links roundup for deskbarshortcuts.com

here are a few very special links pointing users to deskbarshortcuts.com. thank you all
http://insidemicrosoft.blogspot.com/
http://radio.weblogs.com/0001011/2004/12/18.html#a8921
http://insidemicrosoft.blogspot.com/
http://blogs.msdn.com/msnsearch

i wanted to also comment on the entry that nathaniel wrote about in the insidemicrosoft link. basically i agree with him that google should be scared. i dont particularly like microsoft, but i do approve of innovation and ease of use. basically if microsoft creates a better search tool, then users WILL move to microsoft.

i would really hate to see google go the way of netscape. i remember back then that it wsa unthinkable that microsoft could get IE to win. but they did by making it a better tool ...and bundeling it with windows.

the deskbar is a precious piece of real estate. its ALWAYS visible to the user. google shoudl have really pushed their deskbar when they released it. but they kept it in beta, in the labs...they shoudl put a big fat link to it on their homepage!

but, if they want to be lazy, arrogant, and close their ears off to the stuff going on in the front line (ie user space), then microsoft will soon make them irrelevant.

as for me, im commited to innovating new solutions with anyones technology. google..please wow me again

deskbarshortcuts.com - deskbar shortcuts for msn desktop search

so im proud to announce that i launch my latest project today
http://www.deskbarshortcuts.com

this has got to be the fastest idea ive executed on. msn search came out on tuesday or wednesday of THIS week. and i launched the site on friday. Thats a 3-4 day turn around from concept to finish (with some polish i might add). wow! i dont say that to brag..im just honestly amazed at what you can do when you really focus on something so intensely. i just couldnt sleep until i had this idea out of my head and into the physical form. and im very happy with the results

so what does deskbarshortcuts.com do? well the site works with microsofts latest desktop search software. one part of that thing is a deskbar. thats a litle search box that fits in your windows taskbar. you can type a search and it will scan your desktop and the web for your result.

a cool feature they added was to have shortcuts. so if you type 'google bibleplayer', you will jump right to google's search results page for the term 'bibleplayer'. they are very easy to create . you just type in:
@google,http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=$w

and it stores that shortcut into your system.

now my site provides all those codes so you can just select the one you want, paste it in, and your are all set. plus, it has a searchbox that lets you try out the shortcuts.

and my special 'just cause its cool' original idea, is to allow you to submit shortcuts right form the deskbar in the form of a shortcut! for that first type this shortcut:
@ds,http://www.deskbarshortcuts.com/index.php?q=$w

and then submit your shortcuts to the site with:
ds @a9,http://a9.com/$s
or
ds a9=http://a9.com/$s

and it will automatically submit the shortcut to the site for everyone to see and share. pretty neat!

alright, check out the site and let me know what you think..i got some more good ideas planned so hang tight

i confess i am not much of a blogger

yes its true..i havent updated my blog since a whlie ago..and sooo much has happened with bibleplayer since then. i got a mention in news.com, got some deals cooking with commercial bible companies, and lots more. but the sad fact is that i forgot my login/pass to the blogger service and was too lazy to find out how to retrieve it. well now that i have it again...ill try to be more faithful to the blogging

wheres the crack??

so i was looking through my referral logs this morning and found an entry from nigeria. it was a search the person did for "BiblePlayer 1.13.zip". The results under it were from cracking newsgroups with keyterms 'bible' or 'player' in it.

i just find it amusing that:
a- there is no crack since its fully functional, unrestricted freeware
b- they are looking for a crack for a bible program. presumably to use it. i.e read it. ie. the Book that talks about 'thou shall not steal'

then again, he/she may want it to attend the funeral of their recently deceased father who left a sum of $1,320,344 (ONE MILLION THREE HUNDRED TWENTY THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY FOUR DOLLARS) in an account named after you!

paypal grinds to a halt!

so i was reading one of my favorite sites slashdot, and i read that paypal was down most the day . so if you had problems placing an order, now you know why. They did a site wide interface update and these are the glitches. heck, i cant imagine the stress that is going on there now. real money at risk.

score -1 for ecommerce.

update: its all fixed now. if you have problems with it just email me

naked baby

Writing shareware is tough,tough work. Its like having a child. One goes through the long gestation period (brainstorming, design), then the embryo starts to grow (development), and finally its time for labour (launch). Like a baby, it feeds on you day and night. you walk around constanly thinking about how to improve the code, how much is still left to do, what new features can be added, and on and on. It drains you emotionally -- you yearn to get it all done so you can finally rest and say to yourself 'well done, your vision is now a reality'

At some point you have to release. The child has to be born. So you launch the app...sure it has warts and all. Sure you could have added that other feature, or closed off bug #432. But the baby has to be delivered. It must be seen by the world.

And ahhh..once you are done. once it is alive. That is a great feeling. Once people download it. Once they start emailing you with their comments. That is a great feeling. And then...your first order comes in...that is an AWESOME feeling. It is the ultimate validation of your idea. It says someone you have never met has seen value in your work and is offering to pay with their hard earned money.

But then, the baby starts to cry. Its still needs you. It needs you to support its users. It needs you to add features. It needs you to fix bugs. It needs you to continually improve your website, your download experience, your marketing. In short, the baby needs even more energy from you now that its out in the cold world.

You look down at the baby. You are fatigued..after all you were in labor for a very long time. How can you muster more energy to keep 'this little project of mine' going? But the pride swells, the 'Ultimate Vision' has not yet been realized. So you roll up your sleeves and plunge in once again. You now have to parent the baby. You have to feed it, cloth it, and let it grow.

Its your baby, it will always be a part of you. And you will never abandon it or give up on it.

woohoo! BiblePlayer makes Apple's Most Popular list

So i submitted BiblePlayer to Apple's downloads page and after almost exactly a week, it has made the top 10 list . Let's see how long it can hold on there. Lots of other great apps its competing against.

BiblePlayer 1.1 released

Im really happy with this release. Ive included some sample audio files so you can get an idea of how the text and audio work together. (since the complete audio fits on 2 CDS, its impossible for me to offer it for download. This way I can provide a small sample and not kill my bandwidth bill).

Dont worry, I got some more cool ideas up my sleeves...buahaha

Release Notes: Whats new:
- added sample audio files. King James, World English, and Spanish Reina Valera
- fixed bible-in-year plan..now links to biblereader
- OT not installed by default. This gives room for all the other modules to show up.

Download it here