Jirosoft is directly, collaboratively or secondarily responsible for the following sites and software:

the Wine Thief

This web project was really fun both because there was rich content and nice illustrations to work with as a starting point for the design, and because the people behind the Wine Thief are so darn cool! If you're a wine appreciator in the Twin Cities area, you'll do yourself a favor stopping in at their nice shop, and of course, whetting your palate at www.winethief.net.

Contributions: Redesigned frames and graphics for a new look, retaining elements and spirit of original WineThief site. Designed icons and illustrations to augment existing flavor illustrations. Built custom Flash & ActionScript for active header and flavor links. Provided internal interface for owners to maintain calendar and events and assess site usage. Implemented site in XHTML, CSS & Javascript using the OctaVista web content springboard.

Kathy Nesseth Watercolors

This website was also a lucky find. When building a site for a very skilled watercolor artist, there is no shortage of design inspiration. The elements of this site are derived from Kathy's artwork and serve as a calm backdrop for her paintings and in-progress works. She is still adding content and paintings as time permits, so, the site too is always a work in progress. She presents her work online at www.kathynesseth.com.

Contributions: Derived graphics, frame borders and buttons based on details from artist's work. Built internal interface for maintaining Gallery and Blog areas. Implemented site in XHTML, CSS & Javascript using the OctaVista web content springboard.

AlwaysKnownAs.com

AlwaysKnownAs.com is the best idea in address book software to come along in a lifetime, and I was on board the moment I heard the idea. Although this was my second full web application in PHP, it was a trial-by-fire to deliver a richly featured web application with a quick-get interface and have it pass multiple acid test stages. Even though I'd previously implemented advanced GUI applications in C++, web delivery presents a mixed bag of new challenges and not-infrequent wincing.

Contributions: As lead engineer worked closely with architect to build lean interface and user flow delivering a flexible and expansive web service. Built C++ app to implement an Outlook Add-in component, and another to handle automated internal housekeeping. Co-designed and administered sophisticated RDBMS backend. Implemented advanced security and abuse monitoring subsystem, multi-language support. Implemented core AKA functionality in PHP and implemented the visual design as specified by designer with XHTML+CSS+Javascript active content.

fotopia

fotopia.org was a very fun project, since it was all about building a photo narrative with contributions from photographers, photo journalists and amateur photographers. As with AKA (above), I was on board the moment I heard the idea. This was my first full web application in PHP, and though I got it working quite nicely, I might do a few things differently now! Live and learn, right?

Contributions: As lead engineer worked closely with architect to build lean interface and user flow delivering aesthetically pleasing, dynamic content. Implemented core image processing and delivery functionality in PHP and implemented the visual design as specified by designer with XHTML+CSS+Javascript active content.

TruePoker

This project was an amazing experience and represents the peak of my native application development phase, in which I got to implement and explore ideas I'd been developing for years concerning graphic rendering and delivery. The project was the implementation of a client-server system for delivering 3d-perspective poker to a user's desktop, as they play against people around the world for mock or real money. Never a gambler, I took this project for the righteous level of implementation freedom it offered! Although I left the project years ago to pursue other ambitions, I daresay this software still runs on many of the core engines I helped develop, which may be experienced at www.truepoker.com.

Contributions: Designed secure client-server communication system, built efficient, multi-threaded, socket-level server implementing game logic and collusion detected. Built real-time graphics engine for rendering complex, programmable scenes on nearly any client hardware, including 3D poker tables with animated characters, fast-paced poker play and live chat. Performed graphic design and worked with 3D artist to achieve the best character effects. Lead programming team up through commercial release of product and beyond. All in C++/SQL.