Any interest in software?
rusirius
Posts: 565 ✭✭
Dunno if I ever mentioned this, but by trade I'm an IT manager... I also happen to be a software developer. Tonight I started developing a program for myself, but will no doubt release it for cigar lovers later once it's finished / debugged...
I'm wondering if anyone here would have any interest in it. As I said, I'm writing it for myself, but after it's done I'll release it and sell it for a modest price... For the folks on here that are interested, I'm sure we could work out a deal maybe trading for some sticks or something like that if you don't wanna lay out the cash...
At this point I'd like to just kinda gauge interest just to see how far I should really take it and just how spiffy I should make it...
Just as a brief rundown of some of the features:
It will keep track of your humidors... When they were seasoned, how much they were purchased for, etc...
It will also of course keep track of your inventory of sticks... Which humi they are in, when they were bought, all the info on the stick itself, the msrp, your purchase price, etc...
Likewise it will also keep a journal of all your smokes... Keeping track of your details on the smoke, i.e. construction, flavor, burn, impression, misc notes, etc... Each of the categories will also have a rating you can assign which will generate an overall rating of that smoke...
It will also generate and print out a hard copy version of the journal (by page as each page is completed) which will also contain a spot to tape the band to, etc...
It'll keep track of trades as well... Who you traded with, what was traded, etc...
Then of course it'll have reports that can be generated... For example, you could generate a report that showed msrps and what you paid to show how much money you've saved by buying deals, etc... You could generate a report on a single type of stick which would average all your rating details... Or do the same, but the rank all of your sticks... generating a "Top 5", "Top 10", "Top 20", etc... Perhaps a report that will show aging on all the sticks, etc... That kinda stuff...
So there ya go... Anyone have any interest in something like this???
I'm wondering if anyone here would have any interest in it. As I said, I'm writing it for myself, but after it's done I'll release it and sell it for a modest price... For the folks on here that are interested, I'm sure we could work out a deal maybe trading for some sticks or something like that if you don't wanna lay out the cash...
At this point I'd like to just kinda gauge interest just to see how far I should really take it and just how spiffy I should make it...
Just as a brief rundown of some of the features:
It will keep track of your humidors... When they were seasoned, how much they were purchased for, etc...
It will also of course keep track of your inventory of sticks... Which humi they are in, when they were bought, all the info on the stick itself, the msrp, your purchase price, etc...
Likewise it will also keep a journal of all your smokes... Keeping track of your details on the smoke, i.e. construction, flavor, burn, impression, misc notes, etc... Each of the categories will also have a rating you can assign which will generate an overall rating of that smoke...
It will also generate and print out a hard copy version of the journal (by page as each page is completed) which will also contain a spot to tape the band to, etc...
It'll keep track of trades as well... Who you traded with, what was traded, etc...
Then of course it'll have reports that can be generated... For example, you could generate a report that showed msrps and what you paid to show how much money you've saved by buying deals, etc... You could generate a report on a single type of stick which would average all your rating details... Or do the same, but the rank all of your sticks... generating a "Top 5", "Top 10", "Top 20", etc... Perhaps a report that will show aging on all the sticks, etc... That kinda stuff...
So there ya go... Anyone have any interest in something like this???
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Comments
Kuzi - I agree with you that we haven't yet described software that will sell. But there are plenty of improvements that will help it take off and become something even I would be willing to buy. A cigar database which updates itself periodically (say every 3 months), and includes data from the manufacturers regarding the origins of the filler, binder, and wrapper, as well as the sizes offered and their MSRP. It would generate reports and recommendations based on the smokes you've enjoyed in the past. You can add sticks to your inventory, it will track their age. You can smoke and rate. Now we're getting somewhere.
Now, Shirley, this becomes less a snapshot of some software a consumer would buy. Rather, this is software that an on-line tobacconist would buy and offer as a service on their site. I wonder where we can find an on-line tobacconist who is interested in offering special added services to its customers. Maybe someone who is willing to put up a forum where customers can come and talk about cigars. hmmm.....
Let's extropolate that idea for a moment... I COULD type all my letters and documents on a typewriter, but I CHOSE to pay $300+ for microsoft office... I COULD cook every night over an open wood fire outside, but I CHOSE to buy an oven for inside and a grill for the outside... I COULD watch an over the air signal free on TV, but I CHOSE to pay to get satellite... etc...etc...etc...
I guess my point is, the whole idea of this software would be to make those tasks much easier... If I ask you right now how much your entire cigar collection is worth, how long would it take you to get an answer from your notebook? How long would it take to go through and add up the value of everything in your inventory? Now what if I ask you how much you PAID for your collection... Same thing... How long would it take? Suppose you remember a year or two back when you had this one cigar that had this really odd marshmellow undertones and you wanted another but couldn't remember the name... How long would it take paging back through your notebook reading all the notes trying to find the one you were talking about? Versus simply doing a keyword search and looking through a few...
Now don't get me wrong... I'm not saying those are things that YOU would value... But your comment seemed to imply that you couldn't imagine anyone finding any value in it... I for one would have to disagree... Hell if there was anything close to it out there already I'd certainly buy it instead of writing it... Unfortunately the whole thing that spawned this off was me looking through page after page of google results trying to find something to do just these things... The closest I came to was a piece of software that basically did nothing but a very basic inventory and very basic notes on smoking that inventory. While it asked for several items like cost, it didn't let you access that information ever again... No sort of reporting, not even to view or edit...
Thats how...lol
BUT... This plays into another area... The reason my original idea was to keep it pretty standard was because it could also be tied into a central database... If everything is standardized then the information could be shared... In other words, comparisons could be made with these ratings... (No information OTHER than the ranking number would be centralized of course)... In this way, the data could be quantified to make recommendations...
Think of it like this... If 80% of the people using the software rank "these" 6 cigars at 90 or higher, and they ALSO rated "x" cigar 90 or higher, then there's an 80% chance that YOU'LL like "x" cigar too... In this way a full recommendation platform will exist...
Allowing that data to be completed configurable would eliminate the possibility of quantifying it...
However... That standard data could remain a constant but the ability to "add" other categories outside of the "standard" ranking and values could be done...
Also, for each of these "standard" categories, there will be full notes associated with it as well, which of course will be freeform... So Construction won't just be "1 to 15" or whatever.. It'll be ranked PLUS full notes about WHY...
My original concept certainly falls in the realm of a standard software platform, but there's no reason it couldn't be adapted to a web platform... I'll have to give that some thought... I wouldn't want to develop as a web app if there wouldn't be any interest in it being utilized in that way... But you're right... We already have "accounts" with cigar.com... If they wanted to provide something like this it would be pretty nice.... AND at that point things like the "recommendations" could be tied in with "view" or "add to cart" links which ultimately could increase their sales...
What you are talking about doing can all be done in Microsoft Access by anyone that knows how to use it.
Further, Access requires ... well... Access... A $230 program... Here we'd be talking about a low cost program which would require no additional components. (Well, other than a PC of course!)
An idea for you though, what about being able to scan a cigar band into the journal instead of just a space to paste it on a printed page?
If the software is available to a large quantity at a reasonable price (say, as a freebonus or paid upgrade feature to subscribers to the COTM -- cue the Hallelujah Chorus), and offered features that would be difficult or impossible for even a dedicated user to build himself (such as recommendations based on other cigars smokers with similar tastes ... or detailed information about the content, sizes, and prices of every cigar out there), you'd find people will be willing to pay for the software.
I think really the best option is just to allow both... Personally for a printed journal I'd rather have the actual band... Just seems a little more ... i dunno ... meaningful? to me...
...just how much value.
i mean yeah, its cool to know the monitary value of your stash at a glance, and the keyword thing, (tangent: have you looked at my catalog? i have a copy on my computer and backed up on disk so i can search like that, it helps cos im in more than one notebook) and all the other points you brought up. would I personally be interested in that? no
... but only because i dont care what i paid for my collection, i know whats in it off the top of my head at any given moment and i have my routine down for my catalog...
would anyone else want it? yes. given the right price.
would you profit? maybe, it depends on the price...
and how user friendly it is.
its not a bad idea at all. I just dont know if you can market it. if you are doing it out of the kindness in your heart... well, the price will be right for many, MANY people to use it.
...and you'd need your head examined.
If we're talking about this software as a business model which will be sufficient to support a family and a small company, you can forget about it. The market won't be there, the margins will be low, and the copycat competition will wipe out your profits shortly after they start to flow if you're ever lucky enough to get that far.
As a follow up to that, along with what Doodie-ly-doo-doo said above, I'm not talking about something here that I'm looking at developing to try to make a fortune off of or something like that... I'm developing the app first and foremost for myself... In fact, my whole reason for trying to gauge interest here was just to see if I should write it quick and dirty just for myself or rather I should spend just a little additional time and make something that others could potentially appreciate as well... Would I GIVE it away? Maybe if it were someone I was aquinted with and as pointed out above would potentially repay the favor by throwing some sticks my way or something like that, sure... Otherwise nah, I'm sure I'd sell it... How much? I dunno, but we're talking about something like $30 here or something, not $300...
I think some of these features already exist in software packages out there.
I simply googled "cigar software" and found quite a few interesting sites.
I think your idea on Humidor seasoning and such are still valid and I know I would be interested.
I can only imagine, cigar shops would be VERY interested as well in the reporting tools.
Good luck and Have Fun.
So, do you think a high percentage of IT folks are cigar smokers (for instance, I have a theory that cigar smokers tend to be social conservatives), or, is it just that a high percentage of cigar smokers who frequent internet forums are savvy in the ways of IT?
Either way, I'm in over my head here as an English major. I keep my cigar info in a spiral notebook. Works just fine for me...my favorite part of the pasttime is lighting up and having a nice beverage.
Add to that the fact that you're talking about an online forum that would most likely not be found unless you purchased or at least browsed the ccom site...
Then there's the fact that you have to notice the commuity tab, be curious about it, and then at least have some understanding of what a forum is and be inclined enough to sign up for it...
Last but not least, you have to choose to reply to an existing thread, or post a new one (in order for "us" to see them...)
So let's see... We've got a person who holds a decent paying job which typically shows they have at least a little intelligence, they're savey enough to smoke high quality cigars, intelligent enough to know they can get a good deal on them online, found ccom which is one of the better sites out there in my opinion, found the forum, signed up for it and started posting...
I'd say just by the nature of the beast you've already narrowed it down to mostly "intelligent" people...