January was a month of change…

Obama & Change.gov embraced change. It has become a buzzword for his campaign, but also for our nation. When I started started this blog it marked a change in my business and personal life. I was going to keep track of the major things that I learned that enhanced my web application experience and that of other designers and developers. Thanks also to the many people who contributed ideas for topics, their experience both through interviews and comments, and for everyone who read and got something out of this site. I appreciate all your support, phone calls, and emails. It means a lot. I’ve already received a couple suggestions for topics next month, so don’t hesitate to contact me.

Looking back on this month the major themes were vision, challenge, and solution.
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Keeping your PC 1 Click Away

In speaking with my father-in-law Lee yesterday evening about a franchise he is developing, Nerd Force, I noticed when I checked their website they offer remote PC support. If you have called tech support for your computer lately, it is quite possible they have had you download a remote support application. But the tech support team isn’t the only person who can benefit from remote access, you can too.
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Your fav site icon

favicon mini-shotLooking for some extra branding on your site? The favorite website icon (favicon) has been around since Internet Explorer 5 so that shortcuts to sites are easier to find in a list of bookmarks. It has expanded since then to appear in the left side of the navigation bar next to the site address. I was recently asked, how do I do that?
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Is creativity a process or a plan?

In speaking with a web application developer, Mike, we had a conversation about a couple past products that are now in the process of being redeveloped. Both are applications based on proprietary systems that are getting rewritten using an Open Source LAMP architecture. Neither has a strict set of requirements. What does this mean for a developer and is it a bad thing?
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Apps that are Spankin’ Good

I had a conversation earlier today with a designer and we were noticing how so many designs are copied. Everyone wants to be like the leaders in their particular market segment. Here is a list of web applications that are so Spankin’ Good that everyone wants to copy them.
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Application Pricing

Most of my application development is done directly for clients on a custom one-off basis. I am now considering developing my own Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application. Being realistic from a business prospective, since application development is my livelihood, I need to make sure that the application I develop is profitable. What pricing models exist for web applications and what model makes the most sense for a startup?
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Keep problems away with testing and monitoring

When maintaining or running a web application many different things can go wrong. When they do it is best to have a system in place to detect these occurrences and fix them promptly before the customer calls.
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