I just had an idea.
I think that PortableApps.com could/should offer paid support. This would entice more companies to use the software and would increase revenue for John.
I would volunteer to be part of the support team if this were to happen, as it would help the development of the site (and John would have more time to read his emails 
).
Tell me what you think.
Clarification: I did not mean to have to pay for support, but instead offer a system where you can pay for support, send a support request and get a guaranteed answer within, say 24 or 48 hours. This would operate independently of the forums and would be an optional thing. It would be only for people who want a guaranteed answer quickly, like a company using it for critical things.
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Ryan McCue
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I never thought of.
But it sounds like something worth thinking about. I think it would be cool/a good thing to have and would help if it is wanted.
IMHO, it shouldn't decrease the effort put into a free Forum. It would run against Johns policy/vision to have something paid diminish something free.
“Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts” - Richard P. Feynman
"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate
""
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As all of ya should know Microsoft is the Evil Empire, and Windows (a.k.a. Winblows or Windoze) is their greatest general, so please make a difference and install Linux or Free BSD on yer Windows comp.
Just a really bad idea.
It would hurt PA.com
Tim
Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?
How would it do that?
Hold on, I think I see what you mean. I'll clarify.
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Ryan McCue.
Blog.
So all that Airbus-delay trouble over here in Europe is because of YOU!
Simeon.
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
Ryan,
"Hold on, I think I see what you mean. I'll clarify."
Did your message get truncated?
I thought you said "saw what I meant" and would explain how you saw it?
Tim
[edit] On my 4th reading of this thread, which I really needed to do, as I thought you were being sarcastic in a way I did not appreciate, I see now that you have put a "clarification" in the original node. It is late, 1:39am in the morning. I was ready to take great exception to your response, thinking it was sarcastic, so I think it is best for me to not reply until I reread this thread after I have a good nights sleep.
Tim
Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?
I was going to mention it, but thought you'd notice the updated next to the topic name
Sorry for the confusion.
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Ryan McCue.
Blog.
So all that Airbus-delay trouble over here in Europe is because of YOU!
Simeon.
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
Sounds like a good idea. If it was put into place, I guess I could help with my minimal knowledge.
"There is a tendency for the world to say to America, 'the big problems of the world are yours, you go and sort them out,' and then to worry when America wants to sort them out.
Tony Blair
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning." - Rick Cook
Maybe we should start calling you Ryan McClue?
lol, just kidding around...
Anyways, Paid Support is one hell of an idea, wish I'd thought of it.
(dreams of glory)
This would be an incredible opportunity for John. I think he should try it out.
Especially with the growing faction of consumers who are choosing PA over U3, Companies would probably jump at the idea of having their software in .paf format.
But, if this Idea is going to take hold and be wildly successful as we all hope it will, then we, the loyal PA following, need to start doing our part as well. Talk to your friends, link to PA on your web site, (maybe with a cool-looking icon).
Basically advertising/recruiting, if you will.
If we can be successful, than all we would have to worry about is John's bandwidth (lol), as companies will see PA as being a major competitor to U3, and will start picking sides.
I don't know, maybe I'm crazy or something, but I this might work.
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Text signatures are so last week
0.00.0)> (>0.0)>
Please Make TiLP Portable
That would give John more $ so bandwidth is not 2 worry, besides the apps are hosted on Sourceforge.
Also maybe this will make Micro$oft backoff with their portable application project. If we don't get tons more people into PApps.com goers Micro$soft will have them in their hands (since most peeps are loyal 2 Micro$oft)
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As all of ya should know Microsoft is the Evil Empire, and Windows (a.k.a. Winblows or Windoze) is their greatest general, so please make a difference and install Linux or Free BSD on yer Windows comp.
That's a good point about people being loyal to Microsoft. Large businesses probably will go with Microsoft portable applications because they feel something that is paid for has to be good, and Microsoft is defiantly brand name. If a company want to give PortableApps loaded flash drives to there staff in order that their staff can work from wherever, or other things like that, they can be reliant upon paid support.
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I felt so different without a signature.
Pull that off and i might be able to sell the idea of portable apps to a few hundred of my clients. there picky and want answers right away.I already have them on portable drives and data sticks for research projects that get checked in and out every morning and night this would be one more step to make them run there apps off
the same drives so no data leaks at all.but they would want support for that option
and personally im already swamped with support now.
I cant go into allot of detail especially on here but John has soemthing that Microsoft is just getting wind of.See portable apps dont leave anything behind we all know that but like I said if he had support every one that does research or works with secure data could then use apps from a drive with there data on it on a computer work with said data with the drives apps then turn in the drive to there Data officer
and have leave no finger print on that pc what they worked on.So in short Do that support then market it to every clinical research and Government agency out. I might be able to point you in a few directions.
mashalpha, please use proper grammar and spelling, as it makes the forums easier to read.
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Ryan McCue.
Blog.
So all that Airbus-delay trouble over here in Europe is because of YOU!
Simeon.
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
I didn't have time to read everything posted, so I'm sorry if someone already stated my argument or blocked it. Most of the portable apps that John offers is just a launcher for the original app. Most of the questions people post here are related to the actual app, not the portable version. If you start charging money and they ask you a program-related question, you might not know and answer "Try heading over to mozillazine" or something like that. That's when you'll start seeing problems, cause they are paying for a service which they are not receiving.
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"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." -- Confucius
"Sometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world." -- Lily Tomlin
"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." -- Robert Frost
"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: baby ain't mine." -- Adam Holguin
That's also a very valid point.
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I felt so different without a signature.
However, as part of the paid support, we would research it for them.
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Ryan McCue.
Blog.
So all that Airbus-delay trouble over here in Europe is because of YOU!
Simeon.
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
See, contrary to most of the users on this board who actually understand whats going on with portable apps, most corporate IT managers won't know or care. What they want is a SOLUTION. Something that they can treat as a single item, and get/pay single support for. This is why the MS Office Suite model works. You pay one fee, get one support team and the users get all the desktop apps they need.
So where am I going with this?
Instead of supporting standard apps individually, support a Suite of specialized apps on specified hardware. Offer a path for upgrades to be performed without the users having to lift a finger. Offer a suite of tools that make sense as a suite, perhaps in a niche industry (say graphic design or image management). This way you perform the ultimate feat for a user - convert software maintenance into hardware maintenance. From their point of view, you just stick in the USB Stick and start working. I can even see where you would have 2 USB sticks, one supplied with all the software, and a second one just for user files. When an upgrade is available, ship out new software keys, receive in the old ones to reprogram and send to someone else. (In fact I think I saw somewhere a small SD card reader that included a 1gb secondary permanently built in, thus it was 2 drives in one).
Michael D. Shook
Moving from the free software principle to a paid model, no matter how contained it may be, is often a slippery slope that forever impacts the vitality of a project. I understand that you are discussing paid support and nothing else... for the time being.
Are donations not very forthcoming?
I understand that you are discussing paid support and nothing else... for the time being.
No, the point is that the free support would still be available.
Or maybe I misunderstood your post
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Ryan McCue.
Blog.
So all that Airbus-delay trouble over here in Europe is because of YOU!
Simeon.
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
I meant "paid support and nothing else" will carry a fee. I didn't mean no free support. I know you guys don't intend to squash this great community you've created.
Two possibilities;
1. The support provided would be hourly with a 1 hr minimum. A simple answer of check the vendor's support forum would be a 1 hr fee. Something more involved would/could cost more.
2. Support could be an variable annual fee based on level of supporter. High school student, college student, professional ITer, hobbyist, etc.
2a. Or client posts question or problem and a prompt displays asking the client what level of support they want to pay for.
3. Or the forum is divided into a free section and a paid section with questions posted in the paid section answered within 1 hr and those in the free section after 1 day.
A proper business plan showing potential income would allow for a business loan then forum changes could be put out for bid and support staff could be hired. There's also the possiblity of venture capital.
Ed
Ed
I was actually thinking of a yearly rate, with unlimited support queries.
Also, just to point it out, you said 2 possibilities, but stated 3
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Ryan McCue.
Blog.
So all that Airbus-delay trouble over here in Europe is because of YOU!
Simeon.
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
I guess I don't see how ... hard it is to get an answer, that I see someone wanting to pay for it when so much of it is for free already.
But I guess I and most of the others are a more advanced user. Case in point, one of my coworkers wants to transfer her pc ipod music to her new mac laptop, and rather than using the free cd burner or borrowing my 4gb usb key, she wants to use the Mac Genius to do it. I told her I can show her how right now, but she wants to call Mac first and then go to a Mac store to do it. I told her there will probably be a cost, but she doesn't care.
"... respect, all good works are not done by only good folk. For here, at the end of all things, we shall do what needs to be done."
Don't be an uberPr∅. They are stinky.