A collection of tools to help you shrink the size of your software release and increase downloads.
Browsing Category: Useful Tools
Adding Apps to the Windows PATH
Save typing by adding tool directories to the Windows PATH.
Automating the Build Process
Creating software is a time consuming business, and it’s important to always be on the lookout for ways to reduce the amount of time spent on less important tasks. The process of actually building software (creating the finished distributable binary) is one such area that can be optimised. Opening up your IDE and hitting “compile” […]
Getting Started with Subversion
An introduction to using Subversion to manage your source code.
Tweaking the Sociable plugin
I use the “Sociable” WordPress plugin to add social bookmarking links to the bottom of every post. There are a tonne of social bookmarking sites around, so I’ve kept things light to avoid the icon overload that can be seen on some blogs. I’ve made two updates over the last few days, one was adding […]
Issue Tracking for Indie Developers
I’ve looked at a lot of bug trackers over the years, and I even had a crack at writing my own as part of my final year university project. It was certainly an experience, and it taught me the value of “eating your own dog food”.
There are hundreds of bug trackers in the wild, and […]
My Super-Happy Development Setup
As I’ve previously mentioned, software development is divided into two very distinct parts. The fun part that everyone loves, and the tedious bits that suck away your energy.
You can think of it like an iceberg. There’s the top that everyone sees, where penguins frolic and hold parties. Then there’s the sub-surface part. A dark and dreary […]
More PowerPoint Prototyping
Jensen Harris just posted a walkthrough of how Microsoft prototype using PowerPoint. It’s almost identical to the way I’ve been doing it, although I prefer to build the entire UI from shapes and images before creating a detailed picture and overlaying transparent “hot spots”. This makes it much easier to move elements around, which […]
Prototyping the UI with PowerPoint
I’ll be honest; PowerPoint is one of those applications that I treat rather harshly. I’ve been put off by too many awful presentations with whooshing bullet points, dreadful clip art and perhaps even a few sound effects for good measure. As far as I’m concerned, PowerPoint is a tool for creating nightmares. Horrible, bullet […]
Five utilities that make my life easier
I’ve installed a lot of applications on my PC over the years, but several have earned the distinct honour of being allowed to stay:
Freemind - An excellent mind-mapping tool that makes it easy to grab lots of ideas. I use this to note down all my rough ideas, and although it’s not quite as […]