jseims

9 ms·

31.
by jseims 14y ago
Another kind of evil (but effective) approach is to allow the user to do all those post-signup activities (like set up a dashboard or create some content), and then say "now sign up" at the end. They're already invested, so you get better c
32.
by jseims 14y ago
An OO JS tutorial should also include a discussion of the this pointer, and how it's not like other OO languages. In JS, this reflects the context of the caller , not the object (which I think is messed up), so you have to learn c
33.
by jseims 14y ago
If I were to ask 2 questions, I would: 1) Ask something simple, like FizzBuzz. You'd be shocked at how many people talk a good talk but can't actually write basic code. 2) Ask an open-ended question, like "how would you design a multi-play
34.
by jseims 14y ago
Fantastic article. Thanks articulating your perspective.
35.
by jseims 14y ago
As the first commenter almost an hour after posting, I just want to say it's ironic* that no one is discussing our flight from conversation. *ironic in the Alanis Morissette way, that is.
36.
by jseims 14y ago
I'm sure others have achieved significant gains... I just haven't experienced them, and it sounds like you haven't, either. What I found does move the needle are: 1) Changing how much I charge, including adding upsells, and 2) Getting new
37.
by jseims 14y ago
I own a subscription-based online business, and I've done many A/B tests of new designs, and my conclusions is pretty similar to yours. Namely, it's always way more work than you expect, especially when you have legacy customers with prio
38.
by jseims 15y ago
Not sure if this is helpful, but I feel this is the wrong crowd to ask. Developer needs are pretty efficiently met. I'd suggest asking other groups, such as doctors, lawyers, moms.
39.
by jseims 15y ago
According to Facebook's S1 filings, their expenses correspond to roughly $1 per user per year, and their revenue is $4 per user per year. I would pay > $4 per year if it meant I controlled my Facebook data (i.e., I was the customer, not
40.
by jseims 15y ago
I think this is an inherent side effect of advertising-based revenue models. As they say "if you're not paying for it, you're the product being sold". If you sell something for money, there's a single moment where your interests diverge fr
41.
by jseims 15y ago
I'd add micropayments to this list. If someone built a system (and -- the hard part -- it got widespread adoption) to charge a few cents with low friction, it could disrupt advertising.
42.
by jseims 15y ago
I'm starting to work on a platform for people to explicitly state who they want to connect with, and to handle the social flow from "hello stranger" to "let's talk". Anyone interested in helping out, please message me (josh at tristara dot
43.
by jseims 15y ago
It would be REALLY interesting to flip this model. In other words, AT&T redistributes a portion of their subscription revenue to app makers based on the bandwidth they get people to use. Then, app makers would have a direct financial in
44.
by jseims 15y ago
From the perspective of a web developer, what I don't like about Facebook Connect is I give up ownership of my user accounts. In other words (unless I ask for and maintain separate user tables), all the login credentials stay with Facebook.
45.
by jseims 15y ago
What gets me is it's 2012 and we still have to keep solving account management over and over. It's a big bucket of word dealing with multiple signup methods, resetting passwords, profile pictures, etc. I wish there were an open source pr
46.
by jseims 15y ago
Then you'll need a native app. You may be able to use the Google Hangout API.
47.
by jseims 15y ago
Does anyone have any insight as to why the W3C has taken over 10 years to converge on the spec for rounded corners? Any info more than just "bureaucracy"?
48.
by jseims 15y ago
If you're doing live conferencing, and don't want to force people to install a plugin, you'll need Flash. Which won't work on a phone. Is that ok?
49.
by jseims 15y ago
IMO, the hard part isn't rendering enough polygons to be photorealistic. It's crossing the uncanny valley of human facial expressions, so they look natural rather than creepy.
50.
Ask HN: how to find a good designer in San Francisco
1 points by jseims 15y ago|0 comments
51.
by jseims 15y ago
As someone who works with both Flash and HTML5, this news makes me sad. Flash just works for much better. There are no cross-browser issues (except those that don't support it at all -- thanks, Apple). And ActionScript is a better languag
52.
by jseims 15y ago
Thank you, thank you!
53.
by jseims 15y ago
I used to teach the first CS course at both Harvard and University of Washington. I didn't have this issue at Harvard, but at UW there was definitely a bimodal distribution in abilities. Roughly half the students had what I feel is a more
54.
by jseims 15y ago
This is how I work. As an "army of one" you can be almost as fast as a small team, and you can execute with much higher conceptual coherence. I.e., you can aim better. It is important to filter out ideas you're not interested in running, e
55.
by jseims 15y ago
There are many dimensions to "how good you are as a programmer". How you approach a 1000 line project is different from a 100,000 line project. The best practices for a good solo developer are different from a team developer. And most impor
56.
This Photograph Cannot be Efficiently Priced(tristara.com)
3 points by jseims 15y ago|0 comments
57.
What I Learned by Starting a Company(tristara.com)
8 points by jseims 15y ago|0 comments
58.
Show HN: a cool way to view YouTube's top 1000 videos(tristara.com)
5 points by jseims 15y ago|0 comments
59.
by jseims 15y ago
I was using SuperCache, and that seemed sufficient when I did some load tests. I think what killed me was the micro instance only has ~617 megs of ram. The medium instance is holding up fine.
60.
by jseims 15y ago
I just wanted to say you guys crashed my site with all your traffic. Lesson learned: don't send HN to an EC2 micro instance. I upgraded to a medium instance, let's see how it works...

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