JoyfulSystems

Welcome to Joyful Systems, Simon Michael's software development and consulting business. I'm an independent software developer and web consultant, often working with Zope, Plone, Python, Haskell, PHP, and sometimes Squeak, Scheme or Ruby on Rails. I am the creator of the Zwiki and hledger open-source projects, a long-time Zope and Squeak contributor and a participant in many others. To find out how I can help you, or if you have any other questions, contact me.

phone: 1-310-399-4975 (US pacific time zone)
IRC: sm on irc://irc.freenode.net/#zwiki
AIM: simonkwmichael
email: simon@joyful.com

I love to create effective, reliable software that empowers people and communities. I'm based in Santa Monica, California and also like to visit my home town, Dublin, Ireland. I worked as a software engineer in the networking industry before starting Joyful Systems in 1996. Here's a resume.

what I do

Here are some of the services I offer:

custom software development
systems administration
zwiki and hledger enhancement
freelance programming and software design
websites, both small and large
support, training and mentoring for both beginners and techies
documentation
community-building
site hosting and maintenance
problem-solving

I began writing Zwiki , a state of the art wiki engine, in 2000 and have been leading this free software project since. Zwiki is a highly effective tool for gathering, organizing, and communicating knowledge for a single individual, a small workgroup, or a large distributed community. It has been used by the Debian, Ubuntu and Zope projects, among others. I have deep experience with community processes and tools.

I also did the initial python port of Ward Cunningham's Framework for Interactive Tests and am currently leading the hledger project. Other community projects I've worked on include Zope, Plone, IO, Squeak, darcs, HAppS, ikiwiki, gitit, and ledger.

Commercial clients include KCRW radio station, Clearview Windows & Doors, Engage Group, OpenApp, Simon Fraser University, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, Webgami Systems and others, ask me for details..

how I work

I work with local clients in southern california and remote clients around the world. I like to work in an agile, iterative style with plenty of communication. This means:

you can see results right away
you always have something that works (if we are building a program or website)
you get accurate insight into what things cost
you can adjust goals and priorities at any time
no large outlay is required, so risk is minimized
you can learn how to do what I'm doing, if you wish

On the other hand, sometimes you need to just have something done and not be bothered with the details. I'll use my experience as a software engineer, project leader, consultant and mentor to help you find the best approach.

I use the finest Free or open-source software solutions where possible! I know free software - what's available, what's good, what's got a bright future. For you this means lower costs, higher quality, and no "lock-in" to proprietary applications. I'm passionate about the empowering and transformative Free Software movement , so if you want to learn more about that, work with me - I have an exciting world to show you!

my rates

My hourly rate for consulting work is $90. I also offer flat fees and monthly rates, and sometimes reduced rates for certain causes or projects.