Emily Chang - eHub Interviews

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eHub Interviews Orangoo

Thanks to Amir Salihefendic, creator of Orangoo for this email interview posted November 2, 2005.

eHub: What is your web application/service about?

Orangoo: Orangoo is a web-based feedreader. Orangoo makes Google reader look bad, enough said :) Try it out if you don’t believe me, hehe. But Orangoo is far from the goal…

eHub: Why did you start this project?

Orangoo: Because I needed a feedreader :) I looked on some solutions, but they weren’t that good. And then I started hacking Orangoo with a friend.

eHub: How much time do you devote to its growth?  Do you have a day job?

Orangoo: Not that much time. I am a student and have a student-programmer job… I really don’t have that much time, but it’s FUN - so I will continue my work with Orangoo.

eHub: How large is your team and what are your backgrounds?

Orangoo: It’s only me now (and I am Amir Salihefendic), but in the beginning Mathias Schwarz helped me out.

We are both computer science students and have a great passion for web-development and VIM - Emacs is bad (it had to come :)).

eHub: What is your design philosophy?

Orangoo: Speed, simplicity and reliability. I think that’s why Google is so popular. Google search helps you solve your problem very fast, and it’s simple to use - and reliable!

I also try to make Orangoo this way!

eHub: What technologies are you currently using?

Orangoo: I love Python! I use CherryPy as my framework, SQLObject as the ORM and Cheetah as my template system. They are all great frameworks, and I can recommend them to anyone who is looking for a Python solution of Rails.

And of course, the best editor: VIM! When you write your code, does it look like your are a magician casting spells? No? Then try VIM :)

eHub: If your project is live, what are the most requested features from your users/community?

Orangoo: OPML import and export. It will come with other features!

eHub: Does your user base reside in a primary geographic location or is it distributed?

Orangoo: I think it’s distributed, but I would like more Danish users (Orangoo is Enligsh/Danish feedreader, but most of my users are non-danes...)

eHub: Where do you see the project heading in the next 6 months?  The next 2 years?

Orangoo: I have no clue. Orangoo could get pretty big. It could get pretty small :)

eHub: What is the greatest challenge to your success?

Orangoo: It’s definitely time. I have a job and I am a student… I don’t have that much time between my hands.

And right now my dad is pretty sick :-(

eHub: What is the one thing you need to get to the next phase of the project?

Orangoo: I need to be sure that Orangoo can handle 1000+ users.

eHub: Do you have a business model?  If so, what is it?

Orangoo: I do this mostly for fun. But, as Orangoo gets bigger, I pay more and more for bandwidth… But of course I have an idea.

eHub: If you’re able to disclose this information, how much traffic or usage do you see on an average day?

Orangoo: I launched the service October 10. Right now I use 1 GB pr. day (in+out).

A funny story: I posted one Slashdot comment and got 300 users in 3 days.

eHub: What is the one thing you’re most proud of about the project?

Orangoo: That I use it and I think it’s great!

eHub: How would you describe the shift that’s occurring with the web right now to future generations?

Orangoo: I don’t think that this shift is because of Ajax (or tags, blogs, etc.), but more because the commonness of Internet (and for Ajax: that our connections&computers&browsers are lighting fast). And even the Internet has to evolve…

I think it’s great and I have always had this dream ;) Moving away from static web and into something more dynamic - yes sir, that’s the way to go!

eHub: What site(s) do you visit everyday other than your own?

Orangoo: One that I visit everyday is Gmail - it’s really a great web application! Well done Google.

eHub: How many hours of sleep do you get a night?

Orangoo: Around 5 hours of sleep ;-)

Thanks to Amir Salihefendic, creator of Orangoo for this email interview posted November 2, 2005.

Visit Orangoo
Originally added to eHub on Oct 11, 05

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eHub Interviews is a series with the creators of Web 2.0 applications and services by Emily Chang, author of eHub, designer, and co-founder and principal of Ideacodes, a strategic web consultancy in San Francisco that she co-founded with Max Kiesler.

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