Having been a victim of hackers I am more inclined to agree with the former. Granted that several attacks are not malicious but are really a demonstration of prowess/weaknesses in your security. However, I still do not believe that a person should break into my house just to show me that my locks are weak. I also disagree with the notion that their skill could be used for good. Would you feel any safer if a known terrorist was your personal bodyguard? I think not.

It is also my opinion that not enough is begin done to bring these ones to justice.

Having said all of this, I have started learning the very skills that they use in order to defend the sites that I develop. You have to some how marvel at their abilities especially when you consider that they do, what they do, in the middle of the night, listening to rock music and under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

They are always one step ahead of IT security.

We always seem to be, however, a few years behind 1st world countries when it comes to adapting the latest technology. For example the term “crackberry” (an addiction to Blackberry) has been used in technology circles for well over six years. In fact, some overseas hotels have had in the past special facilities for persons to “check-in” their Blackberry phones to help curb this addiction. Several years later we in Trinidad and Tobago are only now in the BBM and email phase. Crackberry addicts are everywhere. Everything is BBM. It is this craze and addiction that are holding us back from moving into the realm of real mobile applications. True, there are indeed blackberry apps but the question must be asked, “Who really uses a Blackberry to do anything other than BBM or email?”.

Having said that, we are gradually seeing more and more persons identifying themselves with Apple-mania i.e. Iphone, Ipad, MacBook Pro etc. While for many this adoption is more a fashion statement than anything else, it will indeed do us much good. When you think of Apple technology your mind is opened up to more than just chat and email. This trend will mean an opening into the world of real mobile applications.

So the answer is indeed yes, it is just a matter of when.

My response to this is simple. Pass facebook.com, google.com and amazon.com and you will also find hundreds of errors (Amazon has over 550 errors). Does this mean that those sites are not successful? Does it mean that your site that has less errors is a better site than these? I rest my case. I had one guy who apparently is pursuing his PHd in usability give some pointers for our sites. Not one of his pointers were being adhered to by any of the top 100 sites in the world. So much for that.

Ok, there must be some standards for web development. However, there must also be some balance. Content and Design still remain king. There are more important factors to be considered. For example what is the bounce rate of your website (in other words how many people hit your home page and go no further) and how many unique visits you receive each month (not Hits – that statistic is so misleading).

If greater effort is spent on the Architecture and on the marketing of your web presence then you will have a successful site. After all nobody looks at a Merc and says it’s back door is not according the standard size door for sedans. Again I rest my case.

Price:

A design agency has overhead expenses that vary greatly from agency to agency. The overhead of an agency includes the salaries of upper management, sales commissions, rent expenses etc. The freelancer, on the other hand, needs only to cover his expenses which may just include be his DSL and phone bill every month.

Delivery Time:

A freelancer is focused on getting as many projects as possible. The sooner a project is over he can start another. Unlike an agency that can approach many projects at the same time and postpone them in order to make room for others, a freelancer does not have that liberty. The freelancer has no choice but to give his best to deliver the best solution because he’s paid on a project basis and not on time spend. While an agency can afford to lose a few days for resketching a bad design that does not hold true for a freelancer. In addition, when you work with a freelancer you liaise directly with him so you can get a real sense of where your project is at. You cut out the game of Chinese whispers that is usually played between clients and sales representatives, project managers and account handlers. This means the project can be finished faster.

Flexibility:

Usually a freelancer has no fixed work schedule. He doesn’t work from 9 to 5 so you will be able to communicate with him almost anytime you want.

Continuity:

The question always asked when using a freelancer is “What happens if you are hit by a bus?” There is always the comfort level of using an agency. However, today’s software development methodologies ensure that any project started by one programmer can be completed by another programmer/agency should you and your freelancer part company for any reason.

www.trinireal.com

This is a typical example of how RE-ad solutions enable clients to gain revenue through what is typically a marketing expense.