GENeSYS Documents

Since I merged GENeSYS Solutions with Arten Science I have had several emails asking me how to get hold of a couple of documents that used to be hosted on GENeSYS Solutions. I assume somebody had linked to the old address somewhere. The documents can now be found at the following links:

Oracle 10g Database Admin 1 Exam Cram / Study Guide

and

Securing the Network, for the Non Technical

"I live now on borrowed time, waiting in the anteroom for the summons that will inevitably come. And then - I go on to the next thing, whatever it is. One doesn't luckily have to bother about that." - Agatha Christie

Online Store :-)

It’s took a little more than 30 days but my product is now available to buy from my online store. It can be accessed from my purchasing page. I’ve gone with Kagi for the store after doing a fair bit of research on the web. The fees are quite high though hence I offer a discount to customers who pay by UK Cheque or Bank Transfer. There is also a US$15 fee for wiring over the money each month.

It’s time to wind down a bit now. I’ve just written a cross platform image viewer for one of my other products, ArtenScan, and once I’ve documented it, uploaded it, put screenshots on my site etc. etc. etc. that’s all I’m doing before I take a break for a week, doing a Mediterranean Cruise. When I get back it’s onto Marketing and SEO ...

In my absence I have somebody preparing and sending a mailshot so that when I get back I can chase up the letters via a phone call. How much fun is that :-(

Anyway - I hope everybody else is doing OK with their products - I’ll be following the feed on my iPhone while I’m away on so keep on blogging :-)

30 Day Sprint -1

I have added screenshots of my products on my website today, added a Customer Loyalty Program and made other assorted enhancements. Beyond that not a lot to report really, although I have just received an email from an ex-colleague who has been talking to someone who is apparently interested in ‘selling on’ my SMSRelay product.

He is suggesting that it may be better to offer the product with bundled texts and make money off the texts as well - it’s an idea I have played around with but am not particularly comfortable with at the moment - nevertheless we are going to setup a meeting and see if there is mutually beneficial business to be done :-)

I have a holiday coming up and two custom developments to code during July as well as marketing ... July could be busier than June !

End of Experiment

mmm. So that went down like a lead ballon ! A couple of comments on my blog entry and a dozen or so emails and unanimously - you all hated it.

So the ‘speech bubbles’ are gone and I’ve generally tidied up the home page and also adopted the ‘logo in the top left’ idea mentioned by Richie amongst others.

Thanks for all your feedback, it is *much* appreciated. The redesigned home page is up and I think it now looks much better :-)

www.artenscience.co.uk

I think the following quotation is appropriate, considering my recent experiment :-)

"One remembers horrors, I think, for the rest of one's life, but memories do not always remain so sharp, and with time, and new circumstance, do not affect us so powerfully." - Elizabeth Aston

An Experiment

I know that nobody does it and I’m probably entirely wrong and have with full knowledge of my deeds broken every rule in the ‘Web Page Designers Handbook’, but ... it’s an experiment. I’ve added several ‘speech bubbles’ to my Home Page to inform the user quickly and at a glance of key information relating to the site. Let me know if you like it, or if you hate it !

Mail me here:

hatethebubbles@artenscience.co.uk

or

lovethebubbles@artenscience.co.uk


Ultimately it’s about the User Experience. Does it help them find what they are looking for quickly ? The argument could be that it shouldn’t be necessary if the site was better designed, and that’s a compelling argument - however I’m going to stick with it for a while and gauge feedback. Not just from computer literate users but from the everyday guy who doesn’t know and doesn’t particularly want to know about ‘web standards’ - how is it for them ?

Peace - Steve

"True happiness... arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one's self." - Joseph Addison

Recommended

Two books that I have read this month that could well be of interest to people reading this:

From Program to Product
Rocky Smolin
Quick Rating: 3.5 / 5
Summary: Nothing new here and some quite dull interviews but useful text regarding software development all conveniently located in one small book.




Dreaming In Code
Scott Rosenberg
Quick Rating: 4.5 / 5
Summary: Excellent book about the (still incomplete) Chandler project started by Mitch Kapor, http://chandlerproject.org/ Chapter 10 discusses software ‘engineering’ (or is it art?). Great stuff !



"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures." - Henry Ward Beecher

SMSRelay Suite: Keepin' Goin' :-)

My product is done (well ... not so much done as I have decided to stop working on it for a while, is software ever done ?), but when I started this project I had no website from which to sell it. I have rectified this now and the website is up and running. There’s still a way to go though because during the last 30 Days I have also made one of my previous programs into a product (ArtenScan) and I need to put screenshots and ‘use cases’ on the web for both SMSRelay and ArtenScan and then the final hurdle is e-commerce.

Of course SEO and Marketing are (very) important and I will start on that when I get back from holiday.

So is this feed going to stay utilised as we all carry on finishing and marketing our products ? I think it should - I for one am very interested to see how we all do and what trials and tribulations we all encounter along the way :-)

Anyway - its the end of the ‘30 Day Sprint’ and I’d just like to say how much I enjoyed the whole experience. Here’s to the next one ;-)

"O that a man might know the end of this day's business ere it come!" - William Shakespeare

Merge !

I’ve decided to merge my Bespoke Software and Consultancy business, GENeSYS Solutions, with my Commercial Software venture, Arten Science. As a small business it can only lead to confusion having two ‘identities’, besides some of my GENeSYS customers are also customers of Arten Science and vice versa. The two businesses are complimentary so it makes sense for me to merge the two under the Arten Science banner.

Starting today I’m going to make the transition of GENeSYS into Arten Science. I’ll be adding extra pages to www.artenscience.co.uk to represent the additional services that were previously offered by GENeSYS, and I have already updated the About page to reflect some of the changes.

I’m excited about the changes and feel I now have a clear vision of the business going forward in a simple and streamlined fashion.

If it wasn’t for the fact that the power supply on my 30’’ Apple Monitor has just died, I would be in a exceptionally good mood today :-)

"A true man never frets about his place in the world, but just slides into it by the gravitation of his nature, and swings there as easily as a star." - Edward Chapin

30 Day Benefits: Group Hug :-)

I don’t know about anyone else but I am finding lots of benefits from taking part in the ‘30 Day Challenge’. First of all, there is the increased motivation that comes from working on what feels like a collaborative project, yeh, we are all doing different things but it feels like a team event and the motivation is there to continue and contribute.

Second, and connected to the first - is the fact that a someone who works from a home office (which I believe many of us do) does not always get the chance to take part in ‘water cooler moments’ - when you work on your own most of the time it can be good to communicate with others in a way such as this.

Third, I have a new found respect for the work ethic, skills and intelligence of you guys. There is some truly *great* stuff being created.

And Fourth, the hints, tips and observations from you all. For example this from Philip. I wouldn’t have known about this product except for his post.

I think it would be good if we all had some memento of this event, a graphic or something made up of the names of everyone involved, details of the challenge etc. I would do it myself but as I have said before - I have the graphic skills of Stevie Wonder :-( Any volunteers ? Or am I mad ? Anyone else think this is a good idea ?

"The thing that I'm always left with is this overwhelming desire for people to be rooted and the only way that they feel rooted is through another person." - John Allen

SMSRelay Suite: Web Page Up :-)

LOTS of work done on my website today. You can see the results so far here: http://www.artenscience.co.uk

In particular I am pleased to have gotten the SMSRelay page up and running, albeit without a price or a way of buying it yet ... so plenty to do tomorrow including e-commerce.

"To do anything truly worth doing, I must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in with gusto and scramble through as well as I can." - Og Mandino