[X4U] Shameless, self-serving plug (was Mac Equivalents of Windows apps (was Apple's move to Intel chips))

[Mark Phillips]

On Jun 11, 2005, at 5:38 AM, Johns Maillist wrote:

> On Jun 11, 2005, at 2:11 AM, Timothy Luoma wrote:
>
>>
>> Anyway, if anyone has *SPECIFIC* apps that they miss on Windows 
>> (there were a few), I'd love to see that.
>
> I do work for a body shop, collision repair service.
> We use an app Photolink made my ADP. It allows the estimator to do a 
> complete body repair estimate and submit it electronically to, in this 
> case, State Farm.
> The program is made by ADP.
> There are others, Williams, and a few more.
> I have looked for a Mac that would work, as the owner would really 
> like to run a Mac, and VPC is not really a practical, since the only 
> real app he runs is ADP.
> John

Since you say you have looked for a substitute, you may want to 
consider hiring help.

My firm has been constructing true cross platform applications since 
1998, and I have been "in" software for twenty years. If you have an 
application that doesn't run on MacOS, give me a call. I will review it 
with you and offer an estimate to create a "work-alike" application. 
Typically we can satisfy a large percentage of customer requirements 
with existing modules, or there are open source projects that can be 
customized for you, so the cost is far less than building everything 
from scratch. With the estimate in hand you can analyze your specific 
business case.

Will it cost more than QuickBooks?
	Yes.
Will it take years and cost millions?
	No. (Apologies to Randy for the contradiction)
What if it does?
	Then we don't do it. We are not shy about shopping the project with 
your permission so there may be a way to get it done.

Obviously we are not the only firm involved in such work. I am certain 
many on this list are just as capable. In today's flat world the 
opportunity for modest financial success with a small number of users 
is very real, unlike days of old (circa 2001, for example) when the 
tools were awful, geeks thought they were gods and everything was 
proprietary.

Onward,

Mark Phillips
Mophilly & Associates
On the web at http://www.mophilly.com
On the phone at 619 444-9210