In a previous post I mentioned that I was wondering whether I should contact the vendor of the web app that I’m writing my Desktop app to work with, I was worried about whether they would like the idea or not, whether they would think I was just taking advantage of their hard work.
Yesterday I finally plucked up the courage to send an email to the vendor. They replied within about half an hour, when I saw the reply so quick I couldn’t help thinking it might be a pretty terse response. I shouldn’t have been so worried about their reaction. Although I won’t tell you what they said as I feel that is confidential, I think I can say that they were very encouraging about the idea, and offered to help me with any problems I might have!
I can’t tell you how much of a weight off my mind it is to know that the vendor is more than happy with me writing an app to work with theirs. I really should have known better, the guys at Fog Creek are great, always very helpful, and very pragmatic. Just what you’d expect from the company run by Joel Spolsky.
Yes, you read it right, I’ve let slip what I’m actually doing, don’t faint! 
I’ve decided that I’ve really got no reason to keep secret what I’m developing, and as my good friend Gordon pointed out in his comment to my “The Big Think – Part 3” post, I may even get some feedback from the user community. And as I’ve said before, feedback is King.
