We're proud to announce our latest product - heattest.com - a heat-map click analytics for websites.

Finally, a product for startups. Dream comes true. We scratched our own itch and built the service for our own websites and projects.

I know what you're thinking. Yes, it is very similar to "CrazyEgg" and "ClickDensity", but our service updates in realtime. Your heatmaps are not being generated every 24 hours or every hour, but every time you will be looking at your stats. You see the updated heatmap statistics just seconds after someone clicks something on your website.

And unlike Google Analytics that only shows which links people click (messing it all up when multiple links on a page point to the same URL) our heatmap analytics tracks the exact element and coordinates your visitors click. Even if it's not a link or a button.

Another great feature that puts us ahead of the competition is that our script is immune to website layouts, screen resolutions and works out-of-the-box. You don't have to tune it according to your website design ("liquid 100% width" or "fixed-center") or tell it where your logo-image is fixated. We developed a unique architecture that is totally immune to this. Just paste our script and forget about it.

Anyways, I'd be honored if you try it out. Here's the invite code for blog readers: IUWEYR7

This is a sad story of an Internet giant. Started by two guys in a garage it eventually grew to control over 80% of the Internet search market and practically owned the whole Internet.

It was innovative and agile. The stock market loved it - at times the company stock doubled in price within just a month. It was one of the very few surviving companies after the dot-com bubble burst.

Our helpdesk app (the hosted version) is being used in about 170 companies. Users have uploaded almost 150k (150,000) files. We have logged about half a million tickets. From about 100k users.

Obviously, we need to backup all this data. And obviously, a consumer product like Dropbox or SugarSync is not an option. We needed something fast, reliable & scalable. We needed cloud storage. So we chose Amazon S3 and I decided to write this simple step-by-step guide for anyone interested in automating S3 backups on a Windows server:

Just had an argument with my partner. He was going to add a new logging feature to our help desk app. Another feature. Another button in the admin panel. Another setting. Another report to read.

This reminded me of Jamie Zawinski's law. The one that says every program attempts to expand until it can read mail.

I hate antivirus software. I really do. Like almost every desktop software developer.

And the reasons are:

Jitbit Software has just transferred all of it's domains away from GoDaddy because of their SOPA bill support.

That's the least I can do. I'm outside the US, so I don't have a congressman to contact. If you are - sending a letter to your congressman is the only way to prevent the bill from being approved.

If you’re not sure what the "Stop Online Piracy Act" is - visit this link and read SOPA For Dummies

Now, there's a question that haunts me these days. Lots of non-tech friends, ex-colleagues, even some fellow hackers keep asking me:

"If you're selling downloadable software online, you're supposed to support SOPA, right?"

I'm SO happy to be in the middle.

And don't forget to check the 24 Steps To Success.

For months I've been thinking that a "cloud-server" is just an overpriced version of a VPS.

Don't get me wrong, I get the platform - as a software engineer. As a business owner - I even get all the benefits - elasticity, reliability, scalability, flexibility and all the other "bilities". On the other hand...

See, a regular VPS also runs "virtually" - just like the cloud. It's isolated from the host-machine failures - just like the cloud. The latest VPS-software (say, vSphere) can even do load-balancing, shadowing and real-time switching between physical hosts in case of a hardware failure - just like the cloud.

So, what's the difference then?

I run Windows on my MacBook.

Windows - because I'm a .NET developer and our startup is mainly Microsoft-based. And, to be honest, I like Windows 7. Finally, a decent OS from Microsoft.

And MacBook - because it's simply the best hardware you can get for it. The unibody design is awesome, the keyboard & touchpad are great, the 17" screen is fabulous... I love my Mac. I'm practically an Apple fanboy.

The only thing I don't like about my Mac - is Mac OS X.

It just didn't suit me from the very beginning. That blurry font-rendering, that mouse acceleration you can't disable... Also, I'm a gaming junkie and, let's say, Mac is not the most popular gaming platform.

But let's try a Mac for a change

"Ideas don't come from watching television" Seth Godin.

Stop watching. Start reading books.

When you read a book, your brain is in the "uber-creative" mode. It analyses the text and tries to visualize what you read. It builds abstractions, pictures, sometimes even a whole new universe... Every time your read something - your brain is working out in gym.

On the contrary, when you watch - everything is pre-created for you. You just sit there and consume the picture. Your brain rests. Everything is pre-constructed.

And just like your body passes through different sleep-phases before it goes to the REM sleeping phase, your brain passes through different creativity phases before it reaches the "uber-creativity" peak. This means, the reading process should last, uninterrupted, 10 minutes least. So we're talking fiction books, not Twitter, not blogs or news feeds. Not even professional literature. Fiction books. Biographies. Semi-fiction books, like Steve Jobs story or Anything You Want by Derek Sivers (highly recommended, by the way).

All the coolest ideas I had - I had while reading a book or listening to a great talk. So here are some tips for reading more:

1. Take reading to where you have to wait - in the lines, at the landromat. Use public transportation - buses and the tube - instead of a car.
2. Use gadgets. Use your smartphone. Buy an electronic reader and take it wherever you go. Since I bought my first Kindle, I read much more. Much more. Though now I prefer Sony over Kindle.
3. Always have something to read. And contrary to common belief - it's great to read several books at a time. It's working out, remember?
4. Use audiobooks when jogging, biking or cooking
5. Read less. Read books you enjoy. If the book doesn't feel "right" after the first chapter - move on, don't force yourself. Don't feel pressured to read a book just because someone gave it to you as a present. Or you got it free at some conference. Stop. Move on. Otherwise only a half of your brain will be actually reading, the other half will be busy fixing your attention.

There's been a lot of debate about whether external linking helps or hurts your SEO and most of the SEO experts including the gurus at SEOmoz tend to think of external-linking as a good strategy.

This is the 5th post in the "Mistakes I made" series, where I share the "donts" of my startup experience.

I'll start from afar. My website has a number of pricing tables and I thought the tables look just fine. Until one morning I realized that they're a complete usability nightmare. Here's the "before" look:

I just overheard this conversation between two developers at a co-working site:

"I plan creating a prototype for my new XXXX application, whatcha think it should be - a web-app, or a desktop app?"

The answer was:

"90% of your users are idiots who won't be able to tell the difference"

What if drivers were hired like software developers?

Job title: car driver

Job requirements: professional skills in driving normal- and heavy-freight cars, buses and trucks, trolley buses, trams, subways, tractors, shovel diggers, contemporary light and heavy tanks currently in use by NATO countries.

Skills in rally and extreme driving are obligatory!
Formula-1 driving experience is a plus.

Knowledge and experience in repairing of piston and rotor/Wankel engines, automatic and manual transmissions, ignition systems, board computer, ABS, ABD, GPS and car-audio systems by world-known manufacturers - obligatory!

Experience with car-painting and tinsmith tasks is a plus.

The applicants must have certificates by BMW, General Motors and Bosch, but not older than two years.

Compensation: $15-$20/hour, depends on the interview result.

Education requirements: Bachelor's Degree of Engineering.

Saw this on a programmer's forum, but was unable to locate the original. Let me know, I'd be happy to link.