culley

Consumer:

Cook's Illustrated (for access to Solid Tested Recipes)

NetFlix

Consumer Reports (big purchases)

Mozy (Online Back Up)

used to pay for WSJ but dropped that due to News Corp content degradation.

Work pays several Online Journal and Library Access fees for me.

This was actually harder to come up with than I imagined because several of these only bill yearly or every two years and so the pain of paying virtually disappears...

Post to Craigslist personals to drive traffic.

People hitting up the personals likely have funny stories to share.

I understand promiscuously spreading the disks around but crashing it onto a comet?

How are we ever going to get that one back when we need it?

This is built on an open platform. You can now target the TV instead of just the browser.

http://www.intelconsumerelectronics.com/Consumer-Electronics...

Among other things Pandora is good at is getting good PR when needed to help in it's Washington Lobbying.

This is at least the second time they've threatened to pull the plug to get positive legislation passed.

I agree they are a great service. It's nice to see even small tech companies take the fight to Washington (instead of ignoring them ala Intel, Microsoft and Google)

why would I want to share internal business decisions with an external site?

actual work conversation from last week...

me: "Yes, but will this new software reduce the time it takes folks to do their jobs."

them: "I don't know."

me: "Do you know how long it takes them to do it now?"

them: "umm... no."

you hit the nail on the head in that the people making the buy decisions don't consider usability.

Not sure about you, but I learned to code by writing psuedo code.

I routinely start with comments that psuedo code my idea and then add the sections of the code.

If I can't remember how everything is supposed to work while I'm writing it, what hope does the intern 2 years from now have in adding a new feature?

a silcon foundry uses serious games to control the flow of small one off products through their factory. Each customer can set their own price bonus for running their lot. High price, faster velocity, product available sooner. It is an open market where you are competing against all the other lots in the fab. the indivduals running the lots can then decide if it's more worth their time to wait for the 1 really valuable lot or run 10 cheaper lots.

Another option is that traditional media has caught up with the bloggers and is using Digg to drive traffic to their online sites.

NY Times and Guardian both seem to be providing much more "usable" online content that shows up here, on reddit and digg alot more often.

My buddy went for a 3 mile run listening to pandora on his 3g Iphone yesterday in albuquerque. It didn't drop once.

I bought a phone from sprint specifically to listen to Pandora in my car. I can't get it to play a single song stationary in my driveway.

oh well :(

a classic supply demand market for early adopters would work.

Give invitations for free while you are obscure

Grant 50 invitations to the early adopters

Start a bidding process for new adopters that closes every hour.

Thus allowing the early adopters to cash in on their invitations or give them away for free.

You control demand by selling your own unlimited supply of invitations (to cap the price or cap your expansion).

Check out The New Yorker's take... http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=241284

makes sense to me.

There is interest in the corporate space for 3d interaction of tools and equipment w/ folks from different geos. Complex troubleshooting, training, etc.

I'll be playing with Lively in the morning behind the firewall.

Have you taken a vacation lately?

Get away from your current location. Experience something new.

Guard your time away and don't let the work intrude.

You'll be surprised how much easier problems like this become with a little time to recharge your battery.

And if you find the job puts you right back in this blue space after a few days back... then look for another job.

My god.

Are you making love to your computer or what?

"Now, since you're not a PhD student, you like money, so this is bad." - great!

I work in a large corporate manufacturing environment that runs 24 x 7 with lots of money at stake, and we are actively moving to TDD/BDD.

I expected a much bigger fight from management, but TDD really aligns with the "Toyota Way"... not that I work for Toyota.

I'd see it w/ Steve Buscemi.

psst... I work at a large corporation. I choose who I work with. I choose my own projects. I work 40 hours a week for a good salary. I have good health care (in America).

I do have to describe my projects in terms that matter to my corporation, but how is that any different than pitching to VCs?

Why is it surprising that they'd pick chambers that amplify the human voice?

If I was going to initiate someone in a cave that was dark, smokey and full of animal paintings on the wall, I'd really like my voice to be booming too.

I work at a large manufacturing company that is data driven. Thanks for giving me the data to support good design.

It's been more than a year since I helped an elderly neighbor put out his recycling. Not that he asked me, and Not that he didn't vigorously refuse any help. We ended up talking for 2 hours well after dark there in the street. I've always wanted to have a bachelor's dinner at my house where I invite all the neighbors over for some food and coffee and drinks.

this article has inspired me. I'll try it this weekend.

Wish me luck.

I found a jump on jump off bus tour that took me on a loop of scotland and allowed me to get on and off the bus as many times as I wanted, and then got off at every stop for at least a day if not a couple days.

I brought a tent and never used it.

I hacked the hostel sleeping: by being the last one back to the room every night I never had to worry about the drunk asshole waking me up in the middle of the night. by finding hostels that allow you access to the rooms during the day, I took a good 4 hour nap every afternoon when no one was about.

I ate at bakeries for breakfast / lunch. Plus some fruit or cheese. Which you can carry with you and always have available.

One big meal out at a restaurant every day (or cook a big meal with a group)

Hang out in the lobby in the morning and ask if you can tag along as people head out. (I spent 4 days in the very very north by just asking if I could come).

Ask other people what they liked / didn't like about where they've come from.

Hitch hike.

Hike. - I saw Sea Otters in a small cove while just bush walking for the day.

Visit Museums - REally really creepy stuffed animals in dense quantities.

I spent several days with a chap from Canada. We got 10 - 1 pound coins, and proceeded to "place a bet" every block all day long while walking around Aberdeen. We bet on number of women in the next block, number of dogs, color of doors, etc. No duplicates on the bets and alternate making them up. We even bet on kids running around a play ground. At the end of the evening the "big winner" got to buy dinner for both of us at a curry joint.

And your assumption that socializing isn't fun or interesting...

btw - Cheap Travel is just that...

I spent 6 weeks in Scotland for <$1k including airfare.

As a student, you are used to skipping meals, sleeping on couches and sharing a room in Hostels.

When you get older, those things are all out and everything gets much much more expensive (my most recent vacation to SF cost me $2k for a week).

to be blunt...

Pull your head out of your ass.

The world works as a social organization.

You don't have to sacrifice beliefs, but you do have to actually socialize.

And yes, that does mean going to parties and learning how they work just like you go to class and learn how to do homework.

Drinking <> Socializing

If you learn nothing else, learn that.

It is perfectly possible to go to a kegger and drink water all night and still have a good time meeting interesting people and talking to them about interesting things.

Find those interesting people. Keep looking at different parties until you do.

I still keep in close contact with friends I met at University, and would not trade that experience for the world.

Yeah! Finally an excuse to do something interesting at work instead of at home.

I recommend finding a mentor. Someone who writes code that you respect (be it for quality, clarity or efficiency). Start reading their code and asking questions.

The open source community is a good place to start looking if you don't have someone you respect in your own community.