Dear Yunji,

I want to make an iPhone app for law students.  Do you have any ideas?

Pondering in Property

Dear Pondering,

There needs to be invented a whole new category of iPhone apps labeled Surviving Law School in 2010.

We need an app to help us forage for nourishment. Food SearchPro: an app that alerts us when goodies like pizza, donuts, and chips with dip appear in the Hard Lounge (remember that wonderful, wonderful day when sandwiches and beer appeared during finals?).   Related is a possible app that will map out the availability of soda in the school.  Too many cries of woe have been wailed at the sudden discovery that the vending machine is either not working or is sold out of Diet Cola.  May I suggest Coke Fiend: a mapping app that pin points where your preferred soda can be found in the nearest vicinity?

Physical survival at our law school also requires an ability to dress appropriately not necessarily for the weather, but for the unique temperature of each of our classrooms.  On the same day, a sweater may be appropriate for a class in Stockton 201 but may be deadly stifling for one in Burns 418.  We need help.  Please invent the Anti-Snooze-ometer.

Maintaining a positive attitude is also an important but difficult task during our legal studies.  We need an app that will easily put a positive spin on our negative thoughts.  What we need is the iPollyanna: type in "I got the lowest grade in my LRW" and get "Having friends that are smarter than you is always better for your personal development.  Do you really want to be in a room where you are the smartest person there?"  Perhaps you could even customize the settings of the app depending on what you need to hear: Setting 1 would be "Tough Love - Stop Whining and Get Back to Work," Setting 2 would be "Look on the Sunny Side - It Could Always Be Worse," and Setting 3 would be "Reality Schmreality - Just Tell Me Everything Will Be Fine!"

Apps for finding used textbooks, and old outlines, apps for professor bios and evaluations, apps showing the availability of desks and plugs around the school study areas....The list goes on. All you need now is to actually make them.

Happy New Year,

Yunji