swies

8 ms·

31.
by swies 15y ago
We operate under the assumption that our customers don't want to be "engaged" or talked to. People use Ninite to get apps installed quickly and without any hassle. That's it. They don't use it because they need a new friend, or want to be m
32.
by swies 15y ago
I bet we'd be exactly as successful with a better name. Are there examples of products where an awesome name made them into successes? Or even had a significant impact? I'm sure you could tank a product with an offensive name or something t
33.
by swies 15y ago
Thanks, this is a really great compliment. One of my favorite things about Ninite is that we get thank you letters from grandmothers who hear about us on the local news and orders from Fortune 500 companies for the same basic product.
34.
by swies 15y ago
Oops, I didn't mean to come off as saying that the author's problem isn't real. I understand where he's coming from and we hear similar things from a lot of users. But, there's not a good solution available so I don't really worry about it
35.
by swies 15y ago
I'm a co-founder of Ninite. We hear this a lot, but I don't think it's a big deal. Traffic has been growing well since we launched and we install 1,000,000 apps every week now. The real problem is that there's not really a term for what we
36.
by swies 15y ago
Have it just be a caption under the video asking users to tweet if they like it. Maybe even have it slide down into view after the video, or 5 minutes into it, or right after the best part of the video. Blocking the video with the prompt st
37.
by swies 15y ago
Ah! That makes perfect sense. Thank you. The tone of it just came off as absurd in an article about raising so much money. I think I like the charity auction route much more than the raffle with that in mind. The auction is simple and famil
38.
by swies 15y ago
Congrats! It's a great idea and well implemented. Though I started laughing and got distracted at the raffle note: "If you do win, you’ll be asked to pay the $35 set fee for the meal" It's an article about raising $1.6 million. The contest
39.
Ninite (YC W08): A Better Way to Find & Install Windows & Linux Apps(mashable.com)
11 points by swies 16y ago|0 comments
40.
by swies 16y ago
Technically, it also marks our switch from Django to Tornado. Tornado is remarkable for how much it just stays out of the way. The end of our time on Django started to feel like new features were at war with the framework.
41.
About the Ninite.com Site Redesign(blog.ninite.com)
3 points by swies 16y ago|1 comments
42.
by swies 16y ago
Could you add @ninite (YC W08). We just got the name a couple weeks ago.
43.
Ninite.com (YC W08) has new urls that make sharing multiple apps easy(lifehacker.com)
1 points by swies 16y ago|0 comments
44.
Apt-get for Windows: Ninite (YC W08) gets command-line app selection(blog.ninite.com)
6 points by swies 16y ago|0 comments
45.
by swies 16y ago
It's that asking users about something like this is only a solution for the most advanced users and a burden for everyone else. If something is generally useful it should be bundled without question, and if it's junk or obtrusive it should
46.
by swies 16y ago
Not at all. I make http://ninite.com to help people avoid garbage like that. I'm saying that defaults matter a lot in technology and that offering an opt out is a cop out. Normal people won't even see the option.
47.
by swies 16y ago
The goal of self-contained packages is a good one. I love that this isolation is getting enforced through sandboxing on new platforms like iOS. Sort of off the main point, but I think Apple's thing just makes it easier for publishers to lin
48.
by swies 16y ago
OK, that was a bit of a stretch. I picked an extreme example to illustrate how broken asking users is. Probably shouldn't have dragged the author into it though.
49.
by swies 16y ago
Nope. It's the worst on Windows, but it's bad everywhere (except my iPhone). Linux package managers are pretty good, but if you try to get other software things get weird. Installing Dropbox on Ubuntu is surprisingly bad. You have to click
50.
by swies 16y ago
This is why we made http://updateflash.org I need to put something up at updatejava.org one of these days too.
51.
by swies 16y ago
Putting the option in an advanced pane would be as good as not having it. The sort of people who would see it are the same ones that already keep an eye on their browser plugins and uninstall ones they don't like. I guess my real issue here
52.
by swies 16y ago
The solution of asking users if they want to install these plugins is horrible. The average user has no idea what a browser plugin is. Adding an option (or even worse another screen in the installer) for this will only result in users accep
53.
by swies 16y ago
This is why you should encourage people to install apps via http://ninite.com We decline obtrusive toolbars and other junk automatically. Software installation is unbelievably terrible on everything but phones.
54.
Accessible Apps for the Blind from Ninite.com (YC W08)(blog.ninite.com)
1 points by swies 16y ago|0 comments
55.
by swies 16y ago
Yep, definitely my favorite professor. Too bad to see him go, but it sounds like Google's a great fit for what he wants to do.
56.
by swies 16y ago
Going solo is terribly hard. The worst part is that you don't know how much you're missing by not having a co-founder until you've seen what great collaboration is like (spoiler: it is really good). Of all the great things to get out of do
57.
by swies 16y ago
Sorry about that, it's one of the pitfalls of building a new brand. Google "install multiple apps" or something similar and we'll be the first result.
58.
Ninite.com (YC W08) Turns One: Lots of stats plus an AMA(blog.ninite.com)
7 points by swies 16y ago|3 comments
59.
by swies 16y ago
Yes, just run the installer again (they always get the latest versions, regardless of when they were made). We're looking into building some sort of dedicated update checker too. Glad to hear you like it.
60.
by swies 16y ago
http://ninite.com is getting close to apt-get for Windows. We're working on a Mac version too. Things are better on Linux, but not all rosy. Installing Dropbox, for example, is a surprisingly crappy experience (windows popping up, separ

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