Teenagers show UK Govt how web/mobile services should be done
If we assume that the secret to successful tech startups is an elegant solution to a common problem, easily monetized and marketed to a receptive audience, then Young Rewired State probably saw the birth of five or more successful startups of the future, hacked together by a group of very motivated teenagers over 24 hours.
The hack day, organised by Rewired State, was held at Google’s London Victoria offices over the weekend. It brought together 50 young developers aged 15-18 (of which, only three were girls), giving them access to experienced mentors, non-personal government data and as is customary at events like this, an unlimited supply of sugar and caffeine.
A total of 16 hacks were presented. The winners were:
Most likely to be bought by Google: TFHell
This mobile web app solved the problem of knowing whether or not your London bus is running on time, using the data that buses relay to bus stop display screens indicating how long before they arrive. It relied on screenscraped data from Transport For London, which is notorious for walling off its data. Google Maps already supports this feature in the US, making this app the strongest contender in this category.
Most likely to antagonise the CIO council: How’s my Train?
This nifty hack created very informative visualisations of statistics for individual train routes, based on an archive of existing train punctuality data. This made a more relevant service for commuters than the officially published statistics which only show the performance stats for a route per quarter.
Read the full story at TechCrunch Europe