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> Why did the silk road want a data visualization app? Telemetry, analytics, data visualization, and things like AB testing would probably work just as well fo

by CoryG89 10y ago

> Why did the silk road want a data visualization app? Telemetry, analytics, data visualization, and things like AB testing would probably work just as well for a dark web market as they would for Amazon. It's all about the money. As for why they felt they needed to create their own specific tool for this specifically, I'm not sure.

busterarm 10y ago
Because it's virtually all SaaS these days. Can't exactly use some hosted service when you're running an illegal business over Tor. And it takes less time and is safer to write the software yourself than to do a full code audit of any self-hosted solution. Plus that would usually involve business contracts, etc.
krick 10y ago
You want to believe it, because it would be a more exciting story. But if I wanted you to make me an analytic app for the Silk Road, I would tell you I want an analytic app for a marketplace. Which will be selling toys or whatever. Amazon 2.0. Not a fucking spaceship. It wouldn't be very plausible even if this guy was a programmer, asked to make some generic analytics engine for a spaceship (because things rarely are truly completely generic). But this guy is a designer. You do not hire a designer, because drawing a picture for UI is some secret knowledge available only to them, but because it requires spending your time thinking about this specific problem and picking pretty colors. So if I wanted to make some app without telling designers about the real purpose of the app, I wouldn't really need a designer at all. I would hire a programmer and ask him to make me another Salesforce, with exactly the same GUI.
- jordache 10y ago
  space x also wouldn't hire some random green designer to develop a solution to analyze space ship data. They will use well vetted commercial solutions. LOL this author is BSing for sure..
  - krick 10y ago
    SpaceX didn't hire anyone. Did you read it at all? It was some guy (Blake Benthall aka "Defcon"), who previously worked at SpaceX, who allegedly hired this guy Thomas to make UI for some project of his own that he (Defcon) intended to sell to SpaceX later. I'm not saying the whole story isn't BS, but at least it didn't claim what you assume it claimed.
    - jordache 10y ago
      I'm saying from the author's perspective, wouldn't he question why spacex need such paltry solution to visualize data from billion dollar projects? Either author is too dim to realize this obvious conflict, or he is just lying, and a poor lie at that.. Don't even say spacex. Just claim some CRUD start up instead

by CoryG89 10y ago

busterarm 10y ago

Because it's virtually all SaaS these days. Can't exactly use some hosted service when you're running an illegal business over Tor. And it takes less time and is safer to write the software yourself than to do a full code audit of any self-hosted solution. Plus that would usually involve business contracts, etc.

krick 10y ago

You want to believe it, because it would be a more exciting story. But if I wanted you to make me an analytic app for the Silk Road, I would tell you I want an analytic app for a marketplace. Which will be selling toys or whatever. Amazon 2.0. Not a fucking spaceship. It wouldn't be very plausible even if this guy was a programmer, asked to make some generic analytics engine for a spaceship (because things rarely are truly completely generic). But this guy is a designer. You do not hire a designer, because drawing a picture for UI is some secret knowledge available only to them, but because it requires spending your time thinking about this specific problem and picking pretty colors. So if I wanted to make some app without telling designers about the real purpose of the app, I wouldn't really need a designer at all. I would hire a programmer and ask him to make me another Salesforce, with exactly the same GUI.

jordache 10y ago
space x also wouldn't hire some random green designer to develop a solution to analyze space ship data. They will use well vetted commercial solutions. LOL this author is BSing for sure..
- krick 10y ago
  SpaceX didn't hire anyone. Did you read it at all? It was some guy (Blake Benthall aka "Defcon"), who previously worked at SpaceX, who allegedly hired this guy Thomas to make UI for some project of his own that he (Defcon) intended to sell to SpaceX later. I'm not saying the whole story isn't BS, but at least it didn't claim what you assume it claimed.
  - jordache 10y ago
    I'm saying from the author's perspective, wouldn't he question why spacex need such paltry solution to visualize data from billion dollar projects? Either author is too dim to realize this obvious conflict, or he is just lying, and a poor lie at that.. Don't even say spacex. Just claim some CRUD start up instead