Items in Oct, 2013
Filters: Year: 2013 × Month: Oct × Sorted by date
My contract with web developer says a) she will create a unique description for each page, AND b) that she is not responsible for writing or inputting any content. Now she wants me to compose the page descriptions, citing (b). What do you think? Edit...
You should write the copy. Copy is important—you don’t want it to be written by someone who believes it isn’t even their responsibility, and will hence probably do a poor job of it.
[... 93 words]Is it common a Silicon Valley startup give employee free shares, or just option to purchase shares?
The problem with giving people shares outright is that they have to pay tax on them. If the company later goes bust (as many do) and the shares hence prove to be worthless, the employee has paid tax on something that has no actual value.
[... 147 words]Can I promote an online/virtual/ webinar event through Meetup?
No. That’s specifically mentioned as something Meetup should not be used for in their community guidelines: Meetup’s Community Guidelines
[... 54 words]Should I ever use GIF image format for non animated elements?
These days probably not—anything non-animated that you would use a GIF for is generally better as a PNG.
[... 37 words]How was FriendFeed’s schema less db faster than pure MySQL?
The principle reason they switched to a schemaless DB was to work around the challenges of having to make schemes changes in MySQL, which can lock the table and take hours if bit days to complete in large tables.
[... 115 words]For a 2-day developer conference in SF, which two days of the week are best?
It depends on the topic and the audience.
[... 111 words]What is the Hacker News technology stack?
It’s written in Arc, a Lisp variant created by Paul Graham. I believe it uses the file system for storage rather than a dedicated database.
[... 70 words]Is it possible to run a successful company without being unethical or operating on the fringes of the law?
There is nothing inherently unethical about entrepreneurship. Find a problem people have. Figure out how much money solving it will save them (or help them make). Charge them less than that.
[... 108 words]What are most important websites, online sources of knowledge and news for startups?
Hacker News is still the best starting point, which is pretty impressive considering how long the community has been around.
[... 41 words]Http://www.theacademyofbusinessstrategy.com? I’ve been contacted by this ABS to pursue some kind of degree leading to lots of money. It definitely looks like a scam, but is it? Has anyone actually done business with them? Are they legit?
When this exact same question was asked on Yahoo Answers a couple of months ago http://answers.yahoo.com/questio... someone showed up the same day with a very positive testimonial. I wonder if the same thing will happen here on Quora.
[... 82 words]Will it ever be possible to know all the variables involving a specific chaotic event, like the lottery numbers?
IANAP (I Am Not A Physicist) but my understanding of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle is that it is impossible to know both the exact position and the exact momentum of a particle at the same time. So no.
[... 62 words]What are good topics for panel discussions?
Anything that’s controversial in your industry, especially if it’s a recent debate. Just make sure that your panelists disagree—there’s nothing more boring than a panel where everyone has exactly the same opinion.
[... 99 words]What design techniques does Apple use in the introduction page of iPad Air?
Apple used the same technique on their Apple—Mac Pro page. I first saw this trick used on the BeerCamp at SXSW 2011 page.
[... 91 words]Are there more annual TED and TED-related conferences than there are days in the year?
According to http://www.ted.com/TEDx there were 245 community-run TEDx events in 61 countries in just the last month, so yes it’s safe to say there are considerably more annually than there are days in the year.
[... 57 words]Do you need the feature in Dropbox mobile app that allows using the chosen files in offline mode? Why?
I use this all the time. It’s especially useful for travelling (when you’re abroad you often don’t have inexpensive cellular data or access to WiFi). I use it for:
[... 117 words]Why doesn’t Yelp require a login? Is there evidence that suggests that acquiring users at the engagement stage versus initial landing is effective in specific markets?
Unnecessarily requiring a login to browse is (in my opinion) dumb. It discourages people from sharing links to content on the surface and can prevent search engines from indexing content, both of which are terrible for SEO. It also puts a pointless barrier in front of people who are trying to figure out if your service is any use, and encourages fake signups which pointlessly pollute your user database.
[... 101 words]What are some of the best offbeat attractions in London?
Camden Passage antiques market in Islington (near Angel tube) should be right up your street. It’s full of fascinating characters and intriguing shops, including bits and pieces of WWII memorabilia.
[... 46 words]Which event gave you a real happiness?
The Maker Faire in California, and the Mini Maker Faire in Brighton, UK. The enthusiasm for making things for the sake of making things is delightful and infectious.
[... 41 words]What are movie scenes where the hero hurtles from high-up to Earth and nearly dies, but is saved somehow?
You may find http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwik... relevant.
[... 31 words]Why didn’t Apple release a gold (champagne) iPad?
According to John Gruber: http://daringfireball.net/2013/1...
[... 65 words]What exactly the error meaning client closed prematurely connection while sending to client from upstream in nginx?
I think it means that the connection to the user’s browser was lost before the request had been fully transferred—for example due to the user hitting the stop button in their browser or switching off their wifi connection.
[... 63 words]What are the most “New Yorkers” experiences you can do in London?
There’s a Shake Shack (legendary NY burger chain) in Covent Garden now.
[... 30 words]What kind of website can be run on AWS for 10, 100, 1 thousand, 10 thousand, 100 thousand, 1 million dollars per month?
“But is there a simple way to say that for 10$ per month you can run website on AWS, that has X unique users and Y data transfer...”
[... 166 words]Would you test your web app against simulated infrastructure failure?
I think this is a pretty interesting idea—simulating these kind of conditions isn’t easy so I imagine many teams don’t bother. If it was good (really easy to get started with, great control and reporting tools, maybe helped set up the actual tests to replay) and I trusted the service I would definitely consider paying for it.
[... 125 words]Does y combinator review applications in the order they were received? If you apply just right before the deadline should you not expect your app to be reviewed before next week?
Appslications are reviewed in random order.
[... 43 words]What company or service sends the most beautifuly designed emails?
Litmus (who provide an excellent email testing tool) send out the most attractive newsletter in my inbox.
[... 36 words]How do I explain my patchy job history to a VC when pitching investment?
I wouldn’t worry about it. Entrepreneurs often have patchy job histories. A VC is much more likely to understand “I took a few months off to work on a startup idea” than a regular employer.
[... 55 words]What is the role of angel investors? Do they help people who find themselves in financial difficulty relating to a business failure?
I’m afraid you are misinterpreting the word “angel” in the term “angel investor”.
[... 139 words]Y Combinator: I want to apply to YC and I have 5 people on my team. we have two founders one technical and one designer but on our application I want to only include our three programmers one being a founder. Is this frowned upon at YC and does it hu...
YC are fine with three founders—no need to limit it to two.
[... 143 words]Why is it important to expand/upgrade my professional network?
There are plenty of reasons, but the most obvious is for finding a better job. Next time you are job hunting having a high quality, wide ranging network can make a huge difference.
[... 148 words]