How to define iPhotoMEASURE software is a question its creator Paul Minor even asks himself. Is it new technology? Or because iPhotoMEASURE was designed for the construction field can it be considered a measuring device, or a tool? Tarzana-based DigiContractor Inc. finds itself in an advantageous situation. With little or no commercial competition to its specialty product, Minor and his business partners can define themselves and their spot in the marketplace. They achieve that definition by marketing the results of the iPhotoMEASURE software and how it benefits the user. For the home improvement industry, for example, rather than having a contractor go to a home to take measurements for a project, the homeowner can take photographs, e-mail them to the contractor who then uses the software to determine dimensions. “It’s a time-saving tool and a money-saving tool because you don’t have to buy the gas to go out there,” Minor said. The spartan offices used by Minor, the lone full-time employee, reveal a company still in its early stages. Private sources provided $400,000 in funding over a two year period which has been used in the research and development of the software. The company released its first commercial version in November 2006. A second version follows up this fall, with a third version anticipated for next year. In recognition of the potential iPhotoMeasure has in multiple industries, the California Space Authority chose the company for a mentoring program giving cost-free access to a consultant for two years. “I don’t think we will stop people from using a tape measure,” said Pete Robbins, the company’s chief technical officer. “But it is a good archiving tool and a good marketing tool.” Minor and Robbins, working with Yuan-Fang Wang, a computer science professor, spent about a year working on the software. The first commercial version was done in conjunction with Woodland Hills firm Glyphix. The software is available through a download from the company’s website or on disc for a slightly higher price. That dimensions can be measured in metrics makes the product attractive to foreign customers. The versatile uses of the software takes it beyond the three professional groups targeted in the company’s strategy contractors, real estate appraisers and law enforcement, who use the software in accident and crime scene investigations. Orthodontists, plastic surgeons, even an oceanographer have approached Minor asking if the program can apply to their unique uses. Woodland Hills resident Carrol Mendelson found the software valuable for the stage shows she produces. “It has really helped us get our sets done correctly,” Mendelson said. Online reviews of iPhotoMeasure are filled with both praise and criticism. User feedback, however, is not ignored and instead has been incorporated into the updated version. Now users can measure depth of photographs; export the images into a .jpg format or into a spreadsheet, and measure on multiple planes, Robbins said. When the new version becomes available, Jim Johnson, a Woodland Hills-based contractor doing both residential and commercial work, will count himself among the purchasers. He has already recouped his investment in the first version of iPhotoMeasure through the cost savings of not having to drive to see a customer to quote on a job. E-mailing photos of proposed work sites allows Johnson to solicit work from outside the Valley, giving him a customer base he didn’t have before. Customers, who Johnson described as being “dubious” about the software, eventually come around to its convenience, especially when they realize they will not have to take time away from work to meet with him. Employing the measurement software fits in with his increasing use of computers in the office an in the field, Johnson said. “They [customers] like that we are contemporary and modern,” Johnson added.