Let It Snow! v1.0 for Android Phones

v1.0

Do you live near the Tropics and wish you had snow? or live in the Northern hemisphere and had enough of it? Don’t worry, this application will let you enjoy falling snow within the comforts of your home on your Android powered phone. Let it Snow! is a fun Android application for the Christmas holidays. It simulates falling snow over a winter landscape. There are three different landscapes available. It works in both portrait and landscape modes. You can also select a picture and have snow fall on your head or a friend’s!

This application is a socialware. It is free to download and use. It is available from Android Market. If you enjoyed it, I invite you to consider helping a worthy cause mentioned below. Your donation, however small or large will make enormous difference in the lives of many people.

Update: This has been tested on droid, and on emulators with HVGA. Please let me know if it works on other devices. The app might crash when you use with pictures.

Screenshots:

The Cause:

I’ve been associated with an organization called Myrtle Foundation in India, who does tremendous work with children, especially those who are affected by HIV/AIDS. They raise awareness of this deadly disease in the rural areas in a unique way by making use of puppetry.

One of their projects is called “Sathya Children’s Educational Sponsorship”, under which the foundation paid the educational expenses for 16 precious children in 2009 who are affected by HIV/AIDS (affected meaning one or both parents infected or the child itself is infected). Some of these children’s background:

• Yamini (12 years old) – When she was 2 years old, on 02/19/01, her father (27 yrs old) committed suicide by kerosene fire. After seeing this, she never laughed or spoke for the next 3 years. Now she is living with grandma.

• Nisha Rani (10 years old) – Mother is PLWHA (Person living with HIV/AIDS), father died of AIDS.

The organization is run by Mr. Williams (aka Venkatesh) along with a team of volunteers. He feels that this is his calling, and is full time into the project, and does not take any salary. He takes care of his family with his wife’s modest income. Our family has been supporting this project, and we could see that the  funds went directly to the children, and were properly utilized.

The need:

We need funds to support these children next year (2010), and also some more kids like them. Also, there is a need for a “campaign vehicle” that can be used for spreading HIV awareness.

How you can help:

• – You can spread the word by telling about the software and Myrtle to your friends. You can use the links for sharing below this article.
• – You can partner with us by contributions in cash or kind. Every dollar counts! The Myrtle web site is outdated, and they can’t accept credit cards at this time.
  • – If you are in the US and would like to make a donation, please contact me at rmadhuram@yahoo.com. I will send out details for Paypal/check. I will transparently make the collection details available to all donors.
  • – If you are in India or elsewhere, you can directly contact Mr. Williams (aka Venkatesh) at 9840096022 (mswn1@yahoo.com) for contributing.

Downloading the App:

The application is available in the Android market. Search for “snow”, download and enjoy!

Christmas is the season of giving when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, who is the ultimate gift of God for mankind. Let’s spread the cheer! Merry Christmas!!