As a freelance developer, I'm available to produce websites and applications to your specification on a contract basis. I've been a professional software engineer since 1991 and a successful freelancer since 1998, giving me the experience and expertise to complete your project skillfully and efficiently.
My usual hourly rate is US$90, or I'm happy to undertake well-defined projects for a fixed fee. Please contact me to discuss your specific requirements; references and an up-to-date portfolio are also available upon request.
Web Gadgets
A live gadget: Moon Phase
A gadget is a miniature web page that can be embedded within another page. By displaying your content on another, higher-traffic page, a gadget can give you much greater exposure than your own website receives. In effect, gadgets allow your web content to piggyback on other sites.
The classic example is Google's personalized homepage: my iGoogle gadgets receive over 14 million pageviews per month. For a reasonable fee (typically around US$1,500), I can encapsulate your web content or functionality in a gadget, opening the door to traffic like this for you. For a personalized quote, please contact me – as of 1 December 2008, I'm the highest-ranked iGoogle developer after Google themselves, so I'm extremely well placed to develop your gadget.
While iGoogle gadgets are my core specialty, I also develop cross-platform gadgets for even wider content distribution. These include GMail, MSN Live, the Windows Vista dashboard, and more.
Maps
A live Google Map (with daylight layer)
Since the advent of Google Maps, interactive web mapping has revolutionized the way we use geographic information online. Virtually any content can be usefully displayed on a map, adding another dimension to your website and linking it to the real world.
I've been programming with Google Maps since before they officially opened it to external developers in 2005, and I haven't stopped since. I remain at the cutting edge of the Google Maps API – I've literally written the book on it. Whatever your mapping project, I have the skills to successfully bring it to life. In addition to Google Maps, I also have significant experience developing for Microsoft's Virtual Earth, as well as a high degree of general GIS experience.
Mapplets
Mapplet: The Other Side of the World
A mapplet is a convergence of maps and gadgets, a miniature web mapping application combining the best features of both concepts. As gadgets deploy on iGoogle (and gain their traffic from it), so mapplets deploy on maps.google.com – adding your geographic content to Google Maps itself.
Behind the scenes, the mapplet development platform is literally a hybrid of Google's Maps and Gadgets APIs, so the creation of a good mapplet requires a developer with extensive experience in both. My expertise shows: my mapplets consistently appear on the first page of Google's directory. And again, who better to create your mapplet than a published author on the subject?
General Website Development
Gadgets and maps are specialized technologies, but they're still web technologies, and my skill set includes a keen awareness of this broader context into which they fit. As part of a comprehensive website project, I implement standards-based, accessible design principles across the board. XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript are part and parcel of my every web development task.
My capabilities also extend beyond these client-side browser technologies to the web server side of the equation. I have substantial design and implementation experience in PHP, ASP, and relational databases, ready to deliver your complete project.