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Tokyo, Japan meetup in late March / early April | jason_tko: Hi there,Please check http://blog.webnet-it.co.jp/2010/03/26/hacker-news-tokyo-jap... for the latest updates on the event on the 9th of April. |
Which of these two designs should we use? | justinchen: You should give it a try on http://pickfu.com Other HNers find it useful for A/B testing design mockups. |
How do you solve hard problems if you can't make incremental progress? | leif: For hard (math) problems, which is where I find it hardest to make incremental progress, I usually just walk away, make myself some tea, or look for another problem. Anything that stops me from consciously thinking about it allows my subconscious to sort through the information, and eventually, the answer will hopefully float to the top. If that doesn't happen after long enough, when I do go back, I'll at least have gotten out of the circles I had been thinking myself into. |
Vesting? Really? | cgherb911: If the VC wants vesting, put in terms. If you are removed by the investor, all stock is immediately vested. Basically, vesting is a way to make sure you're not going to walk away from the deal. |
Payment solutions for a marketplace app? | dan_manges: It can be difficult to get a credit card merchant account to do payments aggregation: http://www.braintreepaymentsolutions.com/blog/high-risk-mech...It might be easier to have the buyer's entire payment transferred to the seller and then bill the seller for your cut separately. |
How to visit Google HQ? | timinman: This might be a long shot, timing-wise, but the Silicon Valley Google Technology Users Group (like a Google fan club for developers) meets at the Googleplex once-a-month; their information is on meetup.com. |
How to visit Google HQ? | jey: Become friends with a Googler, get invited by Googler friend. (At least, they allowed this back in 2005.) |
How to visit Google HQ? | dryicerx: On a related note, don't forget to visit the Computer History Museum if you're in the area (might be a good alternative if your Google plans fall through) Hope they still have the difference engine on display. |
Why don't more open-source projects charge for support/features/bugs? | Zev: Brent Simmons (makes NetNewsWire for Mac and iPhone) made a very good post on this topic (well, charging for features, not related to open source specifically) awhile back: http://inessential.com/2009/07/16/dont_offer_50_for_your_fav.... Its well worth reading (as are Daniel Jalkut's thoughts on the conversation, linked to from the blog post).Basically, the points they make are that the motivator for most developers (on all projects, not just open source ones) is to make something good, with money being a side result of your efforts, but not the goal. Or, to paraphrase Daniel a bit, you want freaking awesome and not to simply be going through motions to pay off bills. |
How to visit Google HQ? | andyking: Isn't it just like any other office?I work in a small FM radio station and we quite frequently get visits from listeners, both on request and unannounced.I'm not sure what sort of showbiz glitz and glamour they're expecting; apart from one room with a few microphones and a mixing desk in it, it's just a few fairly dull offices in an old house, with computers and desks and papers lying around. People often leave feeling a little disenchanted after we've made them a terrible cup of tea. They come thinking they're going to get a "tour", said tour lasts about 10 minutes if you stretch it out, awkwardness all round. We're happy to meet our listeners, they're why we exist, but there's just not all that much to see.I can imagine Google being similar; people wanting to visit because it's Google but then being greeted by an office block not dissimilar to where they themselves work. I'm sure there are more interesting places in the area! I wouldn't, for instance, put my bank's head office on the list of places to visit in Edinburgh... |
Introduction to web design? | jokull: Don't underestimate how ITERATIVE the design process is. Do something then tweak it, then do it again then tweak it.Don't think that everything is ruined and hopeless just because you can't get your ideas down right away. Iterate! |
Advice on features and when to ship an iPad app | jasongullickson: I took your advice and sent the app off to Apple last night.Here's a updated video showing off the version I submitted:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fg4PAefWC4...thanks again for the advice and encouragement! |
How to visit Google HQ? | jamesbond: I did visit the Googleplex last summer. Basically, find a Googler to invite you ;) He/she will make you visit it and you may even have diner at one of their cafeterias. They have a merch store on site by the way.Otherwise, you shouldn't have problems walking around the volleyball field and the dinosaur without an invitation, just don't look too suspicious. The Google Security guys watched me from their SUVs as I was walking near the campus with my 65 liters backpack and day pack.Mozilla is across the street. I went inside but all I could find was an empty room with another door and a magnetic card reader, so I couldn't visit.The Computer History Museum is a 10-15 minutes walk from the Googleplex. There is also a movie theater in proximity. |
what document management tools to use? | wdhirsch: I would recommend a solution called imagesilo. It is made by digitech systems and is sold through a reseller network. It is very powerful and can do all you ask and more. Numerous healthcare companies and financial institions currently use the system. Data is transmitted in a secure manner and the data is encrypted while it is stored. They also sell a package called PaperVision which is very good. |
What are your AdWords Ratios? | LoneCoder: Be patient and keep at it. Sometimes a campaign will run for weeks before it will find a good spot and come alive.My CTR's are between 0.5% and 1% on the content network (which is a totally different market from search).In my case the CTR is directly proportionate to the number of times I can use the word "free" in the ad. Sometimes changing just a single word can double the CTR. |
What are your AdWords Ratios? | vampirical: CTR: 1.5% including content network (2.5% search only)
I'm being a bit cheap recently and staying around 3rd or 4th position (avg CPC $0.30-$0.60).With adwords I focus on ad quality and click through rate over all else, the better you perform the more you are rewarded. Make sure you have enough impressions with well targeted keywords first and then over time adjust ads and phase out keywords based on performance.Avoid tossing in the kitchen sink of keywords, do your research and make your list of keywords, focus a bit on the top and bit on the long tail (oh so much cheaper). |
What are your AdWords Ratios? | patio11: In general, you want to maintain a CTR above 1% or you'll find Google gives your spots to someone who actually generates revenue. This of course depends on the competition in your particular niche.You don't make bingo card software, so it is likely irrelevant, but I get about 3.83% CTR on ads on the search network. (That excludes my holiday campaigns, which -- when Google actually approves them on time -- are so effective they should be illegal. 10%+) Things that have helped me: Conversion Optimizer, writing copy until it "clicks" with the users, and a few years of work.By way of comparison, I only get about 2% or so on the content network.After you've got a better CTR (and, not incidentally, are spending more money) you'll see Google offer you more impressions, and then you should start working on your CPA, because if that is doing poorly all the clicks in the world won't help you.AdWords gets fractally complex if you're new to it, since you have to balance your business requirements against Google's interests and policies (which are not disclosed in a thorough fashion, change frequently, and are capricious and arbitrary). Best of luck to you. |
What are your AdWords Ratios? | rmc: Try both? Wait a few days, see which works better. It's better to have actual evidence for what works for your market |
what document management tools to use? | wdhirsch: By the way, earlier this week we set up a company that had an older person that I would consider a computer-Phobe and he was comfortable with using they system in 30 minutes. Is there a legal reason that the system must be hosted locally? If so, then imagesilo will not work. If you would like I can get you set up with a demo and trial to see if it meets your needs. Not trying to sell, just trying to help. You're call. |
What are your AdWords Ratios? | michael_dorfman: I've separated my campaigns into CPM on the content network, and CPC on the search network.My CTRs range from 0.5%-2.5% on Search, and 0.03%-0.3% on Content.(Avg Pos is 2.6 on Search, 1.2 on Content) |
Payment solutions for a marketplace app? | bryanjohnson: I think you have two options. First, to become a payments aggregator as Dan Manges pointed out. You would essentially be performing the same function as Paypal does on ebay today: facilitating payments between buyers and sellers. That's a very difficult model for a lot of reasons.The second option you have is to use Paypal's adaptive payments. I'm not familiar enough with it to know if it would fit your needs but it's the only solution out there that potentially provides enough flexibility to do what you want and get you out of aggregation.I don't think Amazon's FPS has the flexibility or the international reach to do what you need. |
What are your AdWords Ratios? | kvs: Has anyone tried advertising on Facebook? Is the CTR and conversions better there compared to Google? I lose money on Google adwords. |
What are your AdWords Ratios? | webwright: The only thing that matters is CPC and LTV (lifetime value of your customer). If you know your LTV is $50, you can afford $50/click.You get NO value from raising your bid except better placement and more clicks. I'd first try going long tail and bidding on MORE keywords (with low bids). Exhaust that option before you raise your bids.Work on your copy, too. Adwords makes it easy to test different ads. Test a lot. Steal shamelessly from the #1 ad slot in terms of style. |
What are your AdWords Ratios? | il: You're not getting a statistically significant volume of clicks to make any decisions. Don't raise CPC too much until you know your exact CPA/conversion rate for that traffic source, you'll be burning money.It seems that your campaign is poorly organized- you need to start with broader keywords to get more volume and then zero in on the profitable/high CTR keyphrases.Be sure to try the content network as well, way more volume there. |
What are your AdWords Ratios? | qeorge: Don't raise your bids to try to get more clicks - work on your ad copy first. You can get over 1% CTR even in the 9-12 slots, so don't throw money at an ad until its working. |
What are your AdWords Ratios? | terrellm: There is not a single answer in my opinion. I like to focus on cost per conversion since I know what a conversion is worth to me. Another metric I like to watch is total conversions.It's a balance between optimizing for ROI and optimizing for total revenue. If I can get 50 signups/month at $3.50/conv and can get 75 signups a month for $3.85/conv, I'll increase my bid so long as it increases my total revenue.CPC on the content network is useful for branding as you receive exposure every time your ad is displayed, even though you only pay when someone clicks.Are your keywords highly searched according to the https://adwords.google.com/select/TrafficEstimatorSandbox? If so, you may have to increase your bid until you build an account history and quality score. |
What are your AdWords Ratios? | BornInTheUSSR: Maybe you're already doing this, but you generally want to optimize the funnels from impression -> click -> landing-page -> some conversion event. Focus on one at a time. To get better click-through rates, ensure that you have tight integration in your ad groups between the keywords and the ad copy. If you're not using keywords people are searching for in the ad, it is much less likely to be clicked. Also try dynamic keyword insertion in the ad copy if you don't feel like breaking up your ad groups. It's a bit of work, but once you find a combination that is effective, it's a matter of continuing to test new keyword permutations and dropping the stinkers to laser-target your adwords campaigns for high ROI.It is also generally a bad idea to include price in the ad copy. You want to give enough honest information about what you're selling to make an interested user click; it is the job of your landing page/web site to build value and sell, but test to see what works for you. Hope that helps, good luck. |
What are your AdWords Ratios? | fjabre: It might help is you tell us what you're trying to sell.. |
We're still developing - A competitor has launched - what to do? | iworkforthem: Just ignore them, and focus on your todo list. Assuming that your product solve a problem for your customers, most important is that you focus on just that now. |
What are your AdWords Ratios? | workwells: You should be able get to 3.00% plus CTR on Search network without a lot of work. If you have limited budget, turn off Content ads. It will gooble your budget, giving you little in return.Concentrate on writing better ads. Keywords your bidding on should be in the ad. Create adgroups for like search terms. Have at least two or three different ads for each adgroup.The landing page is just, if not more, important than the ad copy. Keywords should be in the Title, and meta description tags (Google ignore meta keywords), in a H1 headin, in the first sentence of the first paragraph, and another time or two on the page. If you want a good CTR, the landing page is your friend. |
What are your AdWords Ratios? | ryanwaggoner: It's worth it to buy a good book on Adwords. I found the Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords to be pretty good:http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-Google-AdWords-ebook/dp... |
What's up with Jobspice? | asimjalis: They look like they're up now. |
Experience with Protocol Buffers | pkc: Protocol Buffers will work fine and their documentation is very clear. These are my findings based on my experience -* Serializing data is ok but parsing takes quite a bit of time especially for large requests. (I am talking in milli seconds)
* PBs always require a copy from your internal app data to its structures. Couldn't find a way to avoid that.
* They have variable length encoding and it might be a good option if your data comprised of large percent of integers. From our experience don't use it if you are sending within your corp network as packing and parsing takes more time compared to savings in amount of data transfer. They might be a good option if you are sending data across slow networks.Some of the metrics show that Thrift performs better than PBs. Also Thrift provides options of using different protocols. If Performance is prime criteria JSON + zipping should be a good option. Also they won't have an intermediate step of generating marshaling code. |
What's the best way to get started with NVIDIA Tegra? | wmf: Buy a Boxee Box, hack Linux on it, and develop your prototype. |
What's up with Jobspice? | imdane: we should be up and running -- if you run into any more problems, email us at contact@jobspice.com |
Closed vs. Open in the context of Apple's products. | cgranade: I'd say it does matter quite a lot, which is why I use Fedora on my computer and Android on my phone. OS X itself is even rather open by comparison to the iPhone OS platform, which illustrates rather nicely that Apple tends to favor openness when they're the underdog and closed platforms when they're in the lead. |
Closed vs. Open in the context of Apple's products. | _delirium: I think Apple gets some benefit of the doubt because of how they've gone back and forth, and produced enough cool things that they get some geek cred.The mystique of the Woz days, getting full specs for an Apple I along with the machine, etc., probably has considerable lingering impact on techies considering Apple a fellow techie company, as opposed to an Evil Corporate Behemoth.Subsequent Apple II and pre-OSX Mac stuff was pretty closed, but at least balanced that a bit with relatively vibrant 3rd-party software development, so lots of us have good memories of educational games we played on an Apple II or Mac in school, while the PC was just for Lotus or whatever.And OSX of course is quite open for a mainstream desktop OS. The sub-GUI part of the base OS is open as Darwin, and even the closed-source full thing is relatively tinkerable--- comes with gcc/python, allows for things like DarwinPorts to be built on top of it, etc. |
Closed vs. Open in the context of Apple's products. | alanthonyc: Separate from the whole open vs. closed debate is the matter of usability and design.Simply stated, Apple products are the best at this for most products. Developers are driven to the quality of the environment and the subsequent quality of the products that they'll be making.I work mostly in the enterprises realm where it's easy to see that the baseline "quality" of the ecosystem (mostly Microsoft, but also other related stuff) affects the quality of the the products built around it.A quick glance at the products built around the Apple ecosystem shows a stark difference. Ever since I started bringing my Mac to work (since the switch to the Intel processor), the difference has been even more obvious to me.I think that in this instance, open vs. closed is a means to an end. If people never had any problems with how Microsoft stuff worked, then no one would have been griping about their stuff being closed. And since Apple stuff is generally pretty good, people are willing to forgo the "closed" ecosystem since they are getting what they need out of it.I also think that the closed nature of Apple's ecosystem is a little overstated. For instance: it's true that the iPhone app store has pretty draconian policies, but on the other hand, nobody has to truly go through it to get an app onto the iPhone. They could just make a web app. However, people choose to create native iPhone apps because they work better. But then again, they probably work better because Apple tends to enforce their strict policies. |
Closed vs. Open in the context of Apple's products. | megaman821: Like most things Apple it comes down to good marketing.Even though almost all their end products are closed-source and some are even in a closed ecosystem, there tool-chain for building these products is almost all open source and based on standards. In general they greatly contribute to the open source projects they use. This probably allows most people to rationalize championing both openness and Apple at the same time.So while I don't own any Apple products, I do appreciate the projects they have contributed to. |
Where are the Wakemate reviews? | johnswamps: As far as I know it hasn't shipped. I pre-ordered it last year when it was scheduled to ship at the end of January. They then delayed that and said Q1 2010. It still says that and they still haven't shipped. They made a post last week on their facebook page saying they would tell us shipping details soon, but haven't said anything since then. |
Company T-shirt design. | Cmccann7: I would check out both Zazzle and Spreadshirt. We just got out shirts from Zazzle for SXSW and the quality is really good! |
Which of these two designs should we use? | csomar: so you want me to add some JavaScript code before knowing what it does? Not good idea. |
Where are the Wakemate reviews? | weaksauce: I got an email on March 11'th saying that they were shipping out the first ones in March. I haven't heard anything since.Sorry for the radio silence ? we have some good news: the first run of units will go out in March! We do not know how large the run will be right now, but it will not fulfill all of the pre-orders. We'll let you know if you're in the first batch as soon as we can. Thanks for your continued patience and interest in WakeMate; we can't wait to show you what we've made! |
Where are the Wakemate reviews? | rradu: Here's the TC article from that January delay: http://techcrunch.com/2010/01/23/wakemate-delay/Have you emailed them? preorder@wakemate.com |
Micro formats? Or, how to make my site's google link look good? | nostrademons: For the stock quote, you get it by going public.The other bits - sitelinks, search box, summary, etc. - are derived algorithmically, presumably based on where within your site visitors go. The way to get them is to become popular enough that Google can figure out which portion of your site is the most popular with visitors.Edit: Apparently it's not just popularity, it sounds like they parse navigational structure - breadcrumbs, menus, navlinks, etc. - to infer them. So make your site clean and well-designed, and get popular, and then they should show up.http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answe... |
Technology choices | chipsy: Microsoft has a history of rapidly deprecating their technology platforms, leaving your old code unable to access new APIs. In the past this was good for their business because competitors couldn't keep up with changes in the MS ecosystem(and each new iteration of Windows could make sweeping changes, since the market was growing so fast), so forcing developers to move in lock-step with the MS toolchain was another way to preserve the monopoly.It's this legacy, plus the non-free nature that makes it hard for developers to do their own maintenance, that causes aversion to MS tech.Today you have a lot of freedom to make technology decisions that go beyond performance requirements and platform APIs. It's just a matter of how long-term you want to make your codebase. If it's disposable code, it really doesn't matter. Unfortunately, "disposable" projects often become mission-critical later. |
Review my app "Interactive Block Diagrams" | jrockway: There should be some sort of unified modeling language for this sort of task... |
Review my app "Interactive Block Diagrams" | cubicle67: yes, I think there's a need for this type of diagram. Reminds me of LabView from many years ago.some quick feedback:- Could do with some sort of feedback to indicate what can be clicked on and what can't. I jumped in (to the demo) early without reading your instructions, and had to click on everything to see what responded and what didn't. It looks like brown boxes with square corners are clickable. Completely missed the double click option.- The scrolly bit on the dialog that pops up is horrible :) (Unresponsive, hard to hit, doesn't really look like a scrollbar etc)- There's a bit of naming inconsistency going on between being in the top view, and in a sub view. From the top view, it looks like there's 3 main processes; File System on the left, Process Scheduler in the centre and Network on the right. When I enter Network, I'd expect to see the box it connects to called Process Scheduler, but instead I get Virtual File System. Where's the process Scheduler gone? Same with the sub view on the left.- Interaction is also inconsistent. From the top view I double click a box to enter it, but the same action doesn't work on boxes within that view; instead I need to click Back (which I didn't notice for some time). When I'm looking at the Network Interface view, it looks like the Virtual File System is the same type of widget, but it isn't- Oh, and you might want to get rid of the generic Rails 404 page :) |
Review my app "Interactive Block Diagrams" | Tichy: I really had hoped the app would be called "interactive block diagrams".Must admit I am not that big a fan of such diagrams, and your app just might explain why: apparently they just don't tell you that much, hence the need for more attached information that you saw. Not sure if your solution really alleviates the problem. I might prefer to see the information without having to click around.Ie if I see a larger text with captions for the individual parts, it might be easier for me to zone in on the parts that interest me. |
Technology choices | Tichy: Entrance might be cheap, but eventually you are stuck on Microsoft technology and paying more and more for it. But to be honest, I have not even looked at their pricing structure. I am pretty sure it is not all free, though.I have been happy with open source software, so why should I consider switching?Overall, I just don't like the feeling of being dependent on one vendor. Why take on that risk? I haven't closely followed the news, but there were recent HN articles that seemed to suggest to me that Mono isn't going so strong anymore either.For consulting I probably wouldn't mind using .NET, the client chooses the technology. As long as it is not downright unpleasant (PHP), I would take it as a chance to learn from the competition. They probably got some things right. |
Technology choices | scorpioxy: In the day job, i use .Net(C#) within an all-MS environment. For my own business, I write in open source toolsets and frameworks(usually python stuff). So I can relate.The thing is, the .Net framework is not bad. I mean, aside from it being proprietary, the design is not that bad. Read up on what miguel has to say about that, I tend to agree with him on this topic. If only they would embrace their community...What's wrong with the .Net framework is the same thing that's wrong with using Windows as your platform of choice for development. If you don't hit any problems, then you will be very happy. But when you do hit problems(and you will) then you'll realize what the problem is with closed systems.So in short, closed system even if you can read the source code, its very difficult to do anything with it. Inadequate documentation that are often wrong with edge cases. Lock in to specific technology and often specific versions. Not enough interaction with the community of developers in terms of bug reporting, change description and the like. |
Good programming language for kids | woid: I would probably try Hackety Hack:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackety_Hack |
Good programming language for kids | ssn: http://www.alice.org/ |
Good programming language for kids | st4lz: I've recently introduced http://hetland.org/writing/instant-hacking.html tutorial to my 14 years old brother, hope python is simple enough. |
Good programming language for kids | _delirium: A few random suggestions. I don't actually know much about Squeak or Scratch, so those might be better options. YMMV, of course.One way to sort of ease into the idea of instructing-a-computer-so-it-does-things is to make things in a context-free-grammar based system, like: http://www.contextfreeart.org/I've found some people find it much easier than "real" programming, since it avoids control constructs and such. I personally actually find it a little harder, because I try to think of it in terms of operational semantics, and end up mentally reverse-engineering everything I write into the equivalent C code. I've had good luck introducing non-programming people to it, though; not tried with any kids; mostly computing-interested adults.Processing is a relatively simple media-computing environment. Based on Java, but highly simplified and oriented towards 2d graphical applets: http://processing.org/I personally learned on Logo, which I thought was nice. I'm not sure if there are good Logo implementations these days? |
Good programming language for kids | bdfh42: Microsoft's Small Basic fits the bill perfectly - perhaps undersold on this link but...http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=B00...<edit>
A good overview can be found here
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/beginner/ff384126.aspx
</edit> |
Technology choices | _delirium: Open-source developers often want to develop on Linux, or at least to be able to release cross-platform stuff that will work on Linux, and Microsoft's toolchain is generally not oriented in that direction. If you use their dev tools, you're usually just building a Windows .exe, and if you want to port, it's going to be extra effort. There are of course Windows-only open-source projects, and they do actually often use an MS dev toolchain.I think if Microsoft had (especially earlier on) been somewhat friendlier with the cross-platformness of .NET, either with their own releases or by helping Mono be a more compatible option, it would have more uptake, because technically it's actually pretty nice. |
Good programming language for kids | ax0n: Install XAMPP from Apachefriends.org and have her start PHP. It's what many schools use for their beginner classes. On Windows, I like PHPDeveloper personal edition for an IDE. It's cheap (or free, I can't recall).PHP is mainstream, and since it's a web technology, she can likely show it off to her friends. It's not hard to find cheap PHP hosting if she ends up building something that she wants to put on the public-facing Internet for friends or strangers to use. XAMPP also comes with MySQL pre-configured, which is a bonus.I cut my teeth on Logo and BASIC as a youngster. I wouldn't wish BASIC on anyone, and she's old enough that Logo would be boring. |
Good programming language for kids | Jim_Neath: I taught myself to program when I was twelve by doing PHP. Although I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole these days it's certainly easy to learn.Having said that I'd probably get her a HTML/CSS book. |
Good programming language for kids | macco: I think the most important part of your choice is to keep her motivated: So I would go with Squeak or Python.
Squeak is great for learning programming; It is very easy to produce little games and things like this.
Python is great if you want to use a lot of libraries and still want a clean programming language.
Php is fine for web pages - if she loves to build them it is great, but the other languages are better suited for learning to programm.
Bottom Line: I would go with squeak! |
Good programming language for kids | Jermey128: I remember trying to learn C when I was twelve. The strange errors the compiler generated were way above my head, because the system was more complicated than I could understand at the time. Eventually, when I was 13 or 14, I learned a bit of VB, but not enough to be really useful. I think, however, that someone might have a decent chance of learning python, especially since you don't have boilerplate code. Also, if you are working directly with the interpreter you always know that it was the last thing you did that caused the error, so you don't have to hunt around (think attention span). |
Good programming language for kids | derefr: Ask her! First, figure out what exactly she wants to do/make/play with—then pick the best tool for the job.If she just wants to make web pages, set her up with some webspace and then, after she's gotten HTML and CSS down, show her that she can "make things happen" using PHP and Javascript.If she wants to make a game, I would personally recommend starting off not with any raw-coding environment at all. Why? Kids don't generally like designing game mechanics—and that's what they're tasked with if they have to turn a general-purpose programming environment—or even a multimedia environment like Flash—into a game engine. If they say they want to make a game, chances are what they want to do is just to re-use ideas they've seen in games they've already played, but with different content assets and "individual-asset mechanics" (i.e. new power-ups, weapons, etc.)My own recommendation, then, is RPG Maker, partly because it's where I got my own start in logical systems-based thinking, but also because it has a nice, gradually-sloped learning curve, beginning with pure level design, and then transitioning into scripting as the need arises, before finally peaking with the limited ability to rewrite the game engine in the scripting language itself (with just enough chafing to make them crave a better tool.) The only catch is that it isn't free—RMXP is $60USD, as far as I'm aware. |
Technology choices | pan69: I think Microsoft has always done a great job on providing excellent development tools and I've always used Microsoft tools and languages with great pleasure in the past.However, to me, developing with Microsoft tools is really limiting my choices. This is one of the reasons I really like the Java platform, because of the choices. I can choose to run Java on Windows, Linux, OSX or what ever operating system. I can choose if I want to use Tomcat, Jetty, JBoss, Geronimo or what ever server best suites my needs. I can choose my language; Java, Jython, JRuby, Groovy, Scala, Clojure etc. All these languages run on the JVM.If I was still building desktop apps, like I did in the 90's, I'd probably still be using Microsoft tools. But since I'm primarily a web developer these days, somehow to me, Microsoft tools just don't cut it for me. |
Good programming language for kids | serichsen: Use something where you actually have to program by typing.I would perhaps use DrScheme. |
Good programming language for kids | ashleyw: Ruby. I don't think you could get any less verbose, it's simple to understand and to the point, great for a first language. :) |
Good programming language for kids | baxident: If she's interested in games may Kodu would be a good starting point: http://fuse.microsoft.com/kodu/It's a visual programming language for creating games, it's very simple to create fun and playable games. It would certainly would as a good introduction to modelling and sequencing, which would lead on to "real" programming well. |
Good programming language for kids | compay: I started learning how to program with Logo when I was in 4th grade. Perhaps it's a bit out of date now (haven't looked at it in over 20 years), but I did end up becoming a programmer. |
Good programming language for kids | bmj: It strikes me that your choice should reflect her knowledge of math and basic logic. If she has a good grasp of these, then perhaps a "typed" language might be a good idea, otherwise, something like Alice (as suggested below) might be better because it introduces those concepts in a visual way. |
Good programming language for kids | davidalln: Make sure she has an interest in programming first. If she does, do NOT start her out on a graphical programming language like squeak/scratch. Future compsci kids have romantic visions of hackers frantically typing into a green/black terminal to break into the government mainframe. They will be turned off instantly when they see themselves just dragging and dropping blocks onto a white screen. |
Good programming language for kids | middayc: processing. it's simple to make visual stuff, no boilerplate and "IDE" has only like 3 buttons (play, stop and ..) |
Good programming language for kids | wisty: Look at storytelling Alice. It's a PhD thesis mod of Alice, designed to help kids (especially girls) get into programming.http://www.alice.org/kelleher/storytelling/ |
Good programming language for kids | aw3c2: As weird as it might sound but I recommend Basic. With line numberings.It will make her need to think about the whole program beforehand.That taught me analytical structural thinking so well. Also at some point I realised I could put more lines in between 10 and 20, 9 more lines! |
Good programming language for kids | Luc: Scratch is a great choice. Worked well with my daughter. I think she was 8 at the time. She quickly grasped ideas like looping, variables, message sending between objects, coordinates...It's a fun environment for them to experiment and mess around with, which helps learning a lot. |
Good programming language for kids | stewars: I would definitely recommend scratch. My nephew has been experimenting and making simple games with it for a while. There is a certain pride that an uncle feels when asked to explain the "abs" function to a child. |
Good programming language for kids | rogermugs: basic...
now with microsoft's new one who could go wrong?i learned AWK... but then QBasic is what made me a programmer. |
Technology choices | dthakur: You experience is correct. Microsoft tools and platforms are, generally speaking, good.Some things, like making the entire .NET source available for debugging, even cuts into the open source's advantage of deep debugging.The key problems for me are: cost, lock-in and to some extent, slower pace of evolution. |
Good programming language for kids | xrownow: http://inventwithpython.com/I have two girls (10,7) and they both enjoy this one. Easy to follow. |
Good programming language for kids | alan_p: Python comes with a turtle module, which means you can do all the neat drawing stuff you could do in Logo back in the days.Also Python's interactive console provides two helpful functions: help and dir, which let you stay in the console even when you have to look up documentation, check properties of an object or find what else is contained in an imported module. There are other shells for Python that provide other functionality like saving your session's input in a file so you can actually write entire programs in Python for later use.Also there's http://www.inventwithpython.com/, which is aimed at children and lets them create simple games to see results early on.My first programming language was PHP at age 15, so I never had to make the jump from BASIC, but I've seen people stick with BASIC way past its expiry date just because they were used to it, becoming increasingly frustrated with its limitations. I think Python has the advantage that you don't easily hit a wall like that because you are writing in a "real" programming language from the get-go. |
Good programming language for kids | jmonegro: Smallbasic from Microsoft is very kid-friendly. |
Recommendation for web hosting | Murkin: I, and quite a few other people, went for http://www.webfaction.com/Excellent support, intuitive management-console and lots of install scripts for various dev platforms. |
Recommendation for web hosting | mdolon: This has been asked many times before - http://searchyc.com/hostingMy favorite has always been (and continues to be) http://www.linode.com/ for their value, simplicity, control panel and support.I've always wanted to try http://www.webfaction.com/ too, might give that a shot next for a small project. |
Technology choices | cpr: Several people have already side-swiped this issue, but let me say it straight out: the main advantage of OSS is that, if you really need to, you can dive in and fix bugs or add your favorite features ("scratch your itch").I don't think this happens as often as pure OSS advocates claim, but it's there.Think of OSS as having the ultimate guarantee: You can fix anything, if you really need to.Otherwise, you're just working with a black box whose ultimate behavior (bugs or features--really the same) is beyond your control and even understanding.(Believe me, I've spent decades working with various black boxes (OS and application APIs), and it ain't all that fun spending a good chunk of your life second-guessing the API vendor and working around their bugs.) |
Good programming language for kids | luminarious: I vote for REBOL. Syntax is really basic, yet really powerful. Can do graphics, simple animation, connect to the web, can accept web connections and is really small.Basic applications at http://musiclessonz.com/rebol.html rebol tutorial include a painting app, e-mail sender and a calculator.Syntax is the real winner. Keywords, "" and [] is basically all. No silly semicolons, curly braces or whatnot. |
Recommendation for web hosting | jokull: I'd dive into EC2 if you're going to be experimenting. For my purposes it's great to be billed only for your exact usage. Transfers to and from S3 are fast and cheap too. |
Recommendation for web hosting | rradu: There will be negative comments for every hosting service you find, and unfortunately it's difficult to tell by reviews alone if the host is good.Look for one with an uptime guarantee and good customer service. Most have a 30-60 day money back guarantee as well, so you may need to use that if what you get isn't what you expected. |
Micro formats? Or, how to make my site's google link look good? | endlessvoid94: It looks like these are called SiteLinks, and there isn't much info about how to get Google to add them, except for "make your site easy for their algorithm to parse".Anyone have any tips? |
Recommendation for web hosting | keefe: You want a virtual private server. Like another poster said, linode has a consistently good performance/cost. I'd highly recommend you host your own DNS (I use dyndns). |
Recommendation for web hosting | oomkiller: Use Linode. Also, don't miss out on their library of HOWTOs, they are quite good. |
Focus Points For Incubator Final Round Presentation? | jfi: the project we are pitching can be found at http://collegejobconnect.com - should have included that in the posting |
Review my app, UnusedCSS.com | mnemonik: I built this because the only existing solutions to finding old legacy CSS that aren't being used anymore that I could find are Firefox plugins. Dust Me Selectors and CSS Usage being the two big ones.I found that I am often at a machine without Firefox, or I don't want to install an addon (or addon for an addon in the case of CSS Usage) just to quickly find out what CSS selectors aren't being used on a given page.All feedback is very welcome! |
any type theory book recommendation? | gtani: This study groups is using the out of print Barr/wells, which I couldn't find for purchasehttp://groups.google.com/group/bacat/topics?start= |
any type theory book recommendation? | alexk7: I didn't read any type theory book but I'm interested in the subject. I think I will buy Pierce's "Types and Programming Languages" based on the recommendations on this thread: http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/node/492 |
any type theory book recommendation? | tophercyll: Chapter 7 of Essentials of Programming Languages (EoPL) has a nice introduction to some basic topics including type checking and type inference.It's a nice gradual introduction, and help me get started with TaPL (although I wish I could say I'd made much progress). |
any type theory book recommendation? | steveklabnik: I personally read "Category Theory for Computer Scientists." - http://www.amazon.com/Category-Computer-Scientists-Foundatio...It was pretty rough. Reactions by page:1-2 "This is pretty easy."
3-5 "Okay, I can see how this is getting harder..."
6-... "My mind is blown."The real difficulty is that it dives into mathematical notation that I'm not used to reading fairly quickly. I'm still slogging away at it in my spare time. |
any type theory book recommendation? | tomstuart: I strongly recommend "Proofs and Types" (http://www.PaulTaylor.EU/stable/Proofs%2BTypes.html), which has the added advantage of being free. |
Good programming language for kids | nfnaaron: Lots of good suggestions in here, depending on the answer to "ask her."I'll just add that at 13 she's old enough to start in with something more "real" than squeak or scratch. While they do teach logic, she'll be able to build on something more realworld-like for much longer (like, forever if she wants). |
Review my app, UnusedCSS.com | tptacek: Would pay for something like this, if it was solid, always up, and didn't require a plugin. |
Review my app, UnusedCSS.com | qeorge: Works well, but I need it to consider the whole site.For instance, I fed it the root URL, and most of the unused selectors it surfaced are in fact used on other parts of the website. |
Review my app, UnusedCSS.com | raju: (I left this as a feedback on your site as well).I agree... works well. But in the case of http://inclojure.com/ it says the URL is broken.On a positive note, I tried it on 2 other sites, and it works really well. Great job. |
Review my app, UnusedCSS.com | matt1: Like others have said, the ability to add multiple URLs so that it can scan the entire site (or better yet, have your code follow the links a few layers deep to discover the pages itself) would be immensely valuable. |
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