Saturday, October 27, 2007

Back to Old Habits

Startups are like socialism -- they take up a hell of a lot of evenings. I'm remembering this after staying up for the last 10 hours hacking at software on my web server. This isn't the kind of thing I would normally engage in on a Friday evening, but my partner and I had our first meeting in months on Wednesday. One of the outcomes was an agreement to spend Fridays hacking on our startup - coding, installing and configuring software, designing architecture, writing business documents, completing paperwork. We're targeting January 2008 for our public alpha, after re-tooling to a different mobile platform.

As an aside, writing software for cell phones in the US sucks ass. There's no gracious way to describe the way the vampires in the mobile telephony industry have sucked the very life from the market. All the stuff we originally planned to do can be done easily on a regular phone in pretty much any country other than the US. Here, we're relegated to the ghettos of smartphones. Granted, our spirits were lifted - slightly - when Apple finally announced a real SDK (software development kit) for the iPhone. But the entire original plan has to put on hold to focus on Windows Mobile for the time being, and the iPhone eventually. Hey, smartphones are the wave of the future and all, but right now, there are more regular Motorolas, Samsungs, and Nokias in circulation than Windows Mobile devices and iPhones. Just another reason to leave this country, in my opinion; it not quite up there with the declining dollar, but the more I think about it...

Anyway, let me get back to figuring out why Apache 2.2.6 fails to compile with SSL support. I will admit I've missed just doing geek shit for the hell of it. The last 2 nights have brought back some serious memories, and given me a psychic boost as well. However, I do need to get some sleep sometime today! Doh!

Until next time...

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