Forever Yours
©2025 Elder Road Books - Lynnwood WA
Chapter 20: Search Me
“SO, HOW MANY total testers are there?” Lisa asked Henry as they worked on the UI for his optimization software.
“We have seventy agreements on file, but not all of them have downloaded the latest version. I included a test suite with the latest version so we should automatically see the results of use on any computer it’s installed on. These builds have a timeout on them and uninstall themselves after twenty-one days.”
“But it doesn’t return the computer to its previous state, does it?”
“No. Not unless the tester requests a reversion to a backup. Then there is still only so much we can return. Once a hard drive is optimized, it’s almost impossible to deconstruct the consolidated files and break them up into different sectors again. Besides, any work that is done after the optimization could affect whether the sector is even available anymore.”
“You’ve got a network install option on this version. How does that get controlled?” she asked.
“I have to get a test network to run it on. So far, all we have is our own corporate server and the five computers attached to it—which includes yours,” Henry said.
“I guess it’s okay to run a test like that, but you really need to disable the network install feature on the release.”
“What? Why?”
“This is something I learned from my father, even though it isn’t a huge issue for games. Let’s say you charge $100 for an individual install. Nice round number. The software works on exactly one device. It can only be installed on one device. Can’t hand it to your buddy and install it.”
“Right. I think we’ve got that covered with our download service.”
“Okay. Now Corporation X comes along and wants to install it on their network. A hundred machines are attached to the server. And you just sold the software for $100. Flat rate. Technically, you should receive $10,000 for a hundred installs, but you gave away $9,900.”
“Nobody’s going to pay ten grand for optimization software,” Henry protested.
“Fine. They’d still pay a thousand for a hundred licenses. At least then you’re only giving away $9,000. And wait until you’re popular and Corporation Y comes along and installs it on 10,000 company computers. You lost a boatload of money.”
“Damn. I really need a marketing person,” Henry growled. “Are you applying for that position, too?”
“No way. It’s just stuff I learned from my dad. Don’t give away a network version for the same price as an individual license. And it affects the UI as well.”
“How does it affect the UI?”
“For the individual license, you don’t want to expose any of the tricks for installing it on a network. We remove the degrees of separation feature, for example. And when you do a network license, you’ll want an opt in for people on the network. None of that should be exposed on the consumer version.”
“You’re right. I think it’s okay to test this way, but when we go to market at Christmas, we only take the consumer version. I’ll get a marketing person to manage the network version.”
“Probably better plan on another server, too,” Lisa said. “I think we’re going to be swamped with orders.”
“May it be so!”
“No matter what we decide, it’s going to sound a whole lot easier than it really is,” Luke said when he talked to Henry. “I mean, we could probably blitz the market through social media and direct advertising. We’d undoubtedly get a few hundred—maybe a few thousand—sales. But how do we fulfill them? Right now, you’re managing downloads of software off our company server. But can you handle payments? Licenses? We don’t have a site to handle ecommerce.”
“I figured I’d be sitting behind the computer 24/7 sending the software out,” Henry sighed.
“Talk about crippling our company right out of the gate! Man, you are developing new software applications. The optimization software is great. If we can move forward with computer protection software, we’ll win big time. But I know that’s only the tip of what you can come up with. Like, you’re making a quantum improvement over what is out there, but from the moment we release, our improvements will barely be incremental. I know this isn’t the only thing you’re dreaming of. We need you completely disconnected from the sales and fulfillment,” Luke said.
“All right! You’ve got me convinced. What do we do?” Henry asked. He looked at his friend and business partner’s image on his computer screen. Conferencing software was probably another area they could make an impact on if he put his mind to it. Just not today.
“I might not be working around the clock like you are, but I am putting in a lot more than our projected ten hours a week for start-up,” Luke laughed. “I’ve found two platforms that will handle the licensing and ecommerce for us—for a fee, of course.”
“Of course.”
“I’ve got a preference, but it’s not set in concrete. EMEE is a website that handles licensing of software. They only handle computers, not mobile devices. That’s why we can’t just go to an app store and sell the stuff there. We’re not making this available for mobile devices.”
“What a nightmare that would be. I doubt the principles would even be the same if we tried to move to that platform. It’s bad enough handling the three big operating systems,” Henry said.
“Right. Well, this company, EMEE, manages the entire sales and licensing process. They’re especially interested in us expanding to network platforms. Bulk licenses are a real money-maker, I guess.”
“What would we need to provide?”
“The locked software that they can license, and managed updates if there are any,” Luke said. “They will feature the software on their website, but that doesn’t completely cover marketing. We’ll have to talk about that later. Different company. EMEE will handle the money, maintaining the registry of licenses, and prosecuting piracy. They’ll provide the download site and filter for people who download more than once. They’ll prevent multiple downloads from being installed on other machines. The license will be registered to a single device.”
“That’s always been a concern. I don’t need to build that into the software itself?” Henry asked.
“There might be a hook you need to provide, but they have some pretty capable programmers on their site who do this stuff all the time. You’ll be able to tell them exactly what we want.”
“You said there was more than one. What sets this one up as better in your opinion?”
“The other site is more game-oriented. It’s a little cheaper, but I doubt their ability to expand to the corporate environment when the time comes. EMEE wants to get into that market with our software. I think if we went with the other, we’d end up migrating to a different vendor in a few months.”
“That’s a compelling argument. Let’s set it up. Do we need Isobel and Chastity to vote on that?”
“I’ll give them the skinny and make sure they’re on board. As long as it doesn’t cost anything, Isobel will be fine. It will be a lot harder to get an ad agency on board that she doesn’t throw a fit about.”
“I’ll let you handle that,” Henry laughed. “Thanks for keeping her over there in Philly most of the time. Say, that reminds me. You guys coming into town for Thanksgiving?”
“We hadn’t made a plan yet.”
“I’m thinking of having a dinner here at the apartment. Just some of our friends and maybe a few guys at school who can’t get home for the holiday.”
“I’m up for that. We’ll have to spend time with our own parental units, but having a relaxed dinner with people our own age would be cool.”
“I’ll plan on it,” Henry said. “Talk to you soon.”
Henry broached the idea with his parents and they were happy with it.
“I won’t need to cook!” Sylvia said with glee.
“This might be a good time for a little retreat,” Ryan said. “Just the two of us, say in Florida?”
“I’ll put in for the time off. I have enough seniority they should let me off for this holiday, though it means I’ll probably have to be on duty over Christmas,” Sylvia said.
His parents got caught up in making plans for their own holiday and Henry excused himself. He started spreading the word among his friends, starting with Lisa and Chastity.
“I thought I might just go over to the campus and participate in the ‘orphans’ dinner’ at the Student Union,” Lisa said. “This sounds like much more fun. I can help in the kitchen if you like.”
“As long as you’ll still take me out for my birthday on Saturday,” Chastity said. “As to helping in the kitchen, you’d be better off asking your girlfriend.”
“Hey, if he isn’t available Saturday, I’ll take you out,” Lisa said. “He’s tied up to this lady golfer most weekends.”
“I’ll reserve the time,” Henry said. “And if Chastity wants to invite you along, that’s up to her.”
Josh and Simon were both enthused about joining the group, but Leonard and Dan had other plans. There was just one more person to convince, and Henry had a date with her Saturday night.
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