MCIC – Grid Chicago

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The Grand Challenge of the Apps for Metro Chicago Contest starts today. Everyone will have the opportunity to vote for the best apps that take Chicagoland data and make it more useful, interesting, or engaging. Apps can be for the web, or specific smartphone operating systems. Winners get recognition and cash prizes.

I’ve re-submitted the Bikes on Metra app my friend and I worked on. We weren’t finalists in the first round, about transportation, and I didn’t make any changes in the re-submission because I’m working on so many projects (book club being the latest).

So browse the gallery and leave your votes at 4 PM. Voting ends Monday, December 12, at 4 PM. I hope things go better this time around than in the first round, after the rules changed and the first batch of votes were invalidated. Continue reading Vote on the best apps for metro Chicago

The Apps for Metro Chicago competition started on Friday, June 24, 2011. It aims to gather free and useful web and mobile applications (created in any programming language). It’s sponsored by the City of Chicago, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), Cook County, and the State of Illinois. You can enter as many apps as you want in two categories, Transportation and Community, and the “Grand Challenge.” You don’t have to be a Chicago resident!

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The Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) train tracker website was developed with web standards so that it could work on all browsers, no matter how “dumb” the phone. By developing with standards and for many platforms, your app will get a higher score. You can create a duplicative app for the competition, but you must add unique features or create an innovative design! “Creativity” (uniqueness) will help your app score higher. Continue reading App contest for Chicago transportation and community in progress