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Show HN: Nebula – Alarm clock where you grow stars while you sleep

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Re: Show HN: Nebula – Alarm clock where you grow stars while you sleep

#81

Post by Drdrdrq »

kroltan wrote: post #23
rocketsloth wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that screens likely play a big role in messing up a lot of bedtime routines. I have a few ideas for updates in the near future to combat this issue, but I don't think I know how to shut off computers and TVs from an app yet and after a quick stack overflow search it doesn't look like anyone there does either

You would need a daemon running on said systems, and communicate via network (local / wifi, for better privacy?) The daemon would just listen to the network and shutdown the system when requested to.

Or you could have a smart plug for TV (ZigBee, ZWave and similar).

Re: Show HN: Nebula – Alarm clock where you grow stars while you sleep

#82

Post by rocketsloth »

amelius wrote: post #64
jmiserez wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I studied with these guys: https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/4/5273474/google-acquires-bi... They did exactly what you did after graduating and their company got acquired (acqui-hired) by Google. Timely was the number one alarm clock app at the time. It was buttery smooth and beautiful but beyond that didn’t even any special functionality. So, don’t take the parent comment too seriously!

> [...] got acquired by Google [...] It was buttery smooth and beautiful but beyond that didn’t even any special functionality. I think you just confirmed my comment. I just want to add: - It saddens me that a lot of sentiment here is about making easy money. Imho, we should not stimulate people who just graduated to write screensavers to be sold to Google. - In a world full of distraction, these apps provide even mo…

"That said, I applaud the OP for learning the Android APIs in a creative way."

Appreciate that and thanks for your feedback.

Re: Show HN: Nebula – Alarm clock where you grow stars while you sleep

#83

Post by rene_bg »

rocketsloth wrote: post #74
rene_bg wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- The site is great, esp. the testimonials :-) - In the app, cut down the introduction texts and steps. It takes like 30 taps to get the alarm started. - Also, I found the pulse of the focused area (the circle) annoying and distracting when reading the text just next to it. - Use briefer descriptions of the things in the guided tour(s). Every word you can remove is often an improvement. And, again, get rid of steps.…

Hi! Thanks so much for this very detailed feedback and glad you like the testimonials :). intro/onboarding feedback: I agree with you and will look at ways to cut it down both in length and quality - I just removed the "Try tapping" and changed it to tap cause I agree with you (it will be pushed out next update) - you're 100% correct on the sound previews too, I implemented the listener as an onChanged rather than on…

I'm glad I could help and looking forward to the update :-)

IMO the sleep sound feature seems to be something you should analyze whether it's used or not. If not (<5 or 10%?), drop the feature. If it's used, you might want to extend the collection (in the premium version only?), and then the user could download the sounds he/she wants.

Re: Show HN: Nebula – Alarm clock where you grow stars while you sleep

#85

Post by pbhjpbhj »

rocketsloth wrote: post #74
rene_bg wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- The site is great, esp. the testimonials :-) - In the app, cut down the introduction texts and steps. It takes like 30 taps to get the alarm started. - Also, I found the pulse of the focused area (the circle) annoying and distracting when reading the text just next to it. - Use briefer descriptions of the things in the guided tour(s). Every word you can remove is often an improvement. And, again, get rid of steps.…

Hi! Thanks so much for this very detailed feedback and glad you like the testimonials :). intro/onboarding feedback: I agree with you and will look at ways to cut it down both in length and quality - I just removed the "Try tapping" and changed it to tap cause I agree with you (it will be pushed out next update) - you're 100% correct on the sound previews too, I implemented the listener as an onChanged rather than on…

You could reduce download size by a form of lazy loading, download the files on demand/request in the app, so ship the code without most of the media?

If you're paying for the download bandwidth that might help too, as many will get the app and never use it.

You could use IAP to sell new media packs including high-quality.

Re: Show HN: Nebula – Alarm clock where you grow stars while you sleep

#86

Post by kovek »

rosstex wrote: post #40
kovek wrote: post #8

I really like it. I didn't try it yet but it feel like I would enjoy this points system for waking up on time. I noticed that over the summer, when I was excited about my work (and trying to meet deadlines), waking up on time was not an issue. Now that I'm back to going to school, it's easier to snooze/sleep in. Also, it's easier to go to bed at more random times. What if you could also collect some points by going t…

Have you tried getting excited about school? :)

I like school but it's not as exciting as working on a product change that will be used by many many people! I think I would like to keep taking a course per semester and do some learning on my own, even when I work full time.

Re: Show HN: Nebula – Alarm clock where you grow stars while you sleep

#87

Post by pbhjpbhj »

plttn wrote: post #70

Random note: the fact that you're showing an iPhone device frame but using Android screenshots is one of those things that makes me unreasonably unhappy. I do like the idea of the app though.

Funnily enough your complaint that the small generic rectangular outline representing a phone is the wrong brand is the sort of thing that makes me unreasonably irritated.

Re: Show HN: Nebula – Alarm clock where you grow stars while you sleep

#88

Post by rocketsloth »

rene_bg wrote: post #83
rocketsloth wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi! Thanks so much for this very detailed feedback and glad you like the testimonials :). intro/onboarding feedback: I agree with you and will look at ways to cut it down both in length and quality - I just removed the "Try tapping" and changed it to tap cause I agree with you (it will be pushed out next update) - you're 100% correct on the sound previews too, I implemented the listener as an onChanged rather than on…

I'm glad I could help and looking forward to the update :-) IMO the sleep sound feature seems to be something you should analyze whether it's used or not. If not (<5 or 10%?), drop the feature. If it's used, you might want to extend the collection (in the premium version only?), and then the user could download the sounds he/she wants.

ya very fair, I'll look into this after some analysis, thank you!

Re: Show HN: Nebula – Alarm clock where you grow stars while you sleep

#89

Post by lucasverra »

t_fatus wrote: post #29
rocketsloth wrote: post #2

Hi HN, I just wanted to add that I'm looking for any kind of feedback on the app. I've been working on it since graduating in may and released it a couple of days ago.

Some feedback here on your website: you've got the best testimonial section I've ever seen, you're mom should be really proud

looooooved it

Re: Show HN: Nebula – Alarm clock where you grow stars while you sleep

#90

Post by rocketsloth »

baobrien wrote: post #78
rocketsloth wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi! Thanks so much for this very detailed feedback and glad you like the testimonials :). intro/onboarding feedback: I agree with you and will look at ways to cut it down both in length and quality - I just removed the "Try tapping" and changed it to tap cause I agree with you (it will be pushed out next update) - you're 100% correct on the sound previews too, I implemented the listener as an onChanged rather than on…

For smaller audio files, take a look at the Opus codec. It does way better than mp3 at lower bitrates. Android 5.0 and up can decode it natively and there's a library with NDK that should work on older devices.

Awesome, I'll take a look. My main reason for choosing mp3 was compatibility, but I didn't research it thoroughly, I just chose the cookie cutter option. My app is currently min 5.0 so this seems like a very viable option. Thanks :)
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