A presentation given for the course of ICT Entrepreneurship at Utrecht University. Each group of students is working on a business idea. This presentation aims to give them information on what development platforms are available to develop their prototypes.
2. About Me
• 1995: Started Web Development
• 1999-2001: Snakenetworks
• 2001-2004: Dots and Crosses
• 2004-2006: SoundCream
• 2006-2009: Sparkboxx
• 2009-... : Othonis
12. Excercise
• Find yourself a competitor
• Explain your product as:
• We are similar to [X] but we do [Y]
better
• Your job is to develop [Y]! not [X]!
13. Example
• We are just like Google Search, but we
organize the results better
• Your Job in the Garage days:
• Learn the Google Search API and
present the results differently
• DON’T build a search engine!
14. Example
• We are just like Hyves / LinkedIN /
Facebook, but we focus on the elderly
• Your job:
• Get an open source implementation
like Community Engine
• Redesign it for the elderly
15. Find a Foundation
• Is there any open source
implementation you can start using?
• Are there any WebServices you can
use?
• Are there any apps available with an
API you can use?
16. Example Foundations
• Imaging applications: pixlr.com API
• Document management: zoho.com API
• Search/ localization application:
google and yahoo APIs
• Financial administration: write an
Exact Online plugin
17. Example Foundations
• CRM application: highriseapp.com API
• Messaging: Twitter API
• Community sites: Facebook app or
Community Engine
• Content Management: Radiant,
Mephisto
• E-commerce: Spree
23. Web Basics
• HTML (checkout HAML)
• CSS (checkout SASS and COMPASS)
• Javascript
24. HTML (content)
• Easy to Learn
• HTML 5 is really powerful! (Google
Wave)
• A lot of “ready made” material
available
• Works on (almost) all Devices
25. CSS (layout)
• Easy to Learn, Hard to Master
• Quite some cross-browser issues
• CSS Frameworks to the rescue
• Blueprint CSS
• 960gs (demo)
26. Javascript
• For the Web2.0 Feeling
• Advanced layouts and interactions
• Use a framework:
• JQuery and JQuery UI (demo)
• Prototype + Script.aculo.us
• YUI: Yahoo User Interface
27. Developing for the Web
• LAMP (Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP)
• Ruby - Rails, Sinatra, merb
• Google Web Toolkit (Java)
• Adobe Flex
• Microsoft Silverlight
28.
29. Rails is used by
• Twitter.com
• Omroep.nl
• Shopify.com
• NEDAP
30. Ruby on Rails
• Turbocharged Web Development
• About 10.000 plugins and “gems”
• Loads and Loads of instruction videos
• railscasts.com
• peepcode.com
• Free hosting at heroku.com
35. Proof of Concept(s)
• Are NOT complete products
• Are deliverables that prove a point i.e.
• Technical Feasibility
• User interface
• Customer interest
36. Summary
• Define your unique selling point (USP)
• Try to re-use everything but your USP
• Prototype your USP:
first visually, then technically
• Use the prototype to test your USP
• Be Lazy! Use the right toolset.