Well after completing the Android port for Prescriber’s Letter I’m now pursuing other opportunities for contract work. I’ve been chasing leads here and there, some more promising than others, but the good news is that there does seem to be work out there. It’s interesting, so far every time I’ve finished or come close to finishing a project something has popped up to pursue. The ones I’m after right now are long shots, but that’s ok. It gives me time to focus on my own apps again.
As for which of my numerous ideas that all seem like gold mines to pursue, that’s the tough part isn’t it. Time to do research, figure out which one I can do in the least amount of time with the best guess at chance for reward. I need to approach the next app I make differently, I need to bake in all the tricks for attracting attention to it right from the start (Facebook, Twitter, etc…) and also just take the app development in steps. I’ll build something simple first and get it on the store to test the waters. Then I’ll look into expanding features and beefing it up when I see whether it’s a potential seller. I can’t just put my head in the sand like with Photo Resize and pop up after 3 months only to sell a few copies a week.
I thought I would follow up my post mortem of the iPhone version of Prescriber’s Letter with a discussion about the complexities involved in porting the app to the Android OS. This will be a long blog post, so continue reading only if interested in the technical details involved with Android development.
I’m going to try to make an effort to work outside of the house, just to get out and see other people and environments and prevent the hermit syndrome from sinking in. Luckily Vancouver has a great library downtown with free WiFi and nice seats/tables to work from. Sometimes I’ll go to my wife’s University which also has Internet access and good places to work.
I still prefer working at home, but I think it’s good to get out. For example every time I come downtown lately I see a new skyscraper that wasn’t there before. Vancouver has nowhere to build but up, so that’s understandable, I just thought I came downtown more often than the speed of skyscraper building.
