why would people use your software or service

Once a week i meet up with a start up that tells me his idea in great enthusiasm, and as all ways i am asking a simple question "why would people use it?" and the worst answer i can get is: "because it's free"
Please remember one major rule: if users want willing to pay 1$ for your service so they will not use it even for free.
Think about your self do you use any thing that you are using it just because it's free?
Another problem that keeps coming back in start up is "we got a good idea lets expand it to a bad one"
If you have a good idea stick with it. don't expand it and start a competition with other bigger companies... it will not work...

Navot

How to make users download your software

In the past couple of months other start ups and my self are wondering, "with all the web 2.0 out there does users still download/install desktop application".
What are the desktop app who made it in the last 4 years?
If users do download, then who are does people? and what makes them download?
is it a friend recommendation?
A blog post?
A lot of time i hear start ups says: our software is "Viral" (and most time it is don't)
I wrote down a few pointers for the desktop application developer:

1. Does it worth something if im not online?
   I think this is the first thing you have to ask your self before you design a desktop application.
2. Does it have an extra value has a desktop application?
   if your application can do anything it does as a web app so make it a web app.
3. Can your application deliver a cool GUI that can't be delivered in an online app?
4. Will your users know and like to install desktop apps.

Thats my points before you decide to develop a desktop app and not an online one.

i didn't knew apple is in the smoking biz...

hebrew english english hebrew dictionary for mac (babylon like)

Since i switched to mac i missed a babylon like application for mac.
Yesterday i discovered a nice application called TranslateIt available from here.
all you have to do is to download and install the application (it's even has a dashboard widget)
and after that add the Hebrew - English and English - Hebrew dictionaries available from here

after that install open TranslateIt


press on the dictionaries icon (third from the left)






remove any unused dictionaries.










press on the plus icon and add the two .dict files you extract from the zip file











that's it after adding these two dictionaries you are ready to goHave fun, Navot .

does users still download software

In the last couple of weeks i am facing the question does users still download software from the the web or they are just register to services?
What is the chance for a "pc/mac client" start ups to success? and don't give me the ICQ/skype example because both of them was a few years ago and both of them are true viral ("your friend has to have skype in order to use it").
A lot happen since the 90's when everyone offered a free software to download and everyone downloaded and installed and got all kind of viruses and spyware in the process.
Since then we got web 2.0 with online apps and there is no need to download does once pc clients.
The assumption is that it's easier to the users to register to a service then download.
But is it true? (i have no idea)
All i know that in the last couple of years not a lot of downloaded software made it (stumbleupon did it, but who else?)
So if you consider a start up that need a pc/mac client maybe you need to think how you can over come it.

Navot

define a real friend

In the last few weeks i had a lot of meetings with start ups and some of these start ups, like so many around these days wanted to know who are my friends, Which lead to a really good question who are the users friends?
Does my social network friends are my friends or are they just contacts?
maybe my contacts/phone book will be a good place to find my closest friends?
Basicly the bottom line is How close are the social networks friends?
it's a good question with a simple answer (not that close...) being a social network friend is real easy... and usually only 4-10 "friends" in your friends list are real friends.
so if you want to develop a service based on real friends... you need a good method to find them (importing the friends list just doesn't good enough)

Navot

Yahoo makes openID legit

If the rumors are true and Yahoo will start using OpenID,
it's a great news for this project and for web services world wide.
because it will more then double OpenID registered users and will help create a standard it user details.
I will defintly use OpenID in my next project.