Have you ever tried texting a group of friends, hoping to make plans for the weekend, and then, of course, nothing pans out for whatever reason, and you're stuck at home alone with your two cats and Netflix?

No? Just us?

Well, the Microsoft Garage team knows what we're talking about, because it has just launched a cross-platform app called Tossup. It's available for iOS and Android devices and basically tries to streamline the planning/meet up process.

You start by asking friends to meet ("Who wants to go clubbing on Saturday?"). You can create a yes/no poll or write your own question with information about a specific date, time, and place. There's even built-in Yelp ratings in Tossup, so you don't have to open another app just to look up ratings for a good place to meet.

Friends can reply through the app or SMS if they don't have Tossup. Then, after everyone has responded and agreed, Tossup will add the meet to your calendar. Simples. We're not sure if this app is necessary, but it's the latest, unique project from Microsoft's Garage team, which aims to let developers explore ideas.

Previously, Garage has released things like a custom lockscreen, a travel companion, and a gesture search app for Android Wear. Some of the team's projects are for Windows, while others are for iOS and Android.

Tossup, for instance, doesn't even have a Windows Phone version.