Traffic Android Blog

I haven’t posted anything for ten days so I thought I’d post up a new screenshot to fill the gap. Beta testing will begin within a couple of days at this rate, so the web version is very, very close. I can’t offer testing spots on request like I did last time unfortunately as I have to pay for certain resources per user and as such, the testing team is small and preselected.

The current plan is this:

1. Release to testers
2. Release to full-paying early adopters who got in a special deal a while back
3. Release at a bargain rate to everyone who owns a legitimate registered copy of the application
4. Close the doors for a bit while we test for stability and make sure everything is running smoothly
5. Open the doors again once I’m happy things are running smoothly, at a standard basic price, yet to be determined.

Don’t quote me on the above of course, I reserve the right to be fickle and change my mind without warning.

Here’s the screenshot I promised:

I sent out an email earlier today letting people know that they could pick up a copy of Traffic Android at a new price of $67.

I also said that people who had bought the product BEFORE today would be getting access to the upcoming web-based product without having to pay the associated monthly charge. This was because those copies had been sold on the promise that future upgrades and features were coming, including video uploads and whatnot. I don’t want to break that promise to my previous customers, therefore I’ll give them access to the web-based product without the monthly fee.

I have completely overhauled the existing sales page to reflect that the desktop product is a social bookmarking product and is not promising the world before it is available though, and the price is now $67 to access the current feature set.

The distinction between the desktop product and the web-based product will basically be twofold:

1. Not everyone likes web-based products with monthly charges and not everyone wants to use a desktop product. Also some people can’t run the desktop product for whatever reason, such as using a Mac or hating Windows.
2. The desktop product will be considered an introductory product, and if found useful, the logical next step will be to subscribe to the web-based product to really step up your traffic-getting efforts. It’s an optional step though and neither product will be a prerequisite to use the other one.

So to clarify, for any who were confused about what you get:

• $67 gets you the existing Windows desktop product in all its current glory along with maintenance updates and any improvements that may or may not be added over time. This will always be the basic introductory product and will be perfect for many people’s needs.
• If you bought it before today at a higher price, you’ll be covered for the lack of new sites you thought were going into the desktop product by getting access to the membership product which ultimately amounts to the same thing; you’ll simply be accessing the product from the web instead. You’ll be free to keep using the desktop product if you like though. But this is only if you bought it before today at a higher price. Free access to the web-based product is not something that is available via the $67 product.
• If you want to wait until the web-based product is released, you are free to do that also. That will come with a monthly charge though, unlike the desktop product. Check out some of my earlier posts to check out what the monthly charge will cover and why it is necessary.

I hope that clears things up!

Nothing much to report, other than progress! Here’s a screenshot of the upcoming web-based version of Traffic Android.

Had I spent my time just working on the next patch for the existing application, there would probably have been 2 or maybe even 3 new updates at this point, but as it stands, I ended up taking the plunge and diving straight into getting the web-based version of this system out as quickly as possible.

To those who have been waiting patiently for the new release, I apologise for the delay, but I believe what I am doing is worth it. Here are my reasons for converting Traffic Android into a web-based product:

• Piracy will cease to be an issue.
• There will be no further problems with people trying to get the application to run across a myriad of different system configurations.
• Mac users will finally get to use it!
• Your computer won’t have to be switched on for tasks to run; Traffic Android will be truly as set-and-forget as you need it to be.
• I can handle proxy support on the server side, meaning it will not be an issue users need to worry about.
• I can easily handle automated CAPTCHA processing, which means all tasks will become properly automated and thus schedulable, as opposed to just the tasks that didn’t require CAPTCHA input.
• I can deploy updates, quickfixes and new types of tasks as often as I want without having to think about it in terms of pushing out an application update which will generally always result in a new set of support requests.
• I’ll be able to charge a modest monthly fee which will provide me with the financial resources needed to maintain this as a high quality product indefinitely. (If you already bought Traffic Android, you get to ignore the monthly fee).
• I can roll out and test experimental advanced features while they’re still in “alpha” mode without having to manually send selected testers updates and files every time I change something.
• Utilising a proper server-hosted database makes it easier to support users who are very heavy users of the product.
• There are a bunch of high-end features I want to develop that are really only feasible if done from a server-based product.
• Web development is what I’ve been doing for over ten years, so it’s easier for me to develop and maintain a web-based product than it is a desktop product.

So what will happen to the desktop product? In all likelihood it’ll be scaled back as an introductory product and work similarly in scope to services such as OnlyWire, although just from the desktop. It’ll be a natural choice to upgrade from the desktop product to the hosted product. I may even release a simple free version of the desktop product in order to attract more potential subscribers. Nothing’s set in stone though.

Here’s a screenshot of the web-based product to tease those of you waiting with bated breath:

This is just a quick update for those of you wondering when the 1-4 update is going to be available.

Having had a lot of people using the program and a whole lot of feedback, bug reports and reports on how people are using the software, I’ve had a good chance to evaluate exactly what the shortcomings of the program are and what needs to be done in order to not “paint myself into a corner”, so to speak.

As a result, the 1-4 release has taken longer than anticipated to get out the door, but I think the delay will be a good thing as it means better longevity for the program, better reliability and will make it easier to implement the suggestions people have been sending in.

The main reason for the delay has been due to testing of multiple ways of evolving the task system and adding more tasks. It’s important to consider that Traffic Android has to interact with a lot of different websites and seeing as the idea is to get the software talking to a lot more than it currently does, you can imagine that any issues with the currently-supported set of sites will multiply dramatically once a whole lot more sites are added.

To address this, I’ve been working on making sure that Traffic Android handles communication with each of these sites in the most streamlined way possible and that the mechanism it uses to do so does not cause huge headaches after a lot more sites have been added to the supported list. I’m fairly sure I’ve worked out the best way of doing this, so please bear with me while I get things upgraded.

Traffic Android is not going anywhere and is only going to get better. I am determined to make this the best system of its type available anywhere.

I’ve had some new thoughts swimming around in my head for the last couple of days, so I thought I’d throw them out on the blog.

Currently Traffic Android runs purely from the desktop. Apart from some minor requests to the server for updates and whatnot, it’s a Windows desktop product. It uses a little local database and runs an internal engine with predefined scripts for each website that it supports posting to.

I have no major problem with the way it’s working other than this: the more sites I support, the more time and effort will be required to maintain it and the more support requests will come in from various people experiencing their own connectivity issues. As such, a recurring revenue stream would be handy to ensure that all the services stay properly maintained indefinitely. There’s also an issue that plenty of would-be users are mac users. This just seems to be an anomoly of this market. There are a greater than average number of people using Macs as their primary desktop. So I’m thinking of transitioning it to a hybrid client/server model.

Before you run for the hills screaming OMG ITZ GONNA BE A EXPENSIVE SERVER PRODUCTS!!! … that’s not what I have in mind.

I am thinking that storing the data on a server (as opposed to having it on your own machine) and processing tasks on a server, rather than locally, would make the whole system much more maintainable in the long term and make it more feasible to support large numbers of services. In addition, doing this would make it much simpler to have a Mac desktop version of the system.

I imagine doing this would introduce a small recurring monthly fee for new users, although people who have already paid for the system would be catered for as I have no interest in pulling the rug out from anyone’s feet.

So essentially, what we’d be looking at is Traffic Android on steroids, accessible from anywhere and running even if you turn off your computer. There’s some technical hurdles to address first, but overall it’s quite doable. And I’ll say it again, existing customers would be catered for.

Now remember; this is an idea, and a direction I’m interested in heading in. Updates for the Traffic Android you know and love are still in progress and will continue to be released until what I’ve suggested eventuates, at which point an update would integrate the desktop product you use into the client/server product seamlessly.

www.trafficandroid.com <– that is the link. Yep, you heard it here. We’re open.

It’s interesting. I have had a whole lot of comments from people saying “Wow, you must be glad Traffic Android is launched; you can finally take a break!”

haha! HAHAHA!! haHAhohahahheeehahaHAHAHehaheha!!! haha! ah.. ahaah….

not quite.

If anything, now I have twice as much work to do. At least for a time. First, there are the various inevitable support requests that are starting to come in. Second I have website updates to do as per my own analyses and recommendations from affiliates who have a vested interest in helping me convert highly. Third, and very importantly, I have updates and changes to make to the actual software. And none of this includes getting my own marketing going above what I have done leading up to launch.

As sales start to roll in and thus as funds permit, I’ll be getting some help, which will be absolutely essential to keeping things running smoothly.

For now, go and check out the software. Oh yeah, and buy it too. That would be nice

I released this a few days ago through various channels and it only just occurred to me now to link to it from the blog. This is a video demonstrating the first version of Traffic Android. Don’t be put off by the apparent low number of services supported, the release version will support a much higher number, and that’s just at release. I have a list of services a mile long that will be going in as automation code for each one is completed.

http://files.trafficandroid.com/prerelease.wmv

Ok here’s the last screenshot you get before release. I’ve just spent a full day polishing up the interface, fixing some bugs implementing context menus, task list filtering and other bits and pieces. All I have to do now is finish making the basic task execution work properly (just some minor things to fix with settings validation at this point) – then go through and implement each of the other services. I’ve written a nifty little bit of code that will make supporting more services super quick. I’m crossing my fingers I should be able to write support for several additional services every day until release.

Here’s the screenshot as promised: