I’m currently looking to develop an open source app that can help somebody. I’m currently out of ideas, so I’d like to heard if from you guys.

Sorry if it seems to lazy to ask for ideas like that, I just thought that I could do it since the result will be a free app.

  • ⓝⓞ🅞🅝🅔@lemmy.ca
    60·
    7 months ago

    It would be a huge undertaking, but a Fitness and Health tracker / aggregator that could replace Google Fit and the likes.

    I really can’t bear how Google, Apple, Samsung, and all these big companies are the primary holders of our most intimate information. I’ve put some measures in place to limit who gets what, but it would be a huge boon to be the sole maintainer of my own info.

    The problem is that the various apps and devices which report data won’t immediately support syncing with a FOSS upstart…

    The app I use for grabbing my weight and BMI can only sync with a few other apps. The app I use for calorie and diet tracking can likewise only sync with a few apps. They happen to have Google fit in common, so I use that as an intermediary to transfer weight to the calorie/diet app. All my steps, exercise, and sleep stay in Zepp, separate from them all.

    It sure would be nice to have one service/application to rule them all and a secure method of storing one’s own personal information without having to give it to the tech companies. Sure, use one of the many cloud services but encrypt all the data so that they can’t steal it. Yadda yadda.

    One can dream.

    • cvieira@lemmy.mlEnglish
      8·
      7 months ago

      I develop a self-hosted service designed to do exactly this! It’s not quite finished yet, but it’s at the point where enough functionality works that it can be used for testing.

      https://github.com/connervieira/HealthBox

      The docs/USAGE.md file gives an overview of how HealthBox works. Feel free to poke around in the other docs/ files as well.

    • Disregard3145@lemmy.world
      8·
      7 months ago

      More than once I’ve wondered if I can make something look like google fit to other apps, obviously would have to be on a degoogled rom, which limits its utility for a wider audience.

      • federino@programming.devOP
        6·
        7 months ago

        the devices would have to be degoogled so that the app can gather the necessary information? I never used google fit, so I don’t know how it works nor how it gathers the user information.

        • Disregard3145@lemmy.world
          1·
          7 months ago

          My thinking runs: is it possible to implement the APIs that are called to use google fit, assuming they run through google play services or something

  • Dessalines@lemmy.ml
    36·
    7 months ago

    Obsidian.

    Markor is a great open source markdown editor for android, but I wish we had some decent WYSIWYG options, like obsidian, typora, etc.

      • krash@lemmy.ml
        9·
        7 months ago

        I used Joplin extensively for ~2 years, but I was constantly put off by the desktop applications UI and how my notes was stored in SQLite. The move to obsidian felt natural and I felt more in ownership over my files in their existing structure. Granted, obsidian is closed source and could go rogue, but when that happens, I am prepared to jump ship without too much pain.

        • d0ntpan1c@lemmy.blahaj.zone
          3·
          7 months ago

          Exactly. Not a huge fan of notes apps storing the data in a db.otherwise there is a lot to like about joplin. With obsidian i open my notes in codium all the time to make mass edits or fill gaps that obsidians UI cant meet, which is not possible with joplin.

          Fortunately with obsidian as long as you keep the plugins on the lighter side and keep any non-markdown content in seperate files via linking, im not too worried about having to jump ship if it ever goes bad. Worst case if a plugin dies or i have to migrate, the actual loss of data is that some plugin used json or whatever and it’d have to be converted or replaced.

          I do have hope at least that if the company folds they’ll open source it, or turn a blind eye to a community reengineering effort. And what is unique about obsidian markdown and metadata will probably get community-built migration tools quickly if enough people jump ship en masse.

          But for the time being Obsidian is the best option for me and i dont feel that bad about it.

          • lemmyingly@lemm.ee
            41·
            7 months ago

            I don’t see the hate for storing data in a sqlite database. It’s still your data, you get to do with it as you please, and I’ve yet to see the data encrypted (let’s not give anyone any silly ideas here). You want to see your data outside of the program, just download any sqlite viewer. If you don’t mind CLI, then the tools provided by sqlite are more than good enough and are only a few MB in size.

            • d0ntpan1c@lemmy.blahaj.zone
              2·
              7 months ago

              Generally speaking I’m not opposed to sqlite. The case of a notes app is the one exception.

              If i need to make a big find and replace change, i dont need to rely on the app to have the capability or whip out a sql editor or cli tool. I just open my favorite text editor and do it. Or chain some cli tools built into the os.

              Its not even about data portability or export. Its about working with the data.

            • JJLinux@lemmy.ml
              1·
              7 months ago

              I think it has more to do with preference than hate. For me particularly, I don’t care much about how things are stored. I just make sure to exporr/backup regularly, and if anything breaks, it’s an easy and mostly painless fix.

              I tried Obsidian once, and while I did like it and the UI is light years ahead of Joplin, I guess I’m just used to the Joplin experience, so I saw no need to switch.

        • Opisek@lemmy.world
          3·
          7 months ago

          I used Joplin for up to 8 hours daily for half a year (university) before switching to Obsidian, too. As far as I know, Joplin lets you store the notes as files, too, but you need to set it up that way from the start.

          Still, I found Obsidian to be much more pleasant and - ironically - easier to modify (by writing plugins) than Joplin.

    • t0fr@lemmy.ca
      13·
      7 months ago

      Doesn’t have exactly the same.features but I’ve simply been using Logseq syncing my notes with Syncthing

    • 5ymm3trY@discuss.tchncs.de
      7·
      7 months ago

      I am not an excessive note-taking guy, but I am using Notesnook for some time now and it does everything I needed so far.

      • Dessalines@lemmy.ml
        4·
        7 months ago

        Seems okay, but doesn’t allow editing of local files / folders, it wants you to use their paid sync service. Also its javascript / electron, not native android.

    • mranderson17@infosec.pub
      7·
      7 months ago

      broad support for generic smart watches

      Gadgetbridge is pretty well on it’s way to this. They roll out support for new devices monthly it seems like. Of course there are always feature X and Y that fitbit or garmin does that it doesn’t, but it’s quite an impressive project. I use it with a pebble 2 HR.

    • cole@lemdro.idEnglish
      1·
      7 months ago

      I built an open source app a while back that had some similar functionality to sleep as android called “Go to Sleep”. Haven’t updated it for a long time, always wanted to add more things

  • abominable_panda@lemmy.worldEnglish
    26·
    7 months ago

    One of those “smart” alarms that monitor and graph your sleep. E.g movement, sounds, snorings, sleep talking etc.

    At a minimum one that wakes you up in the 30 minute window of your lightest sleep phase

  • guttermonk@lemmy.ml
    21·
    7 months ago

    Nova launcher - there isn’t a good one for one FOSS replacement. Every launcher I tried from fdroid has at least one shortcoming (if not more).

    • lemmyingly@lemm.ee
      2·
      7 months ago

      Everyone I’ve tried from the Play store feels too basic compared to Nova or their rating is too low because of bugs.

      Edit: in hindsight it looks like I’m a paid shill for Nova. This isn’t the case at all. I’ve been looking at launchers for the past few weeks as I recently realised I’ve had the same set up style for over a decade. I don’t want to be the person stuck in the past doing stuff the slower and archaic ways when there are newer and better ways of doing things. I currently have over 20 launchers installed on my phone and I’ve been slowly trying some.

    • MalReynolds@slrpnk.netEnglish
      7·
      7 months ago

      My philosophy is if I can use a web page for it, I won’t install an app (couple of exceptions, but a good rule). Less convenient, more secure.

      As KMFDM have it, “Those who sacrifice liberty for security Deserve neither and will lose both”

    • LiveLM@lemmy.zipEnglish
      1·
      7 months ago

      God, you know what I really wish I could do?
      Run an Android VM on my phone. Imagine being able to do whatever you want with your device and still having a “stock” device for those pesky apps without having to actually have two phones.

      It is seemingly possible, but the only app I’ve ever seen do it was “VMOS”: a proprietary app, impossible to trust.

        • lud@lemm.ee
          1·
          7 months ago

          You usually want to use banking apps when you are away from home though.

  • SomeGuy69@lemmy.world
    201·
    7 months ago

    Discord. I hate that premium costs so much and all the ads they put in place to sell useless junk features.

    Google maps. So open street maps but with reviews like maps has. A few days ago people suggested apps, but they lack reviews. I disagree that they are useless.

    • MalReynolds@slrpnk.netEnglish
      9·
      7 months ago

      Discord needs to die in a fire, so much knowledge lost… But their momentum is something awful.

    • asudox@lemmy.world
      4·
      7 months ago

      Discord has an alternative called Revolt that is open source. It has all the premium features in discord for free, but is still in early stages I’d say.

    • Dizzy Devil Ducky@lemm.eeEnglish
      2·
      7 months ago

      I would just love it if I had the bus routes for my city readily available in open street maps, like how goog|e maps does it. I think goog|e maps might be my answer to the question if I can’t find anything worse.

    • toastal@lemmy.ml
      2·
      7 months ago

      I use Mumble + XMPP with an IRC gateway to cover everything voice & chat related …but there are plenty of options to replace Discord, you just need to let folks know you don’t want an ad-filled proprietary experience & that you wish to be contacted in a manner where your privacy is a priority.

      Google’s reviews have a lot of junk in them except the ones stating business closed/moved (OSM you can literally delete or move the POI, but less users). The integrated crowd-sourced images of establishments however is missing which makes it hard to understand POI in comparison—a picture is worth a thousand words.

      • SomeGuy69@lemmy.world
        1·
        7 months ago

        It’s about a quick glance on a location and reading some reviews quickly. There is a workaround with open street maps integrating google reviews but it’s again relying on google at this point.

          • SomeGuy69@lemmy.world
            1·
            7 months ago

            It would grow. Just to have the ability would be nice. A lot of people also would start to write reviews to be the first etc. We got to start somewhere, same as with the Fediverse. We could even combine it.

      • SomeGuy69@lemmy.world
        1·
        7 months ago

        Alternative messenger exist, I should’ve been more precise. At this point an alternative would require at least the same features than discord, to get people away from it. I don’t see that happen.

  • GolfNovemberUniform@lemmy.ml
    14·
    7 months ago

    I can’t really think of anything now because Android FOSS apps ecosystem is really good. What I want to suggest is contributing to already existing projects sometimes. It’s faster and just another thing you can do to help open-source ecosystems

    • tributarium@lemmy.world
      6·
      7 months ago

      Yes, I don’t think I have another app but more features on some apps I use (Smartdock, Joplin, Librera, Rimusic) would be slightly life-changing.

  • velox_vulnus@lemmy.ml
    13·
    7 months ago

    A mood tracking app. There’s no open-source alternatives that exist for the time-being (disregarding non-native apps).

  • velox_vulnus@lemmy.ml
    131·
    7 months ago

    Another idea would be a e-book reader. I don’t like Librera, because it acts more like a image viewer and less like a eBook reader.

      • MalReynolds@slrpnk.netEnglish
        2·
        7 months ago

        Is there a way to get colour there? B&W bums me out… I’m on GrapheneOS so have MoonReader (install google services, install, disable network on it, uninstall google services, and you’re good) but ebooks is one of my major use cases on mobile and everything FOSS sucks in comparison…

        • thisn@feddit.de
          2·
          7 months ago

          Can’t answer that question as I am only using KOR on my ereader, which only displays black an white :D What would be your usecase for color in ebooks?

          • MalReynolds@slrpnk.netEnglish
            2·
            7 months ago

            I like green on black on my phone, nice screen, good for the eyes. I’d love to sync between that and my kobo, but not happening at the moment. Currenly read new things on the kobo and old faves on the phone, it’s fine, but could be better…

      • velox_vulnus@lemmy.ml
        21·
        7 months ago

        I really don’t like gesture-based tap-zone control on KOReader. Is it possible to switch to buttons on-screen?

      • velox_vulnus@lemmy.ml
        2·
        7 months ago

        I like this. Only downside is that it isn’t Material You ready, but I don’t care about cosmetics as long as it work.

        Edit: no release available, which is a bummer.

    • shinysquirrel@lemmy.ml
      3·
      7 months ago

      try koreader I’ve tried a few e-book readers this is the best one I found so far I think it’s available in fdroid

  • Lobotomie@lemmy.world
    9·
    7 months ago

    Right now im looking for an alternative to the Google Maps Timeline. I know there is OwnTracks but I dont think that everything has to be hosted on a server somewhere (especially when all its saving is a timestamp and a coordinate, its not like that takes up alot of space)

    Basically just your own location tracker and then the option to see your own history displayed in a map e.g. where you have been on the 02.july.2019 at 11:50.

  • The Hobbyist@lemmy.zip
    9·
    7 months ago

    I’m sorry, I don’t have any specific suggestions for you, but I am wondering: is there no open source app you yourself wish existed because you would need it?

    Working on an open source app because some else (and not you) needs it, is not a good way of staying engaged and caring about the solution. Being the user and target of a project yourself is usually a much netter way of caring and proposing something tailored to at least one individual, maybe more.

    Of course, if you are looking for a programming exercise, go for it, but then you don’t need ideas, you can reimplement something which already exists, perhaps which you like, but in your own way. But if you want to have an impact in the open source, it starts by needing something which you don’t really find anywhere and taking matter in your own hands to fix it :) this is not meant to disincentivize you, quite the opposite! I hope you stay attentive to your digital ecosystem to see which holes can be plugged :)

    I maintain a private list of ideas I just think of as I go about my day, of things I would like to write/create for myself and while I won’t be going through with all of them, I hope to be able to pick up one or several of them whenever I have time. I can through some ideas here, not as a hint that you should do it (I’ll probably do them myself regardless), but just to inspire you, maybe:

    • I am subscribed to a teachable program which has no app and the program is just static information. I want to pull it all and represent it to me offline, not requiring internet to manage my progress. It is also intended to help me archive what I paid for and not depend on the goodwill of teachables to allow me to continue access the resource.
    • an RSS feed manager which uses embeddings to automatically organise the content by topic rather than by source.
    • an anki plugin to highlight content in the browser based on words from anki that I have and have not learned, to improve my language learning and reading ability.

    I have a few more, but this should give you some hints, I hope! Good luck!

  • Klaymore@sh.itjust.works
    8·
    7 months ago

    There’s lots of FOSS music players, but none of them have a volume slider / preamp. The Android volume slider is always either too loud or quiet so I have to make fine adjustments using the preamp in JetAudio. If someone could add that to an existing music player that’d be cool.

    • MalReynolds@slrpnk.netEnglish
      6·
      7 months ago

      And one that could handle a decent sized library (10s of thousands). One of the few places I’m happy to pay for it, Poweramp will let you buy a licence without google services. If you’ve already bought it and are on GrapheneOS you can enable play services for (3?) days and it stays good after you disable play services. I seldom shill, but here we are…

    • Inductor@feddit.de
      5·
      7 months ago

      You can do this in VLC, though it’s not very practical. VLC’s equalizer has a preamp slider, it’s just not great if you want to change it all the time.