Re: Comments from those devleoping niche software.
From: Brett (no_at_spam.net)
Date: 09/22/04
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Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 07:13:31 -0400
"Dan Tex1" <dantex1@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040922013730.23542.00000861@mb-m18.aol.com...
> From: beliavsky@aol.com
>
>>dantex1@aol.com (Dan Tex1) wrote in message
>>news:<20040919180831.21374.00000699@mb-m15.aol.com>...
>>> >From: "Brett" no@spam.net
>>> >Date: 9/18/2004 10:05 PM Pacific Daylight Time
>>> >Message-id: <414d137d$0$2651$61fed72c@news.rcn.com>
>>> >
>>> >I'd like to hear comments from people that have developed or are
>>developing
>>> >their own software and are selling it. Similar to people mentioned
>>> >here
>>> >http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=2476892.
>>> >I'm interested in how you got started and at what point you figured
>>> >your
>>> >idea (software) was feasible.
>>> >
>>> >Thanks,
>>> >Brett
>>>
>>> Lots of people do this. Most probably don't depend on it for their
>>livelihood
>>> though. I do this myself also. Nothing too big. I sell enough to keep
>>> my
>>> online services going, to upgrade my software when needed and to have a
>>little
>>> spending money each month. This is all extra work that is addition to
>>> my
>>day
>>> job.
>>>
>>> At what point do you figure your ideas are feasible? That's a tough
>>> one.
>>For
>>> the little guy like me, I figure it's not that much different than any
>>small
>>> business. You have to be confident in your ideas and abilities and then
>>you
>>> just give it a shot. Most small businesses fail ( quickly even ).
>>However,
>>> the total number that actually survive and continue to grow is still
>>amazing.
>>> Everyone has to start somewhere. If you don't start, you'll never
>>> know.
>>>
>>> Dan :-)
>>
>>Fellow Fortranner,
>
> Yeah... we're definitely a minority in this group!!! ;-)
>
>>Could you say more about what kind of software you write? Is there a
>>web site?
>>
>>The advantage of a software start-up is that there is little initial
>>monetary investment. Mostly you need time, energy, enthusiasm, ideas,
>>and domain and programming knowledge. I've written Fortran 95 programs
>>to analyze financial data and have made about $20 K from trading the
>>results. I could have used almost any language, but one of the joys of
>>programming on your own is that you don't need to justify your methods
>>to anyone, just get results. Since the amount of financial data out
>>there is vast and getting vaster (as intraday 'tick' data becomes more
>>available), it's good to use a fast language that scales well.
>
> Hi beliavsky,
>
> I'm a Civil Engineer. So... most of what I write has to do with
> engineering
> of one form or another. One of the programs I sell is called DTBeam. It
> is
> simply a beam analysis program that can be used to analyze continuous
> beams.
> It's Windows based and very simple to use ( or should be ) for anyone with
> an
> engineering background. And despite the ease of use, I like to boast
> that it
> can analyze beam structures that generally require a high end ( read, much
> more
> expensive ) structural analysis program while being much more numerically
> stable than other programs on the market. Its easy enough for student
> engineers to understand and use, yet still powerful enough for working
> engineers. It does quad-precision math in it's calculations. It's
> Fortran 95
> under the hood with a GUI overcoat created using Winteracter. The Fortran
> engine can analyze much more complicated structures than just beams...
> but...
> I wanted to test the waters initially with something that didn't require a
> full
> blown GUI of a complex structural analysis package ( most commercial
> packages
> like this cost $5000+, are difficult to use correctly and have lots of
> bugs to
> boot ). Besides, I needed something fairly simple to cut my GUI
> programming
> teeth on. I also wanted to see if there was much of a market for
> less-general
> but very user-friendly analysis packages. Currently, it's the only
> program I
> sell using the internet. I already have an updated version of the program
> and
> a couple other commercial quality programs, but.. I don't at this point
> openly advertise them.
>
> If you want to check out the demo version ( which does everything except
> save
> or print data ), you can find it at www.dtware.com.
>
> Right now, I'm working on a full scale, commercial quality bridge
> analysis &
> design program. I've set my sights on features and capabilities that ( to
> the
> best of my knowledge as a bridge engineer ) don't exist in any other
> software
> packages. One of the basic features I'm working on is shear speed of
> execution. The only available "remotely" similar packages available are
> very
> slow, often requiring 30 minutes or more to analyze a mid-sized bridge.
> I'm
> quite confident that I can do the same analysis in much less time (
> between 30
> seconds and 2 minutes ). Considering that bridge designers often have to
> repeat their analysis many, many times throughout the day... the speed
> factor
> is major in and of itself. I'm hoping to have a first version ready
> within
> about a year. If I succeed at this... I may actually get more than just
> a
> little "spending cash" as a reward. If I dump the wife and kids at the
> inlaws... maybe I'll actually make my self-imposed deadlines ( right now,
> I
> should be happy to just finish within any time frame ) ??? LOL. We'll
> see
> how it goes.
>
> So... you writing any new financial programs with intent to sell?
>
> Dan :-)
Dan,
Very interesting. Winteracter seems expensive. I'd like to create a
financial program written in Java to allow a larger audience (Windows, Unix,
Apple, etc). Java would provide the business logic and front end.
Something similar to the Helix database would store data. Java would
provide what I believe is very good accuracy after say 1 million financial
transactions. In other words, there won't be a $100 difference that some
one can take advantage of. This works because the programs I have in mind
only allow two decimal places of accuracy. However, I don't like the
jerkiness of Java apps and I still debate using Java. If not Java, then
Windows only. This would use VB with an Access backend.
The problem is - does some one actually need such a program? I can do
searches on the Net and see if anything like it is out there. Then I say,
its an open market. The next step is who needs it? I might say this
program will be very useful and I find it useful. However, I might be the
only person who feels that way. That's where I am now.
I think you have found a nice niche. The people writing financial software
packages are many. They seem to cover so many areas of analysis that it
leaves little open for feasible development. There are many areas but
finding them is the key. What are your comments here?
Brett
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