May
07
Quick product development
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I read an article recently by a very well known marketer, who was explaining a particular process. It was a great process he’d talked about - one of those things that you read over and over again in different places, and suddenly you read it another time and it clicks into place. Maybe this writer wrote in a way that suited my thought processes or something…
Anyway this process relied on a web application (a free one), that you would set as your browser homepage. I wasn’t keen on that, as it would mean losing my existing browser homepage, which has links to my various sites and applications that I use on a day-to-day basis.
So I wrote something quick and dirty using AutoIt. Took me about 3 hours. However, there was one thing I wanted to do that I couldn’t find out how to do with AutoIt, even after searching the forum. Someone had written some code in the forum that looked like it met my needs, but in practice that code interfered with other applications.
So I looked elsewhere. After a bit of time trying to find the most common terms for the code I wanted to write, I found some online… written in C++, a language about which I know nothing.
Last night, over my nightcap, I submitted a request at Rentacoder. By this morning, I had 4 people submit a quote. Three of them basically said “I’ll do it for $x”, but nothing else.
One offered a bit of info about his background, and by looking at his history I learned he’d worked on something similar before. So similar, that both myself and the initiator of the other project referenced the same bit of code that I’d found online.
After about 6 mails to and fro today, we’ve ironed out a couple of “gotchas” spotted by the developer, and he can start on Monday. And although we’ve not agreed the final price, he’s given me a ball-park figure which he’ll pin-down to a specific figure in his next email.
In the meantime, I’ve approached the author of that original article (you’ll find out who it is later), and said what I’m up to. He’s interested in seeing the software.
So, if he’s interested enough to share it with his list, I’ll be offering it as a freebie list builder. It should be interesting to see how big the number is that subscribe to my list as a result, as this guy has been around for years - one of the first names I recognised as being “one of the good guys” when I started online.
Plus, the software is generic enough that I’ll be able to propose similar ventures on a regular basis, as this topic comes up again and again.
Plus of course, I’ll be offering the software here as well!
I’m hoping to have the complete software ready to roll at the end of next week, and most of that will be waiting time for the contractor to work his magic. Elapsed time on my part will be about 6 hours, I estimate, including testing his output. Add a couple of hours for a subscription page/download page, and a few follow-up messages, maybe an OTO as well, and that’s a normal working day for something that could result in a massive list size very quickly.
May 12th, 2007 at 6:34 am
Hello
Please note the incredible stupidity of rentacoder staff with serious projects
Read my funny experience and perfect examples at http://kamen123.blogspot.com
May 15th, 2007 at 8:13 am
Hi Kamen123,
Thanks for dropping by.
I’ve read some of your posts, and understand your frustration. Personally, I’ve only worked with RAC on one other project before this one, and found a developer who I will happily work with again if I need some PHP work done.
In the case of this project, the development is being done in C++, so I had to find someone else.
I’ve never dealt with any Rentacoder staff, nor had any difficulties with any projects, so I couldn’t comment on RAC staff’s ability to resolve disputes.
Regards,
Andy
May 24th, 2007 at 10:30 am
[…] recently wrote about how I developed the jvmPrintHref(’http://www.stayonfocus.com’,'Stay On Focus’); software in […]
May 24th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
You act really fast
Can I get a glimpse on “homepage” you made. I tried set a homepage that contains all links to my important pages but i used it for only few days.. it’s hard to update and i just dont know why i dislike it and never use it again..
May 24th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Hi Adib,
Unfortunately, I can’t share it, as it contains notes on usernames/passwords to some sites and applications.
But it’s simple, really. Just a HTML page - you can create this by hand or via an HTML editor page.
Then save that to your hard drive somewhere.
Then go to the options/settings of your browser, and you’ll find a way to point your browser’s homepage to that file on your hard drive.
Hope that helps,
Andy
May 30th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
The insulter “kamen123” has been banned from RentACoder.
http://tinyurl.com/2e5jga
“kamen123” spoil perfect site in revenge.
My name: Sergey I.Grachyov
Nickname: TakeReal
I am famous freelancer.
I have:
880 projects completed via RentACoder
107 projects completed via GetAFreelancer
33 projects completed via Scriptlance
May 31st, 2007 at 8:15 am
Hi Sergey,
Thanks for the update.
However, that’s the last time I’m allowing comments on this case at Rentacoder to be published on this site. I’ve seen other sites turn into online fights as a result.
That won’t happen here. Anyone with personal or professional grievances WITH ME can post them here. But this site isn’t a shouting board for other people to argue with each other.
Regards,
Andy