CobraKai

This is amazing - great work!

Can you talk a little big about how you made the app? What was the source of data to convert the food to equivalent calories? What sort of technical and non-technical challenges did you run into during development?

Would love to try it - agree with the others, the visual interface is very very nicely done (I've been reading up on this subject recently...!)

The video makes me want to try it out. If I dare offer one suggestion...the guitar music is a bit bland and seems out of place with the video, maybe I'm missing something. Great job overall!

As a specialist, I have to say: This makes me very glad I'm not a primary care provider. The doctors of the future will be evaluated on bedside manner and interpersonal skills - not on diagnostic ability or knowledge, because they'll all have access to Watson. Which is scary because smooth talking idiots can get into medical school, but get rapidly weeded out in the real world. It scares me that stupidity can hide behind this computing beast. And there will be situations where Watson cannot help (emergencies) where a doctor and his smarts are all he has to go by.

If Watson makes a wrong diagnoses and a patient dies, who will be responsible? The doctor? IBM? All it would take is one or two incorrect diagnoses leading to large malpractice suits to really put the medical profession on edge about this. Granted, many incompetent practitioners exist out there making all kinds of dangerous decisions, but this would really stick out in the public eye.

I find it easy to navigate and it is useful in discovering new sites if you're a neophyte (like me!). I've already found 2 interesting new websites that I've never heard of before that I have bookmarked.

OP: But how will you monetize this?

There are neurosurgeons and cardiac surgeons that train for 4 years after medical school, 5-7 years of residency, and possibly 1-2 years of post-doctoral research or 1-3 years of fellowship - who will never EVER see a million dollars in a year. Working 80-120 hours a week.

It IS a great time to be a software engineer.

Nice article. Thanks for posting. I, especially, needed to read that for more perpective (going through some similar mindstuffs).

I love this advice. Bookmarked.

There are competitors in the field. The problem that I'm trying to solve has been marginally solved (using sloppy shortcuts) but I want to solve it the real way. I think there's a market. It's a niche market, with 2 very established companies (100+ years old) but they don't have (i'm really really really hoping they don't) what I want to make.

This is a great attitude, I'm going to read your post a few times to let it sink it. It is worth building. I know I'd LOVE to have the product I'm thinking of. And I know it doesn't exist (yet). And yes, there is lots and lots of learning in this project. Thanks, stsmytherie.

haha, point taken. there have been at least 2 products released in the past 2 weeks that are similar to what i'm doing, hence my fear of someone beating me to the punch. hence, my hope that what i'm working on is going to succeed.

on the other hand, maybe you're right and maybe they have tried what i'm trying and it failed and they gave up...