• How much will you charge for a license for your software ?
• Is it a per user license ? a site license ? a per seat license ?
• What is your target market ?
• How much will customers be prepared to pay ?
• Are you going to give your potential customers a free trial first ?
• Or are you going to make them pay up front before they get the software ?
• Do you offer discounts for the purchase of multiple licenses ?
• How will you protect your software from piracy ?
• How will you take payment ?
• How will your customers find you ?
• How will you promote your software ?
• Will you use affiliates ?
• Do you have a web site set up ?
• How do you get Google to index your web site ?

I’ll deal with all of these questions and more in the Selling Software – Preparing For Sale series of posts over the coming weeks.

iPod Nano 5th Generation (blue)

I got my new Apple iPod Nano (5th Generation) today … yes, I got the 16GB version as the difference between the 8GB and the 16GB as far as price was negligible.

My last iPod was a 2nd gen Nano … and boy has technology moved on

The 5th generation Nano is nicely styled, very lightweight and just looks plain sexy.  The screen is bigger, the touch wheel slightly smaller …

It plays MP3 (of course) and video in M4V format (of course) … but it also has a built in FM radio, a speaker, a microphone … and a camera to take MP4/H.264 video at resolutions up to 640 x 480.

I’m having trouble filling it up and have already subscribed to a whole lot of podcasts which I listen to on a daily basis

Nice !!!

I have used ZoneAlarm for a number of years to protect my personal PC, with excellent results … yes, there was the occasional version that caused problems such as hanging or conflicts … but, by and large ZoneAlarm is an excellent piece of software that I highly recommend.

Since the Windows 7 beta came out, I had been checking the ZoneLabs.com web site to see if their would be a Windows 7 version.  Indications were that there would be, but it wasn’t evident when I checked for it.

So, before I upgraded to Windows 7, I did my research and found that Windows 7 versions were available … I decided that one of these would probably do the trick.

ZoneAlarm Extreme Security

ZoneAlarm Extreme Security

I should mention at this point that I used to run AVG v8.5 as my preferred AntiVirus solution.  This time around, I wondered whether I should be looking at a combined solution.  I had a fresh install of Windows 7 … I had an image … nothing to lose right ?

Right !!  Not only does ZoneAlarm Extreme Security work like a charm … it is a full featured, integrated security suite which covers my antivirus needs as well as the traditional firewall role.

Two Way Firewall

As you would expect, ZoneAlarm Extreme Security acts as a 2-way firewall and stops inbound attacks from the Internet as well as stopping anything from ‘talking out’ from your computer without your permission.  This is a standard ZoneAlarm feature and no less than you would expect from any of their products.

Anti Virus

This version of ZoneAlarm  has built in Anti Virus and Anti Spyware.  Scanning is on-access so files are checked when you use them.  The signature updates are regular and unobtrusive.  In fact, you hardly notice the antivirus feature until it detects something and tells you about it.  Once again though, this is a good feature, but not unheard of in other products.

OS Firewall

I love this feature !! The text from the ZoneLabs.com site states :

“Monitors changes within your computer to spot and stop new attacks that bypass traditional anti-virus protection….

At ZoneAlarm, we added outbound protection and then went beyond that to create the equivalent of guards who are trained to spot and stop suspicious behavior. We call this the OSFirewall, because it goes where dangerous programs go—to the operating system level. It monitors program installation, registry and file changes, keyboard and mouse code control, and over 40 other potentially dangerous behaviors.”

I can tell you now that this is the feature that makes ZoneAlarm Extreme Security different, special … and worthwhile.  I have already had occurrences of reputable downloaded software which after install has tried to run something or set up autorun options which I hadn’t asked for.  ZoneAlarm caught them, warned me and allowed me to stop them.

ZoneAlarm Extreme Security includes a lot of other features including parental controls, anti-spam, browser protection, and privacy and identity protection.

I’m hooked and wouldn’t be without it.

I have been counting down the days to 22 October 2009 and the release of Windows 7 to the general public. (OK, so counting the days … maybe not … but it was topmost in my mind every week or so )

Oddly enough, the day itself came around, and … I got nervous …

• What if the RTM version just didn’t cut it with all the apps I used ?
• Would I have to go back to image ?
• … and back to my *very stable* XP installation ?

I took the plunge !!

Having imaged my C: drive (using Acronis TrueImage 2009) … and verifying the image … I felt safe enough to proceed.

I have to warn you at this stage … I am a perfectionist … so I spend a good 8 to 10 hours preparing my plan for the upgrade (clean install).

• I went through my entire XP installation and listed every application I use.
• I then checked every application on the Windows 7 Compatibility Center
• I checked all my hardware and I ran the Windows 7 Upgrade Adviser

There were a few programs and pieces of hardware that concerned me … so I looked further …

ZoneAlarm – I was running version 7.something free under XP and was very happy with it.  I wanted ZoneAlarm to work under Windows 7.  From the looks of the ZoneLabs.com web site it was going to be possible in some form (either free or paid) … so I continued.

Logitech QuickCam Chat webcam – it failed the Windows 7 upgrade adviser, so I had to weigh up the options.  I decided to proceeed … who needs to look at my ugly mug anyway

The Plunge …

Boot from Windows 7 Professional x64 DVD ROM …

Follow the instructions …

OK, so is it really finished ? It can’t be … it didn’t take long enough for a Windows install … there wasn’t enough pain !!

Yes !! It was !! Installed … with no problems, no driver issues
(I didn’t have my QuickCam Chat plugged in at this point)

I decided to trial the paid version of ZoneAlarm for Windows 7 – ZoneAlarm Extreme Security … and very quickly decided it was worth it … and paid.  This version includes not only the superb ZoneAlarm firewall, but also AntiVirus and a whole lot of other features.

Windows 7 Professional x64 is now installed and is my production machine.  I am happy and it was worth it.

The QuickCam Chat doesn’t work … but as explained on the Logitech site, they are just not going to support some hardware. So, I’ll buy a new webcam … a small price to pay

Do I recommend moving to Windows 7 ? Yes I do !!

The quick search bar thingy on the Start Menu – awesome.
The interface … nice enough.
The speed … much better than XP
The whole experience … Microsoft this is the best OS you have ever produced … very happy.

Next stop … the wife’s computer …

I have an existing web site which is written entirely in HTML.  I have taught myself how to write dynamic code using PHP, and I want to add some PHP code to pages on my existing site.  Here’s the problem : when I upload a page and view it through a browser, I can actually see bits of the PHP code and it is not parsed as PHP. What do I need to do ?

OK, it’s pretty common to have a site written in plain HTML.  A lot of simple sites start out this way.

Now the problem here is simply that the HTML pages are saved as .htm or .html and the web server is not recognizing the need to parse PHP code embedded in those pages.

An easy change to the configuration of the web site will force .htm or .html to have their PHP code parsed and interpreted using PHP.

Simply add the following lines to your .htaccess file :
AddType application/x-httpd-php htm
AddType application/x-httpd-php html

There is some pretty cool software available on the web, but it can take some hunting down and a bit of trial and error before you find exactly what you need.

A nice way of finding software that you need is to go for software that someone else has tried out before you and written a review about it.  Most reviews give an unbiased overview of the software along with a list of good and bad points.  You can use this information to help you determine whether you want to try the software out.  Even more importantly, a good review can help you decide whether you want to actually spend your hard earned cash and purchase a license for the software.

Over time, I will be writing reviews of software that I find useful, and posting them here under the category of … you guessed it … Reviews

This should benefit a large number of people, from end users through to software developers and marketers.

If you are an end user looking for software, or someone who likes to keep up with new, good quality software  then subscribe to the RSS feed for this site by clicking on the RSS icon at the top right of this page.

Software developers / software authors, if you would like me to review your software and post it here on site, I am happy to do so.  Generally speaking, I would be looking for a single user license for my personal use in exchange for doing this. Contact me with the details of your software to be considered for a review.

As a wise man once said to me :

Write about that which you know …

If you know about a topic, problem, situation it is often easy to write about it.  Likewise with software … which is usually written to solve a problem or make something a lot easier.

A lot of successful shareware / trialware authors started out writing a piece of software for themselves to solve a particular problem they were dealing with or something they were trying to make easier for themselves.

Take WinZip as an example.  This started off in the early 1990′s as a simple GUI frontend to the PKZIP compression software.  WinZip has been marketed as try before you buy (shareware) since day one and over the years has become a household name.

Since the advent of WinZip, compression support has been built into Windows and there have been many compression programs written, some free and some marketed as shareware.  There are even programs that help you recover your password from password protected ZIP files if you have forgotten it.

I wrote my first software program when I was 10 years old.   It was written in BASIC and was part of a science project I was working on.  The challenge was to classify an insect based on a set of Yes / No questions prompted to the user.  It worked, it was fun, and I was hooked …

Some 30 years later I still enjoy writing software … and now I make money doing so …

For the past 15 years, I have been writing software and marketing it and selling it as shareware or trialware. (See the FAQ posting on What is Shareware ?)

During that time I have learned a lot.  There have been many successes and there have also been failures.  In my opinion it is good to fail from time to time.  It means you have tried things.  If we never failed and only succeeded at everything we did then we would have to question whether we could have done more … did I try hard enough on that one ?  What if I had risked a little bit more … tried something out of my comfort zone.

So … yes … I’m quite willing to admit some failures on my journey through the world of writing software and selling it on the internet.

That journey is an ongoing one, and it’s time to share some of the successes and failures with  you. A quick bit of organisation on this site :

• Postings such as this one are categorized as Musings
• There will be FAQs, How To articles as well as Technical articles

Feel free to comment and ask questions …

I had to explain it to my parents (who are not technical people by any stretch of the imagination) when I told them what I was doing.  Of course they had read the occasional media piece which mentioned the word, but they just didn’t grasp the essence of it.

Shareware is simple … it is a generic term for a method of marketing software …

The term shareware is synonymous with trialware and try before you buy.

All three refer to the fact that you, as the potential customer, get to download the software and try it out before you actually commit to spending any money.

The ultimate goal for most (not all) software authors is to get people to buy their software.  It’s the simple old commerce thing … I’ll provide you with something useful … you may me some money to compensate my for my thought and hard work.

Without large marketing budgets and the ability to get boxed software in pretty packaging in front of retail consumers, authors who write software need a method of getting there software purchased by the end user.

Most users would not be happy to pay money for something that :

1. Is not a household name
2. Is not proven and reliable
3. May not do what they want

… unless of course they could try it out for free before having to commit their hard earned cash.

Software developers, there are many resources you can find on the Internet which will help you with developing and marketing your software :

• Association of shareware professionals
• MySharewareSite.com
• Trialware Professional Association
• aFreeGo.com
• aFreeGoGold.com
• PadRepository.com
• SoftwareDaemon.com
• MyFreewareSite.com
• AddMeToTheList.com