Pro-Palestinian activist Vittorio Arrigoni’s death follows shooting of Israeli actor Juliano Mer-Khamis in West Bank An Italian peace activist has become the second non-Palestinian to be murdered in just over a week in the occupied territories. Vittorio Arrigoni was murdered by the Tawheed and Jihad group, one of several extremist Islamic groups that operate in the Gaza Strip in opposition to the Hamas government. The group abducted Arrigoni in an attempt to force Hamas to release its leader, who was arrested last month. Arrigoni’s death comes just over a week after a gunman shot dead Juliano Mer-Khamis , an Israeli actor who ran a theatre in the West Bank city of Jenin. It is not clear why Mer-Khamis was shot but his views about freedom of expression had generated some opposition in Jenin. Arrigoni, known as Vik, lived in an apartment that he rented separately from his fellow volunteers for the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). The first anyone knew of his abduction was when video was posted on YouTube in which Arrigoni appeared blindfolded with a bruised face. The accompanying Arabic text said: “The Italian hostage entered our land only to spread corruption.” It described Italy as “the infidel state”. On the day he was abducted, Arrigoni had written three posts on his Guerilla Radio blog: a report on the deaths of four men in the south of Gaza in a collapsed tunnel and comments on Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, and Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president. He was last seen at a Gaza City gym on Wednesday and from there he ordered food by telephone but never arrived at the restaurant to pick it up. Nathan Stuckey, a volunteer from the United States, said Arrigoni spent most of his time working as a journalist but was also involved in promoting the rights of Gazan fishermen to fish freely without hindrance from the Israeli navy. “At the moment, he was particularly focused on the launch of our new boat, which we will use to monitor the navy’s violations of the rights of the fishermen. He often said that he now felt more at home in Gaza than in Italy and he was strongly committed to the Palestinian cause,” Stuckey said. Foreigners and outsiders are normally warmly welcomed in Palestinian communities, who regard them as allies against Israel. Previously the greatest risk for foreigners was seen to be from the Israeli army. Rachel Corrie from the US and Tom Hurndall from London were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in 2003 and 2004 while volunteering for the ISM. Hamas is widely perceived around the world as a radical Islamic group but since it participated in elections and took control in Gaza, it has become more mainstream. Small groups inspired by al-Qaida or other Islamist groups have emerged and find willing supporters among young people, of whom more than 70% are unemployed. The Army of Islam emerged from the Popular Resistance Committee and initially carried out operations with Hamas such as the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit in 2006. When relations between Hamas and the Army of Islam broke down the Army began kidnapping foreigners, including two people from Fox TV in 2006 and the BBC’s Alan Johnston in 2007. Johnson was held for four months before he was released unharmed. Since then Hamas has worked hard to ensure the security of foreigners in Gaza and suppress groups that challenge its authority. Many of the leaders of the Army of Islam, who were mostly from the Dogmush family, were killed or arrested by Hamas and some were also killed in Israeli air attacks. In 2009, Sheikh Abdel Latif Moussa proclaimed an Islamic emirate from his mosque in Rafah. Hamas forces surrounded the mosque and killed the sheikh and 23 of his followers. The group had previously launched an unsuccessful attack on Israeli border positions. Another group called the Sword of Truth has bombed internet cafes and beauty parlours and was believed to have been behind the murder of a Christian bookseller in 2007. Tawheed and Jihad, which means the oneness of God and holy war or struggle, were led in Gaza by Sheikh Abu Walid-al-Maqdas, a Jordanian Palestinian who was arrested by Hamas last month. Arrigoni’s kidnappers gave a Friday deadline for the release of the sheikh but the Italian was believed to have been killed soon after his abduction, probably because his captors feared being caught. Ehab al-Ghassain, a spokesman for the Hamas interior ministry, told a news conference on Thursday that the arrest and questioning of one of the group had led to the discovery of where Arrigoni was being held, but when forces arrived at the scene he was dead. “The forces moved quickly and wisely to the place but found that the abducted man was killed hours earlier in an ugly manner, according to the pathologist,” Ghassain said. Gaza Palestinian territories Italy Middle East Europe Conal Urquhart guardian.co.uk
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The mayor of London has won a high court order to evict Haw from his site in front of Westminster Abbey The veteran peace campaigner Brian Haw, who is under pressure to quit his decade-old protest just metres from Westminster Abbey as the royal wedding approaches, is launching his latest appeal against the eviction of his camp from Parliament Square gardens. Last month, the mayor of London won a high court possession order to evict Haw, who set up the camp in 2001, and fellow protester Barbara Tucker. A judge concluded there was substantial evidence that justified the conclusion that the making of orders in the case was proportionate. Mr Justice Wyn Williams granted an order for possession and an injunction against Haw, from Redditch, Worcestershire, and Tucker, but the orders were not put in place until after any appeal. However, even if Haw and Tucker fail, all they have to do to remain is move their tents from the green, owned by the Greater London Authority, on to the pavement, which is owned by Westminster council. The prime minister, the home secretary and the major of London have all vowed to clear the pavement of protesters before Kate Middleton and Prince William marry on 29 April, but so far have found no legal power that allows them to do so. The high court judge ruled: “Parliament Square Gardens [PSG] is not a suitable location for prolonged camping; such camping is incompatible with the function, lawful use and character of PSG and it is also inconsistent with the proper management of the area as a whole.” He added that the campaigners’ tents and placards were occupying more space than was permitted. The pair would be allowed use of a three-metre length of kerb to display placards as that had been a part of the protest for several years, the judge said. Last July, bailiffs and police evicted demonstrators from Democracy Village – the smattering of tents, placards and home-made police boxes set up in the square in May 2010 – after the mayor was granted a possession order for the site, citing vandalism. However, the court remitted the question of whether it was reasonable and proportionate to enforce orders against Haw, whose decade-long presence on the pavement on the east side of Parliament Square was not challenged, except for his encroachment on to a small part of the gardens where he had erected a tent. Westminster council has launched legal action against protesters who occupied the footpath after being evicted from the green last year. Haw, who is being treated for lung cancer in Germany, is not expected to attend the hearing at the court of appeal before the master of the rolls, Lord Neuberger, and Lady Justice Smith. Protest London Royal wedding Monarchy Karen McVeigh guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …As Christians observe Holy Week and the anticipation of Easter, PBS' Frontline program will air another investigation into abuse by clergy of the Catholic Church. In an episode entitled, “The Silence,” the program (Tue. 4/19/11) is scheduled to profile the awful abuse from decades ago of under-aged Native Americans and Eskimos in Alaska. The network claims that it is covering “a little-known chapter of the Catholic Church sex abuse story.” Yet the narrative is hardly “little known.” The New York Times, for example, has run a number of articles in the past few years about this topic, while the Los Angeles Times ran a humungous front-page piece about these cases a while back. (We even commented on it at the time.) One cannot help but conclude that PBS is piling on this narrative as a means to hammer the Catholic Church. To wit, Frontline already aired a lengthy episode on the Catholic abuse narrative not that long ago (“Hand of God,” Jan. 2007 ). If this upcoming episode is anything like the last one, viewers can expect to hear stomach-turning stories of abuse while being shown visuals of Church items and other holy images. (This is a not-so-subtle attempt to connect the thoughts of criminal child abuse with the Catholic Church.) It is also possible that notorious attorney John Manly , who represented many of the alleged victims, will make an appearance on the upcoming show. Viewers should be warned (if he does indeed appear) that Manly’s relationships with truth and facts are not always reliable, to say the least.
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Got a killer idea for an app but don’t know how to get it to market? Submit it to FundedApps and watch the cash roll in … or that’s the theory at least App: FundedApps By: Offficial , the trading name of Ridgegate Digital Price: Free Available on: iPhone What is it? It allows you to submit your own app ideas, for £1.19 a pop, to the FundedApps creators who will analyse your idea before dumping it or creating it. Who is it by? FundedApps was formed in November 2010 as part of Offficial – an investment funding company which develops mobile apps, set up by ex-Nokia designer Alastair Curtis and msn.co.uk developer Jamie Lyons – and launched in February. What does it promise? FundedApps says it is “bringing brilliant ideas to life”. If it likes your idea it will pay £250 plus 25% of any net profit the app makes when it is published. How does it work? FundedApps will acknowledge receipt of your idea in writing within three working days of your submission, and you will get a simple “yes” or “no” decision within seven working days (app ideas not submitted in English will automatically be categorised as a “no”). If accepted, your idea must overcome a further hurdle: it will be presented to an investment committee and you will only get your £250 if the committee grants final approval. FundedApps still reserves the right to cancel development of your app after this stage but it won’t ask for the £250 to be refunded if it does so. Once you have been paid £250 you effectively give up your full rights to the app. You will then be paid 25% of net profits on a quarterly basis within 15 working days of the end of each quarter, and be provided with a statement setting out the revenue generated and your share of it. So far, so transparent. But what happens if your idea is rejected? According to the legal blurb FundedApps will keep your idea “in strict confidence”, and employees, agents and sub-contractors will be bound by confidentiality obligations. And Curtis himself says “All ideas are time-stamped and logged on a database, and we have no ownership of ideas unless they go forward. If we reject an idea, it remains the owner’s idea.” Is it easy to use? The actual process is simple. The home page features a giant grey wheel that users can move to access their history, notes and the legal terms and conditions – and has a large purple button in the middle for users to submit an idea. If users do so it is at this point they enter into a binding contract with Offficial. Is it fun? The process itself is not exactly a riot – you cut and paste an idea into a box and click send – although the wheel does make a robotic noise and parts of it glow when it turns. It would obviously be more of a blast if your idea gets turned into an app, but this is statistically unlikely: the creators state “the percentage of rejections will be high so brace yourselves for a potential rejection.” Is it pretty? There’s nothing offensive here, but the predominantly black and steel-grey colour scheme has a touch of the 80s Playboy theme about it. Should you download it? It’s free, so there’s nothing to lose, but whether you want to pay £1.19 to upload your app idea is a different story. If you are a clueless, penniless technophobe who happens to have a smart idea, it might be worth a look. But if you have any other way of getting your idea built and to market there seems little point in signing over the majority of your potential revenue to FundedApps. As Curtis himself says: “The price of £1.19 helps provide a buffer to prevent people submitting silly or bogus ideas.” Ed Lea of established app developers Grapple Mobile says the FundedApps creators will undoubtedly make the most money out of the app, but it’s “not a bad deal for some consumers”. He was a little wary because the company could not provide any evidence of a customer’s idea making it to market. Indeed, since its launch the creators are yet to publish a customer-led app, nor will they say how many app ideas have been accepted, nor can it produce case studies of people who have had an idea taken forward to the next stage. Until this happens, FundedApps will face a degree of scepticism. Consumer affairs Internet, phones & broadband Apps iPhone Apple Mark King guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Got a killer idea for an app but don’t know how to get it to market? Submit it to FundedApps and watch the cash roll in … or that’s the theory at least App: FundedApps By: Offficial , the trading name of Ridgegate Digital Price: Free Available on: iPhone What is it? It allows you to submit your own app ideas, for £1.19 a pop, to the FundedApps creators who will analyse your idea before dumping it or creating it. Who is it by? FundedApps was formed in November 2010 as part of Offficial – an investment funding company which develops mobile apps, set up by ex-Nokia designer Alastair Curtis and msn.co.uk developer Jamie Lyons – and launched in February. What does it promise? FundedApps says it is “bringing brilliant ideas to life”. If it likes your idea it will pay £250 plus 25% of any net profit the app makes when it is published. How does it work? FundedApps will acknowledge receipt of your idea in writing within three working days of your submission, and you will get a simple “yes” or “no” decision within seven working days (app ideas not submitted in English will automatically be categorised as a “no”). If accepted, your idea must overcome a further hurdle: it will be presented to an investment committee and you will only get your £250 if the committee grants final approval. FundedApps still reserves the right to cancel development of your app after this stage but it won’t ask for the £250 to be refunded if it does so. Once you have been paid £250 you effectively give up your full rights to the app. You will then be paid 25% of net profits on a quarterly basis within 15 working days of the end of each quarter, and be provided with a statement setting out the revenue generated and your share of it. So far, so transparent. But what happens if your idea is rejected? According to the legal blurb FundedApps will keep your idea “in strict confidence”, and employees, agents and sub-contractors will be bound by confidentiality obligations. And Curtis himself says “All ideas are time-stamped and logged on a database, and we have no ownership of ideas unless they go forward. If we reject an idea, it remains the owner’s idea.” Is it easy to use? The actual process is simple. The home page features a giant grey wheel that users can move to access their history, notes and the legal terms and conditions – and has a large purple button in the middle for users to submit an idea. If users do so it is at this point they enter into a binding contract with Offficial. Is it fun? The process itself is not exactly a riot – you cut and paste an idea into a box and click send – although the wheel does make a robotic noise and parts of it glow when it turns. It would obviously be more of a blast if your idea gets turned into an app, but this is statistically unlikely: the creators state “the percentage of rejections will be high so brace yourselves for a potential rejection.” Is it pretty? There’s nothing offensive here, but the predominantly black and steel-grey colour scheme has a touch of the 80s Playboy theme about it. Should you download it? It’s free, so there’s nothing to lose, but whether you want to pay £1.19 to upload your app idea is a different story. If you are a clueless, penniless technophobe who happens to have a smart idea, it might be worth a look. But if you have any other way of getting your idea built and to market there seems little point in signing over the majority of your potential revenue to FundedApps. As Curtis himself says: “The price of £1.19 helps provide a buffer to prevent people submitting silly or bogus ideas.” Ed Lea of established app developers Grapple Mobile says the FundedApps creators will undoubtedly make the most money out of the app, but it’s “not a bad deal for some consumers”. He was a little wary because the company could not provide any evidence of a customer’s idea making it to market. Indeed, since its launch the creators are yet to publish a customer-led app, nor will they say how many app ideas have been accepted, nor can it produce case studies of people who have had an idea taken forward to the next stage. Until this happens, FundedApps will face a degree of scepticism. Consumer affairs Internet, phones & broadband Apps iPhone Apple Mark King guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Got a killer idea for an app but don’t know how to get it to market? Submit it to FundedApps and watch the cash roll in … or that’s the theory at least App: FundedApps By: Offficial , the trading name of Ridgegate Digital Price: Free Available on: iPhone What is it? It allows you to submit your own app ideas, for £1.19 a pop, to the FundedApps creators who will analyse your idea before dumping it or creating it. Who is it by? FundedApps was formed in November 2010 as part of Offficial – an investment funding company which develops mobile apps, set up by ex-Nokia designer Alastair Curtis and msn.co.uk developer Jamie Lyons – and launched in February. What does it promise? FundedApps says it is “bringing brilliant ideas to life”. If it likes your idea it will pay £250 plus 25% of any net profit the app makes when it is published. How does it work? FundedApps will acknowledge receipt of your idea in writing within three working days of your submission, and you will get a simple “yes” or “no” decision within seven working days (app ideas not submitted in English will automatically be categorised as a “no”). If accepted, your idea must overcome a further hurdle: it will be presented to an investment committee and you will only get your £250 if the committee grants final approval. FundedApps still reserves the right to cancel development of your app after this stage but it won’t ask for the £250 to be refunded if it does so. Once you have been paid £250 you effectively give up your full rights to the app. You will then be paid 25% of net profits on a quarterly basis within 15 working days of the end of each quarter, and be provided with a statement setting out the revenue generated and your share of it. So far, so transparent. But what happens if your idea is rejected? According to the legal blurb FundedApps will keep your idea “in strict confidence”, and employees, agents and sub-contractors will be bound by confidentiality obligations. And Curtis himself says “All ideas are time-stamped and logged on a database, and we have no ownership of ideas unless they go forward. If we reject an idea, it remains the owner’s idea.” Is it easy to use? The actual process is simple. The home page features a giant grey wheel that users can move to access their history, notes and the legal terms and conditions – and has a large purple button in the middle for users to submit an idea. If users do so it is at this point they enter into a binding contract with Offficial. Is it fun? The process itself is not exactly a riot – you cut and paste an idea into a box and click send – although the wheel does make a robotic noise and parts of it glow when it turns. It would obviously be more of a blast if your idea gets turned into an app, but this is statistically unlikely: the creators state “the percentage of rejections will be high so brace yourselves for a potential rejection.” Is it pretty? There’s nothing offensive here, but the predominantly black and steel-grey colour scheme has a touch of the 80s Playboy theme about it. Should you download it? It’s free, so there’s nothing to lose, but whether you want to pay £1.19 to upload your app idea is a different story. If you are a clueless, penniless technophobe who happens to have a smart idea, it might be worth a look. But if you have any other way of getting your idea built and to market there seems little point in signing over the majority of your potential revenue to FundedApps. As Curtis himself says: “The price of £1.19 helps provide a buffer to prevent people submitting silly or bogus ideas.” Ed Lea of established app developers Grapple Mobile says the FundedApps creators will undoubtedly make the most money out of the app, but it’s “not a bad deal for some consumers”. He was a little wary because the company could not provide any evidence of a customer’s idea making it to market. Indeed, since its launch the creators are yet to publish a customer-led app, nor will they say how many app ideas have been accepted, nor can it produce case studies of people who have had an idea taken forward to the next stage. Until this happens, FundedApps will face a degree of scepticism. Consumer affairs Internet, phones & broadband Apps iPhone Apple Mark King guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Got a killer idea for an app but don’t know how to get it to market? Submit it to FundedApps and watch the cash roll in … or that’s the theory at least App: FundedApps By: Offficial , the trading name of Ridgegate Digital Price: Free Available on: iPhone What is it? It allows you to submit your own app ideas, for £1.19 a pop, to the FundedApps creators who will analyse your idea before dumping it or creating it. Who is it by? FundedApps was formed in November 2010 as part of Offficial – an investment funding company which develops mobile apps, set up by ex-Nokia designer Alastair Curtis and msn.co.uk developer Jamie Lyons – and launched in February. What does it promise? FundedApps says it is “bringing brilliant ideas to life”. If it likes your idea it will pay £250 plus 25% of any net profit the app makes when it is published. How does it work? FundedApps will acknowledge receipt of your idea in writing within three working days of your submission, and you will get a simple “yes” or “no” decision within seven working days (app ideas not submitted in English will automatically be categorised as a “no”). If accepted, your idea must overcome a further hurdle: it will be presented to an investment committee and you will only get your £250 if the committee grants final approval. FundedApps still reserves the right to cancel development of your app after this stage but it won’t ask for the £250 to be refunded if it does so. Once you have been paid £250 you effectively give up your full rights to the app. You will then be paid 25% of net profits on a quarterly basis within 15 working days of the end of each quarter, and be provided with a statement setting out the revenue generated and your share of it. So far, so transparent. But what happens if your idea is rejected? According to the legal blurb FundedApps will keep your idea “in strict confidence”, and employees, agents and sub-contractors will be bound by confidentiality obligations. And Curtis himself says “All ideas are time-stamped and logged on a database, and we have no ownership of ideas unless they go forward. If we reject an idea, it remains the owner’s idea.” Is it easy to use? The actual process is simple. The home page features a giant grey wheel that users can move to access their history, notes and the legal terms and conditions – and has a large purple button in the middle for users to submit an idea. If users do so it is at this point they enter into a binding contract with Offficial. Is it fun? The process itself is not exactly a riot – you cut and paste an idea into a box and click send – although the wheel does make a robotic noise and parts of it glow when it turns. It would obviously be more of a blast if your idea gets turned into an app, but this is statistically unlikely: the creators state “the percentage of rejections will be high so brace yourselves for a potential rejection.” Is it pretty? There’s nothing offensive here, but the predominantly black and steel-grey colour scheme has a touch of the 80s Playboy theme about it. Should you download it? It’s free, so there’s nothing to lose, but whether you want to pay £1.19 to upload your app idea is a different story. If you are a clueless, penniless technophobe who happens to have a smart idea, it might be worth a look. But if you have any other way of getting your idea built and to market there seems little point in signing over the majority of your potential revenue to FundedApps. As Curtis himself says: “The price of £1.19 helps provide a buffer to prevent people submitting silly or bogus ideas.” Ed Lea of established app developers Grapple Mobile says the FundedApps creators will undoubtedly make the most money out of the app, but it’s “not a bad deal for some consumers”. He was a little wary because the company could not provide any evidence of a customer’s idea making it to market. Indeed, since its launch the creators are yet to publish a customer-led app, nor will they say how many app ideas have been accepted, nor can it produce case studies of people who have had an idea taken forward to the next stage. Until this happens, FundedApps will face a degree of scepticism. Consumer affairs Internet, phones & broadband Apps iPhone Apple Mark King guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Got a killer idea for an app but don’t know how to get it to market? Submit it to FundedApps and watch the cash roll in … or that’s the theory at least App: FundedApps By: Offficial , the trading name of Ridgegate Digital Price: Free Available on: iPhone What is it? It allows you to submit your own app ideas, for £1.19 a pop, to the FundedApps creators who will analyse your idea before dumping it or creating it. Who is it by? FundedApps was formed in November 2010 as part of Offficial – an investment funding company which develops mobile apps, set up by ex-Nokia designer Alastair Curtis and msn.co.uk developer Jamie Lyons – and launched in February. What does it promise? FundedApps says it is “bringing brilliant ideas to life”. If it likes your idea it will pay £250 plus 25% of any net profit the app makes when it is published. How does it work? FundedApps will acknowledge receipt of your idea in writing within three working days of your submission, and you will get a simple “yes” or “no” decision within seven working days (app ideas not submitted in English will automatically be categorised as a “no”). If accepted, your idea must overcome a further hurdle: it will be presented to an investment committee and you will only get your £250 if the committee grants final approval. FundedApps still reserves the right to cancel development of your app after this stage but it won’t ask for the £250 to be refunded if it does so. Once you have been paid £250 you effectively give up your full rights to the app. You will then be paid 25% of net profits on a quarterly basis within 15 working days of the end of each quarter, and be provided with a statement setting out the revenue generated and your share of it. So far, so transparent. But what happens if your idea is rejected? According to the legal blurb FundedApps will keep your idea “in strict confidence”, and employees, agents and sub-contractors will be bound by confidentiality obligations. And Curtis himself says “All ideas are time-stamped and logged on a database, and we have no ownership of ideas unless they go forward. If we reject an idea, it remains the owner’s idea.” Is it easy to use? The actual process is simple. The home page features a giant grey wheel that users can move to access their history, notes and the legal terms and conditions – and has a large purple button in the middle for users to submit an idea. If users do so it is at this point they enter into a binding contract with Offficial. Is it fun? The process itself is not exactly a riot – you cut and paste an idea into a box and click send – although the wheel does make a robotic noise and parts of it glow when it turns. It would obviously be more of a blast if your idea gets turned into an app, but this is statistically unlikely: the creators state “the percentage of rejections will be high so brace yourselves for a potential rejection.” Is it pretty? There’s nothing offensive here, but the predominantly black and steel-grey colour scheme has a touch of the 80s Playboy theme about it. Should you download it? It’s free, so there’s nothing to lose, but whether you want to pay £1.19 to upload your app idea is a different story. If you are a clueless, penniless technophobe who happens to have a smart idea, it might be worth a look. But if you have any other way of getting your idea built and to market there seems little point in signing over the majority of your potential revenue to FundedApps. As Curtis himself says: “The price of £1.19 helps provide a buffer to prevent people submitting silly or bogus ideas.” Ed Lea of established app developers Grapple Mobile says the FundedApps creators will undoubtedly make the most money out of the app, but it’s “not a bad deal for some consumers”. He was a little wary because the company could not provide any evidence of a customer’s idea making it to market. Indeed, since its launch the creators are yet to publish a customer-led app, nor will they say how many app ideas have been accepted, nor can it produce case studies of people who have had an idea taken forward to the next stage. Until this happens, FundedApps will face a degree of scepticism. Consumer affairs Internet, phones & broadband Apps iPhone Apple Mark King guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Got a killer idea for an app but don’t know how to get it to market? Submit it to FundedApps and watch the cash roll in … or that’s the theory at least App: FundedApps By: Offficial , the trading name of Ridgegate Digital Price: Free Available on: iPhone What is it? It allows you to submit your own app ideas, for £1.19 a pop, to the FundedApps creators who will analyse your idea before dumping it or creating it. Who is it by? FundedApps was formed in November 2010 as part of Offficial – an investment funding company which develops mobile apps, set up by ex-Nokia designer Alastair Curtis and msn.co.uk developer Jamie Lyons – and launched in February. What does it promise? FundedApps says it is “bringing brilliant ideas to life”. If it likes your idea it will pay £250 plus 25% of any net profit the app makes when it is published. How does it work? FundedApps will acknowledge receipt of your idea in writing within three working days of your submission, and you will get a simple “yes” or “no” decision within seven working days (app ideas not submitted in English will automatically be categorised as a “no”). If accepted, your idea must overcome a further hurdle: it will be presented to an investment committee and you will only get your £250 if the committee grants final approval. FundedApps still reserves the right to cancel development of your app after this stage but it won’t ask for the £250 to be refunded if it does so. Once you have been paid £250 you effectively give up your full rights to the app. You will then be paid 25% of net profits on a quarterly basis within 15 working days of the end of each quarter, and be provided with a statement setting out the revenue generated and your share of it. So far, so transparent. But what happens if your idea is rejected? According to the legal blurb FundedApps will keep your idea “in strict confidence”, and employees, agents and sub-contractors will be bound by confidentiality obligations. And Curtis himself says “All ideas are time-stamped and logged on a database, and we have no ownership of ideas unless they go forward. If we reject an idea, it remains the owner’s idea.” Is it easy to use? The actual process is simple. The home page features a giant grey wheel that users can move to access their history, notes and the legal terms and conditions – and has a large purple button in the middle for users to submit an idea. If users do so it is at this point they enter into a binding contract with Offficial. Is it fun? The process itself is not exactly a riot – you cut and paste an idea into a box and click send – although the wheel does make a robotic noise and parts of it glow when it turns. It would obviously be more of a blast if your idea gets turned into an app, but this is statistically unlikely: the creators state “the percentage of rejections will be high so brace yourselves for a potential rejection.” Is it pretty? There’s nothing offensive here, but the predominantly black and steel-grey colour scheme has a touch of the 80s Playboy theme about it. Should you download it? It’s free, so there’s nothing to lose, but whether you want to pay £1.19 to upload your app idea is a different story. If you are a clueless, penniless technophobe who happens to have a smart idea, it might be worth a look. But if you have any other way of getting your idea built and to market there seems little point in signing over the majority of your potential revenue to FundedApps. As Curtis himself says: “The price of £1.19 helps provide a buffer to prevent people submitting silly or bogus ideas.” Ed Lea of established app developers Grapple Mobile says the FundedApps creators will undoubtedly make the most money out of the app, but it’s “not a bad deal for some consumers”. He was a little wary because the company could not provide any evidence of a customer’s idea making it to market. Indeed, since its launch the creators are yet to publish a customer-led app, nor will they say how many app ideas have been accepted, nor can it produce case studies of people who have had an idea taken forward to the next stage. Until this happens, FundedApps will face a degree of scepticism. Consumer affairs Internet, phones & broadband Apps iPhone Apple Mark King guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Got a killer idea for an app but don’t know how to get it to market? Submit it to FundedApps and watch the cash roll in … or that’s the theory at least App: FundedApps By: Offficial , the trading name of Ridgegate Digital Price: Free Available on: iPhone What is it? It allows you to submit your own app ideas, for £1.19 a pop, to the FundedApps creators who will analyse your idea before dumping it or creating it. Who is it by? FundedApps was formed in November 2010 as part of Offficial – an investment funding company which develops mobile apps, set up by ex-Nokia designer Alastair Curtis and msn.co.uk developer Jamie Lyons – and launched in February. What does it promise? FundedApps says it is “bringing brilliant ideas to life”. If it likes your idea it will pay £250 plus 25% of any net profit the app makes when it is published. How does it work? FundedApps will acknowledge receipt of your idea in writing within three working days of your submission, and you will get a simple “yes” or “no” decision within seven working days (app ideas not submitted in English will automatically be categorised as a “no”). If accepted, your idea must overcome a further hurdle: it will be presented to an investment committee and you will only get your £250 if the committee grants final approval. FundedApps still reserves the right to cancel development of your app after this stage but it won’t ask for the £250 to be refunded if it does so. Once you have been paid £250 you effectively give up your full rights to the app. You will then be paid 25% of net profits on a quarterly basis within 15 working days of the end of each quarter, and be provided with a statement setting out the revenue generated and your share of it. So far, so transparent. But what happens if your idea is rejected? According to the legal blurb FundedApps will keep your idea “in strict confidence”, and employees, agents and sub-contractors will be bound by confidentiality obligations. And Curtis himself says “All ideas are time-stamped and logged on a database, and we have no ownership of ideas unless they go forward. If we reject an idea, it remains the owner’s idea.” Is it easy to use? The actual process is simple. The home page features a giant grey wheel that users can move to access their history, notes and the legal terms and conditions – and has a large purple button in the middle for users to submit an idea. If users do so it is at this point they enter into a binding contract with Offficial. Is it fun? The process itself is not exactly a riot – you cut and paste an idea into a box and click send – although the wheel does make a robotic noise and parts of it glow when it turns. It would obviously be more of a blast if your idea gets turned into an app, but this is statistically unlikely: the creators state “the percentage of rejections will be high so brace yourselves for a potential rejection.” Is it pretty? There’s nothing offensive here, but the predominantly black and steel-grey colour scheme has a touch of the 80s Playboy theme about it. Should you download it? It’s free, so there’s nothing to lose, but whether you want to pay £1.19 to upload your app idea is a different story. If you are a clueless, penniless technophobe who happens to have a smart idea, it might be worth a look. But if you have any other way of getting your idea built and to market there seems little point in signing over the majority of your potential revenue to FundedApps. As Curtis himself says: “The price of £1.19 helps provide a buffer to prevent people submitting silly or bogus ideas.” Ed Lea of established app developers Grapple Mobile says the FundedApps creators will undoubtedly make the most money out of the app, but it’s “not a bad deal for some consumers”. He was a little wary because the company could not provide any evidence of a customer’s idea making it to market. Indeed, since its launch the creators are yet to publish a customer-led app, nor will they say how many app ideas have been accepted, nor can it produce case studies of people who have had an idea taken forward to the next stage. Until this happens, FundedApps will face a degree of scepticism. Consumer affairs Internet, phones & broadband Apps iPhone Apple Mark King guardian.co.uk
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