rmxdave == david strack

David Strack's 5 Month Plan™

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:04:20 -0600

Sup peeps? This is just my tentative 5 month (and beyond) schedule:

Feb 22-May 10: Finish another semester at MSU in Mankato, MN
May 17-June 18: Summer courses at MSU in Mankato, MN (sucks)
June 18-20: My bachelor party in SE Wisconsin (awesome)
June 26: My wedding in SE Wisconsin to one lucky lady (super super awesome)
June 28-July 5: My honeymoon in Napa Valley with aforementioned lucky lady (super awesome)
July 5 to August 31: NO IDEA (potentially awesome)
September - December: Classes at UW-Milwaukee (sucks)
December 2010: Graduate from college (super super awesome)
2011 until the end of my life: NO IDEA (potentially awesome)

I guess there are a lot more awesome’s in there than I thought. Still, I’ll be in school right up until the weekend of my bachelor party. Besides the fact that my fiancee will be nestled safely in SE Wisconsin while I’m in deadly, dangerous and mean Minnesota the month before our wedding, this could work out okay. Catch ya later, players.

Oh and buy Cabbie.

Upcoming Digg app for webOS: Digloo

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:50:27 -0600

Upcoming Digg app for webOS: Digloo

Hello, world. Introducing Cabbie: a taxi locator for webOS

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:55:00 -0600

My first webOS app, Cabbie, has been approved by Palm and is available in the App Catalog.

Cabbie was written for two purposes. The first was to get me familiar with webOS development on the Mojo framework. I was able to learn how scenes are set up, how widgets work, and how to access services on the device (such as the GPS radio).

The second purpose for Cabbie is to help people make smart decisions when they are out drinking. I thought that if there was an app that could find the nearest cab company’s phone number with the push of one button, it would make it easier for people to get home safely if they’ve been drinking. It also comes in handy when you’re traveling or if your car breaks down!

The app itself is very simple. Upon launching you are presented with two options. The first option, “Find Nearby Taxis,” simply grabs the phone’s GPS location and looks for any taxi companies in the area. This is powered by Google’s Local Search so any company who fancies themselves a taxi service will appear (including limo and airport transportation). Tapping on a result will bring up a dialog panel which gives more information about the listing and an option to dial the number (which launches the Phone app and fills in the phone number for you).

I’ve also included a manual search option. The user can literally type in any city, state, or zip code and it will return the 8 nearest taxi companies. This can be useful if A) GPS signal is not available or B) you want to plan ahead for travel in another location.

Cabbie will cost $0.99 when it’s available and the money will go straight toward my wedding this summer, so please support me if you think this app would be useful!

Changes to my personal life and business coming in 2010

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:34:00 -0600

It’s that time of year again where we all start thinking about what we’ve accomplished the past twelve months and what the next twelve have to offer. 2010 is going to be a huge year for me. I’m going to skip the attempts at a witty introduction and pop straight into the list.

I’m getting married to my lovely fiancee, Sarah, in June. That’s a huge change, obviously. She won’t find out where she will be teaching until May, so as of right now we have literally no clue where we will be living. It could be anywhere in the country. Originally, I had a job lined up in Germantown but its beginning to look like that is not as certain as it once was. Odds are we will end up somewhere in Southeastern Wisconsin, though, which is exactly where I want to be.
I’m changing many aspects of Drivefive, my freelance design and development business. My rates will be changing and I will be more actively pursuing clients. In the past I just took the work as it came but its time to begin making a name for myself and earning some serious cash now that my largest project yet is coming to an end.
On January 1st, I will open the “doors” of RMX Apps, my mobile development house. My first app, Cabbie, has been in beta for a few weeks and already over 2,100 people have downloaded the trial. I’m getting ready for some significant improvements to the product and I’ll be introducing it into Palm’s App Catalog.
As far as college goes, I’m still on track to graduate next December. The tentative plan is to take my remaining courses via consortium at UW Milwaukee next fall. Sarah should be teaching full time then so we should be okay with me only working part-time for a few more months.
I plan to consume massive amounts of Mexican food. This is not a change from previous years.

It’s a little scary and very exciting to think that I have no idea where I will be living, where I will be working, and what life will be like one year from now. It will probably be the biggest change of my entire life and I’m super stoked!

These next few weeks will be spent closing websites I no longer run, preparing new ones, and finalizing Cabbie for primetime!

Google Bans Tooth Whiteners And Weight Loss Ads From Network

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:04:00 -0600

Google Bans Tooth Whiteners And Weight Loss Ads From Network:

“The company has decided to live up to its “don’t be evil” motto and ban advertisers who place ads that lead to sites peddling products like scammy free trials, get-rich-quick schemes, and malware….”

[via Consumerist]

Note: this story was auto-imported by Tumblr from my Digg feed.

Buy super cheap VAST music & support a charity

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:17:00 -0600

Some of you may know what a big fan of VAST I am. Recently, the band launched a new charity program. You can download any one of their 4 most recent albums (Me and You, Relay EP, April, or Nude) all for $2.49 each. If you’re like me and already own all of these great recordings, there is a small package of bonus tracks (three live songs and a demo of “Thrown Away”) that is also available for $2.49. One dollar of each sale goes to one of five charities that you can choose from (Charity:Water, Feeding America, Shelter-Now, St. Jude, or Smile Train).

Even if you’ve never listened to VAST before I recommend purchasing at least one of these albums. It’s a great way to get familiar with the band and also do a little good to someone who needs it. If you are unsure of which album to choose, allow me to recommend Nude. It’s got some great songs on it and is the most varied of the 4 albums - a great blend of rock, electronic sounds, and acoustic melodies. Me and You and April are mostly acoustic records, while the Bang Band Sixx Relay EP is largely electronic. They are each very cool, though. If you buy Me and You or the Relay EP, you automatically get the 4 bonus tracks for free.

Head on over to meandyoudonate.com and check everything out.

Should developers even waste their time on a platform like WebOS?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:12:00 -0600

One of the questions my fiancee asks me when I’m working on WebOS applications is “Are there even enough people that use that phone?” It’s a genuine concern, and one that I’ve had to wrestle with many times - is developing paid applications for WebOS going to be worth all the effort that I put into it? PreCentral just posted a great analysis of how much money developers in Palm’s App Catalog have been making, and to me it looks very promising. Let me explain.

The Numbers

I admit, at a first glance the results are discouraging (I even used that exact word when I retweeted the PreCentral post earlier this evening). Tweed, a native Twitter client for WebOS, is the most downloaded paid application with 4,946 downloads as of Wednesday evening. At $1.99 and with Palm taking 30% of the earnings, this comes out to $6,889 for Pivitol Labs. That’s the highest selling app. However, Absolute Fitness, a $4.99 app, has sold just about 3,500 copies which has made the developer $12,218 so far. While these numbers seem low for the best selling apps, there are a number of things to take into consideration.

The paid app catalog has only been open for roughly two months, which means that statistically, Tweed has made about $3,500 a month and Absolute Fitness has made $6,000 a month. Keep in mind that a bulk of those numbers were probably from when the apps first launched (as thousands of Pre owners were starving for new applications to use).
WebOS devices are only active on Sprint (in the US, anyway). As we all know, Sprint isn’t exactly the most popular network nowadays. As WebOS matures and devices get released to other platforms such as Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, the userbase for the Pre will grow exponentially.
There is an app limit on WebOS phones right now. For some asinine reason Palm decided to limit the storage partition on the Pre to 256 MB (even though there are 8GB of internal storage). Eventually this comes out to somewhere between 20 and 50 apps. This needs to be fixed - there are a number of users who can’t purchase any applications at all. This kind of relates to the next point, as well.
The App Catalog is still in beta. A number of developers and consumers aren’t even touching the catalog yet until it comes out of beta. Some people just don’t want to enter their credit card information into a service that is labeled as “unfinished.” The beta tag is supposed to be removed by December, and hopefully that app limit will be thrown out with it.

What this means to potential developers

There are a few important things to take away from this information and how I feel you can be successful in Palm’s App Catalog.

Hone your craft. Make sure your application is the best it can be before it is released to the App Catalog. Quality sells, and smartphone users are typically, well, smart. They can recognize crap apps when they see them.
Don’t be a one-trick pony. It’s true that the average app might not see more than a couple thousand downloads. If you’re doing this for a living or for some serious extra cash, don’t stop after you’ve released your first app. Once people know that you’re a talented developer they will recognize your brand and seek other apps that you’ve developed. Think, if you have 4 or 5 $1.99 apps out there in the catalog and each one is selling roughly 500 copies per month, that’s some decent cash right there. And I’m being modest with this hypothetical situation, your app could very well sell thousands of copies per month once these phones are on every network.
Build a brand. Sure, this is getting into Vaynerchuk territory, but it’s a proven fact: using similar product naming conventions or iconography will increase sales. It definitely can’t hurt it. How do you think Apple is doing so well lately? iKnow one reason.
Listen to your customers. This is probably the most important tip for any business. Read every review of your app, check out forum posts and blog posts. Search Twitter for people talking about your app. If people think you’re charging too much for your app maybe it’s time to consider a price reduction. If people think that they should be able to set a particular option, you darn well better have an update on the way that enables that for them.

I could go on and on about this stuff but I’ll save it for another day. The numbers are looking promising for me and they will only get higher. I know I haven’t revealed anything about the apps that I’m working on but in due time I’ll have some public betas out there for anyone to try.

As always, thanks for reading. I answer any comments, tweets, or emails that come my way (david at rmxdave dot com)!

Twitter's new Retweet feature would be great if it wasn't called Retweet

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:55:28 -0600

Recently Twitter enabled its new Retweet feature for my account. If you’re a regular Twitter user I’m sure you’ve heard all the controversy this new feature is causing. Instead of maintaining the already widely used Retweet format (people prefixing retweets with RT followed by a tag to the original user) Twitter is posting the Retweets so they almost appear as regular tweets from the original poster. The only difference is that there is a little Retweet icon with arrows and a message at the bottom of the post that tells you who retweeted it (see below image).

Know what? This would be a great addition save for one simple thing. Why did they have to call it Retweet? Why not just call it Sharing. “Shared by and others.” Or any other name that ISN’T Retweet. I guarantee that if Twitter had left the name “Retweet” alone there wouldn’t have been such an uproar.

This feature is functionally the same as sharing someones post on Facebook, or even “liking” a post on Facebook or Friendfeed. Retweeting was less a “repost” and more of a quote.

Instead of alienating users who feel like the Retweet format was stolen from them, just give it a different name and I promise all will be well.

See Twitter CEO Evan Williams’ explanation for this change here.

MySQL vs SQL Server 2008

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:57:00 -0600

So for my main gig for the past year I’ve been developing some custom software for a construction contractor in the Milwaukee area. In order to keep the project costs down, I opted to develop the software in VB.NET (arguably the quickest development platform) and use a MySQL database.

Last weekend I was working on modifying some tables and the whole dataset just got detached from the project somehow. All the tables and queries still existed, but Visual Studio was not seeing them. Since I don’t know everything there is to know about ADO.NET and how datasets work in Visual Studio, it took me hours to get everything back to normal. I have a hunch that it was a problem with the MySQL NET Connector that I’m using to get VS to talk to the database. A few other people were reporting the same vague “Corrupt Memory” errors on various support forums online.

This whole event got me thinking how this wouldn’t have happened if we used SQL Server in the first place. To make things more interesting, it turns out that this company actually has a SQL Server license (it came bundled with Small Business Server). The main reason why we avoided it is now moot. I’m coming up to a turning point where I will be releasing a major version of the software with a plethora of updates. I’m wondering if now is the time to migrate our MySQL data (which is in desperate need of optimization anyway) over to SQL Server.

This obviously requires a lot of consideration as I definitely prefer MySQL as a whole to SQL Server, but if it can prevent the hair-pulling frustration of last weekend, it might be worth a switch.

xkcd - Academia vs. Business

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:08:54 -0600

xkcd - Academia vs. Business:

xkcd - Academia vs. Business

Palm Pre WebOS 1.3.1 update available now, a day early

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:15:21 -0600

Palm Pre WebOS 1.3.1 update available now, a day early:

I think this update brings the long awaited Facebook app. Waiting for the installation to finish right meow!

engadget:

webOS 1.3.1 was always destined to come alongside the launch of the Pixi, but it’s surprised us by showing its face a day early. No app catalog bombshells here, but there are a slew of…

This is Freezepop from last night’s show in Mankato. Here they...

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:44:00 -0600

This is Freezepop from last night’s show in Mankato. Here they are performing “Super Sprode,” which you may recognize from the video game, Rock Band. The song is about us great fans. You will notice that some fans reacted when she sang the lyric “Now throw your undies on the stage” with a nice set of tighty-whiteys! It was a great time!

This is Freezepop from last night’s show in Mankato. Here...

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:44:00 -0600

This is Freezepop from last night’s show in Mankato. Here they are performing “Brainpower,” which you may recognize from the video game, Rock Band.

Palm's Pixi device tempts me only slightly

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:40:00 -0600

Image via PreCentral.net

As you may know, I’ve been the proud owner of a Palm Pre since the day it launched on June 6, 2009. You also may know that I have what most people would characterize as an unhealthy obsession with cell phones. I’ve had 12 devices in the past four years, and it would have been more if I wasn’t restricted by this darn thing called responsibility (says the guy who randomly bought a Macbook Pro a week ago). Anyway, Palm’s second device running the WebOS operating system, the Pixi, is coming out this Sunday. Fortunately I’m not feeling that burning desire to own this device.

The Pixi is essentially what I would call a “weak-ass-Pre.” Basically, you take the Pre, give it a smaller screen, slower processor, take out the WiFi, and cut the price by $100. The only quality that I find desirable about this phone is its amazingly sexy form factor. I hate the slider on the Pre. It feels cheap, it has too much play, and its kind of annoying having to slide the phone open (I know, my life is so terrible. I should blog about it). The Pixi is a solid candybar form factor. According to people who have actually fondled the device, is actually quite small.

What does this mean for me? Well I need to make sure my WebOS applications that are currently in development are compatible with the Pixi’s smaller screen. Shouldn’t be a problem for the types of apps that I’m generating.

If you’re in the market for a smartphone and really don’t need it to do a whole lot of “power-user” activities (one example would be Tweeting a link that you found while browsing the web and listening to Pandora while you argue with a friend over SMS about who has a better running back in their fantasy league.) If you just want to check out some tweets or play Dope Wars on the can, this is the perfect device to do so. Come to think of it, that’s all I use my Pre for anyway. Hmm…

Palm Pixi reviews:
PreCentral
Engadget
Phonescoop
Boy Genius Report (unboxing, no review)

Buy this book. Everybody. You won't regret it.

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:29:39 -0600

Buy this book. Everybody. You won't regret it.:

Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk is one of the most motivating and inspiring books I’ve read. It really makes you want to get out there and start pursuing your passion. Very quick read, I’m almost done after a couple hours. I recommend the Vook.com version. It’s $7 and it comes with a bunch of videos from Gary that really enhance the experience.

I’m sure most of you haven’t heard of VAST. One of...

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:31:19 -0600

I’m sure most of you haven’t heard of VAST. One of mine and Sarah’s all-time favorite bands. I was going through my YouTube videos and found this recording that I never officially posted on my old blog. Silly me. This video was recorded on their May 17, 2009 show at Shank Hall in Milwaukee. “Touched” is probably VAST’s biggest “hit,” meaning you may have heard it in TV commercials or perhaps even on the radio once or twice. It’s a great song and Jon and the boys did a good job that night.

The future of The Forest Burns?

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:21:00 -0600

Should I close shop on The Forest Burns? I’m thinking yes. I want to download the posts for posterity’s sake, but they really don’t offer much to my personal brand. My twitter feed has taken the place of my traditional “This is how my day was” blog (which I know no one cares about but it’s nice to write about), and there aren’t many quality posts left on TFB. Obviously it’s a lot to think about, but I have a hard time blogging there. If I’m just going to be posting everything here, there’s no point in me keeping that site active. I can then use the hosting for the RMX project.

I started The Forest Burns in the interest of separating my sometimes highly opinionated and politically incorrect blog entries from the name of davidstrack.com - in an effort to prevent scaring off any future employers. Since I ended up aiming all of my search engine optimization efforts at remaining to be the #1 David Strack on Google, I completely undid that separation and plastered my name all over the site.

Of course I now realize that separation is unnecessary, even harmful to my online image. I need to be myself 100% of the time for people to know I’m the real deal. No self-censorship and no pretending. Just 100% pure, raw David Strack.

I’ll inform everyone what I eventually decide. I think I’ll figure out a way to archive the site so none of the comments or articles are lost. There is some good stuff in there, its just that most of it is no longer relevant.

listening to "Street Sweeper Social Club - Promenade - NIN|JA Tour - 5.27.09"

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:26:51 -0600

listening to "Street Sweeper Social Club - Promenade - NIN|JA Tour - 5.27.09":

Been stuck in my head for a few days now, ever since @JoeChitel played it on his radio show. Incredible performance!

A new adventure for David Strack

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:53:19 -0600

So I just signed up for Tumblr. It’s a really nice blogging service that I can see myself using a lot easier than my traditional WordPress blog. I discovered the service after I read about it in @garyvee’s AMAZING book, Crush It. Seriously, if you want to figure out how to make a living doing what you love most, or if you are just curious how you can use social media to build awareness of your personal brand, check it out! I recommend reading it on Vook.com. The Vook only costs $7 and it has videos from Gary himself spread out through the chapters. It really adds a ton of value hearing and seeing Gary explain with all of his take-on-the-world energy how every person in America can “Crush It” and make a living by working hard and sticking to their passions. It’s a very inspiring book.

Before I go on, I should mention that I’m running on no sleep, and that the only energy I have has been given to me by a shot of 5 Hour Energy and a Red Bull. So this is going to be a little lengthy, but I have a lot so say.

Anyway, that book has me thinking a lot about personal branding. I’m going to be starting up an app publishing company soon with a couple of paid apps for Palm’s WebOS phones (the Pre and the Pixi so far). Since I’m known virtually everywhere on the web as rmxdave, I figure it’s appropriate that I take my meaningless prefix to my username and create a brand from it. RMX will be the name of my new application development company. Today I bought three domain names: RMX.CC, RMXAPPS.COM, and RMXDAVE.COM. Obviously, RMX.CC is a very nice domain name, it’s only a total of 5 letters long, and it embodies my brand perfectly. I’m super stoked that it was available.

What does RMX stand for, you ask? Nothing, really. About 9 years ago I was known on AIM as remixdave, because of my obsession with taking perfectly good songs and putting them into a sound editor to cut them up and create what I called remixes (which were really just more or less rearrangements of the same song). Once I started playing CounterStrike online with my friends, I shortened the name to [RMX] Dave. As time grew on I dropped the special characters and now register every site as rmxdave. It just stuck with me.

I’ve never been particularly fond of the handle, it always seemed so plain and uninspired. Lately though I’ve accepted that rmxdave is who I am online, it’s a part of me. It’s time for me to embrace my unique, quirky, and funny personality and make it known across my entire online presence. Time for me to indulge in my passions, such as music production and video blogging, social media and cell phones…all the geekery that I can’t shut up about when I’m around friends. I can’t be afraid of failure anymore.

All my life I’ve wanted to run my own business. I’m not talking like my little web design side jobs that I’ve been doing since I was 14, I’m talking about a full blown, pay the bills, put food on the table type of business. One where I’m entirely happy with what I’m doing and one that will make my family proud. I always thought that the correct route to take was to work a regular 9-5 job for 20 years, build a savings, and then carefully open my business in the right economic climate.

I now realize that I’m currently living in the best time to start living my dreams. The Internet is still young and there is plenty of money to be made. I have a lot of hard work ahead of me, and a lot of learning to do. I also have to graduate college and get married soon, too - not to mention maintain a steady day job. It’s a lot to juggle, and when you throw in my inherent desire to be social with friends and family, to still be a 21-year-old, I’ve definitely got my plate full. But I’m loving my life, and I’m loving all of the endless possibilities that God has given me. With enough persistence, patience, and prayer, I firmly believe that I can achieve anything, and the RMX development project is the first step. It’s a great way for me to be creative, which I believe is my greatest passion, and make some serious money as a result.

I know I’ve done this sort of thing before. Gotten all excited about some new idea and after a week or so I drop it. Actually the last time I stayed up all night was when I had a grand idea for a hilarious internet sketch comedy show, which fell to the wayside after a few weeks. This time it’s different, this time I actually have a plan for survival. I have a bad habit of not finishing anything I start, but this is something so important, I can’t let it slip by. I would be doing a great disservice to myself, and more importantly to those who will be depending on me, such as my soon-to-be wife and our future children. I won’t let that happen. I am going to dive in with both feet to make my dreams come true and to some day have my passion provide for my family.

This very lengthy post is if anything a permanent reminder to me of what I’m aspiring toward and how much I believe in myself. I know there will be times when I just want to give up or when I will feel like it’s too much. I’ll then be able to come back to this and say, “Gee, I guess I made sense at that point in time.” I know many of you will think I’m nuts and on drugs or something, but that’s okay. I love you all anyway.

Stay tuned, I have some awesome ideas that I think everyone is going to love.

Thanks for reading :)