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How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | scott_s: "I make computers go fast."(I'm a PhD student in high performance systems.) |
Mac, Windows, Or Linux? | bemmu: Mac Mini for writing code for my rented Linux and Solaris boxes while I'm not playing games on my old PC. |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | fallentimes: Just had this happen to me over Thanksgiving and it went something like this...Grandma: What the heck is a TicketStumbler? Are you still just playing at the computer all day?Me: Oh, have you been to our site Grandma?Grandma: No.Me: Well Grandma, have you ever heard of Expedia, Kayak or Orbitz?Grandma: No.M... |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | thingsilearned: Move away from home to the bay area. |
Mac, Windows, Or Linux? | catone: If anyone is interested, here are the stats for Rails Forum -- which is predictably pretty Mac heavy given how great Rails development is on a Mac.Windows: 47.84% /
Mac: 32.76% /
Linux: 18.95% /
FreeBSD: 0.07%(iPhone is actually ahead of FreeBSD at 0.11% -- even though the site is not iPhone optimized at all) |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | dustineichler: This is a tough one to be honest, my parents are more impressed by the kid down the street who repairs ipods etc... than me working as an sw engineer. Most if they're anything like my family won't understand what they can't see... that is until it makes the 'print media', where at least it's tangible. |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | tdavis: I've basically given up trying to really explain it. I just say I own a business that operates "on the Internet" and hope they stop asking questions after that. My favorite quotes:Dad: When you told me you were quitting school and moving to Boston to start some Internet company I thought it was just a pipe drea... |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | flashgordon: I tell them I am in "Income Redistribution" - Gambling related software. |
Is it worth switching to a Mac? | bayareaguy: I think the real answer depends on the role you play.For work I use character terminals, remote screen sessions and web browsers for everything that matters which leaves me free to use just about any laptop/desktop/os combination I want. Although in theory I'm free to go with whatever I like, I find in pra... |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | bayareaguy: I tell them what I hope to be the truth - I write software which helps businesses run their business better. |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | jmtame: I usually just say I'm a drug dealer. |
Mac, Windows, Or Linux? | jcromartie: For my free time, I want a system that stays out of my way. When I'm done with work for the day, and I want to hack on fun projects in languages from C to Smalltalk to Lua to Scheme, or communicate over various chat protocols and IRC, or do any kind of reading or writing, i do it in OS X. |
What are your best and worst-received comments? | time_management: To start this thing off:My best received, at +23: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=292930This was my worst, at -8, and probably deserving of even more punishment than it got: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=288268 |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | sheriff: don't talk about whats. talk about why's.it's good practice for your marketing. you need to talk to your market in terms of how you're going to help them kick more ass. if you talk to your relatives in terms of whom you help kick more ass, they are more likely to give a shit. |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | callmeed: Generally it's just "I write web software for X industry"Funny story: I was on plane and got to talking to the guy next to me. He asked what I did and I told him (the above line basically). He was thoroughly enthusiastic and kept asking all sorts of questions. I finally got around to asking what he did. He sa... |
Is it worth switching to a Mac? | drawkbox: Unless you need it for gaming (direct x mainly) then yes, go mac.I have gone mac for lots of my development but still roll with vista mainly for games and some development mainly game relates.With the rise of consoles and even Microsoft's own XBOX 360, it is removing the "gaming machine" deciding factor as we... |
What are your best and worst-received comments? | yummyfajitas: My highest and lowest comments were purely smartass remarks:http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=318690http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=165130I posted my #2 highest remark earlier today, and that one actually has some information content: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=391396 |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | catone: It's amazing what drawing a paycheck can do. Once I started making a respectable living as a blogger, my family stopped pestering me about getting a real job or going back to school.Of course, next up might be the startup thing... that'll be a whole new battle. |
What are your best and worst-received comments? | cperciva: Highest scoring comment, at +132: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=372606 .
Probably only rated so highly because lots of people agreed with the position I was arguing for.Lowest scoring comment, at -3: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32150 .
Probably only rated so lowly because of the five words "Yes,... |
What are your best and worst-received comments? | mechanical_fish: Ooh, a greatest hits thread!Best received: +53, http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=240170I've got 8 posts (out of 1248) tied for worst, at zero. I ain't linking to 'em. They are neither a source of pride, nor offensive enough to be of that much interest. ;) |
Is it worth switching to a Mac? | ghshephard: It's really difficult to tell in advance whether a Mac or Windows System will serve you better, though your list of software is a good start - no AutoCad, Visio, Outlook or other platforms lockins.There are three software tools that have kept me chained to Windows XP:o Visio (Yes, I know OmniGraffle, but it... |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | icey: I just go with "I work in software". Nobody really cares to ask more than that usually. |
Mac, Windows, Or Linux? | zacharydanger: Linux does a great job of getting out of your way after you've passed the learning curve. And if you do any sort of web development you can clone your production stack on your development box without worry. |
Is it worth switching to a Mac? | dilanj: You can also use Crossover to use many windows apps on Mac without a VM. Performance is very good in my experience. |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | iamdave: As vaguely as possible."What do you do?"
"I build things"
"Like what?"
"Things that no one really needs but are willing to pay for"
"Oh"Versus"What do you do?"
"I work with computers"
invariably "Oh great, I downloaded a bunch of stuff that I really didn't even need just because the button told me to and now I... |
Is there any way to trace a private call? | jderick: You probably do need to get the police involved to some degree. My nephew had a similar problem a while back and the phone company would only release the phone number to the police.Here is a pretty good link:http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs2a-cellcalls.htm |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | iheartrms: "I work with computers." |
Mac, Windows, Or Linux? | drhowarddrfine: After having spent the day trying to explain how the web works to a few Windows developers, I am further entrenched in the thought that Windows is for people who just don't know any better. |
Is it worth switching to a Mac? | mickt: Hey PG, on Firefox on Ubuntu Linux all the text on this page scrolls about 2 page to the left. First time I've this on YC. Obligatory screenshot:
http://timony.com/mickzblog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/yc.jp... |
What are your best and worst-received comments? | vtmiller: Best one's are when I get to see there face; i.e. they've used http://www.bubblecomment.com to record their own thoughts using a webcam |
Is there any way to trace a private call? | run4yourlives: Why don't you just block the number? |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | zacharydanger: "I push buttons all day." I break down programming into its most basic physical function. |
Is there any way to trace a private call? | vaksel: why don't you want to involve the cops? the whole harassing thing really isn't that big of a deal, the dude will just get a stern talking to, and at least the cops will have the complaint on file in case you need to get a restraining order etc. |
Is it worth switching to a Mac? | natch: In two years of owning a Mac, I have made more progress in improving my personal productivity than I made in the ten years prior to owning a Mac. If that sounds worth it to you, then yes, it's worth it.But then, I got my Mac for the solid "just works" UNIX implementation, not for the nice UI. From that standpoin... |
Is there any way to trace a private call? | nickb: Mitnick showed a way but it's pretty complex: http://voipsa.org/blog/2008/07/23/asterisk-hack-to-show-bloc... |
Is it worth switching to a Mac? | vegai: DOS/Windows for a long time was a gaming platform. By which I mean that the only reason to have it installed around was because some very good games worked only on it.Suddendly, I noticed that I'm keeping an OSX box around the house for the same reason. http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/Pointless anecdotes aside... |
Is there any way to trace a private call? | andr: Quick, call CSI! |
Is it worth switching to a Mac? | markessien: I use a Mac, and it's quite tough to get used to it. Here is the setup I've built, so I can keep my development in windows: http://www.essien.org/blog/2008/12/02/setting-up-your-develo... |
Is it worth switching to a Mac? | siculars: I switched a few years back. first with my laptop via a macbook g4 runnin tiger. that whetted my appetite for mac and allowed me to realize the potential of the platform as a development environment. ultimately i moved my entire development operation over to a mac pro tower loaded up with 16gb ram and a few t... |
Is it worth switching to a Mac? | ashleyw: Made the switch earlier in the year; though I'm a poor student, so ended up downgrading from a decent Windows machine to a 2006 CoreDuo 1.83Ghz Macbook Pro — but even then, its defiantly been worth it!I'd never switch back to Windows, and I prefer to run Adobe products natively, so I don't want to use Linux (h... |
Is it worth switching to a Mac? | boundlessdreamz: For tortoisesvn there is scplugin. Last time I tried it was not as good as tortoisesvn. I just learned the command line commands and now I don't miss tortoisesvn.
http://scplugin.tigris.org/For SQLog you can run it on OS X using Wine. I have a written a guide on how to do that
http://www.manu-j.com/blo... |
Is there any way to trace a private call? | sh1mmer: Talking to the police early is important for a number of reasons, one of the primary ones being you can say that you did if the worst happens and it becomes a full blown stalking. |
Review my Startup, Entitea | bandris: Left after 5 secs because I didn't like the colors. |
Startup/coding podcast recommendations? | bemmu: Answering my own question here, but I found some good pointers in http://www.softwarebyrob.com/2007/07/05/startup-studio-excel... |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | tlb: The reaction you get has nothing to do with what you say, and everything to do with the way you say it. If you act apologetic, they'll be sad for you. If you're enthusiastic they'll be happy for you.A fellow I know is a financial planner. Yawn. But I watched him explain what he did to a woman he was trying to pick... |
What are your best and worst-received comments? | bprater: Wow, I started going through my threads (because I didn't take the time to read that there was a sorted karma link!) and I was surprised how damn much I've had to say since I started posting here. It was a bit of a walk back through time. |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | jjs: I shuffle bits... the customer shuffles bits... the banks shuffle bits... and everybody's happy, as long as everyone's put the right bits in the right bins. |
What to do about a strike? | brl: Crossing a picket line is not the right way to take a principled stand against unions. If you don't like unions, then don't take a job in a union shop.I'm surprised that nobody else has mentioned the social consequences of the decision you are considering. If you cross the picket line you are a 'scab' and some of... |
Is it worth switching to a Mac? | mstevens: I started with Linux and some windows, went to Mac, and have gone back to Linux (with windows for gaming).For you I'd recommend it. Everything is just that little bit easier and more consistent. You do seem to spend more money but I think it's worth it in time saved.My main reason to avoid the mac is wanting ... |
Startup/coding podcast recommendations? | bootload: "... Only podcast I'm regularly listening to is the Stack Overflow podcast ..."SO is pretty good value. Try- itconverstation (the best, varied) ~ http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/- guardian (light) ~ http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/series/techweekly- dan bricklan (quirky) ~ http://www.softwaregarden.c... |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | bootload: "... How do you explain what you do to Foo? ..."not something I've really thought of much... but at the supermarket early this morning it went something like this:ME "Everyone is very cheery here?" (referring to singing employee - who sings at 7?)CHECKOUT "Yes, she is quite happy always smiling."ME "So they d... |
Is it worth switching to a Mac? | Jem: When I first started my job (where I am now) they put on a Mac. My biggest pet peeve as a developer was having to use a keyboard shortcut to get # instead of being able to press 1 key. (There were other keyboard issues too, but these were specific to me as a UK-er; can expand if necessary.)If you're already using ... |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | psnajder: The things I do to my relatives are so awful, I can't ever explain, no matter how many times you ask. |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | Jem: This reminds me of a conversation I had with a lady at the bank once.Lady: "What do you do, then?"Me: "I'm a web developer"Lady: "Oh, so a web designer!"Me: "Er, close, I'm a web developer - I make designs work"Lady: "Oh, I get it! So like in Microsoft Word?"Me: "..."Thankfully, the majority of my family are compu... |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | azharcs: I really wish all my relatives read "Founders at Work" and understand the people who start-up better. I get ridiculed for working in the night and sleeping till noon and i get compared with owls and dogs for that but i always think of myself as Batman when i work all night. |
Is it worth switching to a Mac? | jwr: I switched to a Mac after spending 15+ years mostly on Linux, and haven't looked back. It really improved my productivity, because most things Just Work. It isn't perfect, but it is significantly less broken and insane than either Windows or Linux. |
Review my Startup, Entitea | prakash: When I looked at your domain name, prior to clicking on the link, I thought, that's a pretty cool domain name -- must be doing something with regard to the semantic web -- silly me! |
Review my web app | ErrantX: I like :)In terms of the web interfact make the "contract" appear at the top of the expanded box.Waiting to see what the mail is like :) should be good because I tend to get linked to a LOT during the day. Any way of setting up 2 or more mails? Getting a 6am shot of overnight stuff and then a 5pm "after work" ... |
How should I go about learning CS? | jsmcgd: What do you want to ultimately achieve? Do you want to become a hacker or do you want to know about computer science for intellectual gratification? While these options certainly aren't mutually exclusive, they can however be very distinct.If you want to be a productive programmer there is no substitution for p... |
How should I go about learning CS? | Rod: IMHO, you don't need to know much theory to do testing. Programming is not a science, it's more of an art. Artisans don't need PhD's in Discrete Math to get their job done. Instead, they need passion, perseverance and tenacity. It's good that you want to learn about theory, but reading books is not enough... you h... |
How should I go about learning CS? | speek: Learn Scheme -> Read/watch SICP. Work your way up to algorithms. Build stuff. |
How should I go about learning CS? | yan: CS is a gigantic field and if you start midnlessly wandering around, you're surely to be overwhelmed with how much stuff exists. I have a MS in CS and I still feel like a majority of topics are way over my head. I find that I have to spend a bulk of my time for some period on very specific things to feel like I go... |
Is it worth switching to a Mac? | neovive: I just wanted to thank everyone for all the great advice. It seems that everyone's experience varies in some way -- both positive and negative. I'm going to test drive a friends MacBook for a few days to give it a true test (keyboard mappings, etc.). I also plan to give Linux a try as well. |
Review my web app | josefresco: "We treat your password with the utmost care and security and the second after you entered it it gets encrypted"This is cool, but the login page isn't https (which will confuse the noobs) and I don't think a paragraph on security is needed. Maybe just some sort of 'lock' graphic and 1 sentence explaining y... |
Review my web app | hellyeahdude: Wow this is a really useful tool. Especially for the power-users. A lot of development that I am having my team do is based on and for those power-users. I think that's the best way to start getting a lot of use. Since basically, we are all becoming power users, and setting ourselves up with that goal ini... |
How should I go about learning CS? | gcv: I'm impressed that you chose to approach learning from a theoretical point of view. It will serve you well; you will understand algorithmic approaches which stump a lot of people who lack a theoretical background. (Please, no "I never got a CS degree, but I know what I'm doing" replies --- the HN audience is more ... |
Startup/coding podcast recommendations? | tstegart: There's one called Venture Voice. They interview start-up founders. |
How to Building a first look website for stake holders? | tstegart: Just use a blogging service. Usually free or cheap, and allows uploading of text, pictures or video. Very simple to organize your ideas and very little time involved in setting it up. |
How should I go about learning CS? | sireat: www.catonmat.com is a CS themed blog that gets posted here from time to time and is quite educational. The writer is a physics BS who self taught enough CS to get through all the interviews at Google(but was not hired at the end). |
How should I go about learning CS? | markessien: I'm a hardware guy, so I've got a different approach. I'd say, drop the algorithms book. Start with a book called "Structured Computer Organization" by Andrew Tanenbaum. After you read that book, you'll feel like you actually KNOW a lot more.And after you read that book, you'll probably know a lot more than... |
How should I go about learning CS? | nihilocrat: Write some code. It sounds like you are reading a little too much about math. Not all CS is math, otherwise we would all just be math majors.People keep mentioning the Wizard book (SICP). It sounds like it would be perfect for you. I think it veers too much on the side of theory for most people, but it soun... |
Review my Startup, Entitea | rkowalick: The website is gorgeous and the interface is fantastic.Honestly, the main problem with this website is that gourmet tea lovers don't use recipes. They buy rare and expensive teas and use time-tested ancient brewing methods to get the most out of their treasures.If you want to cash in on a niche connoseuir [s... |
How should I go about learning CS? | ig1: New Turing Omnibus - it's pretty much the best overview of CS theory for non-CS people. |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | safetytrick: I lay the bodies of my relatives in shallow graves.I laid my relatives to rest years ago.I don't have relatives.My story changes from year to year.I enjoy telling my story and explaining my business model to my family, whatever I am excited about at the time is normally easy enough to relate to something t... |
Will it be a good time to launch a webapp in next 2 weeks here at HN? | dawie: I think that hackers often work through the "normal" holiday time. I know that I use time to get some stuff done for sure. Some people might have a bit more time and therefore spend some more time reviewing your app. |
Will it be a good time to launch a webapp in next 2 weeks here at HN? | pg: You should always just launch whenever you're ready.
It's a mistake to try to launch at specific times when
you think people are paying attention, because everyone
else does too. |
Finding a job for the rest of my life | ram1024: nice block of text for someone purporting to "hate writing" :Din any case, i don't think there's a job that distinctively encompasses "learner/problemsolver" sans the execution of the actual fix itself :(you need to be independently wealthy and be a designer/projectmanager and commission your own ideas into re... |
Mac, Windows, Or Linux? | morlockhq: Linux, preferably of the Ubuntu/Debian persuasionI have a Windows partition on my laptop for some work stuff and to help with Windows support, but I almost never boot it. I generally just work from memory on that stuff. |
Finding a job for the rest of my life | tstegart: Interesting thing on Google's hiring practices:"I like to hire people who have two traits. They’re smart, and they get things done.""Smart people who aren’t closers tend to flail. Small startups get rid of these people fast because they stand out. But sometimes they can find a place to hide in larger organiza... |
Is it worth switching to a Mac? | mdoar: I use similar apps, plus emacs. I switched about a year ago and have been happy with VMWare, though you do need to max out your RAM. Swapping can take a few seconds sometimes.
I use a Mac Mini plus double-angle keyboard and external monitors bigger than any laptop screen. I wouldn't go back. |
How should I go about learning CS? | gills: My opinion might stray a little bit from some of the answers here. I don't think a CS education is complete without an understanding of how the whole stack works.So work through the Scheme lessons in SICP or HTDP, it's a fun and playful language! You can easily build interesting algorithms and watch them in ac... |
Is a survey a good way to get user feedback? | answerly: Check out usertesting.com. I have had a lot of success using their service. For about $19 you get a screencast and talk track of a user trying to complete certain goals (that you pre-determine) on your site. Its not perfect, but it is a great way to get insights from 3-5 users that you can then use to crea... |
How should I go about learning CS? | silentbicycle: Speaking as another history undergrad, here's what I've found helpful:Read HTDP (http://htdp.org/), SICP (http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/), and/or CTM (http://www.info.ucl.ac.be/~pvr/book.html), and do most of the exercises. They're all huge books, but getting even halfway into any of them will cover a tre... |
How should I go about learning CS? | axod: Pick a goal first:"I want to write an operating system""I want to write a video game""I want to write a raytracer""I want to write new firmware for my TV"Then do it, learning what you need along the way. Forget "CS", just do it. |
How should I go about learning CS? | jwesley: Keep posting threads here asking for tips. |
Finding a job for the rest of my life | gaius: How do I find a job I could love for the rest of my life?You can't. You in 10 years may - probably will - be a different person. You have to make choices now that keep your options open, yet at the same time don't get paralyzed by indecision. Good luck! |
Will it be a good time to launch a webapp in next 2 weeks here at HN? | jjs: Go for it!I tend to spend huge amounts of time online during the holiday season. (This time, I'll be building the project I should've built the same time last year)... |
Finding a job for the rest of my life | nostrademons: The job description you want is basically "tenured professor". Unfortunately, getting there is tough, and requires that you "close" at least one major project (your Ph.D).I was like this all through school and college. I hated writing. I loved learning. I absorbed all these textbooks, aced the tests, ... |
Will it be a good time to launch a webapp in next 2 weeks here at HN? | donw: No, there will never be a good time to launch an application. Ever. We're all doomed. The future is in startups that target the cockroach market. Suggest you form a company based on random cheese, or find a way to turn stupidity into lollipops. |
How should I go about learning CS? | nostrademons: I'm going to repost my e-mail response to you here, in case others are interested: As a first step, I've bought Discrete Mathematics book and reading it for last two months.
Good. What should I move on to once I understand Discrete Maths? Straight to algorithms? How do I approach algorithms?
I... |
Will it be a good time to launch a webapp in next 2 weeks here at HN? | vaksel: Its actually better to release during slow news days, because you'll get more exposure since you don't have to compete for attention |
Review my web app | jtuyen: Very nice.. I've been looking for something like this. Keep up the good work ;) |
Monetizing a Twitter bot? | utnick: maybe you could sell/license your feature to another package tracker that does make money? |
Finding a job for the rest of my life | hs: You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird... So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing -- that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing someth... |
How should I go about learning CS? | bprater: Who do companies want to hire?They want to hire someone that is amazingly good at something.Someone that is truly passionate.Someone that really gets what they are doing.Many of us are generalists, because we've been doing this gig so long. We've soaked up a myriad of technologies.But it takes a lifetime of ex... |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | toddcw: Someone once gave me this bit of advice that usually seems to work for me:"Sometimes a little inaccuracy can save a whole lot of explanation." |
What's New in SEO? | bergin: cant think of anything but SEO is pretty unimportant compared to customer focused copy and the sites connectedness |
Monetizing a Twitter bot? | emmett: How many unique users per day do you have? The size of your service really determines the correct course. |
Monetizing a Twitter bot? | pstinnett: You have a lot of followers / are following a lot of users, so you could look into using Magpie (be-a-magpie.com) to do some ads. I think you would need to post more often to twitter.com/trackthis to really start making money from it though. It also raises the issue of advertising to your users / spamming th... |
How do you explain what you do to your relatives? | khafra: What I do to my relatives is difficult to explain.My explanations of my work, though, vary with the comprehension I expect from the listener. For my uncle, an engineer with more patents than I've had drunken inspirations, I go in-depth into whatever has me most excited at the moment. For my cousin, the horse ... |
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