After spending some sleepless nights in the past 10 days, I have managed to create a web app that allows one to archive, tag, search, bookmark and e-mail pages that one has viewed/is viewing.I have named it History!
The user needs to have a web server running PHP 5 and MySQL and be using Firefox with Javascript enabled.During the installation process, a firefox toolbar gets created and that enables one do all the actions that I mentioned above.
This is an excellent idea. I would definitely consider using a program like this as long as it's easy to use and not too resource hungry (on the client side).
Will it be able to store bookmarks on the server as well? That seems like another useful tool to add.
Marketing wise I think you need a fancier web page. Perhaps post it in the "Website Reviews" section here on the DeveloperTutorials forum to get some critique on your existing design.
This is an excellent idea. I would definitely consider using a program like this as long as it's easy to use and not too resource hungry (on the client side).
Will it be able to store bookmarks on the server as well? That seems like another useful tool to add.
Marketing wise I think you need a fancier web page. Perhaps post it in the "Website Reviews" section here on the DeveloperTutorials forum to get some critique on your existing design.
Thank you for your welcome and also for your positive views about History!.
In response to some of your queries:
I have been using History! myself for the past few weeks and it is definitely not resource hungry, the toolbar (and integrated JS) is very light. I think it is around 16 KB in size (100 lines of code).
And yes, it does store bookmarks in the server and also creates an rss feed ,in case, you decide to share your bookmarks.
It takes less than a minute to generate the toolbar (after the files get uploaded) and I feel that there is no learning curve involved with using it.
Having said that, it is a alpha release, there might be problems that I might have overlooked and I will try to squash bugs as soon as I am made aware of them.
I agree with you on the site needing to be a bit more fancier, I had been concentrating on the technology until now and spent little time with the presentation of the site. Still have more work to do.
I hope you choose to use it and hope you find it useful.
Will there be a definitely (easy) upgrade path as you move onto Beta, RC and Gold releases?
I'm always wary of having to spend a few hours upgrading software just because I chose to use an alpha version of a program which can't be easily upgraded. I'd mainly be using this for bookmarking purposes, not for the history function. Although that would be a nice thing to have a record of too.
This is the second major release (0.1a-->0.2a) of History! and I have a few of my friends using it and we are not aware of any bugs. Most of the scripts are only a few lines of code (unlike my other projects) and unlikely to be buggy. I am only wanting the pages to be Valid XHTML and maybe tweak the interface a bit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ryanhellyer
Will there be a definitely (easy) upgrade path as you move onto Beta, RC and Gold releases?
The DB structure is not going to change for a long time (I am also involved with Sansj, a social search engine, and, have used that experience to make sure that the DB changes would be unnecessary).As with the upgrade from (0.1a-0.2a), any future upgrades would require just overwriting of certain files
Quote:
Originally Posted by ryanhellyer
I'm always wary of having to spend a few hours upgrading software just because I chose to use an alpha version of a program which can't be easily upgraded. I'd mainly be using this for bookmarking purposes, not for the history function. Although that would be a nice thing to have a record of too.Ryan,
been there and that is exactly what I have been trying to avoid from the start. As I have mentioned above upgrade=overwriting certain files. If you plan to use it primarily for bookmarking, you really need not worry about issues with upgrading.(although, you might find the history function indispensable after some time using it.)
I am planning to release it under GPL and hence any upgrade that I will be doing would mean readable code for others to look at and modify/enhance.
The installation is just a one step process and I like to keep things as simple as possible.
I hope that I was able to convince you give it a try!
Seems like a good idea - do you plan on launching a hosted version of it? Otherwise I feel you will struggle to build up a userbase, people with hosting are few and far between in the grand scheme of things. Even webbies like me who have hosting don't necessarily have PHP5 running - afraid my host is still on 4, so I can't install.
I would consider offering a hosted beta version, with limited users to make sure you don't spend a fortune on bandwidth. You could gauge interest, and a limited edition, restricted userbase could create some buzz around the service.
I agree with Ryan that you need a flashier home page - it's a very "Web 2.0" service, and your site needs to reflect that really. Also, definitely need to get yourself a proper domain name.
Anyway, congrats on the completion, and I hope it works out for you!
Seems like a good idea - do you plan on launching a hosted version of it?
Not really as I think it is in the interest of users to have their web history stored in their servers. But, having said that, if a lot of people request for that, I am willing to share the resources on my server.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigAlReturns
Even webbies like me who have hosting don't necessarily have PHP5 running - afraid my host is still on 4, so I can't install.
It should work with PHP4, just that I haven't had a chance to test it. So you should be able to use it with no probs (I don't recall using any PHP specific feature in the code)
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigAlReturns
I agree with Ryan that you need a flashier home page - it's a very "Web 2.0" service, and your site needs to reflect that really.
I suck in design, can you guys point me in the right direction as for as re-designing the site?
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigAlReturns
Also, definitely need to get yourself a proper domain name.
Anyway, congrats on the completion, and I hope it works out for you!
As everything happened so fast, I did not find the time to book a domain name, will try to book a domain soon. Thank you and hope to hear more from everyone here.
I suck in design, can you guys point me in the right direction as for as re-designing the site?
I'd look at some blog type designs. I don't mean actually using a blog, but the style used by many blogs may lend itself quite nicely to displaying the information you need to present.
If I'm bored some day I may have a crack at designing something for you, or at least heavily modifying an existing design into something totally different. That's not a promise and relies on me having a spare chunk of time available. But if you are interested let me know as I occasionally do freebie jobs like this to add to my rather meagre portfolio. All I'd ask in return is a link in your footer. Like I say though, this would entirely rely on me finding the free time, so definitely don't rely on it.
If I'm bored some day I may have a crack at designing something for you, or at least heavily modifying an existing design into something totally different..
That would be a wonderful gesture! I would gladly link to your site if you managed to come with something.
BTW, have you started using the app? If so, what do you think? If not, do you any particular concern that is stopping you? (As I have mentioned earlier, it takes < 5 minutes to get everything up and runing)
Looking for feedback on my new app:History!
been there and that is exactly what I have been trying to avoid from the start. As I have mentioned above upgrade=overwriting certain files. If you plan to use it primarily for bookmarking, you really need not worry about issues with upgrading.(although, you might find the history function indispensable after some time using it.)
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