

Yet another clone...burnt all my bridges - infocaptor

It may be just "yet another clone" and I don't have words to defend that.<p>Feel free to bash my approach on presenting a web app as desktop application or cloning a "done to death" idea into a web application that can be used on desktop or host it on your own.<p>For the past 2 yrs I have
worked so hard that I poured my entire soul and heart into my new product. So if you believe every soul is unique then there must be something unique about it, right?<p>After all the work done I think it is time to push my baby out the door even though it thinks it is not ready. But who decides readiness? My first product was not even half ready when i launched it so i think this should be ok to release.<p>I was a total newbie when it came to anything related to internet application development. My brain was wired for only database and java programming. 
So I had to learn php,javascript,jquery etc from scratch, do the research, experiment, learn and implement. so 2 yrs is complete end to end, evenings and weekends. In 2006 I quit my job and started working on my first product and did consulting on the side. Now I have quit consulting permanently and working on my new product. I can say, I have finally burnt all my bridges :)<p>Here is the product info
MockupTiger is a web based wireframe and prototyping app for dashboards, web applications and desktop software. You can use it on your desktop or host
it on your corporate network or domain.<p>Since it is a web application built using PHP, I had to use a portable webserver like server2go for desktop deployment. I know that it won't be a straight "install wizard" like experience but i had no other option. I was not willing to have two kind of product/architecture to maintain and support.<p>If you wish to try, I want to give you free license and offer this to all HN users reading this.<p>Just download the application, either on your desktop or your domain and when you come to the registration screen, enter "hacker" for the last name field.
i will know that and will automatically email you the license information.<p>After that if you like to review it and provide feedback it would be awesome.<p>Email me directly at support@mockuptiger.com for all of the below<p>If you hit any issues installing on your desktop or domain<p>Here is the download with instructions<p>http://www.mockuptiger.com/how-to-download-and-start-mockuptiger-on-desktop  (NOTE, in step 6, enter 'hacker' as last name)<p>For server install<p>http://www.mockuptiger.com/how-to-installhost-mockups-on-your-own-server-or-domain (NOTE, in step 3, enter 'hacker' as last name)<p>thank you 
Nilesh<p>PS: I tried hard not to sound desparate but actually I am so desparate to get feedback. Working alone for 2 yrs and suddenly I am expecting you to talk. Please, I am dying for feedback and will take every suggestion and criticism in good spirit.
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pkamb
I'd lose the cartoon tiger mascot right away.

No one is going to read any of the paragraphs of text on your homepage.
Especially the one at the very top. You want bulleted lists, quick bits of
text you can read in seconds. Your "Summary of Benefits/Features" section at
the bottom does this... do text like that + thumbnail pictures for each.

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M1573RMU74710N
Just FYI "burning your bridges" is a very negative term, and it's generally
considered something that you should never do. (i.e., it's not something you
would put a smiley after).

The phrase implies a permanent and somewhat violent (not necessarily physical)
end to a relationship.

Simply quitting your job would not be considered "buring a bridge" unless you
quit in such a way that you could never ever get your job back (for example,
punched your boss in the face or something like that).

Your tool looks interesting and I wish you good luck with it.

One thing I would suggest at the moment is to lose the cartoon-ish tiger logo
you have, in my humble opinion it doesn't fit with the type of product.

Also, I would change the colors on the various boxes that say things like
"Save time", and "Save Money"...

They also seem cartoon-ish and don't seem to fit with the product.

Also at the bottom I would change this line:

> Please, can you share this with your friends and colleagues?

The tone is just overly conversational and a bit to pleading (unintentionally
I'm sure).

A simple "share this" like most websites have would probably be better.

Wish I could give feedback on the product itself, but it's not the sort of
thing I use.

~~~
infocaptor
I did not mean it in any negative way. Just to imply that I am now fully into
my products.

~~~
M1573RMU74710N
Yea I figured, I just wanted to let you know for the future what the phrase
actually means. Idioms can be tough.

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msmithstubbs
I wouldn't be so negative about it being 'yet another clone'. You've created a
product that fulfils a need. The fact that others have produced similar
products demonstrates there is a viable market. You've targeted a specific
need with the download option which presumably you see as under served.

I tried the web demo but as others have mentioned it's not working at the
moment.

I do have some comments on the website itself. I find the homepage a little
confusing. Clicking 'Home' take me to 'Wireframe and Mockups', which is
actually the homepage. I'd move 'About' and 'blog' links to the end of the
nav, as they are less important to a potential customer. The features and
benefits can probably do without the shaded background - use a larger heading
and they will stand out on their own, while reducing clutter.

I'm interested to see how the 'portable server' approach goes. I can see the
appeal of self-hosting options for larger companies, but I suspect the
personal users will be less technical, business types who don't want to worry
about a local web server. Hosting the app for them will cut down on your
support requests, so why not sell online access to personal users for $77 and
the enterprise, self-hosted package for more (say, $299)?

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PonyGumbo
I totally understand your anxiety. I've been getting feedback for my
application over the last few months, and it typically falls into three
categories:

1) Actionable items (e.g. this was broken, you should add this feature) 2)
Binary Criticism or Praise ("hard to use" / "looks really good!") 3) Talking
out of their asses ("Forget digital, it's all cassette tapes these days!")

With that in mind, I'm going to try to stick to category 1 as much as
possible.

First, why not make it a simple web application? It'd be easier to deploy
features and bug fixes, and you'd eliminate the support nightmare surrounding
installations. Plus, you'd have predictable recurring revenue.

Second, the graphics/clipart on the homepage - including the screenshot - seem
a little amateurish. I'd put a demo video here instead. I'd hire a graphic
designer to put some polish on, and lose the cartoon tiger entirely. I also
think you'd be _much_ better off having a simple website layout already mocked
up in the web demo rather than the array of clipart.

I hope this is helpful, and I hope you take it in the spirit in which it was
intended. I know it's difficult to hear criticism when you've invested so much
time in something.

~~~
infocaptor
Hi Pony, Thanks for your comments. I fully welcome any criticism and I believe
in iterative launch. People think launching software is like launching rockets
into spaceship but it is very different for bootstraped startups like me. I am
working on the screenshots and samples. Letting people download and start
using takes lot of load off my chest but still lot of work is pending and will
never end.

The application is available to be used directly on my site
<http://www.mockuptiger.com/wireframe/mockups/register.php>

I am not just charging for it, it is free and not marketing it as i am not
ready for it yet.

Thanks again for your input

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huhtenberg
Clicked on the "Try web demo" link on the home page and it does not appear to
be working properly.

It brings me to
[http://www.mockuptiger.com/wireframe/mockups/demo_register.p...](http://www.mockuptiger.com/wireframe/mockups/demo_register.php?mode=SUCCESS)
page, which looks like this - <http://i54.tinypic.com/dnh6c7.png>. "Click
here" points at getin.php, but it effectively cycles back to the same page
after all redirects.

~~~
infocaptor
Hi, thanks for reporting this. Something weird happened. I don't if the hacker
news traffic caused it or something else. My main website database is with
Mediatemple and it went down. They are still fixing it and not sure what
caused it. I have restored the demo link and it should work now.

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draggnar
put up a screencast or some type of video - or even just some screenshots.

~~~
infocaptor
I have some of them created here <http://www.mockuptiger.com/category/video-
demostration>

Am working on the samples and screenshots, should be up in two days

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infocaptor
Here is the direct link for download <http://www.mockuptiger.com/download>

