Projects and Apps

I’m a programmer and tinkerer and I have created a number of tools to help myself become more productive and boost my own brain training and health and fitness. You can check them out here: some are free, others I’m selling. Read on if you want to discover some cool new tools, or if you just want to see what projects I’m working on at the moment.

Multiscreen Multitasking

Multiscreen Multitasking is my most successful mobile app, having been downloaded over 15,000 times in its various incarnations and earning me a few thousand in the process. Not long ago it was chosen to be included as in-built software on a number of mobiles from Intex and Celkon in India, and has grown to include a number of powerful features.

The general idea was initially to provide myself with a tool that would allow me to write articles while researching from the web. Android didn’t let you multitask in that way originally, but the masterstroke came when I realised I could build multiple ‘mini apps’ into one larger app where I would get to make the rules. Quickly I noticed that there was much more potential for an all-in-one desktop system like this and so I added the desktop, a media player, a file manager, a drawpad and more. When Samsung unveiled their own multiwindow feature, it gave  my app a big boost and the sales started coming in.

Unfortunately a number of copycat apps have cropped up on the store and are now stealing my downloads. I’ve realised that if MM is to survive, it will need to become much more. That’s why I’ve added the ability to create shortcuts and have released a launcher version of the app.

You can check it out here, or just search ‘NQR Productions’ on the Play Store for all my creations.

ColdfusTion Launcher

The project currently taking up most of my time is the ‘ColdfusTion Launcher’ which is a collaboration between myself and the popular technology vlogger ColdfusTion. Among other things, his channel consists of tutorials on how to customise Android homescreens to be elegant, functional and minimalist. Thus I contacted him to see if he wanted to work together to create a launcher for his audience that would stick to these design sensibilities.

We are now in the ‘open beta’ stage having recently launched the app. We’re in the process of ironing out a few bugs, but by-and-large the launch was highly successful.

You can check it out in the Play Store here.

Or watch the guide here:

Debugger: Brain Untraining

Debugger is a project I started really just for fun – a brain training game that aims to be completely different from any other brain game you’ve played before.

Essentially Debugger is what you’d get if you crossed a platform game with Sudoku. Differently numbered tiles affect your avatar ‘BeeBoo’ in different ways, and your job is to work out how each one works and then navigate your way around the boards to collect all of the ‘viruses’. It gets hard pretty fast and there’s zero help along the way to aid you as you go. Eventually you’ll end up looking at complex boards of numbers and staring at the screen for ages without even moving as you try to make heads or tails of it.

You can check it out here.

Become Ambidextrous

Become Ambidextrous is a simple app I created so I could train ambidexterity daily. All it does is get you to trace over a line with your left hand and then write out some simple phrases. I released it to the store for 60p, but unfortunately some devices seem to have problems with it resulting in bad reviews. I’ll be giving it away for free in the near future.

VR Base

VR Base is a good idea I had, though I think the execution could do with work. Essentially this is the first ever Oculus Rift app on Android – which I thought would be a great opportunity to capture an emerging market.

Unfortunately I rushed this one out a little bit just to try and be the first with the intention of adding updates as I went. But then I lost the private keysign, meaning I can’t update it without taking the app down and adding a new one which wouldn’t be very fair on the existing users.

So right now I’m in a kind of limbo as I decide what the best course of action is. Ultimately I was hoping to make this into something like a virtual reality ‘station’ where you could multitask with mini apps (like Multiscreen Multitasking). This would allow you to work completely undisturbed.

That may be something to add in future, but for now you can find VR Base here.