instruction stringlengths 4 105 | output stringlengths 8 56.7k |
|---|---|
How can I get up early in the morning? | FreeRadical: Do something you enjoy. Look forward to the next day. Sometimes I find myself going to sleep earlier just so the next day will arrive ( : |
How can I get up early in the morning? | markessien: Travel to a country that shifts your waking up time by the correct amount, and stay there for a couple of months. It's the most painless method, but it's a bit expensive. |
How can I get up early in the morning? | chris11: Personally, I have noticed that watching tv and using the computer late at night keeps me up later. There have been studies that link tv watching and reduced melatonin levels. So don't use either before you want to go to bed.Steve Pavlina has written a couple good articles.Overview.1. Go to bed when tired2. Get up at the same time every morning. So if you don't get enough sleep one night, you'll go to bed earlier the next.3. Don't do anything very stimulating late at night. Don't drink caffeine, or exercise late at night. Stimulating activities will keep you up to late.4. Don't turn getting up into a problem with self-discipline, turn getting up into a habit. It's kind of corny, but practice getting out of bed during the day. Match the conditions where you get up, turn out lights, take off your work clothes, and get into bed. When your alarm goes off, jump out of bed, thrown on clothes, and do a little bit of exercise or do something else to wake you up. It doesn't matter really what you do, it just has to be consistent. After practicing a few times, it should be a habit, and you will be able to get up with your alarm when it goes off.Part 1:http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-become-an-ea...Part 2:http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-become-an-ea...Getting up with an alarm clock: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/04/how-to-get-up-right... |
How can I get up early in the morning? | djahng: set an alarm and be disciplined enough to get up and not hit snooze. |
So do these companies make actual money or they just have revenue? | noodle: skype - got acquired. users buy servicefacebook - advertising revenueyoutube - got acquired. primarily advertising revenuedigg - advertising revenue, sells stuff.reddit - got acquired. displays some ads, but mostly for its parent company.delicious - got acquired.most startups have a plan that consists of one or more of the major 4 plans - sell something, ad revenue, license out your product, cross your fingers and hope to be bought out.a good business relies on one or more of the first 3. the more of the first 3, the better. |
What's the best web programming language? | Jem: Get to grips with HTML and CSS before you start worrying about anything else. |
How can I get up early in the morning? | asnyder: I recommend using the "screaming meanie", this 120db alarm will wake both you and your neighbors in the morning, http://www.amazon.com/Screaming-Meanie-220/dp/B000RZLWR8 |
How can I get up early in the morning? | Killjoy: Exercise at least 1 hour per day, 4-5 days per week. You may begrudge the time in the gym, but I've found that an hour of exercise can replace an hour of sleep -- so you're not really out any time, you're just in pain for that hour ;). |
Review my (non-profit) startup, 20:20 | jwilliams: Hi - Interesting concept.My first reaction was that the initial page is too wordy. I mean, I'm in software and I found it a somewhat difficult read. (I know it's not about the frontpage, but that's where I came in).I think you need a simple byline - e.g. "20:20 is all about X with Y"... Better yet, see if you can express this without text at all... Or have the minimal text, but have some images that invoke what you mean.I think the video is great, but I think some more fleshed out examples (not necessarily in the video) would help.Otherwise, I think it's an intriguing idea.Good luck with the concept! |
How can I get up early in the morning? | mahmud: Do something interesting. My project consumes the whole of me. I go to bed thinking about it, sometimes I get ideas in my sleep, and I wake up eager to implement or research whatever I "dreamed" up :-)It also helps that my girlfriend is on a different time zone and calls me early in the morning for her good-night kiss and chit chat. |
How can I get up early in the morning? | datico: I swear by this concept:
http://www.homedics.com/products/soundspa-sunrise.html
Even just a simple timer on a lightswitch or lamp works for starters. I find the natural sunrise effect to be less jarring however.
I used to use an X10-type system as well, controlled by a server to dim lights at night and brighten them in the am. This was ideal but X10 was flaky so I'm using the SoundSpa Sunrise until I can upgrade to something more reliable. |
So do these companies make actual money or they just have revenue? | callmeed: I don't mean nitpick your title, but "revenue" is "making money" (actual money, even).When the company is public (or acquired by a public company) you can usually find out if they're profitable.For example, YouTube is not profitable. It generates revenue via advertising but not enough to cover its costs.
http://rochakchauhan.com/blog/2008/08/09/youtube-not-profita...Skype, it appears, is a profitable venture for eBay. Search "skype profitable" and you'll find that it has been since '07.Because Facebook is a private company, you'll find less specifics about their revenue and profit. My understanding, however, is that they're not profitable yet. IIRC Marc Andreessen told Charlie Rose that they could be profitable if they put ads on the home page.I don't know enough about the other ... |
How can I get up early in the morning? | p47: Well you all may missing the point. It's not important at what hour You get up. The matter is how long did You sleep. Normal person needs up to 4 circadian cycles. We make one every 1.5h, it varies individually.
Here is real catch, if You sleep over this four cycles. Your brain starts to use some proteins produced during sleep. Its big waste because catecholamine is produced only during sleep. So if You over sleep, You loose energy, and You may wake up tired.To start wake up earlier, this was tested by myself. You need to reset your brain. So don't sleep for night or two. And after go sleep on proper time. For 6-6.5h. You will be fresh as new born.Interesting about the sleeps starts when You have idea about, training polyphasic sleep :-). Well its different story. |
Examples of Apps with Lots of Data | mahmud: In case you ever need to generate your own data, I found it MUCH better to generate the data according to a clean, debuggable grammar, vs using a "test" database. You can return a spreadsheet with four columns, A, B, C and D for example, where each recordset would have a column-name prefix and to that you append a progressively "increasing" string. One sample recordset might be:
(a-aaaa b-aaaa c-aaaa d-aaaa)
(a-aaab b-aaab c-aaab d-aaab)
(a-aaac b-aaac c-aaac d-aaac)The size of your data would depend on the "width" N of your variable string suffix. In this case N=4 or a dataset of 26^4 when using only lowercase alphabetical letters a-z.Predictable data makes debugging trivial. I'm not sure how that helps you with UI. It goes without saying not to return large datasets via ajax ;-) |
How can I get up early in the morning? | davidw: My wife and I had a baby. Now I get up at 7 every day. |
How can I get up early in the morning? | ktharavaad: One word:Modafinil |
How can I get up early in the morning? | PonyGumbo: I'll let you borrow my cat. |
How can I get up early in the morning? | bandris: The alarm device should play pleasant music you enjoy, but not too soft. And placed out of reach. |
How can I get up early in the morning? | gord: I'm thinking the real answer is "Do whatever it is that your so fired up about, it makes you get up at 5am." |
How can I get up early in the morning? | danbmil99: wrap around. |
How can I get up early in the morning? | zaius: If I go to bed at midnight, I wake up after 10 hours of sleep. If I go to bed at 5am, I wake up after 7. If you're really looking to maximize your waking time, it's not about getting up early, it's about finding your most productive pattern. My work output doubled once I realized this and stopped setting alarms. |
How can I get up early in the morning? | froo: I've always been the kind of person who loves sleeping in.I've got several alarm clocks strategically placed in my room so that I can't simply turn them off without having to actually get out of bed and because there are several of them, the resulting dissonant noise is usually enough to wake me up. |
Do you feel guilty about getting paid for bugfixes? | dbul: This is just the nature of the software business. When I worked at CMU a good portion of the app I was working on was fixing bugs. The more complex the software, the higher the expectation that there will be bugs to fix (and unexpected behavior caused by fixed bugs, sometimes!). |
Do you feel guilty about getting paid for bugfixes? | earl: Why? You and the client jointly agreed on a certain quality standard and you met that quality standard. This should have been indicated by a client sign off. The only way I'd say you owe them in some sense at this point is if you clearly didn't meet the agreed upon spec... but the tests (both code and user) should have hit most of that. After that... well, they need to evaluate the cost/benefits of changing the software.Also, do not fix bugs for free -- certainly, people have done a (very tiny) bit of work for good clients, but you don't want to train clients to expect free stuff. You'll find that clients also try to slide features in as bugs -- the best way to keep a cap on this is to do a good job, meet your agreements, and then force them to decide on whether any further work is worth your hourly rate. |
How can I get up early in the morning? | mhb: Find people to work out with and establish a time to meet early in the morning. Make sure they will be pissed off if you don't show up. Rowing is ideal for this. |
How can I get up early in the morning? | frosty: Its not like somebody will pay me if i get up early :)I say stay up as long as required and try to get as much done as possible. But one important thing is to maintain atleast a 12 hour overlap with other people in your team if you are in a startup. An added advantage is, there is somebody to monitor the servers round the clock ;). |
How can I get up early in the morning? | hugs: Get a kid, particularly the infant kind. They'll wake up at 5am without fail everyday for the first several years and are impossible to ignore when they're awake. When they start sleeping in late, get a another one. |
Do you feel guilty about getting paid for bugfixes? | gne1963: When I first started programming I was also an auto mechanic. I never felt guilty for maintaining cars or programs. |
Review my (non-profit) startup, 20:20 | trevelyan: "Also, some of the most widely-used written languages like Chinese have very complex character systems that are not really amenable to traditional computer text entry methods. "In my experience dumbing down the interface has two advantages: (1) it somewhat reduces the complexity of the application on the development side, and (2) it helps users in their learning curve. It is dangerous to assume the user is not intelligent enough to pick the right tool for the job. Better to assume they are more intelligent than you but ten times more impatient. The competition for this application would seem to be the iPhone.Anyway, a Chinese user will not look at your application and say, "it doesn't support my language, but those vector graphics are nifty, I think I'll draw everything instead of typing for once." They'll simply buy something with Chinese language support like the iPhone. |
why is computer graphics research important? | jibiki: MRI stuff, but maybe that's already been done. |
How can I get up early in the morning? | chanux: I love the way my mom's younger brother wakes me up. This is a memory of my kid time. He softly talk to me saying "it's better to wake up" while providing some dim light with his little torch. It gives me a comfortable wake up.I wish I can have that smooth wake up all the time but now he has his own kids to worry about and he's so far away from me. It'll be good if there's something emulates that feeling.My story won't mean you anything. But I enjoyed reminiscing those nice wake ups & if I ever have to wake some one up I'll definitely do it my uncles way. |
why is computer graphics research important? | mcav: GPU research seems to be increasingly important in the search for faster processing power (in conjunction with CPUs). As we grab better, larger, higher resolution displays, graphics will become more useful for displaying data. Without great graphics to match increasing CPU power, we'd be left with a rather boring computing experience. |
why is computer graphics research important? | noodle: simulations. medical simulators, flight simulators, etc.. |
How can I get up early in the morning? | ciupicri: I wonder how Paul Buchheit (the guy who started GMail) got around this problem. He mentioned that he's not an early riser in the book "Founders at Work".When searching more on the subject, I found this interesting text:"This sort of smugness is prevalent among morning people, who count among their ranks Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, nearly every American president, and even Jesus. (See Mark 1:35: "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.") Night people are stuck with psychopaths like Adolf Hitler and Juan Arreola, the guy in Pennsylvania who nearly killed his girlfriend's 2-year-old last year, explaining to a judge, "I'm not a morning person."" http://friendfeed.com/e/cc0e9eb4-39ff-11dd-9d6f-003048343a40... |
Do you feel guilty about getting paid for bugfixes? | makecheck: Bugs will always be there; but you can maintain credibility in a few ways. One, by showing that you do have solid tests (sounds like you do). Two, by being frank with customers from the very beginning, about the imperfections of software. And three, by showing haste, within reason, to fix any problems that are discovered, to respect customers' time and investments.Still, the owner of a software project cannot be naive. He or she must be reasonably aware of the sources of the various bugs, and deal with any patterns that are forming. For instance, maybe one developer is responsible for the vast majority of problems. Not all developers are good; in fact, many are quite bad, and don't belong anywhere near the code they're currently maintaining. |
How can I get up early in the morning? | DTrejo: These help me with early wake-ups (3:00am):* My pre-alarm goes off 15 minutes early. After this alarm, I start thinking and worrying about what I need to do. When the real alarm sounds I'm ready to jump out of bed.* I don't use the bathroom in the morning when I'm sleepy. A full bladder helps me stay awake.* I nap whenever I can't work.* Also, drink some water before you go to bed and don't use the bathroom, this will help you wake up in the morning. |
Do you feel guilty about getting paid for bugfixes? | staunch: I have just billed for less hours than I worked in scenarios like this, without telling the client (so that they don't feel entitled in the future). |
why is computer graphics research important? | JMiao: there's a graphics group at stanford that simulates surgical procedures (scalpel to skin precision, etc.). |
why is computer graphics research important? | comatose_kid: Entertainment is important.If that's not up your alley, there's medical imaging, data visualization, novel HCI stuff (eg, Johnny Lee's work at CMU).CG has practical value - much of what is currently displayed on your screen (windowing systems, anti-aliased font rendering) is a result of CG research. |
please review our online load testing service - loadimpact.com | luminousbit: I love the site, HATE the pricing. I'd really like to pay for the service, but what I REALLY need is:1) Run several low user tests (200-300) to tweak server settings, app code, etc.
2) Then run one or two big tests (1000+) just once to see the results.I MIGHT need this at most once a month. That just isn't worth $200 per month. I'd much prefer a subscription for the lower levels of consistent use, and then be able to purchase an additional once-off very large test for maybe $10-20 each. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | chanux: Didn't you come to any kind of written agreement on your DEAL? If not You have to be very careful of every step you are planning to take.I suggest you to be flexible in this matter & take a step which would do less damage to your investment. I hope HN folks will come up with some good advices :). |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | allenbrunson: okay, first, you can't use html in an hn post for formatting. you should go back and add two-return-key paragraph breaks, so your post will be readable.second, getting someone to "reverse engineer" an existing app is a very bad idea. you're already in a bad situation, that would make it even worse.assuming you find someone to do this, they are going to be morally questionable. i, for one, would never agree to do such a thing, not for any price.if you're not happy with the work you're getting, you should have said so a long time ago. if the terms you've negotiated so far allow you to do so, i'd offer him some smaller amount for the source code and call it a day. if he says no, hire another coder to start again from scratch.2500 bucks is not very much money to lose. i just lost six months of my time working on a startup that didn't pan out, for which i received a grand total of 1500 bucks. given how much i was making at my last full-time job, that's an opportunity cost to me of about 50 grand. but i'm sure as hell not going to make things worse by mucking around in the situation any longer. i took my lumps and i'm moving on. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | vaksel: Simple...sue him.Dude I'm in your exact situation...hired someone to do a project, and he is now a year late. I gave the guy concession after concession just to get him to finish...hell I cut about 70% of the features just to have him finish quicker. And told him...as long as he finish quickly I'd waive the late fees.You can't work with these people...even after all my concessions the guy still gave me major attitude when I demanded that he hurry up or I'll sue him.So Monday I'm getting the lawyers involved. Not sure about your situation, but I had my guy sign a contract that specified late fees. So its a little easier to sue him, since the late fees will more than cover lawyer fees. Of course since you have a smaller amount, you can try your luck at small claims court. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | indiejade: I've hired a coder to create me a desktop app using JAVA swing that I planned to sell.You might be asking for advice in the wrong place.If you want to make money selling desktop apps, the advice you'll likely get from this crowd is "learn how to do it yourself." Otherwise, give your coder at least a 50 percent interest in all of the proceeds from this app.Given what you tell us of his reaction, it sounds like you might be offering him an insulting percentage; think about it like: where would your idea to make a quick buck be without somebody who writes code?Sometimes it's all about respect; other times it's about credit (being known for coming up with X); and still sometimes it's all about money, but most of the time it's a combination of the three. Find out what his combination is. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | Hexstream: Cut your losses. At some point you have to admit to yourself that you've been had and you won't get any kind of compensation. You're just wasting resources. Next time you'll be more apt at heeding the red flags. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | geoffw8: Cut your losses. You need to work out, what's worth more - the time or the money.You could start legal proceedings and 2 months down the line see someone else launch your product... I'm one for speed. |
How can I get up early in the morning? | ninguem2: I will be more flippant than pg: Just get up already.Now I will explain my reaction so I don't just get downvoted and if you disagree with me, reply.Most people in the world have responsibilities. Kids to feed and to take to school, chores and errands to do plus a (sometimes long) commute to a job where they cannot afford to be late (responsibilities, a boss, or both). Yet, they all manage just fine. |
Moving buku files from one remote server to another? | blinks: man rsync
Also, buku? You mean beaucoup? |
Moving buku files from one remote server to another? | evdawg: rsync... it will basically do everything you just listed for you, while making sure everything gets over from server to server OK with multiple checks. If your transfer fails halfway through, you can just pick up where you left off.I would not recommend gzipping 11GB of files into one archive... it will take hours to compress/unzip.Good luck! |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | ScottWhigham: First question: Has he released any source code to you yet? You mentioned in one of your replies that he's met (and you've paid for) two milestones. At either of those milestones, did you receive the code? I assume you don't but I figured I would ask.Second question: You said, "I offered him 10 percent of profits" - did he accept? Was that part of the written agreement or an oral offer? My thinking is that he's probably going to ask for more and more as he gets closer to finishing and, if you do decide to totally back out and start over, this is important.Third question: What will he do with the code he has written if you decide to end the project? Will he release it for free, market it separately, or...? Does your contract cover that? |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | markessien: Tell him to provide the source code to you. You have a 90% stake in the product, you are of course allowed to have a copy of the code. When you have a copy of the code, make your terms clear. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | daemon: I hire developers from time to time. I avoid the situation you are currently experiencing by asking for a development plan which includes milestones and a requirement for "reasonably" documented source code. After agreeing on a price, the fee is split based on the milestones, and paid as code is checked-in and the milestones are reached. If the developer doesn't meet the schedule or decides to bail on the project, then another developer can pick up where the previous "coder" left off. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | noodle: what does the contract that i hope you got signed say?if you didn't get a contract signed, you kind of brought this on yourself. if you did and he's violating the terms, take him to small claims court.if there isn't a contract, consider walking away and finding someone else to do it.i'd highly suggest avoiding rentacoder and simlar sites. they do not typically produce high quality work, and there is often a language barrier issue. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | mannicken: Have you paid anything yet? Don't.Drop him. Here are two good reasons to drop him:1. You are wasting your time -- I don't think he'll give you anything, or you'll end up spending so much money that profits are unreasonable.2. Even if he does, what guarantee is there that there is no "surprise" hidden in the code? I have seen freelancers do that when they're disappointed in the buyer.Find another guy and learn from your mistakes:a) Pay weekly, based on milestones.b) Setup a Subversion repository and do a mandatory weekly commits. No commits, no money.c) Ask for a very short but functional proof-of-concept first, once it works and you have received source -- pay money by this formula: $ = rate x hours.There is no trust between you and freelancer and you should never work without at least a bit of trust and understanding of each other. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | huhtenberg: A reality check for you.First, $2500 covers 50 hours of work. Do you think your app can be written in that timeframe ? Hardly. So this amount is not a compensation, it's more of a marginally attractive retainer.Second, the 10% share is a joke. The reason being is that if there is a written app, then 10% commission gets you a simple e-com distribution (shopping cart, invoicing, payment processing). The 30% commission buys you a "fire and forget" kind of deal - you give the distributor an app, they brand it, promote, market and sell it and they also provide front-line support. THIRTY PERCENT.You effectively offered a guy a 90% commission deal and now seem to be surprised he isn't happy. I wonder why. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | jneal: "It currently authenticates the user on startup using a script on his server."
<br /><br />
Wow, ridiculous. This should definitely be changed before project completion. You need to get more stuff in writing from the sounds of it.
<br /><br />
I don't want to scare you, but from the sounds of this post, I don't see things working out in a positive way. |
Is $5k really worth 5%? | froo: Well, apart from the fact that you got your math wrong (its $5k + $5k per founder) I'll give you a few other reasons why YC is worthwhile.1) Introductions to prominent VC's/Angels if you want to obtain further funding2) As a result of the process of getting into YC, it can somewhat validate your idea3) Having to pull it off in 3 months can really light fires under people's asses4) PG seems like a genuine bloke who really wants to help people. The mentoring aspect would be worthwhile.5) Constant feedback. You'd be surrounded by a lot of other YC alums who are very switched on people... Good things to be learned all roundI'm sure there are other reasons I failed to mention, but I think I covered the basics.EDIT - also, read PG's essay on the subject.http://paulgraham.com/ycombinator.html |
Is $5k really worth 5%? | matthewking: I believe its more about the experience and opportunities that are opened up to you than the money. You can earn $5k pretty easily but where does that get you? |
Is $5k really worth 5%? | wmf: This has been answered before. YC isn't about the money; it's about the advice and connections. If those things increase the probability of your company's success by more than 5%, YC is a good deal. If you can do better on your own, do it. |
Is $5k really worth 5%? | smoody: It can push you from 'thinking about starting the company' to 'starting a company.' If you're a 'thinking about starting a company' person, then it is worth it just to force you to switch modes.Also, the adage "it's better to have half of something than all of nothing" has never let me down. I've always been very generous with stock and it has always paid off -- for me anyway. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | andr: To answer your question, Java is very easy to reverse engineer. Google for a decompiler. Several years ago I would get an almost perfect copy of the original source, with the proper variable names, etc. The only thing missing were comments :)The legality of you reverse engineering the software is a different matter. But if you have paid the $2500 in question, then you own it. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | brl: > I'm thinking the best way would be to get someone to reverse engineer the softwareYou don't have the source code? He just gives you a crippled binary to demonstrate his progress which only works after authenticating with his server?I'm not sure why people here are telling you that there is either some ethical or legal problem with taking control of the work you already paid for. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | menloparkbum: Give up and start over with someone else.$2500 for 2 months of work comes out to 8 dollars an hour.
This isn't a good wage for a programmer anywhere and should have been your first hint that this wasn't going to work out. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | chiffonade: You were cheap and you've been had. Learn two lessons and move on. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | hedgehog: I've been in similar situations. As others here have pointed out your time is the most valuable thing on the line here and there's a big danger of wasting a lot of it if you sue. Here's one way you can handle it:1. The quality of the work is probably middling to poor...2. ... so figure out how much of your time $2k and the code is worth to you.3. Hopefully you're friendly with an attorney. Print out all of your documentation for this deal, sort it chronologically, and run it by them to see where they think you stand.4. Provided #3 turned out okay have your friend send a letter asking for the deliverables or a refund.5. Be prepared to either walk away or negotiate an agreement both of you are equally dissatisfied with.6. If you walk away be careful about using the binaries you've got, this guy may have rights to the profits even with everything else that's happened. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | philjackson: I feel for you, sorry. If I could be so bold as to offer advice to anyone doing something in the future I would say:Have a lawyer draw up a contract. Make it clear that you own the copyright to every line of code that goes into the revision control system that you own, and if possible, manage. Make sure the contract ensures you see the code often, making it a vital part of signing off any milestone. Always, always have a contract, even if you're out on this adventure with a pal. Money can't buy you friends but it most certainly can lose you some. |
Is $5k really worth 5%? | donw: This depends on many factors, pretty much all of which can only be answered by you. If you think that the YC route may be worthwhile, then you'd do well to apply, and if not, bootstrap or go off on your own. |
Is $5k really worth 5%? | jfno67: Many will point out the fact the introductions and the opportunity to work with other startups are worth more than the money. I want to say the money is worth it too.We are self-financed and so we do contract to pay our living expenses. It is working great for us, but often we will get sucked in client projects. Those distractions have been costing a lot in term of growth. 5% for the intros and money to just focus on your idea for 12 weeks is certainly worth it. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | plinkplonk: As an Indian living in Bangalore, I feel odd saying this, since I know that the myth of the "substandard outsourced coder" is largely just that - a myth IF you know what you are doing, but that said, but do not use sites like rentacoder or try to save money by outsourcing unless you personally know someone good.Find out the market rates for a good developer in your area and pay a decent wage commensurate with the time taken to write good software (2500 $ isn't much even here in Bangalore, I think the guys is just taking you for a ride, unless the software is very simple in which case it can be rewritten trivially) .Try to meet up with the developer every 3 or 4 days (or at least talk on the phone) and as someone mentioned here, own the repository he checks into.Good Luck! |
Is $5k really worth 5%? | ivankirigin: If you sign on an adviser, you might give them a comparable percentage for $0K. It's worth it in the right cases. |
Is $5k really worth 5%? | Dilpil: Making influential people into stake holders is always a good thing. It would be worth it for $0, in fact, it might be worth paying Y Combinator to take your stock. |
Is $5k really worth 5%? | wheels: Sorting out $15k is the easiest part of an early phase startup. YC seems to mostly focus on the harder parts. |
How does the 10x coder overcome configuration headaches? | aristus: I'm not a 10x coder, but over the years I've learned to deal with buggy 3PLs by avoiding them, or encapsulating them once and for all. The problem with buggy 3rd-party libs is that the bugs are random. They quite literally keep you dumb by forcing to you memorize random trivia instead of new concepts.Rewriting the same functions yourself in a better and more efficient way teaches you a lot, especially about 1) how to spot good libraries, and 2) when not to write it yourself.If you look at the code of really effective hackers, the one thing they have in common is how small the code is compared to what it does. Look at web.py, or bret taylor's datastore built on top of mysql: http://bret.appspot.com/entry/how-friendfeed-uses-mysql |
Is $5k really worth 5%? | time_management: Is an elite college worth $150k? |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | natch: There is a lot to say on this, but much of it has already been said. I'll add just one thing:An important red flag (among all the others in your post) is the statement that he is "almost" done.When any programmer thinks about that statement, it's almost certain to elicit a belly laugh.If he appears to be "almost" done, it is highly likely that he is really around 50% done. Keeping that in mind should help you make your decision to walk away. |
Is $5k really worth 5%? | grinich: Absolutely not.But Demo Day is worth a lot more than 5%. |
How does the 10x coder overcome configuration headaches? | nostrademons: Most 10x coders deal with it by not using 3rd party libraries, except for ones that are very highly regarded and trusted. These tend to avoid most of the configuration headaches because everyone uses them, so the maintainers get lots of practice in making them easily installable.It's funny how common wisdom in the software industry is "reuse, don't rebuild", but if you look at projects that are actually successful and developers that are highly regarded, they all have a massive case of NIH syndrome. Google and Microsoft both build all their own software. Mozilla completely reimplemented COM for Gecko. John Resig just got criticized recently because TestSwarm duplicates a lot of the functionality of Selenium Grid. Linus Torvalds wrote his own OS instead of hacking MINIX, and then wrote his own VCS rather than use Subversion or CVS. Chuck Moore wrote everything himself, down to the hardware, which he designed with CAD software he wrote himself in Forth, a language he wrote himself.If you look at it by numbers, this makes perfect sense. The average library is, by definition, average, so a coder who is way above average can undoubtedly write something better given enough attention to the problem. Plus, many of these super-coders got their reputation by writing lots of code in the first place, which you don't do if you just reuse third-party libraries.Unfortunately, everyone thinks they're above average, which is why we get such a profusion of libraries in the first place. ;-) |
How does the 10x coder overcome configuration headaches? | ShabbyDoo: w.r.t. 3pl stuff, the lack of good documentation can be annoying, but I find that my ability to use them quickly speeds up drastically as I use them in more places on more projects. I don't think this pattern is any different when I use a new language -- "What's that weird compiler error mean?" So, for me, it's a learning curve issue. |
How does the 10x coder overcome configuration headaches? | mahmud: You deal with it by using said 3rd party libraries 100x before you embark on your "current" project. Know your tools well, inside and out, and you're 10x more productive than someone just starting out :-)Also, there is something that has to be said for compromise. Get libraries for the language you know best and you will more productive than if you used a high-performance library for a language you don't know. Start small, and worry about scaling or "going big" later. |
Moderate Noise Causes | slater: I've noticed the whole "posting-links-for-links'-sake" happening too; lately, the front page has, at most times, at least one link to Seth Godin's blog, and many times multiple links to techcrunch.My "solution"? Skim the front page, and spend more time on /newest instead. There you have a wider range of topics, but they're also easier to filter: The usual gaggle of amateurish SEO attempts with rolex/viagra/holiday-home/tourist sites, some repeats from the front page, but for the most part, fresh & interesting stuff that barely makes the front page any more. Works for me. |
If we woke up tomorrow and... | mcav: Long enough that most of humanity would die very quickly. Without tools to grow food to satisfy our current population, we couldn't make enough. Couple that with lack of heating for cold regions, general lack of knowledge of survival skills, and the realization that we must first get metal before we can even create decent tools... I'd say we'd be goners. |
If we woke up tomorrow and... | dotmatrix: We still have the knowledge, so assuming that knowledge is utilized i guess you could answer that question by simply reverse engineering the amount of time it took to obtain the knowledge of achieving a significant process and then determine from that point how long did it take to implement the solution. Since you would be implementing the solution only you would then need to know how many key solutions are you re building and you could figure this question out quite easily. |
Moderate Noise Causes | robotrout: The concept of 'karma' doesn't seem to have anything to do with the thing we call 'karma' on the internet.I want 'tech support karma'. If I only submit a tech support request once per month, and I never ask for a telephone call-back, that should be worth something, like, very high priority in my request. Similarly, if I am pinging tech support every hour, that should lower my priority, perhaps.This could be used on HN as well. If somebody submits often, there should be some penalty associated with that. A pop-up window that says, "You're over your daily post threshold. Submitting this link will cost you 5 karma points" |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | gojomo: It's a bad working relationship, you have to end it. The only question is how to salvage something.If you've paid for work so far, and your contract gave you rights to the source code, demand the source code. You could hand that to another developer and it might be of some use.If he won't provide it, and especially if he's local, sue in small claims court for your money back.If you have a running version without source, you could rebid this elsewhere and use both your previous correspondences and the working version itself as a new spec to accelerate the new work.If it's truly $2K worth of work by an ornery contractor, it can likely be reproduced for about the same cost. But it's also possible that he was way undercharging you and that's why he's become ornery.If you have a working code delivery but not source, Java code can be decompiled to recover somewhat useful source code. However, unless there's some fancy custom algorithms/graphics/etc. in your app, a basic 'Swing desktop app' might be easier for a new contractor to build from scratch in their style than try to reuse something from an unreliable coder. Only go the decompilation route if you are confident of your rights to the work (because it was clearly a work-for-hire with you receiving the rights under your written contract, and you haven't orally modified that contract in your pleadings with the developer).Rentacoder and other sites really help prevent a lot of these problems by nudging people -- especially those new to software development -- into doing things the right way... having a clear contract, planning for likely delays, staging things, getting multiple bids for comparison, etc. |
How does the 10x coder overcome configuration headaches? | Dilpil: The 10x coder doesn't really have a magical trick for dealing with those kind of things. He simply maintains his focus, and makes steady progress until the problem has been solved.However, the 1x coder ignores the problem, or declares it unsolvable. Inevitably, he waits for the 10x coder to fix it. The 10x rule holds.10x coding is as much about willpower as it is about technical competence and experience. |
If we woke up tomorrow and... | noodle: i think you should clarify more. for example:do we still have the knowledge but have no material technological items? do we still have the stuff but no knowledge? are we being impeded by some sort of magical force? are there dragons? |
The VC and the Geek. Do VC's only care about 'management team'? | sama: VCs invest in founders, not management teams. Some of the good ones have a strong preference for those founders to be engineers.Most of the most successful VC investments have been backing very smart engineers. This pattern is not lost on them. |
Moderate Noise Causes | FreeRadical: Can a few new metrics be introduced in the leader board such as:
- average karma per post (subject to min number of posts and possibly decay factor)
- average karma per submission (subject to min number of submissions and possibly with a decay factor) |
How does the 10x coder overcome configuration headaches? | moe: If the legend of the mythical coder who is 10 times faster than average were true, this person would have to overcome the same set of challenges. But how can a one do this 10 times faster than his colleagues?I am a 10x coder, although I prefer when people just refer to me as someone who gets stuff done.The answer to your question is simple: Yes, we are faster because we overcome these challenges, because we are as much sysadmins as we are developers.The secret sauce is to realize that the world does not end at the borders of your VM.If you refuse to acknowledge that your webapp needs an operating system, a webserver, a cache and a database to operate and if you push the lowly "grunt-work" of setting these up to someone else then you'll never be a 10x developer. Because in that case you're depriving yourself of acquiring the magic systems knowledge that leads to all the little "ah, this could be easier"-moments. |
If we woke up tomorrow and... | pavelludiq: At first i would be concerned with not freezing to death and finding food, I'll leave technological advancement for the better days.You see, we started to develop technologies only after we had people who could afford not to have to kill their own food, so they had some free time to make now tools or have new ideas. cave men weren't stupid, they just didn't have any spare time to waste. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | huherto: $2500 will barely cover about 100hrs of effort (2.5 weeks). So a $2500 is a really simple app. If he has put that effort already consider that you have had your moneys worth.Likely, he was thinking of a one bedroom house. You were thinking swimming pool, gourmet kitchen, etc, etc. Professional software developers know how to deal with it. The lesson is easily worth $2500. |
If we woke up tomorrow and... | jfoutz: I assume every artifact made by man disappears instantly? No books, no canned food, no clothes. Everyone i know would die in a week. My grandma grew up very poor in the dustbowl. She would have a chance, but it's cold at night.So, you're left with people who can recreate their tools in a few days, and don't really need what they have. the !Kung in africa? There's probably 20,000 people in the world like that. Expansion around the globe would likely happen as fast as the first time. 100k years?I think teching back up would take a lot longer. The easy to get natural resources are gone. 100k years aren't really enough for plants to turn back into oil. Maybe really big earthquakes would bring metals to the surface. Once upon a time there were black puddles of oil on the ground. Now, we have to pump saltwater into deep reserves to get the oil out. I suppose there's plenty of easy to reach coal. I don't know much about copper mines, they always look very deep to me. perhaps there is a lot of easy to get surface copper, just not in high enough concentrations to make it worthwhile to mine. |
The VC and the Geek. Do VC's only care about 'management team'? | pedalpete: I believe you are wrong.
It isn't about degrees as far as I understand, but it is about the ability to sell the idea, manage it through production and growth.When a VC says they fund a team, they don't mean they fund degrees. Funding a team will often mean funding people with experience, or some other factor that lets the VC know that this is the right horse to back.Lots of engineers get funded, but they don't get funded for 'projects that languish in notebooks due to lack of capital'.So that's the problem first. You need to be able to sell your idea, and likely you should probably be on the road to building it or have something built before looking for funding.Pick up Curtis Carlson's book "Innovation: the Five Disciples to Creating What Customers Want".
It will help you put together the proper positioning for your idea and get it ready to be heard.----- EDITED -----
I REALLY liked Sama's response (which wasn't there when I wrote my original response above).My response is probably focused on steps. You can't go right from idea to VC (unless you have some serious connections and likely some very serious successes in your past as well).An idea is just an idea. It is a management team (which might need a good engineer) which brings the whole thing together.Rarely (though it does happen) is an engineer the best person to lead a business. Think Apple - Woz was the engineer, Jobs the manager/marketer.
You might need to find your Jobs if you're Woz (okay, that's not the way the history works, but you get the jist).By the way, I'm in your boat (kinda) I'm the engineer of my start-up and also trying to be the management guy. It's tough going it alone, once you're in it, you'll likely understand why VC's focus on the team aspect. |
Are you getting screwed? | cpr: Absolutely. Keep the job, 9 to 5, and work on something on the side, waiting for the vesting. |
I've had some software developed, now the coder is holding me for ransom. | reinspruch: I presume you (or your company) owns the IP. If so, fire him, take the code and find someone else (in this economy, that is not as challenging as it seems) to look at it. You will lose several months, but you will gain clarity and peace of mind (assuming you learn from this lesson and hire a better personality).I went through the EXACT same situation with a Java developer last year. The developer extorted us, refused to hand over code, always demanded more money, was rude and insisted that he was doing us a favor. We finally let him go. Coincidentally, it was around August 2008!Fire him and move on. |
Moderate Noise Causes | blasdel: It would also work well to separate out karma for posts, and use comment/AskHN karma as the main number. |
Are you getting screwed? | menloparkbum: Is it worth sticking around for 2 more years to let your options vest when you know the most you will ever make is half a million to a million?No, you probably won't make any money at all. Early stage employees get screwed the hardest. You either want to be a founder or a "key hire" after the company gets series A.What would you do if you were this person?I left, twice. Was it the right decision both times? Yes.Is having a job alone good enough in this economy?Well, that's a different story. Probably. It truly is a shitty job scene out there right now. I can't tell if you hate your job or you're just bummed about how the politics and finances have played out. It's probably worth locking in something else before you quit. |
Is there online service like Delicious that saves series of URLs for later viewing? | smoody: http://www.instapaper.com/ -- works via web and has a nice iphone client. |
how do you process payments? | tonystubblebine: I'm in the same boat, here's a little bit of research regarding subscriptions:1. PayPal subscriptions are an under-documented mess. I was hoping to get a trial going with their subscription quickie form builder but couldn't figure out how to get return data. I'm sure this is possible, but it all seemed more like it was setup for magazine subscriptions than for online subscriptions.2. Zuora is a company that keeps getting mentioned on TechCrunch and had given me the impression it was subscriptions done right, where right is simple API and simple setup. On investigation, they're only open for private beta and they seem more like a "solution" provider where you're going to have to talk to a salesperson to get anywhere.3. If you mention Zuora on twitter you will be contacted by a company called Aria Systems. In order to see their API they will say they "need a signed NDA as our API's are mature proven and we guard them like the family jewels."4. Spreedly seems a little bare bones but is the only company out of that bunch that seems to share my sensibilities.I would love to hear an authoritative answer. If you were building a subscription based service like Basecamp, what would you use to start? |
Moderate Noise Causes | bprater: Again, this is an argument for allowing downvotes. (Flagging is not appropriate in these cases, since it may not be spam.)Since there is only one button, an upvote, there is no way for folks who would prefer to not have an article to appear to push it down.So only upvotes occur (the herd mentality at play) and as stories float higher, it simple becomes part of a feedback cycle where more people vote on it and the higher it goes.PG: I love the community, but what worked in the beginning may need to be juggled a bit since this place has grown so much lately. You are running a very real risk at this point for many of your core passionate readers to shuttle off to a new site where the topics are more relevant to hackers. Remember ole' Slashdot?(For instance, it's way to easy to game the system currently to make front page, which "spammers" love since Google is constantly indexing it.) |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.