Roamy: Your Dynamic, Spontaneous Tour Guide Extraordinaire

During the lockdowns, I was eager to embark on a new adventure, which led me to dive into the development of Roamy—a project initiated by a Karlsruhe entrepreneur. Roamy is designed to transform your smartphone into a dynamic, spontaneous tour guide, enabling users to explore cities and landscapes in a completely new way.

If you ever find yourself lost in a new place, Roamy is there to provide engaging stories about nearby sights, encouraging you to venture off the beaten path while still having a reliable, virtual guide at your side.

Technical Deep Dive: Native iOS App Development

This project was an excellent opportunity to immerse myself in a tech stack that was largely new to me. I had to learn a new programming language, adapt to a different IDE and framework, and work within the Apple ecosystem. However, the real challenge came from my hardware: my 2012 MacMini, which had served me well, finally failed. Despite several attempts at revival, it was clear it was time to move on.

Building a Hackintosh: A Mac with a Ryzen 3600

A friend introduced me to the OpenVanillaCore Project, an open-source kit for building Hackintosh systems compatible with the latest Ryzen processors. Departing from the more common "Clover" builds, which are limited to Intel processors, I leveraged the community's expertise to set up my new PC (Ryzen 3600, Radeon RX 5700, MSI 570) with the necessary rootkit, kernel extensions, and a tailored config.plist. I followed this guide and drew insights from c't magazine. To my satisfaction, the system worked flawlessly, allowing me to continue development.

Project Updates and Reflections

By November 2020, I had managed all upgrades, including Big Sur, without significant issues. While some applications (like Messenger and Discord) experienced minor problems, overall performance was impressive. However, by November 2021, a major upgrade broke the system. With Apple's powerful M-series chips now available, I would reconsider this approach in the future. The Hackintosh provided excellent value and power for €700, but native Macs have since become the superior choice.

The Beta Launch is Imminent

Roamy is shaping up to be an outstanding app, and I am excited to participate in the open beta with my new iPhone SE. Soon, users will be able to embark on Roamy-guided adventures. For more information, visit their webpage, or feel free to reach out if you're interested in the technical details of my PC build.