What sort of work do I do ?

• E-commerce
  E-stores, Product catalogs, affiliate programs, price list sites. Process orders via Authorize.net, BluePay, 2Checkout, PayPal, CyberSource, LinkPoint, Verisign (you name it).
• Web Applications
  Database driven applications, like virtual offices (aka groupware), accounting systems, support desks, recruiter tools, press release sites, content management systems.
• Data Mining
  Fill your database by data spidered on Internet.
• Integration
  Feed your application with data obtained from the online service (for example, UPS shipping rate calculation, or getting country by IP via GeoIP, or simply get a mail from a POP3 box). Connect your shopping cart with a new payment gateway.
• Cross-Platform C Programs
  Develop the C code independent of the compiler and OS. If GUI needs to be available cross-platform, GTK+ or wxWidgets is a good choice.
• Technical Support
  Don't think you'll be on your own with the application. Bugs and new features will be quickly fixed/added on your demand.
• Sys Admining
  By default, I install all developed products to your server for free. If necessary, we'll negotiate about regular backups, cron jobs, software modernization etc.
• Data Migration
  If you need to transfer your MySQL database to PostgreSQL, or move the data from your old database schema to the new one, I can do that for you.

The tools of my choice are PHP/MySQL for web work, C for system work, Perl and Shell for a routine automation. This does not mean I'm stuck with it, I just always choose the right tool for the right work.

The drawback of the custom solutions may be an issues of unification with the outside world (protocols, APIs etc). Another drawback is a high cost (compared to the available general applications in the given area).

I always attempt to reduce both drawbacks - by choosing an open standards, and by re-using code (to save the time and money).

I work mostly telecommuting (unless you can grant a visa). This means to you that you don't need to allocate a work place for me, pay social expenses, and (probably) report to tax service. Another benefit is that my rates are much lower than in Western Europe/America.
Tradeoffs are - you can hardly control what I'm doing in the particular moment of time; we have a little time window to chat live (I assume you're from USA); you must protect yourself from being deceived by me (as well as I must protect from being deceived by you).
In any case, this way of work gives me bread for already 10 years.
You decide.

Look what people think about my work.

Among my clients there are american hosting provider and russian hi-tech company.

My usual rate is $10 per hour - although I prefer a per-package basis, with payments broken across a few reasonable milestones. For example, I can create the application similar to this for a two weeks and $700. The other example is a complex shell script written in three hours - by $30. Compare it with the rates in your country.

Contact me, and we can talk about what you need and how to get it done.