# Taking a year out



## ProphetOfDoom (Aug 17, 2019)

Hullo there everyone!
I'm not particularly active on these forums but I thought this would make an interesting topic. I'm a Linux/Unix enthusiast and have been a hobbyist programmer since I was six, when my wonderful darling Father bought me a Commodore 64!
It turns out I have nothing to do for the next twelve months. So I thought I would write some proprietary software.
Now, I know some people feel strongly about this... but the fact is I need the money. I don't want to be the only homeless guy in the park with a stuffed GNU and an FSF badge, thank-you very much.
So these are my ideas for some solo projects that could be completed within a year. I still haven't decided which one to go for and would like to hear your thoughts.
1) Port my libre project mprof ( https://github.com/sanctamaria1997/mprof ) to macOS and add a shiny GUI. Maybe get it to generate pie charts and graphs instead of plaintext tables. Pros: project already half finished; low level and therefore fun. Cons: some such tools already exist (not identical but similar); developers seem less keen to pay for tools compared to the general public.
2) Snooker game for macOS. Pros: this is 75% finished too, and the worst bit (physics engine) is out the way. Cons: math.
3) Drum machine for macOS. I bought an app called DM1 that was so lame it didn't even support multiple samples of a single drum and had a pointless arbitrary limitation on the number of audio tracks. Pros: I can do better than DM1. Cons: starting from scratch; would need to learn postgraduate math if I am to provide sound effects.
4) This is where my heart is: write an assembly level debugger than can do useful things like removing annoying (ahem) dialog boxes from apps, analysing malware etc.. Pros: really fun! Cons: time consuming; would Apple even allow such a morally questionable tool in their App Store? ; uncertainty because Apple may be migrating from x86-64 processors to ARM ones.

Which of these projects would you guys/gals choose if you were in my situation? Which would provide the most financial security for the least effort? Or would you do something else entirely? Study computer science maybe?


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## badbrain (Aug 17, 2019)

Disclaimer: do not trust me, I don't even know how to code.

I think if you want to earn money write something people would consider to buy, so I think you should choose 3) as you think you could do better than an paid app (note: it's only what you think, be careful, it could be very different from the reality!).

If you want to beautify your profile to attract employers continue with your mprof project but make it cross platform with a cross platform user friendly graphical frontend.

Just my 2 cents.


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## unitrunker (Aug 17, 2019)

Android or iOS would be a bigger market.


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## Nicola Mingotti (Aug 17, 2019)

I am learning Smalltalk Squeak. It is an experience, it takes time, but it is really rewarding. Very different concept from all other languages I know. Highly reccomended. 

For the money urgg, I can't say. Maybe a drum iPad app could cut it. I spend momey for iPad apps but i require good quality. 

Ask around if your friends company need to update the website, a new firewall, a custom vpn, a custom cloud service etc. 

bye


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## tingo (Aug 18, 2019)

I can't help you select a project - sorry.
Another thing you should do, if you can secure enough capital to live while doing it: try something else, like go to a makerspace somewhere, learn a skill or two, and try out a dream project of yours.
If that is something you could feel happy about.


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## kpedersen (Aug 18, 2019)

AlexanderProphet said:


> 4) This is where my heart is: write an assembly level debugger than can do useful things like removing annoying (ahem) dialog boxes from apps, analysing malware etc..



You probably know about radare2? It also supports "patching" functionality. It also runs on most operating systems so your tool will have some competition here.

If you can create something like this but have a nice friendly GUI in a similar vain to OllyDbg, then there may be some potential money to be earned here. It will have to be good though, you might want to consider building upon radare's / unicorn's engine instead of from scratch. This will also solve your issue of macOS migrating to ARM etc.
I personally prefer the text UI provided by radare but I am seriously the minority. Many crackers love OllyDbg! It has a cult following .

I would stay away from "entertainment" apps on iOS / macOS; it is simply too hard to market; there are too many. Many of my students churn out these kinds of things and unfortunately don't get very far 

Possibly a decent GUI front end to GDB / LLDB could be useful. I see a lot of developers pining for an up-to-date win32 build of Insight or DDD. However you would likely have to open-source your work if you want a lot of developers to use it. You can still make money doing this but you will have to be smart with licensing. Make your work proprietary but provide source access (akin to Unreal Engine 4). Many users of your product may find this approach refreshing too.


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## badbrain (Aug 21, 2019)

You should choose 2) write a game. But if you can you should target iOS. This is the quickest way to earn money. Despite not very much. After that invest in 3).


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