Hi Byculla,
1) Yes, a good deal of time should be spent thinking about the best way to solve the problem. Of course different problems have different requirements. Some complicated problems do indeed follow your 80/20 rule. On the other hand, many other problems are relatively simple to define but time consuming to implement.
I think it was Bill Gates who once said that if everytime he walked by a programmer's office, that programmer was always typing rather than many times sitting quietly thinking, he would think that programmer was not very good.
2) Regarding programmers, it's not so much the money part but the time spent getting the work done and then finding it's not very good. As for unsatisfactory programmers getting weeded out, that's relative. I think most people who hire programmers don't understand the correct way to construct programs. So as long as the program works without major bugs, they think the programmer is satisfactory. My requirements are far more stringent.
3) I've used Jing in the past and found that I can make far better videos with Sony Vegas. I can create the simple screen capture videos you describe, using CamStudio, in about 30 minutes. I've made quite a few videos, unfortunately they have not been about investing. When I mentioned that I have been "meaning to create videos," I meant investment videos as I've been using my video equipment for a few years now.
4) If you have any ideas on licensing I would be open to looking at it.
Regardless of all this, I do understand that I need to get a few more things out -- which I think is your main point. So I appreciate the reminder.
