I know it's a bit of work, and I don't even own an iPhone or iPod Touch yet (maybe in the future, not sure yet) but one thing I find lacking is software to tell you how close your strokes are to true, and what you can do to correct it.  I know that isn't easy, but you did ask for suggestions. 

Jarvik7 wrote:

There is a ton of that kind of software on the DS. I certainly wouldn't trust a small app by an indie dev to tell me how to correct writing either since they are generally a) learners themselves and b) rely on low quality/faulty data like KANJIDIC and the like.

I also think it is not nice to charge for access to information that is freely available.  In this case, it seems to be MIT's Taka rather than KANJIDIC.  I have no idea how correct the data is in Taka either(I wonder if it was seeded with KANJIDIC), but the site says there are known bugs in the data.  Not sure if that refers to implementation or to the actual kanji info.

In any case, I think if you are going to charge a premium for a program, you should also pay for a license to distribute a premium dictionary.

JimmySeal wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears that the Taka license grants permission to sell derivative works without restriction, provided the license is included, which it is.

I think his point was that if your application is commercial, you should put some of that money into getting access to a good dictionary, not a free one made by a community of learners which they themselves acknowledge to be full of errors or unchecked (depending on the section).

I don't remember what Shinkanji costs but I doubt it's enough to cover that kind of licensing.

Last edited by Jarvik7 (2008 September 24, 1:41 pm)

Jarvik7 wrote:

wccrawford wrote:

I know it's a bit of work, and I don't even own an iPhone or iPod Touch yet (maybe in the future, not sure yet) but one thing I find lacking is software to tell you how close your strokes are to true, and what you can do to correct it.  I know that isn't easy, but you did ask for suggestions. 

There is a ton of that kind of software on the DS. I certainly wouldn't trust a small app by an indie dev to tell me how to correct writing either since they are generally a) learners themselves and b) rely on low quality/faulty data like KANJIDIC and the like.

That is planned to be added to Shinkanji but not at the top of my list.
I unfortunately have to have a day job, and I fortunately have a family so my time on shinkanji is limited to about an hour a day and more the WE.
I had that functionality in padict though so I know that it is usefull

Jarvik7 wrote:

I think his point was that if your application is commercial, you should put some of that money into getting access to a good dictionary, not a free one made by a community of learners which they themselves acknowledge to be full of errors or unchecked (depending on the section).

for the last 5 years I have been the biggest contributor to the taka db.  And since that webpage was written a third of the db has been updated.  If you find errors please report them to me but frankly I don't think there are many left.

Jarvik7 wrote:

I don't remember what Shinkanji costs but I doubt it's enough to cover that kind of licensing.

you are correct, I charge $5, that doesn't allow me to pay for any license.

Yes, I simply dislike it when someone participates in a forum solely to peddle their wares.

It's not like he made an account, spammed penis enlargement posts, then left. The dude is advertising his product here not only because it can directly benefit us, but because some interest has already been shown. Also, he's providing a direct line of feedback as to solving problems we have with the program as well as providing suggestions for improvement.

I don't see anything wrong with this kind of behavior, even if Shinkanji hadn't already been mentioned.

Last edited by vgambit (2008 September 27, 8:35 am)