I recently interviewed John Casasanta and Austin Sarner to get more information about MyDreamApp. A is Austin, J is John and E is EDIT-XTREEM (me).

E: Can you give me some background information on My Dream App?

J: My Dream App is like American Idol for Mac apps. We held a competiton where people submittied ideas for apps they’d like implemented and then they were voted on by the public, with encouragement from celebrity Mac judges.

E: How many application entries did you get?

J: We got over 2,700 submissions.

E: What are the names of the 3 winning apps?

A: Atmosphere, Portal, Cookbook

E: Which one is your personal favorite?

J: Cookbook

A: Cookbook

E: Which one could you see being the most successful app?

J: Even though Cookbook came in 3rd in the competition and it has a lot of competition, I see it as doing the best overall. The reaction to what we’ve done so far has been incredible.

A: They all certainly have potential, and I could see something very flashy like Atmosphere making a big wave.

E: Can you tell me about the plans for Cookbook?

A: Right now, we’re just working on evolving and implementing the app. Expanding the initial vision has been quite a task… but we’re very pleased with how it’s going

E: What was the update from Austin Sarner and Cookbook yesterday (April
4th, 2007)?

A: This update offered the first look at the work we’ve been doing on Cookbook over the last few months, namely the new design and style. We also announced Wolfgang Bartelme as the designer and provided a selection of pictures that show the evolution of Cookbook’s style.

E: Which app do you think is the public’s favorite?

J: Atomosphere was the overall winner so I’d say that one’s currently the favorite.

E: I heard about a possible “My Dream App 2”, is there anything in store?

J: Yup. Once at least one of the My Dream App 1 apps is released, we plan to kick MDA II into gear. We have something coming up for Apple’s WWDC that’ll be starting the festivities off.

E: What is your job at My Dream App?

J: I’m the development manager which means I’m overseeing the app’s development and helping with design. I’m also doing much of the marketing and promotion since we’re a small company and we all have to wear a lot of hats.

A: I’m handling the development of Cookbook, as well as helping with odd jobs here and there.

E: What are some of your past projects?

J: My main project is iClip. In the past I’ve worked on things ranging from various color management apps, image processing apps, and games. And there are many, many unfinished projects that I’ve started over the years.

A: My other main projects include Disco and AppZapper, and I’ve been involved in far too many things going back to mention here. One of them was a competitor to iClip, though :).

E: What are some of your goals for My Dream App?

J: To develop successful apps that are beautiful and functional. And to have fun doing it.

Thanks to John and Austin for taking the time to talk to me. You can visit MyDreamApp by clicking here.
Austin’s current apps are AppZapper, and Disco. John’s current app is iClip.

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