SaaS Adventures

Highly biased PHP advice

Tom — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:57:26 +0000

I’ve finally started writing down my highly opinionated thoughts on PHP over at Biased PHP. Want some controversy? Here are my PHP Commandments :-)

Server backups: everything else you should take care of

Tom — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 10:20:20 +0000

Posted in Tips

Databases and code are the obvious parts of any system to backup (and if you don’t have any backups, take a backup right this very second!) But what else is it useful to have backups of, even if they’re on a one-off basis? Here’s a quick list of what I’m backing up today. 1. Configuration files [...]

Talking with a porn chat spammer, a lesson appears.

Tom — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 10:37:35 +0000

Posted in TrackChat Web Apps

Hi, I have some questions. The message popped up on my screen one afternoon. This was exciting; I’d been testing a new live chat tool on my websites, one that was starting to turn visitors into customers, and new messages that asked questions were usually a good sign. Me: Sure, how can I help? Spammer: Boy [...]

Tech tip of the day: look out for the (very) large files

Tom — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 09:00:20 +0000

Posted in Tips

Problem: your Linux system should be running nice and fast. Are there are strange slowdowns you can’t work out? Or are you seeing the odd, suspicious and occasional IO wait? One quick check: take a brief look for large files on your system (e.g. via this tip on StackOverflow), and at those in use (e.g. via [...]

Extraordinary support? You’d better blow my mind.

Tom — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 12:01:23 +0000

Posted in Opinion

It’s all to easy to make grand claims, and then fail to follow through on them. A common example is to claim to offer fantastic support; who doesn’t want fantastic support? So many companies offer less than stellar customer service that, on the rare occasion an email is answered swiftly or competently first time around, [...]

An accidental, successful startup: 2012 in review

Tom — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:01:17 +0000

Posted in Freelancing Opinion

2012 has been a year of highs and lows. On one hand, the realisation that my copywriting skills – and general marketing-savvy, for that matter – remain less than useless, despite repeated attempts to improve, has been extremely disheartening. On the other hand, one of my startups has taken off quite beyond my wildest expectations. [...]

Warning Signs About Your IT Pro

Tom — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 13:46:39 +0000

Posted in Freelancing Opinion

It can be difficult to know how good a job your IT professional is doing. If you haven’t hired many people before, or you’re not a programmer, it can be even trickier. Fear not: this is my quick guide to some of the most common problems I’ve seen and heard about. I’ll list exceptions to [...]

The European Invoicing Adventures of my SaaS Apps

Tom — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:42:41 +0000

Posted in Freelancing Web Apps

Invoicing can be a time-consuming annoyance. Sure, things improve once they’re paid, but at the beginning, the whole process can quickly become a confusing and time-consuming mess. Here’s what I wanted to achieve for my SaaS apps, and for my consultancy work, hopefully saving you some time along the way. At the start of 2012, [...]

TweetingMachine, InboxCleaner (and others) Year in Review 2011

Tom — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:20:36 +0000

Posted in Opinion Web Apps

This is my first annual review, and what a year it’s been! A doubling of revenues, several new apps launched… but sadly still nowhere near being able to work full-time on them. That’s my target for 2012; turn these from paying the rent to paying a full-time salary instead. So without further ado, here are [...]

Does a request for a free version mean you’re on the right track?

Tom — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 19:46:00 +0000

Posted in Links

http://www.quora.com/Is-there-a-Twitter-Facebook-competition-manager-available-for-free-like-interactwive

I set up Google alerts for each of my web apps. It results in a fair amount of email, but I like not having to worry about missing something. A few hours ago I was notified about this link: someone asking if a free alternative to Interactwive exists. I’m wondering if this in itself is [...]