A long time ago, I used to dream of being a pilot.  I actually really wanted to be an astronaut.  The main problem with that though is that I think I got a 200 on the SAT’s and a 10 in the Math section alone!  Hah, ok, not that bad but astronauts these days are super bright scientists so I kinda ruled that out of the equation.

I spent all my time thinking about planes, playing Microsofts Flight Simulator on my computer and browsing through my Sporty’s pilot catalog.  Really thought about flying all the time.

Well, my interest in flying got put on the backburner to other life stuff.  Just high school and getting ready for college really. I thought being a pilot would be a lot of fun and all but I didn’t have the money for lessons and didn’t know if I wanted it as a career so I gave it up.

Even though it’s not a career option for me, I still think learning to fly would be a lot of fun.  If I ever get enough cash to own my own plane, there are a few that I would love but the one that I would just die to have is the T-33 Shooting Star.  I don’t even have a real reason for wanting it except that I think it’s awesome!

I don’t know much about it but ever since I saw it at the Udvar Hazy Air & Space Museum I knew it was the one for me!

That’s pretty much all I had to say so here are some pics.

AppMakr just got back to me in an email asking if they could chat over the phone.  I think that is awesome!  I can’t wait to see what they have to say.

I know I can be snippy (I’m from the north east!) but I want to make it clear that I don’t have anything against AppMakr directly.  My beef is mainly with Apple.

But with them standing by Apple in this case of a “limited audience” and not “diverse enough” app (my app), it kind of brings them into the mix as well.

I hope to settle this once and for all.  I’ll keep you updated!

@AppMakr (on twitter) has gotten back to me and said that they are forwarding my blog post to their founders.  I’m glad they are trying to help.

Here’s what I want (that sounds harsh to say that, like I’m holding them ransom or something!):

- I want my $49 back from AppMakr if they can’t help me (no app was made and that’s what I paid them for)

*or*

- I want AppMakr to work with Apple in getting my app approved

Is there anyone out there that has some contact information for Apple/iTunes App Submission? Probably not but I’m searching.

————

Here are some apps made with Appmakr.  Notice how all of these that I chose are “individuals.”  Some are realtors or musicians but for the most part they are just personal blogs.

Q. Why did theirs get approved?

Q. I have more feeds than any of them and more Twitter followers than most.

Q. Who is Apple to say my app has a limited audience when most of these seem to have even less?  (No offense and I’m not trying to call anyone out, but to give examples)

Q. How can AppMakr, with it’s business model of “turn your blog into an app” continue if people’s blogs get rejected?

Here they are (mine is first for comparison):

Mike Petrucci
App: Mike P.
http://twitter.com/mikepetrucci - 358 followers
Feeds in App - 24

Robert Harm
App: RobertHarm
http://twitter.com/robertharm - 420 followers
Feeds in App - 3 (with 1 “Contact” page feed)

Beth Kanter
App: Beth Kanter
http://twitter.com/bethkanter - 1,137 followers
Feeds in App - 4

Craig Mische
App: CraigMische
http://twitter.com/lakessothebys - 81 followers
Feeds in App - 10
Note: Realtor

Dirk Moritz
App: Dirk Moritz News App
http://twitter.com/dirkmoritz - 14 followers
Feeds in App - 2
Note: Only 2 tweets total

Matt Kay
App: Matt Kay
http://twitter.com/mattkay - 146 followers
Feeds in App - 5
Note: Musician?

Neelu Jain
App: Neelu Jain
http://twitter.com/neelujain - 161 followers
Feeds in App - 2

Mark St. Cyr
App: markstcyr.com
[no Twitter listed]
Feeds in App - 1

Amir Lakhani (?)
App: Assassin (Built By AppMakr.com)
[no Twitter listed]
Feeds in App - 1
Note: Seems to be just a blog feed.

Gihan Perera
App: Gihan Perera
http://twitter.com/gihanperera - 676 followers
Feeds in App - 3

Josh Garrett
App: Josh TX
http://twitter.com/youngfreetexas - 636 followers
Feeds in App - 4

Josh Wright
App: Josh Wright Piano TV
http://twitter.com/joshwrightpiano - 255 followers
Feeds in App - 2

Pat Doyle
App: Pat Doyle
[no Twitter listed]
Feeds in App - 2

Simon Davie
App: SimonsBlog
[no Twitter listed]
Feeds in App - 1

Susan Ullery
App: iSusan Built by AppMakr.com
http://twitter.com/susanullery - 6,318 followers
Feeds in App - 3
Note: Realtor

Jeb Buhler
App: JEBworks
http://twitter.com/jebworks - 1,601 followers
Feeds in App - 5

Andrew Hay
App: Andrew Hay
http://twitter.com/andrewsmhay - 1,252 followers
Feeds in App - 1

Michael Geist
App: Geist [Built by AppMakr.com]
http://twitter.com/michaelgeist - 6,643 followers
Feeds in App - 5

Lee Smallwood
App: LeeSmallWood
http://twitter.com/leesmallwood - 13,045 followers
Feeds in App - 3

Dries Bultynck
App: Dries
http://twitter.com/driesbultynck - 764 followers
Feeds in App - 2

There are more, but I am too busy right now to search.

————

I also emailed MotherApp to see if they have any insight.  This is what I wrote them:

Hey Mother App,

I have an interesting question for you.  I recently made an app through AppMakr.  There was a promo code that knocked the price down to a one time fee of $49 instead of the usual $199 (I looked at you guys and love the apps that use you but for $50, I just had to go with them).

Well, I just got word that my app was rejected.  Apple said this:
“We’ve reviewed your application Mike P. and have determined that this application is not appropriate for the App Store because it is intended for a limited audience.”

AppMakr stood by their decision (though I have filed a complain to get my money back) and told me to “diversify my feeds or content.”  To which I replied that I probably have the most diverse set of feeds and content out of all the apps made through AppMakr. 

Most of the apps for individuals made through AppMakr have around 2-4 feeds.  Mine has 24. 

You can read the entire post with much more detail and information on my blog: http://bit.ly/9d6XBe

My question to is what do you recommend that I do?  I am trying to build my “personal brand” and don’t exactly offer one specific service.  Do you agree with Apple in not letting my app through?

Please let me know that you received this message.  Feel free to get a hold of me any way that’s convenient. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

I wanted to make an app.  A one stop shop for my friend, family, and followers.  I saw that AppMakr was having a promotion through Guy Kawasaki.  It’s usually $199 but with the code “GUYK” it was knocked down to $49!  I jumped on it!

These are the feeds that I had setup:

- Main Blog
- Twitter
- DailyBooth
- YouTube
- 43 Things
- Blip.fm
- Bookmarks
- Calendar
- Cork’d
- Facebook
- Flickr
- Foursquare
- Google Reader
- Gun Blog
- Last.fm
- Posterous
- Qik
- Raptr
- Running Blog
- Original Personal Blog
- Tumblr
- Vimeo
- Weather
- Wish List
- Yelp

These are all my original content too!

Well, I build my app (check it out here: http://bit.ly/4uYbMP)

It’s not very pretty but it does have virtually every social media network that I am on and post fairly regularly to.

I submitted my app but didn’t hear about the status for a few weeks.  I logged back in to see if there was any new news and I saw a message saying it was rejected.  So I logged back into the support side to see if there was any news.  I never got an email notifying me it was rejected.

Here is word for word my conversation with AppMakr so far (copy/pasted):

————

• We have good news and we have bad news - bad news is that that Apple has rejected your App (direct email from Apple is posted below). However, the good news is that you can rebuild for $49 and try again.

  Also, here are some suggestions on how to best address the issue:

  Try to make your app appeal to a broader audience by diversifying the feeds or content.

  Your app is saved in your dashboard so don’t worry, you don’t have to completely rebuild your app - you can simply make the changes and republish the build for $49!

  Happy AppMaking!!

  -Ryan from the AppMakr Support Team

  PS - In addition to the free email support, you can open a phone support ticket anytime at www.AppMakr.com/support for a nominal fee.

  support@AppMakr.com
  twitter: @AppMakr

  _______________________________________________________

  We’ve reviewed your application Mike P. and have determined that this application is not appropriate for the App Store because it is intended for a limited audience.

  If you would like to share it with friends and family, we recommend you review the Ad Hoc method on the Distribution tab of the iPhone Developer Portal for details on distributing this application among a small group of people of your choosing.

  If you believe that you can add additional user functionality to Mike P. so that it can be accessible to a wider audience, we encourage you to do so and resubmit it for review.

  Regards,

  iPhone Developer Program

Jan-25 2010 18:02.

————

Me:

• Ryan,

  I am beyond upset about this. There was no warning that this would even be a possibility. I also did not get an email, I just decided to check my AppMakr account and saw the app was rejected.

  In the email from Apple, it says this:

  “If you would like to share it with friends and family, we recommend you review the Ad Hoc method on the Distribution tab of the iPhone Developer Portal for details on distributing this application among a small group of people of your choosing.”

  How would I have known that? I never got access to that. Can you explain to me how that would work? I paid for your service (which was never provided) because I don’t know how to operate in the iPhone SDK.

  Ryan, you also say yourself that I should try to “appeal to a broader audience by diversifying the feeds or content.” Did you see how many feeds I had? Did you see how broad my content was?

  I had 25 feeds. And the content of those feeds were quite wide ranging. There were feeds on photos, on my personal blog, on a my running blog, on my wishlist, my local weather, on my videos, on my current location…

  Maybe you are saying that app approval comes down to how many twitter followers I have. As of this very moment I have 359 followers. How many do you have? 657. That’s not a whole lot more. Especially considering that I am just a random dude and you are a company that [supposedly] provides a service that appeals to millions of people.

  I’m not trying to pick a fight with you directly but I don’t let people steal my money. Apple may have been the ones to reject me but you have stood by them when you should have given me the option to refund my money.

  How would you suggest that I try my app again? I don’t see how your comment of “Try to make your app appeal to a broader audience by diversifying the feeds or content.” can help me when I already have such a diverse feed set.

  I expect a quick email back at least letting me know that you received this. Thank you and I hope that we can settle this quickly.

Feb-01 2010 19:25.
————
So, I’m waiting to hear back from them.  What do you think?  Was I too harsh? I don’t want to sound mean but I really don’t think they deserve to keep my money for doing nothing.  I spent a lot of time working on this from making the graphics for the app myself (even though they are pretty minimal) and finding and organizing feeds.
Here are screen caps of my feeds with their custom icons.(See the whole set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scrappapervlog/sets/72157623206629975/)

What do you think?

iPad? Really? Is it sponsored by Tampax?  The name is just a little odd but it will probably grow on me.

The iPad is cool.  There, I said it. But that doesn’t mean I’m lining up to buy it.
And if you don’t think it’s cool then you are probably lying.  You know you will ogle the crap out of if you see a person in public with one.  But maybe just because it’s new…

The Good

- It looks cool
- Bigger videos
- Bigger games
- Developers will start taking advantage of its size and hopefully make some cool new apps
- You can hook a keyboard up to it.

The Bad

- It’s not a “computer” - It runs iPhone OS right?  Not OSX
- Can you really only put 4 apps in the bottom dock?
- Until apps are made to fit, most will look very odd being tiny or blown up
- No word on multitasking
- Wha?! No camera at all?


What iPad would HAVE to have for me to buy one today:

- Camera for video chatting
- Dual OSX and iPhone operating systems
- …. Can’t think of anything more but I know there’s more!


Price

I’m pretty thrilled about the cost of it BUT only for the $499 version. I thought they were going to charge a ton just because they could.  Kudos.  I understand that the larger drives and the addition of 3G is a plus but not truly needed for what I plan on using it for.

Which one would I buy?

I would buy the 16GB WiFi only model.  Why?  Because it would be a supplement to my iPhone, not a replacement.  I wouldn’t bring it with me to the super market so that’s where the iPhone steps in.  The iPad would be in my backpack to bring to work or the airport and stuff like that.  Mostly it would be for when I get a chance to sit down and get comfortable.

I live on my iPhone comes out everywhere!  While in line at Taco Bell, walking to the Metro, riding my bike.  To me, those are situations where I would use the iPhone over the iPad for sure.

Also, WiFi is [almost] everywhere and will only continue to grow so I don’t think that not having 3G would be a problem, as long as I have an iPhone that is.


Overall Thought

If I can get a hold of $499, then I would go for the 16GB iPad WiFi.  That way my wife can use my MacBook Pro and I can surf on something larger than the iPhone.  But I don’t see it as second household computer.  More of an iPod Touch on steroids.  I’ll really have to get some hands on time to make a better decision.  So much to digest!

Q. What would you like to see it have? Do you feel the price justifies what it can do?

**Sorry if this is sloppy but I just wanted to post it real fast**

I’m not stopping this one but I’ll probably be posting way more to the new blog. Check it!

http://mikepetrucci.blogspot.com

Have a fun and safe Thanksgiving!

I feel like an idiot because when the Metro stopped, I got out and ran 2 cars down but then the doors closed and I’m stuck waiting for the next train.

Here they are, in no particular order, but a list of things that I thought was cool or interesting or useful.  Also, I didn’t really find all of these today but you get the idea.

• Amazing Transformers Halloween Costume.  Really, it’s amazing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC08Lx-zkhI

• I started a pretty successful (in my eyes) thread on DailyBooth.com: http://dailybooth.com/mikepetrucci/1592528

• 2 great ways to check a username used in the online world: http://namechk.com/ and http://knowem.com/

• Interesting site about business books and “great ideas”: http://800ceoread.com/

• I wish they were cheaper but great looking custom Tumblr themes: http://tumblize.com/

• Oldie but goody; iPhone Home Screens: http://www.firstand20.com/

• An idea that I wish I thought of first: http://iwearyourshirt.com/

Listening to Rough Gem by Islands.

Things I Found Interesting Today - 10/19/09

First & 20

First & 20 Blog

Beau Colburn on 1st & 20

My Viddler Profile

Short Amazon video review I did for @garyvee ‘s book #CrushIt (This time with audio)

I was going to do a video blog on procrastination but I think I’ll just do it later.

I know it looks like nothing is going on, but when it gets real busy, it helps me refresh my mind grapes by closing everything for a minute.