDK. Also, video wasn’t well supported yet,
so I had to edit the videos way back and spend a lot of effort
compressing them get them down to one meg (1MB), in order to embed them
in the application. We chose not to serve them yet to avoid
complications, but they will live on servers in the future.

*Going in, what did you think of your chances in the Developers Challenge?*

We felt we had a very good chance. We knew there would be a lot of great
apps, but we believed in the strength and broad appeal of the idea and
our execution of it.

*What have you done with the first round money?* *Any big purchases or
special plans for the $25,000 winnings? *

Muthu has spent some of his to visit San Francisco. He and I attended
Google I/O along with Travis Choma, who is a member of our Phase2
Challenge team. They both extended their visits so we have been meeting
up, working and socializing too.

Muthu has a development company, with 40 team members called Intellibitz
in Chennai, another Android project (a local search engine) his team is
working on, and a wife and two little girls, so I’m sure he won’t have
any problem spending the rest of his half!

My half is going directly into developing the company and content.

*So a little bit of everything… We’d have a hard time not blowing a
chunk of it on something silly. Kudos to you guys. Tell us, are you
busier now than before or has it slowed down since the end of round one?*

Let’s just say I haven’t been sipping umbrella drinks on a tropical
beach somewhere (although I did manage to fit in an R.E.M concert).

*R.E.M. is one of our favorite groups! Scott saw them in 1995 on the
Monster tour right after the Bill Berry aneurysm. Moving on, Android and
smart phones in general will appeal to males. Sell* *this program to a
guy in just a few sentences.*

A lot of guys I know like tools and useful gadgets. Men often seem to
have a keen interest in utility, and this is the ultimate utility. Lots
of men like to cook, and those who don’t might give it a shot if it took
less time and planning, and the wisdom of a friendly show host. To quote
an AndroidGuys review: It “could be the secret ingredient in wooing your
next date!”

*You noticed that quote huh? Ok, we’re sold. Tell us about your
experiences with other platforms or programs. Was this the first
application you worked on?*

Yes, I had never designed a mobile application before. My background in
web user interface design helped a lot, but I am learning as I go and
seeking a lot of advice about the considerations specific to mobile design.

*Do you plan to do any other applications?*

I would like to do more in the future, yes. I have several ideas that I
believe to be just as strong as this one. Right now, however, Cooking
Capsules and the second phase of the Challenge is keeping me very busy,
and I am placing all of my attention on the Challenge and the future
launch of the app.

*Speaking of the second phase, give us a glimpse if you could. Anything
special lined up for the second round of the Challenge?
*
A lot of very hard work!

*Understandably secretive. Sometimes people forget that this is still a
contest and lose sight of the fact that you don’t want us to know what
you’re cooking up. How’s that for a pun? Alright, let’s end it with a
simple one -* *What’s for dinner tonight?*

Halibut baked in parchment paper, French green beans with toasted almond
slivers and a scrumptious chocolate pot de creme for dessert.

*Sounds delicious! Good luck with the rest of the second phase and tell
your team that AndroidGuys says hello. Please come back and share any
new features or exciting news with us. The door’s always open.*

Thanks again to Mary Ann for taking the time out of what seems like a
busy schedule to answer our questions. If you’re interested in finding
out more about Cooking Capsules, head over to their website
<http://www.cookingcapsules.com/>.

http://androidguys.com/2008/06/07/a-closer-look-cooking-capsules/