This is a cross-post from my other blog, Heather On Tech.
Yeah, I know you're wondering what the heck I mean by that. And who could blame you? The short story is that I am working on a new, exciting "thing" these days called Skudoink. Essentially it allows people to stop worrying about their grocery list - even when they share the shopping with someone else.
See, my husband and I share the grocery shopping duties because we both work. Sometimes I will get him to stop by the store on the way home, and sometimes I will stop by before picking up the children. At any rate, it's very rare that we only pick up one item, which necessitates a list.
Here's where it gets funky. I used to make a list using a note on my cell phone. Why? Because the phone is always with me, and it was pretty easy to send it to him. And, the great thing was that as I put items into the cart, I could backspace over the item and remove it from the list. The problem with that was I often buy the same things (milk, bread, etc) and so I was adding and removing them from the list every time I shopped (major pain). Not to mention relying on texting to get the list back and forth (and David's phone doesn't always receive texts in his building).
So, I created a web site to share the list. Basically, you enter everything onto your list. You don't have to do it all at one time. :) But, when you come across an item you need, you enter it, along with how often you buy it, and what type of item it is (condiments, produce, etc). As you place items into your cart, you can check the item off and it magically disappears from the list - however, the date is updated so it "learns" how often you need to buy that particular item...and then it magically appears on your list again when you need it!
For example, we buy bread weekly. So, I would enter bread for the item, bakery for the category, and weekly for the frequency. When I shop, I just click on the item (this is a web application as well as a Windows Mobile app) and it gets updated. Then, next time I use the "smart list" feature, the item displays if it's been more than 5 days (weekly). As you use the application, it gets smarter and actually averages the amount of time between your purchases, so if it's really every 10 days that you buy something, it will learn this (after three months of using it).
If you have someone you share a list with, or just want to check it out, please do! You can find more information at www.Skudoink.com. Once you are signed up, you might want to use www.Skudoink.mobi while you are shopping (it's catered to the small screen and doesn't have a lot of images). The functionality is the same.
If you're interested in the WM version, let me know - it's in beta and I'll hook you up.
And here is the obligatory disclaimer, in case you haven't figured it out yet: I wrote Skudoink, I own it, came up with the idea, maintain it, and everything else.
Recent Comments