That Killer App

As scb states this is NOT rocket science; those that are posting that it is simply do not understand the technology or product development. 'Open source' efforts have a slew of problems and while it's fun to believe that open source is a panacea it is not. So to add so actual facts to this thread (as opposed to negative opinions and reasons why it will never happen).

First, stamp recognition already exists in some apps and it works fairly well. The challenge is used/cancelled stamps, mint stamps are easy. In my informal tests the accuracy was about 90%; this would need to be improved some. There is also existing software that can easily determine perforation size. And of course there are plenty of databases that contain the basic catalog information. (For example, Stamp Smarter already has the Plate Number Tool. This is an SQL database of every US stamp, complete with all known plate number, image of every stamp, denomination, description, perforation, color, printer, date issued, qty. printed, and link to ebay value. I did this by myself. It did not take hundreds of thousands of dollars.) As was pointed out the use of existing catalog numbers is not really needed, a new numbering system can easily be implemented.

So all the 'parts and pieces' of this killer app already exist; no new innovation or technology is needed. I estimate that the NRE (non-recurring expense) of this development would be under $100k. While this amount is not to be considered lightly, it certainly is within reach. When you consider the potential upside (in the context of generating new hobbyists and being able to corner the market) it is a drop in the bucket. Why Amos/SG have not already done this app is beyond me; I can only assume that they either have no vision or backbone.

It will simply take someone with vision, motivation, and relatively deep pockets to get this app in place. And of course they will have to not listen to those negative Nancy's who think it cannot be done. This 'killer app' WILL be done in the next few years; it should have been done 5-8 years ago.
Don

The only 'new' item that is required is an open source numbering scheme. Unless this is in place and ideally linked to real world pricing then the project is a non-starter.
I totally agree that if there was enough interest then developing this from existing technology wouldn't be a out of the question.
A core element could work with plugins developed independently for items mentioned such as optical recognition.

I'd say it's more likely a business decision based on sales/profit expectations.

True, even one guy with proper skills could take this far. But more likely a team of 3-6 people would be more close to reality for publisher lead operation. So that's anywhere north of 200,000$/year expenses to start with, and the first year would likely be 'zero' sales/profit... That's going to take quite many sales just to get even, not to mention the fact of actually making profit.

But I agree. TKA is coming some day... It's just a matter of timing. As long as print catalogs are easily available, there's no real push for TKA to exist. But just like with WAG (water-activated-gum) stamps, the end of the 'old and reliable' is nigh. Just my 5 cents worth (again).

-k-

PS. Don't we all love good conversation :)

Precisely my reason for including the .

My primary interests are British Commonwealth, so the information returned by an i.d. app will have to include, or point me to, among other things, die types, overprint spacing, perfs, shades, lemon paper versus yellow paper, chalk-surfaced paper, watermark varieties and orientations, olive backs, and on, and on, and on.

The first three are probably relatively easy, some of the rest are impossible for TKA. It is going to have to tell me to look for all of the variables that it knows to exist, based on the general i.d. it was able to accomplish.

Okay, that might be helpful. Then what?

Does it just list those results out in a long text line? When you have to include everything on a line necessary to fully describe a given stamp, there are some stamps that you couldn't describe in a 140-character tweet. Or you create a shorthand numbering system.

In my opinion, if one of the catalogue companies does not undertake this, then I think an open-source standard for descriptions and i.d. has to come first. I don't see that happening for a very long time.

Just throwing out some thoughts as part of a discussion; I'm not trying to throw a wet blanket on the idea. For myself, I learn a lot from paging through the catalogues looking for an i.d., and not just about the stamp I am looking for. I believe I would know a lot less if an app just popped up an i.d. for a given stamp.

We must have been cursed by a Chinese philatelist, because we certainly live in interesting times.

In the case of stamps that look the same but might have different watermarks or paper or other small differences, TKA would have to just give you a list of possibilities. It would be like giving you the illustration number from the Scott Catalog, with the final identification steps being done manually by the collector. Like anything else, it wouldn't be perfect, but it could certainly still be a big time saver.

Or if it works like most things in IT, then it progresses in five steps most desktop/mobile users are familiar:

1 ...
2 ...
3 ...
4 ...
5 ...

[Sorry, couldn't resist the temptation... ]

-k-

To be killer, I don't think it can send you right back to a paper catalogue.

If that is all it does, then it will primarily be useful for beginners, as the more-advanced collectors don't need much help finding the right section to search in Scott.

If all someone does is figure out how to digitize this:



it might be useful to bring in some new people, but it won't be stamp collecting's killer app.

My 2d.

wert: My smart phone is still in China. Have you tried the lignup app? What was your experience?

No ikeyPikey...Not of as yet.




Well, that wasn't very smart...

The thing about computers is that they're great at doing exactly what you tell them to do. They're not so great in doing what you want them to do. They're supposed to make our lives easier, but sometimes I wonder.

And these:


represent exactly what's at risk for anyone developing a new app, stamp-related or not. If that first release ends up being a brick, sales will die before they take off and may never recover even for later, better editions. It's a big risk with no guarantees of a payoff later.

I wrote this program to help me manage my collection. It basically takes the information from a few Access database tables and presents them in a more friendly way, allowing for different sorts and filters. I couldn't figure out a way to get Access to show the images within the database, without actually having to store the images in the database itself, so I did it this way. The database only contains the link to the image, and then the program takes that link and displays it. I would be happy to work with anyone interested in doing something similar.

I think we are getting off the original intent that ikeyPikey posted...That is a viable stamp recognition program...Whether in a app form or a computer based form.

The original post was about a killer app, not necessarily a stamp recognition program. His idea was a stamp recognition app, but he was asking for what the community would be interested in.

Don't forget the questions at the bottom of the original post:
Q/ Anybody got a different spec for a different Killer App?

His original post was about killer app, which is..???