It’s been a while since the last update, so I thought I’d talk about where the concept stands as of right now.
First, though, I’d like to thank everyone who’s left feedback in the forums or sent me PMs. I really appreciate the comments, suggestions, and criticism. Some posts were astonishingly detailed. With volume of posts, however, it’s a little overwhelming since I read each one carefully, so going through all of them has taken a while. I wrote down everyone’s suggestions in a list and prioritized them to see if I could implement any of the features in upcoming mock-ups. (There are some coming in the next few days, by the way.)
A forum member recently suggested that I talk about the product roadmap for Cookbook, assuming it gets developed. I thought was a great idea. While this is in no way a guarantee that the following features will make it into the final release, here is where I expect the product to go in terms of features:
Pretty-Definite Version 1.0 Features:
Meal scheduling
Smart Grocery Lists
Amazon.com integration
Multiple version-keeping
Multiple timers
Full screen support/voice navigation
Multiple images per recipe card
Advanced search and recipe suggester
iPod notes and .Mac syncing
These features may make it into 1.0, later versions, or be dropped:
Possible Version 1.0 Features:
“Recipe-casting”: RSS publishing
Recipe sharing via Bonjour
Workflow-based format for cooking directions
Video support in recipe cards
Price-tracking of items in physical stores
Export recipes as MP3 files for iPods
Unit conversion
Diet/nutrition support
Recipe scaling (not too likely; too unpredictable)
Cookbook-specific online database of recipes
Possible Version 2.0 Features:
Multiple retailer support
Intuitive comparison shopping
Keyword browser
Built-in storefront aggregating multiple retailers
Booze support: drink recipes
As you can see, this is a pretty long list, but these features don’t even begin to cover most of the suggestions I’ve received. So needless to say, it’s taken some time just to sort through everything.
In the forums, there have been a few people who’ve been opposed to Amazon.com integration. I realize that feature isn’t for everyone, though I still think it’s a huge deal. (It won’t replace physical grocery shopping altogether for years, but it’s a good start.) So for those who don’t want to use it, all online shopping features can be disabled with a single checkbox in Cookbook preferences.
