MeFi Projects

I'm part of a tiny team of people who just released a free article-recommending app for the iPhone. While building/tweaking/testing it I kept getting recommendations that make me think of good Metafilter posts, so I wanted to pass it along! In addition to having amazing content, we've built it in a way that I think folks here would really appreciate. [more inside]
posted by rivenwanderer on Sep 18, 2019 - 0 comments

Good Spirits is a drink tracker for iOS. Ever since learning about the correlation between drinking and various kinds of cancer, I've been meticulous about logging and tracking every drink I consume. Good Spirits makes this process easy: just set a weekly limit, check in your drinks, and the app will let you know when you're in the danger zone. For the craft beer drinkers, you can automatically pull new check-ins from Untappd. Free and soon-to-be open source!
posted by archagon on Sep 3, 2018 - 1 comment

MusicMessages! is a collaborative step sequencer for the iMessage App Store (iPhone, iPad). Using the simple and (hopefully) intuitive interface, you can punch in a few chords or a percussion line and send the message off to your friends, who can then make their own changes and send it back. Five instrument layers and over 40 MIDI instruments are available to use. Bonus: if you have an iPhone 7, the note buttons respond to pressure and "pop" like bubble wrap with the help of the Taptic engine!
posted by archagon on Nov 30, 2016 - 1 comment

I've spent the past 18 months or so slogging away at apprecs.com, an app search engine that can detect review manipulation. You can see the worst offenders here. I posted this back when this was iOS-only, and I'd like to share some major new features I've added. [more inside]
posted by hodgebodge on Oct 20, 2016 - 2 comments

Approximal is an iOS app that uses Bluetooth to discover people nearby. It can match you using social networks (18 supported so far, including the usual suspects), or any adhoc personal networks you and other people create. [more inside]
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse on Aug 21, 2015 - 1 comment

I've finally released an iPhone app I've been working on for four years: The Fridge. It's made to help you remember about your perishable foods so they don't go to waste. It has some unique UI elements that (I hope) are interesting. And of course, it comes with a demo video, but not a usual one (absolutely no soft ukulele music). [more inside]
posted by smasuch on Aug 8, 2014 - 1 comment

Augur is an iPhone app that displays random Twitter posts, and attempts to provide both advice and prophesy. Pulling from a growing list of keywords, the app ignores any Twitter posts containing links, images, #hashtags, or @mentions. It also parses out any first person mention (I, Me, Myself) and tries to present Twitter posts containing second personal conditionals (You will, You shall, etc). [more inside]
posted by avoision on Jun 25, 2014 - 6 comments

I created SAMi out of a very personal need to monitor my son at night after he was diagnosed with epilepsy. Using a networked IR security camera, I built the first version in 2009. The code was written in python and ran on a dedicated old Dell laptop. Over the years I've refined the design, tweaking the detection algorithm until I had a system that worked reliably for us. With the help of funding from the Epilepsy Foundation (I won their first "Shark Tank" competition) and the support of friends and family I've turned my bespoke python based solution into an iPhone app. www.samialert.com is my new website where we've recently launched SAMi to the public, we are starting to ship cameras worldwide. The response so far has been gratifying.
posted by cosmac on Apr 2, 2014 - 0 comments

I had a baby this year, and we had a LOT of trouble with breastfeeding and pumping. I used basically every baby app I could find and found most to be frustratingly bad. So I made my own, and after 6 months of development (during naps no less) it went up on the App Store today. It works for nursing, pumping, or bottle-feeding moms, and even supports twins/multiples. And it is designed to be used one-handed. [more inside]
posted by annekate on Jan 6, 2014 - 0 comments

As a long time reader of Ask Food & Drink, I've made a foodie/cook iphone app. More info and promo code inside. [more inside]
posted by cl3m on Oct 8, 2013 - 2 comments

Make fake iPhone and iPad apps to rickroll your friends (or worse...). More information about the project in this blog post.
posted by beeker on Mar 31, 2013 - 2 comments

Nametrix is an iOS app I created initially for baby naming, but it ended up being way cooler than that. It uses public data on millions of people (US census, US campaign contributions, Wikipedia) to determine what professions, political parties, and other affiliations each name tends toward. For example, Ellen is a disproportionately common name for 1) psychotherapists, 2) librarians, and 3) activists. Ellens also overwhelmingly lean toward the Democrat party and have tended to be most popular in the northeastern part of the US. As far as I know, nobody else has made anything remotely like this... Pretty fascinating stuff, right? What other kinds of metrics would you like to see?
posted by hodgebodge on Jan 24, 2013 - 23 comments

The Our Oregon Mobile Voter Guide is an app for iPhone and Android that presents progressive ballot measure recommendations for your location (Oregon only). Where do progressive groups that promote conservation, equal rights, reproductive health, senior care, and economic fairness stand on the ballot measures that matter most to Oregonians? Always up-to-date and relevant, the Our Oregon Mobile Voter Guide gives you the information and news you need.
posted by OverlappingElvis on Oct 20, 2012 - 0 comments

I've been participating in the creation of a free iPhone app called BarNotes. If you're the type of person who likes creating and sharing fancy cocktails, if you enjoy documenting in detail all the great drinks handed to you by your favorite bartenders, or even if you just want to be a voyeur and salivate over recipes - this app would be for you.
posted by komara on Sep 30, 2012 - 0 comments

I decided to quit my programming job at Google, start a small company, and write an app with my best friend Graham Bartram. As he's a top flag expert these days, the result was FlagWaver. Watch his beautiful high quality flag artwork ripple in a virtual breeze as you spin and zoom them, even drag the simulated fabric with your finger. [more inside]
posted by w0mbat on Sep 19, 2012 - 1 comment

For residents of CO, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI, and WY: this is a page that formats the National Weather Service Central Region's "weather story" forecast information for your iPhone, including an icon so you can it to your home screen. Information on how to customize to your location is in the extended description. Source on Github. [more inside]
posted by stopgap on Sep 12, 2012 - 2 comments

If you've ever been watching a movie and found yourself wondering “hey, wasn't that guy in $MOVIE_TITLE” or “say, what's got $PERSON_1 and $PERSON_2 in it”, Double Feature is for you. With its Movie Match feature, you can type in two movies and get back a list of the people that worked on both movies. With Name Search, you can punch in two names and get back all of the films those two people both worked on. That's literally all that Double Feature does. If you'd classify yourself as a movie buff, I think you'll really like it.
posted by scottjacksonx on Feb 29, 2012 - 5 comments

Jotunheim is an iPhone app that lets you post to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr, and mlkshk. One at a time or all at once. So, you can keep your people up-to-date, even if they're not all on the same social network. [more inside]
posted by ignignokt on Dec 1, 2011 - 1 comment

Launch, transport, and boost your diver into the pool. Blast enemy squirt guns and boxes. Fly high, collect coins, and don't miss! The mobile version is free. [more inside]
posted by beanstshirt on Aug 2, 2011 - 0 comments

An interactive camera app that responds to movement in real time, warping the image feed. Wave your hands around, move your head or pull facial expressions, and watch the image distort in amazing ways. [more inside]
posted by iotic on Jul 6, 2011 - 4 comments

Birthdays belong on calendars. But what about events with more flexible due dates? Things like watering the plants, cleaning the bathroom or replacing the water filter every six months. And what about things you're looking forward to? How many days exactly is it until your cell phone contract expires or your homebrew is ready for quaffing with friends? Cosmos Timer is an iPhone app that can track these kinds of events. It can handle events that are only a few minutes (boiling the perfect egg) or several years (your next tetanus booster shot) - and it shows a nice countdown which you can share with friends.
posted by kamelhoecker on Jun 21, 2011 - 4 comments

Dream. Design. Dig. | The iMyGarden app lets you see your garden design before ever touch the soil in your garden. [more inside]
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug on Jun 14, 2011 - 0 comments

I am just finishing Q Scan for Netflix. It's my new iPhone app that let's you quickly scan retail Blu-ray and DVD barcodes to add movies to your Netflix Queue. You can also manage your queue within the app, check out new releases, and explore the Netflix movie catalog.
posted by jdlugo on Feb 21, 2011 - 4 comments

It's an app that generates pairs of colors at random, then puts them in a pattern, then lets you adjust and save those colors. [more inside]
posted by ignignokt on Oct 14, 2010 - 11 comments