Search results for fastspring

Micro ISV Tools Tools

by Scott Kane on 17. Apr, 2010 in

Please note – the links to products and services on this page DO NOT contain affiliate links or promotional codes unless indicated (at the time of writing that means none).  These are all products I use and recommend purely because they have proven to be good, offer value for money or if free (such as open source) are worth the investment of your time in my opinion.  I do update these links as circumstances change or I find an alternative that I believe to be of better value.
It can be tough starting a micro ISV.  Bootstrapping a business requires a lot of work, penny wise decisions and a fair dollop of risk.  The tools I list here are tools I use everyday in my own business and tools I thought ISV’s might get some use from.  If you know of a tool that’s missing feel free to contact me using the menu above and I’ll consider adding it if it means the criteria.

I’m not a fan of FOS or GNU as a general rule, but there are exceptions and Tortoise is one of them.  Probably the best source control tool I’ve used.  Super fast to install, extremely easy to configure and use.  If you’re not using source control, and you should, then check out the Tortoise.  Click the Tortoise logo to visit the official site and download…

SKTimeStamp

Nifty little tool, a shell extension, for changing file/folder dates.  Handy as well for the war on script kiddies.  Change your build, leave the build number the same and change the time stamp to the previous build date.  Voila!  You’ll have them shout lamer at the script kiddie within hours…  ;-)

StExBar

I wish MS had thought of the options this little trick extends to Explorer.  Solves quite a few issues, as with the two above it’s open source and free to use.

Essential PIM

I actually use two PIM like applications, this little one is my scratch pad for to do lists each day.  There are two editions, standard (free) and Pro.  Nicely written.  If you’ve not got a PIM or aren’t happy with the one you have now (some are so darned bloated) then check this one out.

BuildAutomator

I’ve blogged about this tool and it’s the build tool I use now.  The price is affordable, it’s well maintained and support is superb.  BuildAutomator shaves heaps of time off the build process, Arnor is always improving it.  If there are two tools on this page I think are must have’s for startups it’s Tortoise and BuildAutomator.

WordPress

OK, yes, this blog runs off WordPress.  But I’m also using it as a CMS for the MixAction website (our primary product).  I’m blown away, having been a long time Joomla! user, at just how darn good it is as a CMS.  It’s takes some tweaking, requires some specific plugins, but once done it really is terrrific.  While Joomla is awesome for large sites, for a single product site I heartily recommend WordPress.  So much so I’m going to do a series of articles on this blog in the future on how to go about running an ISV’s single product website right off of it…

Oh – and if you don’t have a blog, what on Earth are you waiting for?

Not Sure about starting and running your own blog?  No worries.  Grab yourself a copy of Blog Blazers.  Written by fellow ISV Steph Grenier it’s packed full of intereviews, tips and hints from some of the ‘nets brightest blogging sparks.  Should be on every bloggers bookshelf.   http://www.blogblazers.com/ I’m writing a review on this blog on Steph’s book and will update this with a link to the review in the coming weeks.

How to Generate Traffic To Your Website

How to Generate Traffic to your Website is another must have book from Steph.  Published as an easy to read (and economical to buy) e-book this high quality tome has some great little tips and techniques.  I admit I’ve never had a lot of trouble with SEO.  It’s simple if you follow, as I’ve always done, some basic logic and choose to avoid trying to game the engines as quality information beats black or white hat SEO techniques everytime.  Confused about black and white hats?  Throw away the nonsense you’ve read on this, you don’t need the hats.  Grab a copy from http://www.followsteph.com/how-to-generate-traffic-to-your-website.html and learn that like most things in this business a professional, structured approach is worth it’s weight in gold.   For my own review of this book here on this blog you can Click Here.

Empower

BizSpark

Either one (or both) of these membership schemes represent excellent value to mISV’s and ISV’s.  So far we have joined BizSpark with a view towards joining Empower in the near future.  Both bring many advantages to the startup including, but not limited to, server side technology (BizSpark) MSDN memberships, access to Windows desktop and server operating systems, business software including office, complete IDE’s including .Net and much, much more.  Plus access to marketing and support, all for prices that make these one of the best startup packages available today.  If you’re not a member of one of these you are missing out on a lot of great startup assistance!

Registration Service

I’m a bit critical of some of the registration service options available to ISV’s.  Franky most of them suck and I’m not short of saying so when they’ve done something untoward.

However!  There are two companies I have no hesitation in recommending.  They are:

FastSpring and NorthStarSolutions.

fastlogo northstarsols

Why?  It’s a matter of two issues.  Integrity and experience.  Both FastSpring and NorthStar Solutions, both seperate companies run by seperate people, have both in abundance.  Both companies fall over themselves to help you.  Make no mistake either - you *need* two registration companies.  First because the Internet does funny things, no point missing a sale if for some reason your customer can’t reach one solution - it happens to any of us.  Second is that some people have personal preferences.

The Business Of Software

Run by Joel Sposky.

OK, not so much a "tool" in the traditional sense, more like an addiction.  ;-)   Seriously, a good resource for asking questions related to starting up, but be cautious, there are an army of anonymous trolls waiting for the unwary, like most internet forums.  Post links to your website with care if asking for feedback.  Consider that you might not want some of that feedback appearing in Google searches later on down the track.

CDROO Music And Sound Effects For Video And Podcasts, Theater Cues

CDROO is a resource run by me, aimed squarley at people, such as Micro ISV’s, who need economical access to original, royalty free music and sound effects for their online videos, sales presentations, training tools and podcasts.

CDROO music and sound effects are 100% Royalty Free, so you never have to pay another cent after you purchase music and sound from us.

More coming as soon as I have a few moments…

**All Product Names, Trademarks And Logos Belong To Their Respective Owners.

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BoomerApp Promotion On A Brand New Product. 100% Rebate. Klik n’ Mix

by Scott Kane on 23. Nov, 2009 in .Net 2, .net, 30Dayers, 30days, Audio Software, BizSpark, C#, Featured Articles, General ISV Issues, ISV Marketing, ISV Software Design, Microsoft, Starting an mISV, Uncategorized, User Interface Design, VB.Net, VisualStudio, Windows, Windows 7, bootstrap isv

Last post I indicated I’ve been pretty much flat out like a lizard drinking.  I wish more of it was on code!!

A number of things have changed these last few months.  I somehow ended up elected a State Executive member of the Australian Democrats and a National Deputy President of the party as well.  There’s some pre-selection things going on there I won’t go into presently in respect of the next Federal Election – which is going to be anywhere between March and November next year, with a decided possibility of middle of August – unless the Conservatives (Liberals) and the Socialists (Labor) magically come to some kind of agreement over climate change legislation.  That the Greens are playing “my way or the highway” is pretty sad.  Negotiate?  Yer doin’ it wrong!

(more…)

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Tools For Startups

by Scott Kane on 23. Aug, 2008 in

Please note – the links to products and services on this page DO NOT contain affiliate links or promotional codes unless indicated (at the time of writing that means none).  These are all products I use and recommend purely because they have proven to be good, offer value for money or if free (such as open source) are worth the investment of your time in my opinion.  I do update these links as circumstances change or I find an alternative that I believe to be of better value.
It can be tough starting a micro ISV.  Bootstrapping a business requires a lot of work, penny wise decisions and a fair dollop of risk.  The tools I list here are tools I use everyday in my own business and tools I thought ISV’s might get some use from.  If you know of a tool that’s missing feel free to contact me using the menu above and I’ll consider adding it if it means the criteria.
Tortoise SVN

Tortoise SVN

I’m not a fan of FOS or GNU as a general rule, but there are exceptions and Tortoise is one of them.  Probably the best source control tool I’ve used.  Super fast to install, extremely easy to configure and use.  If you’re not using source control, and you should, then check out the Tortoise.  Click the Tortoise logo to visit the official site and download…

SKTimeStamp

Nifty little tool, a shell extension, for changing file/folder dates.  Handy as well for the war on script kiddies.  Change your build, leave the build number the same and change the time stamp to the previous build date.  Voila!  You’ll have them shout lamer at the script kiddie within hours…  ;-)

StExBar

I wish MS had thought of the options this little trick extends to Explorer.  Solves quite a few issues, as with the two above it’s open source and free to use.

Essential PIM

I actually use two PIM like applications, this little one is my scratch pad for to do lists each day.  There are two editions, standard (free) and Pro.  Nicely written.  If you’ve not got a PIM or aren’t happy with the one you have now (some are so darned bloated) then check this one out.

BuildAutomator

I’ve blogged about this tool and it’s the build tool I use now.  The price is affordable, it’s well maintained and support is superb.  BuildAutomator shaves heaps of time off the build process, Arnor is always improving it.  If there are two tools on this page I think are must have’s for startups it’s Tortoise and BuildAutomator.

WordPress

OK, yes, this blog runs off WordPress.  But I’m also using it as a CMS for the MixAction website (our primary product).  I’m blown away, having been a long time Joomla! user, at just how darn good it is as a CMS.  It’s takes some tweaking, requires some specific plugins, but once done it really is terrrific.  While Joomla is awesome for large sites, for a single product site I heartily recommend WordPress.  So much so I’m going to do a series of articles on this blog in the future on how to go about running an ISV’s single product website right off of it…

Oh – and if you don’t have a blog, what on Earth are you waiting for?

Blog Blazers BookNot Sure about starting and running your own blog?  No worries.  Grab yourself a copy of Blog Blazers.  Written by fellow ISV Steph Grenier it’s packed full of intereviews, tips and hints from some of the ‘nets brightest blogging sparks.  Should be on every bloggers bookshelf.   http://www.blogblazers.com/ I’m writing a review on this blog on Steph’s book and will update this with a link to the review in the coming weeks.

How to Generate Traffic To Your Website

How to Generate Traffic to your Website is another must have book from Steph.  Published as an easy to read (and economical to buy) e-book this high quality tome has some great little tips and techniques.  I admit I’ve never had a lot of trouble with SEO.  It’s simple if you follow, as I’ve always done, some basic logic and choose to avoid trying to game the engines as quality information beats black or white hat SEO techniques everytime.  Confused about black and white hats?  Throw away the nonsense you’ve read on this, you don’t need the hats.  Grab a copy from http://www.followsteph.com/how-to-generate-traffic-to-your-website.html and learn that like most things in this business a professional, structured approach is worth it’s weight in gold.   For my own review of this book here on this blog you can Click Here.

Byte Shield

We’ve tried various tools over the years for protection of our software and licensing.  From Armadillo to our own weird and wonderful routines.  While we still code defensively and use some other tools ByteShield is the chosen tool for our theater audio product’s – MixAction-  protection.  Flexibile, durable and smart.  Highly recommended!

Empower

BizSpark

Either one (or both) of these membership schemes represent excellent value to mISV’s and ISV’s.  So far we have joined BizSpark with a view towards joining Empower in the near future.  Both bring many advantages to the startup including, but not limited to, server side technology (BizSpark) MSDN memberships, access to Windows desktop and server operating systems, business software including office, complete IDE’s including .Net and much, much more.  Plus access to marketing and support, all for prices that make these one of the best startup packages available today.  If you’re not a member of one of these you are missing out on a lot of great startup assistance!

Registration Service

I’m a bit critical of some of the registration service options available to ISV’s.  Franky most of them suck and I’m not short of saying so when they’ve done something untoward.

However!  There are two companies I have no hesitation in recommending.  They are:

FastSpring and NorthStarSolutions.

fastlogo northstarsols

Why?  It’s a matter of two issues.  Integrity and experience.  Both FastSpring and NorthStar Solutions, both seperate companies run by seperate people, have both in abundance.  Both companies fall over themselves to help you.  Make no mistake either - you *need* two registration companies.  First because the Internet does funny things, no point missing a sale if for some reason your customer can’t reach one solution - it happens to any of us.  Second is that some people have personal preferences.

The Business Of Software

Run by Joel Sposky.

OK, not so much a “tool” in the traditional sense, more like an addiction.  ;-)   Seriously, a good resource for asking questions related to starting up, but be cautious, there are an army of anonymous trolls waiting for the unwary, like most internet forums.  Post links to your website with care if asking for feedback.  Consider that you might not want some of that feedback appearing in Google searches later on down the track.

CDROO Music And Sound Effects For Video And Podcasts, Theater Cues

CDROO Royalty Free Music And Sound Effects For Podcasts,Videos and Theater Sound Cues

CDROO is a resource run by me, aimed squarley at people, such as Micro ISV’s, who need economical access to original, royalty free music and sound effects for their online videos, sales presentations, training tools and podcasts.

CDROO music and sound effects are 100% Royalty Free, so you never have to pay another cent after you purchase music and sound from us.

More coming as soon as I have a few moments…

**All Product Names, Trademarks And Logos Belong To Their Respective Owners.

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Day 41 – The RC Waiting Game

by Scott Kane on 12. Jul, 2008 in Starting an mISV

First feedback for RC 1 showed a few issues – lucky I was there in person to handle them.  Mostly installer problems that I’ve addressed now.  So the first of my “circle” of folks who actually get to download and test without me being there were notified tonight.

Now one of the worst parts of all.  Waiting for show stoppers.  ;-)

I learned a great deal today about a company offering a unique and extremely interesting licensing system for software developers.  I’m going to blog about that more when I have more details, but chatting this afternoon on the phone to Jan from ByteShield has me intrigued – indeed extremely impressed!  So stay tuned next week and I’ll let you know what I find out.  I’m getting a demo of the system on Monday and am looking forward to seeing how it all goes together.  Note that this is server side technology primarily and is not an exe wrapper or anything like that.  That they are partnered with my favorite e-Commerce people FastSpring makes if very attractive indeed.

Still done pretty much zero work on the website.  Now RC 1 is out I’m hoping I can attend to that next week, tomorrow being Saturday and my “day off” with the family.

I’m also going to do something really odd.  If MixAction goes to release before July 21st 2008 I’m going to do another 30 Day sprint for Mixerlicious starting – all things being equal – August 1st 2008.  So I’ll do another 30 Days of blogging on progress, while also handling any “issues” with MixAction and ironing out some of the marketing stuff related to that.

The actual product name Mixerlicious have been switched to another type of product all together, still building up to a much larger B2B only application, but the latter will be marketed under a different name.

So if you’re in anyway interested in comparing the first “30 Day” product (that took longer than 30 Days for sure) with a second back to back then you might want to follow along.

I have a reason for dong this – apart from insanity – I have another political campaign to fight in November and simply won’t have the time after September to work flat out like a lizard drinking coding.  Plus.  I learnt so much from the June 30 Day exercise I’m bursting my britches to implement some of those lessons.

Anyway – have a great weekend, it’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere – but here in the Southern it’s cold and icy (OK, frosty, no real ice in Melbourne – we don’t do snow to often and when it does it’s kind of like icing sugar unless you are on one of our few tall mountains).

Scott Kane

Quote of the day:
People ask for criticism, but they only want praise. – W. Somerset Maugham

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Day 27 -Help Files & When Bugs Are Features

by Scott Kane on 27. Jun, 2008 in Starting an mISV

Pretty much spent the whole day writing the help file documentation today.  More on that in a moment.

Yesterday I declared a code freeze.  However today I became aware of a little bug that was cosmetically annoying.

MixAction has a little indicator arrow in the playlist, similar to how iTunes does, showing the currently playing track.  Under certain conditions this indicator gets saved to the meta file for the playlist and ends up showing each time that playlist is played until that certain condition raises it’s head again.  Undesirable.  Or so I thought…

Then it occurred to me that this could actually be a neat feature.  Power goes out or program closed accidentally somehow in a performance?  No worries.  MixAction remembers the track you were playing even if you don’t.  Added some code to make sure it resets properly if there is no interruption but let it show the indicator if that condition isn’t met.  So a bug, albeit a cosmetic one, ended up being a feature.  ;-)

OK.  The help file.  I don’t know about you but for me writing a help file is kind of like having each toe nail extracted without anesthetic and then the perpetrator moving to each finger on each hand.   Deliriously painful.  ;-)

So I got around half way through today and I’ve ground to a stop now.  I’ve also been working on the website, so it’s not like I had my head in the help compiler WYSIWYG tool all day, it just feels that way.

What this means is that tomorrow I’ll have to stick my head back into it and complete the job.  But hope is in sight as the hardest of it is completed now, though it will require massive expansion and tweaking at a later date.

Sue from Alta WebWorks completed my website template and It’s looking beautiful.  Now I’ve got to write the content.  But before I get to far with that I want to re-read Bob Walsh’s ISV e-book to try and make things as sharp as possible.

Uploaded 100 serials to start FastSpring off with for order fulfillment last night.  Enough to get things started in that respect.

I have identified a few issues I need to bug fix before handing off to the testers and I’m sure there are a few I’ve not spotted.

At the end of the 30 Days I intend to write an article here that summarizes some of the issues I’ve bumped into.  Decisions I’ve made that worked and the many that either did not or I wish I had done differently. 

Believe it or not I have a bunch of things to add to the project after release that were either pulled during the 30 Days due to time or were a direct result of either making an earlier decision in respect of something else.  Plus I’m making some features part of the sales strategy and will not be putting the code for those in the trial version at all.

I’ll also be talking about scope in respect of taking on a relatively complex application, though at the same time relatively small feature set, in a period of 30 Days.  Even with a heck of a lot of stuff prepared nothing prepares you for doing what all of us have been doing this last 30 Days.  I’ve worked as a corporate developer, project lead, department manager and private consultant and everything in between.  But the 30 Day lead time we put ourselves into is one of the hardest I’ve ever done – if not the hardest.

And I’ve loved every minute of it.  ;-)

Later…

Quote of the day:
All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind. – Aristotle

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