Meeting #1 -- Friday 3/23/12

http://howard-apps-dev.blogspot.com

Our ad hoc developers group held its first meeting today from 1:30 until 3 p.m. in a conference room in the iLab ... and it was very productive, as the rest of this summary will demonstrate ... :-)

A. Members Present

• Dr. Donald Bell
• Dr. Trina Coleman (conf call)
• Prof. Walter Oliver
• Mr. Tony Njoku (video link)
• Dr. Roy Beasley
• Mr. Timothy Staton-Davis, Sophomore, Computer Science
• Mr. Nnamdi Anozie, 2nd Year, School of Law
  -- Former Student Rep on Howard University's Board of Trustees
• Mr. Jeremy Blackstone, Sophomore, Computer Science
• Mr. Marcus Carey, Junior, Business Administration
  -- Student Rep on Howard University's Board of Trustees
• Mr. Paul Alade, Junior, Electrical Engineering
  

B. Brief summary of main points

• Members introduced themselves, noting their technical backgrounds and which mobile apps they were interested in developing.
• Members agreed that we should link up with other incubator groups at other universities and independent groups of minority developers
•  Individual members should develop whatever apps they please, but together we should focus on education apps ... for students and faculty ...  education market is heating up
  http://chronicle.com/article/A-Boom-Time-for-Education/131229/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en
• The group discussed proprietary apps that some members are considering, e.g., Nnamdi Anozie/Marcus Carey
• Members agreed not to discuss apps developed by other members outside the group ... but we should formalize this understanding with signed non-disclosure agreements
• The group agreed that a "Howard App" should be the first group effort ... "What every student (and faculty member) would want to know about what's going on in various situations" ... e.g., shuttle bus schedules, university calendar, today's events ... other colleges and universities have already developed this type of app ... we should obtain specs for apps at other institutions ... and open source code if available
• The Howard app should run on all four platforms -- Apple, Android, Windows Phone, and Blackberry ... probably should be developed in JavaScript, HTML 5, and CSS
• We should try to find out about any other app development activity on campus
• Everyone should try to recruit more members into our group

C. Tasks to be completed before next meeting ... by designated "volunteers"

• Identify an alternative day/time for weekly meetings ... Dr. B. ... DONE
• Collect software development kits (SDKs) for four platforms ... Prof Oliver
• Post SDKs in Google docs directory so members can download and install on home workstations ... Dr. B.
• Install SDKs on PCs and Macs in reserved iLab areas ... Prof Oliver
• Arrange to have reserved areas open to members of the group 7 days each week up until midnight ... Prof Oliver
• Set up new blog site for group ... Dr. B. ... DONE
• Obtain specs for apps like Howard-App created at other universities ... Marcus Carey
• Check out intellectual property laws and regulations that may impact our group's activities ... Nnamdi Anozie
• Draft a non-disclosure agreement for members of the group and for outsiders prior to their viewing presentations of apps developed by the group ... Nnamdi Anozie
• Assist Dr. B to manage the group's blog site ... Jeremy Blackstone
  
• Find out who's developing' the "Scavenger Hunt" app being developed for Howard's MS2 middle school on Android ==> recruit them to our group ... Marcus Carey
• Send links to developers tools for Android and other platform to Dr. B. ... Vancito Wallace ... DONE
• Identify other app developer groups on campus -- if they exist ... Dr. Coleman/Tony Njoku
• Recruit more members ... EVERYBODY ... :-)
  Note: Recruits should be directed to the Google Group site where they can request to be admitted. Dr. B will then query new recruits as to which group member recommended them. For the time being, we will only admit new members who have been recommended by a current member.
  https://groups.google.com/group/howard-apps-dev