Wow, I have to say, that is both the quickest and also the most responsive follow up from a app developer that I've ever read!
Considering that the announcement of the app going live happened less than 24 hours ago, this is especially remarkable. Thank you for such a thoughtful and thorough post. I'm heading off now to leave positive feedback in the iTunes store. Thanks tons and tons from one appreciative customer. If you had a restaurant, I'd be there; I'd know my eggs would be made to order. From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Todd Bernhard Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2013 8:52 PM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Cc: Todd Bernhard Subject: Re: Apple just approved All Access: Talking Menus & More Thank you everyone for the great, constructive feedback. We've learned a lot and I wanted to give you an update. I just submitted an update to Apple based on all the comments received so far! First, I've built over 80 apps, for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Mac OS and even Samsung Bada. This is the most complex one I've ever built. In addition the emphasis on voiceover, the app is also meant for the Deaf, Non-Verbal and Non-English-speaking audience, as it can speak the order to the waitstaff, independently of voiceover. The app is accessing four different servers from three different companies. One server, in Switzerland, is for the logo scanning, one in Rochester, NY (soon to migrate to Amazon's cloud servers) is our own with our internal database with photos and premium customer info, another in Las Vegas is for the text-to-speech hints (which you do not need if you are using voiceover) and the last one, in San Francisco, is for the restaurant/business/menu database. That service and server is provided by Locu.com. That last one is where we have the following issues. First, thanks to the popularity of the app, we went over their previously undisclosed limit of 1,000 requests per day, around 8am Pacific time. That is why some of you saw the app crashing. Since that provider doesn't open until 9am, I had to keep calling until they answered to get our limit raised. (I asked for 100,000!) It was raised and I've made an edit to the app (for the next update) that will display a message instead of crashing if that ever happens again! Next, is the issue of no menus. That was probably because their server offers info for more than just restaurants. For example, they have hair salons, spas, etc. I'm changing the app to just show restaurants, by default, and we may re-enable other businesses in a future update, but because it was causing confusion, I don't think it should default to "all businesses". That other info is valuable, but the confusion seems to be the bigger problem. Regarding stale data, I have noticed this and complained about it, too. I think the provider's emphasis, understandably, is on growing their database and there is less focus on pruning out old info. They are a startup, too, and I can relate to prioritizing resources. But I think we will create a button that lets you report old data and then we can blacklist it from the app, even if it hasn't been removed from that provider's database. To be honest, it's quite remarkable that they've built this menu system, without requiring restaurants to do anything. They search for websites, and even scan paper menus and have over one million such menus now. They have signed deals with GoDaddy and Yelp so we're in good company. And they are excited to be part of this accessible effort. Re voiceover and accessibility. The specific feedback was great, and I believe I've made all of the changes. I've used the app repeatedly in voiceover mode and I think I've eliminated everything people were running into. For the technically inclined, you might be interested to know that there are at least 109 specific accessibility commands in the app source code. The problem wasn't really the lack of voiceover commands but that we were layering views on top of previous ones, and that meant in some views, if there wasn't another accessible element displayed, the ones below it would "peak through." That has been fixed. I will change how you edit settings, like manual address versus GPS, as this was confusing even to sighted folks! Regarding finding the app, I sent the initial email shortly after Apple notified us it was approved, and it takes some time for apps to show up, especially worldwide. Nobody should have a problem finding it now, either by searching for all access or search for blind menus or use this link: http://bit.ly/AllAccessMenus For a restaurant to be included in the app, or to update their existing info, they can either contact us directly, which is preferred, or they can contact Locu.com who is the menu database provider. There is no charge to be listed and no charge to have a menu included. Both Locu and our firm, All Access, offer premium features where we plan to earn revenue. Locu charges restaurants to upload their own photos, whereas our focus is on letting users upload their photos, via a scavenger hunt style contest, in exchange for gift cards from the restaurant. We also charge for the Logo Launcher scanning feature, and for the ability to add custom deals (like groupons) and other custom buttons. Lastly, the app is for more than menus. The app will provide a link to directions via Apple Maps, twitter, facebook, weather, and more. Are there other items you would like to have? Thanks again, and please send feedback. It's probably easiest to use the feedback button in the app. I'll let you know when the update is approved. I hope you'll give that version a chance. Todd@ToddBernhard Cofounder, AllAccessMenus.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. 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