Achernar Solutions

Rails Development with Aurora Software

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:27:33 GMT

Around 18 months ago, I set up Achernar Solutions as a freelancer. Certainly not my first foray into being self-employed, but my first one running solo.

It’s been an interesting time – I have learnt a heap of new things, had a chance to polish up some skills a bit, and I have had a chance to make some terrible mistakes and grow from the experience. The feedback I have received has been overwhelmingly positive, and I have enjoyed the range of projects immensely.

Today, however, I’m no longer lost in the wilds of the Internet alone. Since the 1st of March, I have teamed up with Perth-based Ruby on Rails developer Rik Favalli in creating a small Rails development firm, Aurora Software.

In fact, we’ve been brainstorming and setting things up since late 2008 – working out what we’re passionate about, how we can bring this into our work lives, and how we can use our skills to complement one another.

We’ve discovered that we’re both passionate about delivering great quality, elegant code; we’re both passionate about keeping our clients involved; and that we’re both passionate about being able to deliver the best possible solutions we can.

Rik has been working in the IT industry for the past 30 years, and has a wealth of knowledge across a wide range of topics – including project management, accounting, testing, and development.

As a result of this new partnership, Achernar Solutions is no longer taking on Rails work itself, but rather I will be directing all Rails work through to Aurora Software. This means that any new projects will have the benefit of two developers working closely together on their project, and will have the security that if one of us is sick, there is still someone who will listen.

If you have any questions about Ruby on Rails development, please don’t hesitate to head over to the Aurora Software site to see how we do business, and to find out how to contact us directly.

Achernar Solutions will continue to provide Linux Support Services for the foreseeable future, and I will continue to operate it for non-Rails work (so don’t panic about updating your email addresses just yet!).

If you have any questions about the future of Achernar Solutions, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Website Launch - Goanna Bakery

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:23:13 GMT

Achernar Solutions is pleased to announce the release of another client project – the website for Goanna Bakery.

Goanna Bakery is an organic bakery and cafe in Lismore, NSW which caters to vegetarians, vegans, and those with dietary requirements such as gluten intolerance. Owned and operated by Geoff Haycraft, the bakery and cafe prides itself on producing high quality, delicious, organic breads and pastries, salads and cooked meals.

The redesigned website included it’s own series of challenges, which you can read about in the Portfolio section.

In fact, the development of the Goanna Bakery site directly resulted in Achernar Solutions writing the simple-product-manager RadiantCMS extension, which has since been released for public use by the rest of the RadiantCMS community.

Achernar Solutions wishes Goanna Bakery all the best with their new website, and look forward to working with them in the future.

If your business needs an online presence, or your existing website needs a facelift, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Website Launch - Cedardale Park

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 09:20:55 GMT

Achernar Solutions is pleased to announce the release of another client project – the website for Cedardale Park Pet Crematorium. Run by Andrew Pittaway, Cedardale Park provides a personal and discreet pet cremation service for across the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. Working with vets in the area, as well as private customers, Andrew wanted a website that could provide information to vet clinics as well as individuals looking for cremation services after the loss of their much loved pet.

Over the past few weeks, it has been a pleasure to work with Andrew and build the Cedardale Park website.

We helped Andrew to construct an online image, establish the key information he wanted to present, and deliver this to the visitor as easy to read website copy.

The design for Cedardale park has been an interesting one with it’s own distinct set of challenges and constraints – Andrew’s business is marketed to a wide demographic, and visitors can often be emotional or distraught when looking for information on pet cremation. As such, the design, imagery and page copy is intended to be as open, supportive and as dignified as is possible. While many of Andrew’s competitors have websites that are designed in heavy colours with sombre music, we focused on a design that is uplifting, simple and, most importantly, respectful.

Achernar Solutions wishes Cedardale Park all the best with their new website, and look forward to working with them in the future.

If your business needs an online presence, or your existing website needs a facelift, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Project Launch - Trust Me. I'm A Salesman.

Sat, 24 May 2008 12:34:50 GMT

Achernar Solutions is pleased to announce the release of our latest web application development project – Trust Me. I’m A Salesman.

Achernar Solutions is proud to have been able to work the TMIAS team in the development of TMIAS.COM. Over the past 6 months, it has been a pleasure to help to take the site from a concept and a few preliminary designs into a fully functioning Ruby on Rails application.

Operated by a team of current and ex-salesmen, TMIAS.COM is a niche social networking site that aims to give salespeople an online forum to share stories, tips, jokes, advice, mistakes and take part in polls. The site hopes to provide a resource to help inspire and motivate salespeople, or just share a laugh about the lighter side of sales.

Achernar Solutions wishes the TMIAS team all the best with their new venture, and invite you to check it out.

You can read more about how the TMIAS.COM site is implemented in my portfolio, or head on over to the site to check things out for yourself.

If you have an idea for a web application and need someone to help you to implement it, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me – I am always happy to discuss how Achernar Solutions can help to turn your great idea into a high quality, effective web application . With previous experience developing a wide variety of applications, I am confident that Achernar Solutions can deliver the site that you want, with the features that you need.

Achernar Solutions Launches

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:22:17 GMT

I am pleased to announce that that Achernar Solutions website is now live, and that we are open for business.

Based in Lismore, New South Wales, Achernar Solutions is solely owned and operated by Jason Stirk, who provides a range of specialist IT support services, including:

Thanks to strong relationships with my associates I am able to offer clients complete solutions – whether they require someone to handle all of their IT infrastructure, or a “hired gun” for short a term consultancy contract.

With skills over a wide range of technologies, I am able to provide custom solutions for clients so as to best suit their needs. Solutions aren’t not locked to one vendor, one programming language or one method of implementation – we embrace that one size does not fit all when it comes to your IT needs, and make sure that we provide the best possible answer.

So, whether you’ve already got IT infrastructure and need some help, or if you’ve got a great idea for a start-up and need some help and advice, Achernar Solutions is able to help solve your problem.

So who is Achernar Solutions?

Achernar Solutions is owned and operated by Jason Stirk, who has over 5 years experience across a wide range of IT roles, including Web Application Development, Linux System Administration, Network Management and Website Design.

From time to time, he also calls relies on a group of highly reliable developers, designers and technicians who we call in for specific projects as they are required.

Please feel free to find out more about Achernar Solutions, or check out my portfolio if you want some more information on my background, previous projects, products and services.

How do I get in contact?

The easiest way to contact me is by email listed on the Contact Me page. Email will reach me directly, and I endeavour to reply to all requests within 1 business day. You can also find phone numbers and Skype details on the same page, just in case you have an emergency and require urgent assistance.

I look forward to being able to work with you soon!

Best regards, Jason Stirk Achernar Solutions