As a solo software developer specializing in native iOS app development, I’ve had it in mind for some time now to reach out within the tech world and address the topic of accessibility to native mobile technology. In my online travels I’m constantly reminded of the challenges educators, non-profits, and small enterprise face in providing their students, content consumers, and employees with access to a native mobile user experience. Apple’s MobileFirst alliance with IBM has been well publicized since its introduction. But sadly, that solution has mostly targeted large companies, leaving others behind. I’d like to find out whether you, or someone in your network, might like to take a look at the work I’ve been doing related to the questions this topic raises.
While NthLib, my library of tools, does not offer solutions to all of the unfulfilled needs of the midsize company and smaller, I believe what I have is in the neighborhood. This type of toolset has potential for customers in the areas mentioned above and others left out of native mobility. For anyone who has an interest and understanding of the work I’m doing, NthLib’s business potential offers a path to serving those organizations.
NthLib shares distant similarities with progressive web apps that are sometimes associated with mobile app makers. However, after that, the similarities quickly end — NthLib apps are native iOS with all of the familiar controls and other UI elements.
Probably more important, however, is an NthLib feature I call multiconfigurability. This is a capability I’ve built into these apps so they can be completely reconfigured at runtime without a recompile or redeployment. To my knowledge, this feature is not currently being offered by any competitor. App configurations are created, edited, published, and distributed through a cloud server by users with appropriate permissions. End-to-end, all of these capabilities, including building the initial app, are accomplished with simple-to-use utilities on Mac and iPad. App end users can import any number of configurations on iPhones and iPads and can switch between them with just a couple of taps.
In my earlier career as an educator, I looked for novel ways to use technology in the classroom, always with an emphasis on usability. I then worked for many years in a professional scientific software development environment where component reusability was a top priority. So, as an indy software developer, I’ve built my own tools, and have never lost that focus on usability and reusability. I’ve been using these tools to develop my own iOS apps for several years now. Development began as a way of simplifying my own efforts. Over time, capabilities have evolved and expanded to the point that I chose to name the toolset “NthLib” and have readied it for 3rd-party use. Designed around simplicity and ease of use, NthLib does not require client users to be software professionals.
Although I live in the Bay Area, because I no longer work in an office environment, my connections with the tech world have fallen off to some degree. My plan is to reach out and establish contact with as many people as possible who may be interested in what I’ve described. I am especially interested in connecting, and possibly partnering, with professionals who have knowledge of subscription software marketing.
So now the pitch: The NthLib website and NthApp sample app barely scratch the surface of NthLib’s capabilities. As a general purpose tool, there are endless possibilities that I’ve probably never even considered. NthLib was designed to affordably bridge the gap between custom native mobile and browser content consumption. This toolset has the potential to flexibly and instantly distribute any useful server-based content that someone wants to deploy to multiple users — it could be anything from complex business apps to sales presentations to photo galleries.
Built from the start with wholesale white label distribution in mind, NthLib lends itself to 3rd party opportunities for someone who recognizes and understands its potential.
I would like to put NthLib in front of as many people as possible. Just as I cannot predict all the ways NthLib will be used in the wild, I can’t possibly know who all the users may be that will find value in this invention. I would appreciate your help in spreading the word.
Links To …
Ray Kraus, LucoTrav Inc
An Introduction To NthLib