Gun Safe: iPhone personal firearms database with photo support. Very cool.

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El Rojo

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Hey everyone. Just in case you missed it. A California FFL, Ryan Kirkman of JK Supply Co came up with a cool iPhone application for keeping track of your firearms should you find yourself a victim of theft or burglary. It is an iPhone app that allows you to keep your gun information behind a password locked application. You can even take photos of your firearms and have them stored. Check out this description.

http://www.iapper.com/gun-safe-utilities/

You can also get more information from their Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pa...94329240?ref=ts

So if you have an iPhone and want a safe secure way to store your gun information, this is a mighty handy tool.

What do you think?
 
I have that same app, but I call it the "contains SN, estimated value, purchase price, where bought, caliber, optics, other dedicated accessories and photos of all emailed to myself app". While not absolutely secure, its about as secure as my iphone is. Besides, I won't be terribly worried if my SNs get hacked.

As you may guess, my app is free, and is shareware.:D
 
An Excel spreadsheet and photo album on my desktop do the same thing, without the worry of my info getting out should my phone be stolen. But, to each their own.
 
I have an iPhone and I'll be checking it out, that's for certain. I currently use a Bento database, but like the idea of something with easy support for pics.

-Matt
 
An Excel spreadsheet and photo album on my desktop do the same thing, without the worry of my info getting out should my phone be stolen. But, to each their own.

I thought about that too (well, also do it), but two things made me want to store that info on a separate server - possibility of a catastrophic fire, and possibility of theft of both my guns, but also my computers as well.

I agree that it is a cool app, but for me personally, its just not worth the price.
 
Fella's;

And, our old fashioned newspaper today contained a very interesting article about how da gummint can burgle yer i-phone for "forensic" information. Specifically mentioning the ability to retrieve stuff you thought you'd put in the circular container.

Great Falls Tribune (aka Buffoon) 7/12/10.
Cheers! 900F
 
Jon, what happens when your computer gets stolen?

Better yet, what happens when your iPhone with Gun Safe on it gets stolen? Are they going to come for your guns now? How will the vast amount of photos of you with guns on your iPhone not be any more likely an indicator you have firearms? What about your e-mails? What about your Safari Bookmarks to all of those gun sites?

Tim must be a student if he is sweating $6.99. Then again, he has his shareware so I don't blame him.
 
Tim must be a student if he is sweating $6.99.

I am actually a student, but much more comfortable than most college students.

I've never liked to waste money, and I'm pretty certain I'll never waste money - and for me, its a waste of money.

I can do the same exact thing for free, with comparable effort (maybe even less effort). Don't get me wrong, it is cool - but not for me.

he has his shareware so I don't blame him.

It is shareware in the sense that anyone can do what I do, or change the info they keep as they see fit.
Mine also works for people who don't have iphones. :D
 
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I do the Excel spreadsheet thing. I'm crazy with spreadsheets, use them for everything. Like Tim, I emailed it to a free email account like yahoo/gmail so it sits off-site there. It is also saved to a couple external/portable devices.

If someone hacks into the email? Steals one of the external devices or the PC itself?

I'll respond accordingly.
 
Looks like a good idea and keeping records of ALL of your valuables is always a great idea.

That said, I don't like keeping such valuable info on a device that - if lost or stolen - could end up in the hands of someone who can hack into it or could find someone to hack into the info.

I keep my own complete inventory of guns and household valuables on a CD and pictures on a DVD. Those 2 items (& duplicate copies) are stored in a safe deposit box and in the safe of a friend of mine. There are no id marks on either to identify that it belongs to me so if someone should get one or both, they still wouldn't know where those items are.

Call me paranoid............... but I've read of way too many cases where iPhones, laptops & hard-drives are easily hacked into even when password protected or erased. If your info is on there, the thief knows who you are and where you live.
 
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I keep my own complete inventory of guns and household valuables on a CD and pictures on a DVD. Those 2 items (& duplicate copies) are stored in a safe deposit box and in the safe of a friend of mine.

Keep in mind that cd's and dvd's have a shelf life. That shelf life is supposedly high (50 years or so). I have seen and heard of many first hand accounts (I work in IT) where someone grabs that disaster recovery dvd/cd that has been tucked away for 2 or 3 years only to find…nothing.

For most of my personal data, I will create an encrypted, password protected excel, word, pdf or whatever file, then I use a free tool to zip the item (7zip) into an encrypted archive, then I rename the archive and extension to something irrelevant (so that you have to change it back to a .zip or .rar file before unpacking) and I email it to my personal email and my work email. My email account could possibly be hacked, but that is pretty remote. This may be just me, but I am far more paranoid about failed, lost, damaged or otherwise unusable media. I’ve just seen too many instances of physical media being rendered useless. The only physical backups I do for personal stuff (files, pics, music, videos and movies) are to a usb (actually esata now) drive that I take to work and store in our disaster center once a month or so.

I’m just not a smartphone guy. I have one that I use mainly for calendar/contact syncing or as a mobile hotspot. With my job, I need a laptop to perform my role. Apps are neat, but I’ve yet to see one worth buying and I treat them as novelties. Plus, I’m trying very hard not to be “that guy” that you see at the park, beach, lake, mall, school or ball field fiddling with all his nifty phone doodads while his kids are playing, participating in sports, participating in some activities or just plain busy growing up.
 
Yeah this program is more for those that don't have the skills to make their own database. I used to keep mine in an Access file. I might switch over to Gun Safe. $6.99 is no big deal for me. Money comes and goes.
 
Yeah this program is more for those that don't have the skills to make their own database. I used to keep mine in an Access file. I might switch over to Gun Safe. $6.99 is no big deal for me. Money comes and goes.

$7 is a ripoff for an app that is basically just a password protected list and photostoring program, student or not.

Hmm, would I rather have a box of 20rounds of pmc or some stupid app that I can just make on my computer in ten mins?

The fact that you keep referring to it as "6.99" instead of 7 makes me suspect you're peddling your own app.
 
LOL. Why do you have to be so hostile? If it isn't your cup of tea, it isn't your cup of tea. Do a little research and you will quickly find it isn't my app, but a buddy's.

I guess you didn't bother to read my last statement that if you are technologically competent, you can make your own database. Not sure how that challenged your manliness, but I'll go ahead and cower to the alpha dog. LOL.

And actually, $6.99 is $6.99. It isn't $7. I just bought a couple thousand PMC for $5.45 a box. The sky is blue.

Again, if you don't want the app, don't buy it. If you had some concerns about security or how it works, I would understand. I suppose the nature of the online firearms discussion board is someone always has to try and put someone else down to make themselves feel better.

I congratulate you, you have a free program and didn't need to waste the $6.99. I someday wish to be just like you. Oh wait, I already have a free program, now I just need to develop a complex.

Again, if you want a cool app and spending $6.99 won't send you into convulsions or cause you to lose your mind and go off the handle on a gun discussion board, check it out.

If it isn't for you, then sorry to have wasted the one and half minutes of your time reading about it. Send me a bill and I will reimburse you the ten cents of lost productivity you wasted. :rolleyes:
 
$7 isn't a big deal, but considering the quality and features of apps that are FREE or $.99, it seems priced out of the market
 
well, big picture, apps like these can give you some guidance on pricing

bump -- really cool, free
weather channel -- really cool, free
trainer lite -- (uses gps to track your movement, calculates speed/time, etc) free
convert units -- really useful, free
mathtasks -- very cool, free
missingcalc -- also cool, free
citrix -- lets you manage zen from iphone, really useful and free
aol radio -- awesome free radio, pandora is also free

how about an app that lets you take a picture of a bar code, looks it up on line and comparison shops for you? free

surefire turns the iphone into a great shot timer, for free

i'm not saying you should work for free. just saying there are a heckuva lot of apps out there for $.99 that do a lot more.

the only app i've paid more than $.99 cents for is a free chinese-english dictionary that charged me $10 or so for an add-on that plays a voice recording of every word in the dictionary

edit: really more of a lesson in micro economics... lowering the price raises demand. a lower price could result in higher revenue
 
taliv, do you have a list or some example of these products that are better? I would be interested in checking them out.

How about this one? Maybe this one too?

There are others, but these are the first ones I found. I downloaded the Allstate one, and it seems ok. There is a "notes" section that you could put SNs in, as well as other notes. You can also take photos of your stuff. Not only is it (the Allstate) one free, but you can inventory your whole house with it. Its also password protected. Different categories are already in place for you, and it looks like you can organize by room too. There is a lite (free, but with less meat) version of the second one as well, if anyone wants to give that a go. I don't have Allstate, and I didn't even need to share my email with them, nor did I need to create an account. It looks like all your data will be lost if you lose your phone - which is why I like that data stored outside of my home. I don't know if the second app will store your info, or if it only stores it on your phone.

I want to say the USAA app may have an inventory section on it, but I may be mistaken on that. ETA: I just looked, and it doesn't.

So yeah, I'd say it is more than a bit overpriced when compared to other apps, particularly apps of this nature.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the gun inventory is a bad product by any means, but when I can get an app that will do more, for cheaper, I'm going with the free one that will do more.

I wish your buddy the best of luck with his product.
 
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Thanks for the replies.

Taliv, yes those are all great free apps. How many of them keep an inventory? That is comparing apples to oranges. I am not saying that your mind frame is invalid as clearly you judge apps based on their price and that is a valid concern. How many of them keep inventory.

Tim the Student, that is what I was looking for. How many are inventory programs. Home inventory would be a competitor, but it is $4.99. For $2 more you could have a gun specific program that sorts your collection specifically for guns. Which could be a deterrent if you wanted to inventory more items than just guns.

I appreciate the feedback and my buddy has a link to this thread.
 
How many are inventory programs.

Both the links I included are inventory programs. I got on itunes and searched for "home inventory" in the apps page, and came up with around 6 hits. The most expensive one was "Home Inventory" for 5 bucks, then the rest were either 99 cents or free.

For $2 more you could have a gun specific program that sorts your collection specifically for guns. Which could be a deterrent if you wanted to inventory more items than just guns.

I basically have two responses for this:

A) For free, I can take pics of my guns. Then, I can send an email to myself with other data about my guns, with pics. All is free, unless you want to talk about how the computer I use costs money, how it will take so long to take photos and transfer them to my computer and nonsense like that.

B) For $6.99 less, you can add a "Gun" category to the Allstate app. Then, you can have all your guns listed in one category. However, as I noted previously, all the info is stored on your phone, whereas with your buddies app (IIRC) you can email yourself a copy of the database with your info in it. I know at least one of the other apps I looked at will let you print out your inventory, and also has a web app that will track your inventory.

To each his own. I'm sure that app will work great for people that want a gun specific inventory app who don't mind paying more for it.
 
Sorry Tim, you misunderstood. I was wanting to know how many were home inventory apps and you provided a list of some. That is what I was looking for. taliv was just listing a ton of apps, apps that don't keep an inventory and really don't help with the discussion.
 
And actually, $6.99 is $6.99. It isn't $7.

let's call a spade a spade.

I congratulate you, you have a free program and didn't need to waste the $6.99. I someday wish to be just like you. Oh wait, I already have a free program, now I just need to develop a complex.

you mean like how you just gloated about buying 2,000 rds of pmc? or are you talking about how you belittled tim the student for thinking $7 was too much to pay, basically calling him poor in the process? :)

Do a little research and you will quickly find it isn't my app, but a buddy's.

So then you are promoting it.

you can get an almost fully featured Antares auto-tuner program for $3 and your "buddy" is charging $7 for a list and photo app. lol. it's not about being poor, it's about recognizing value.
 
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