The Lightbulb Audit

For the past few months, I’ve been devoting a fair chunk of my “free time” (which is to say, very little time at all… I have a baby and a toddler, neither of whom sleep) to learning a bit of Java. Specifically, Java for Android. This has been… less fulfilling than expected. I’ve learnt a fair bit since the middle of the year, but not as much as I’d hoped. I do a little recreational programming in a few different languages, mostly Visual Basic and C++ derivatives, and while all languages and coding environments have their challenges, none of them compare the the peculiarities of android app development. I won’t wax poetic here, because this post isn’t actually about Java; this post is about results.

Finally, I have got my first Android app ready for public consumption (which is to say, I lowered my standards until they matched where my app was at). I think it’s pretty reasonable, in terms of presentation, but the important thing is that it’s useful. And that pretty much sums up my standards for anything.

The app is a light bulb tracking program, which I affectionately call The Lightbulb Audit. This app is designed to be a list of every light fitting in your house, and every bulb installed in those fittings, which can be carried in your pocket. That way, the next time you see LED lightbulbs on sale, instead of thinking to yourself: “Gee, that seems cheap. I wonder if I actually need more lightbulbs?”, you will check your phone and say “Wow, I actually have three blown lightbulbs that I haven’t replaced yet, no spares, that one dim bulb in the bathroom that really needs to be replaced with something more powerful, and most of my bulbs are ye-olde incandescent lightbulbs. What are we savages? time to upgrade!”… or something very much along those lines.

So, here is a link to my app on the Google Play store (sorry Apple users, after the experience I just had learning to program for Android, it’s unlikely I’ll get to you any time soon. Also, I don’t have an iPhone to test on. Also: *sound of me blowing a raspberry at you*):

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=teslaandi.wordpress.com.lightbulbaudit

(Please see “important” note below!)

I appreciate feedback, comments, suggestions, and bug reports, so please feel free to leave comment on this blog post to let me know what’s on your mind (regarding the app).

But! Because I’m such a nice guy, I’ve also put up a copy of my Lightbulb Audit spreadsheet (which is how this thing originally started life). Not only can non-android users access this, but you can also export a CSV file from the app and paste it into this spreadsheet:

the-lightbulb-audit

Please, feel free to modify the spreadsheet, add colourful graphs, add features, etc. And please share your updated version if you do! Sharing is caring.

IMPORTANT!!!! – Because I’m such a nice guy and put my app up for free, I don’t make money off it just from you downloading and using it. Where I can make a few cents is from you clicking on the ad banner at the bottom of the app (which I’ve tried to make as unobtrusive as possible, because the afore mentioned niceness). So, if you see any ads that are even vaguely interesting: please, click on it. At the time of writing, my revenue is up to about $2.06… sigh… Oh well, I do it because I enjoy it, not to make money. Also because I’m just such a nice guy and want to help you and your lightbulb situation… Which is a mess, right? Be honest.

ALSO IMPORTANT!!!! – Please don’t leave poor reviews. Any comments, questions, queries, or suggestions: Please leave a comment here, and I’ll do my darndest to look after you…

…On account of being such a nice guy.