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allanchao

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I started programming when I was about 8, and have been a hacker ever since. I prefer the MS stack. I own a company that helps entrepreneurs start their startups, and I hold a key role for several startups. Feel free to send me an email or contact me, I'd love to get in touch.

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[dead] 15 years ago

No comment on the contents of the article, but (1) inaccurate article title (see below) and (2) incredible hard-to-read web design.

"I realize I might take some heat for lumping women, children and the mentally handicapped in the same group. So I want to be perfectly clear. I’m not saying women are similar to either group."

It's interesting that in a different article, I think it's Sequoia that said something along the lines of "something as revolutionary as this comes around once a decade. It's the next Google".

Seems like the goal of color is to aggregate vast amounts of real world data, like the Google of physical life.

I use Quickbooks 2011 desktop. It's pretty 1995 when it comes to user interface, but it actually does everything I need and want, and I wouldn't move without very good reason. It has the online connecting stuff that you're talking about, but I've heard from a lot of CPAs that using that feature correctly is more difficult than it sounds.

Business accounting is one of the most non-modern fields I've ever seen.

It may be hard for you to find a job directly. A lot of lower level positions are filled by temp agencies. I would recommend looking into that. Think of a temp agency like an internship where you actually get paid decently - it frequently turns into a full time position.

Another way to go is to freelance. There are always small businesses that need little help here and there with their website. The key to that is to build relationships.

For developers who have more experience and also looking for jobs, going to events and speaking with recruiters can work well. Doesn't work for less experienced though, because it's not worth going through a recruiter for that ($$).

Two points. First, yes you are getting screwed. I pay developers in south asia more than you are getting paid here in the US. Please no flaming about that - it's relevant because the cost of living is so vastly different between US and (e.g.) India.

Second, some negotiation advice. Don't ask for a significant raise until you have a second offer. Negotiation is all about the BATNA (google it), and from what I've read, you don't have one. So go get one first, then negotiate.

Sorry, but usually idea is worth virtually nothing. Having been a technical co-founder before and now the business founder, I've been on both sides of the coin. Unless you have actually built a profitable business before, it's very hard to justify the value that you bring to the table.

The technical co-founder already has experience and pretty much knows the issues he's going to face, and how he's going to handle them. If you haven't built a business before, then you do not know the issues that you'll face or how you're going to handle them. So his value probably far outweighs yours, even though it's your idea.

I'm pretty sure trademark protection only affects the domain that it's trademarked in. On the link below by personalcompute, it's the "Goods and Services". So that means you can still use the word color in normal use, but I'd be cautious of saying "there's a lot of color in that facebook photo".

Wow, this is the most personally insulting article I've ever read on HN. I've been programming since I was 8, worked at a successful startup (that used .NET exclusively), and do most of my pet projects on the MS stack.

I can't agree with him on any of his examples on why .NET is a bad platform. Backslashes and coordinates systems are trivial. I can't imagine any point for any startup where it's necessary to know the bytes going over the wire when dealing with networking. Code generation is an incredible time saver, and can easily be deleted if the generated code is unnecessary. Expensive servers have nothing to do with quality of code. I've never heard of a .NET developer allergic to open source, not to mention that also has very little bearing on quality of code.

I would propose that the platform is a tool, and a developer who can only use that one tool is limited. But it's totally ridiculous to discriminate against someone for knowing how to use the tool and having experience with it.