Th3 Core

Over the last few years I have found myself getting more and more work from a single client.  They clearly appreciate what I can do for them and they have had a decent internal structure to act as professional go-betweens.

This client however, has been making technology promises to its own clients (massive global brands) which it can't honor (think 10K budgets to make 500K projects work)

During the past four months all of their internal IT team and half of their external providers have resigned because of the pressure to stand up in front of clients and lie about what they can deliver.

I am now in the situation where I have let most of my other clients go to concentrate on this one. It is paying the bills.  I almost have that employee mentality where I am afraid to leave.

Pressures are building for me to help them promise the delivery of undeliverable projects and every part of me says 'end the contract now!'.  However, I do have my bills to pay, and I have sub-contractors relying on me to keep them fed with work. As you might have guessed this is the first really big money gig I have dealt with.

I have enough to keep myself afloat for six months.  I 'think' that a kick up the arse like this will make me work 24/7 to get my old money makers (and the new ones on the list) earning.

I guess what I want to know is, has anyone else been in this situation, and how did you manage it?  Were you scared of the 'leap of faith'?  Did your plans work out and if not what came about to replace them?

Having not carried a pocket knife since I was a kid, I got talking to a friend a few weeks back who challenged me to borrow one and see just how much I used it for a few weeks.

Just to be clear, I have no interest in a knife as a weapon. I am British (what what) and don't feel the need (sorry db, I love ya  )

I took up the challenge borrowing a basic Wenger Swiss Army knife (I had a Victorinox when I was a kid...it got stolen).  I didn't think I would use it at all, but I have, almost every day. As a Dad there seems to be endless times that you need a screwdriver, oh and bottle opener 

Anyway, I have given it back now and with Christmas coming , I thought it would make a great gift for the family to get me.  I wondered if anyone else here had one, or a mult-itool, and what they thought of it? 

Of course, it has to be UK legal, non-locking, under 3 inches blah blah (sorry db  )

I have spent a few days looking at different ways to connect the new mobile apps I am working on to a webservice I want to build without spending out too much.  During that search Azure mobile was released. 

In short, you can create up to 10 cloud services for free** which should be more than enough for me to find out if my ideas are going to workout.

Here is a video overview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovDtALgsBuQ

Here is the post - http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/develop/mobile/tutorials/get-started/

They seen to be offering the '10 free' offer for site hosting too which may be of interest to some.

I am going to be having a play over the next week or so, so I'll report back on how it goes. 

** - Edit: I think the 10 free is for a trial period only.  I'll check it out and update.

I hope this gets going - http://mars-one.com/en/  I'd love to see this in my lifetime. 

Would you be tempted to apply? 

I am off to Spain for a break.  While I should drop all connections, I have a client I can't let down and need to monitor things for an hour or so every couple of days. 

Assuming there is no free wifi where I am, what is the best way to connect to my VPN?  Phone as a modem/3G dongle/??.  I have never really worked while out of the UK, so am a novice here.

Story here -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17831725

On a personal note, I am removing most of the google services we use here.  The more my business grows the more I don't want to be tied in.  Ok, so the recent SERPs changes which removed a chunk of the income might have something to do with it. 

Today I submitted a simple app (project 1, very simple app for learning purposes) to the Windows Phone Marketplace.  I am now porting it over to Android, so that I can compare the two when it comes to earnings, downloads, ease of use etc.  I will probably do the same for the iPhone (if I can lay my hands on a mac at a decent second hand price).

I just wanted to start a thread so that I can update you all with the results as I go along, as well as see how the balance of power shifts as time goes by.

I am going to start on Project 2 once I have done this initial learning-trial.  So, if there is anything you would like me to report on, please let me know.