HN user
>There would be an aesthetic difference.
This is my point. People have value systems and brands and styles can be a part of that. An inability to identify with someone buying overpriced goods does not make the judgement process any different that their inability to identify with the practicality of buying things at a fair price that look good.
Wouldn't the opposite be just as bewildering then? There really is no difference between buying a Hermes dress and buying Dickies overalls, right? Each item makes a statement and each person is well aware of the statement it makes. Both can be bought for practical reasons. Both make comments on social placement. Both help people identify themselves. Both help find/identify suitable mates.
I too find it so hard to believe people spend so much on apparel, but that thought is no different than people finding it odd that I spend so little. Of course, some items are easy to liquidate and others are not.
I think under the circumstances it may actually put a smile on peoples faces. They are probably already in a good mood and the right mindset for something like this.
This was a relatively common tactic in Chicago a few years ago, done by restaurants and a band if I remember correctly. Heading to your car on your way to work in the morning and finding a fake ticket that ended up being, as you say, junk mail, really made people angry. I am pretty sure the city got involved people were so mad.
I have been wanting an app that does this for a VERY long time. Ever since reading Letters From a Stoic and The Happiness Hypothesis, my life's resolution has been to be happier than I was yesterday.
I, similar to codegeek, always envisioned something simpler. Just three emoticons:
:( :| :)
Numbers may be more accurate, more quantitative, or what have you, but I think this is about being honest with yourself and not allowing yourself off the hook, "well, at least today was an 8". No. I want every day to be a 10!
Personally, I think trying to account for every emotion or mood possible would defeat the goal.
I remember in 2000 or 2001 a company in Chicago negotiated with Ameritech to put hotspots on the top of telephone poles around the city for something like $3/mo. The deal ended up falling through... I think too many parties had to get involved that it just became a nightmare to deal with.
The video is too professional and very dry. Show the app being used with some really clever use cases, people having a good time passing their creations around. Sell the emotional side of it, not the utility.
One suggestion, your examples photos should have people in them. I am much more inclined to share a photo of a creature about to chomp off my girlfriends head than of saucers flying over Chicago. People mostly use their camera phones to take group photos and portraits, so I think it will help creatively dictate what images you will offer.
I caught myself doing just that and to force my mind to snap out of an endless train of thought.
In the U.S. teachers are responsible for compiling 5-8 lesson plans a day. Multiply that number by the number of school days. Each lesson plan then needs to meet specific requirements that varies between state.
It goes without saying seasoned teachers will have a cache of lesson plans that they can, and do, pass along or sell. Why should one not be allowed to profit on the labor they already expended for an incredible service to other teachers?
This has already been "adopted widely", for decades, and the teacher-lesson-plan-community is an incredibly active and vibrant one. The countless lesson plan networks, online/offline, free/paid, are an invaluable service to teachers.
I find the negativity odd, that we as hackers, who create, build on, share, and sell our toolsets, would have a problem with this.
Yes. Investors believe Facebook's value perception will catch up with its reality, since they are currently out of whack. They believe the current imbalance is in their favor. It's the only way to make money investing.
I completely agree. The more competitors, the more fragmentation, the better for Dropbox.
Something primitive in me starts to kick in when this occurs. I start to question the trustworthiness, validity, and longevity of "other services", which in turn only bolsters who I know best, or even just first. Everything else becomes the proverbial Brand X.
People sign contracts in their daily lives and in a variety of situations. Particularly hackers who are likely to work on a contract basis.
The valuable lesson here is that one should not feel shy about calling attention to the contents of a contract nor suggesting a change.
I remember years ago I was looking for an apartment through an apartment finding service. That wanted me to sign a contract that stated I would would be "fined" if I were to rent ANY apartment outside their service. I quickly called attention to it and asked them to print out a new version. They agreed.
Seriously brilliant. And the video is spot on in answering questions/concerns that anyone would have.
Decide seems fine for new items, specifically electronics and appliances which is probably why the service highlights their price drop alerts.
Priceonomics really impressed me when it was able to price a Leica M4P and a set of P90 pickups. Decide had neither in their system.
The problem is that the focus is on the Download and social sharing buttons. I would just remove all that completely.
They are just "captcha like". I believe the idea is to to make ads bidirectional. Instead of just clicking a banner ad, a user would enter, say, a coupon code for example.
Great design and the app looks dead simple, i.e. it is not scary looking, but I need a bit more information.
"Radio Silence lets you block internet access from any applications you would rather keep silent."
My applications have/need internet access? Why do I need to silence them?
Do not assume people already know why they need this. Find a good selling point to the above questions (privacy, right?) and drive it. You should then be able to charge at least $30.
I also feel like I would feel more confident in the product and the co. behind it, if I saw links that lead to things like contact, documentation and support. I do not want to be left out in the cold should I need help.
I hope this helps.
I think both bookstores and record stores have a chance to go back to what they once were. Small and independently run, selling things their customers actually want, not everything under the sun.
I too like the feature, but the language, "How much time do you have?", confused me until I actually had saved a few videos. Something along the lines of "Show me videos longer than.." would better reveal the feature's purpose.
This is literally one of two ideas we have been flipping between.
What we found was that all the current mobile gifting services lacked local businesses, were mostly SMS based and, the surprising problem, were partnering with the merchant. This means they are not "everywhere" nor are they granular - Not personal enough ($25 at Target). We tested a few last year and found that when we went to redeem the gift, either the merchants had no idea what we were talking about, even with phone and print out in hand, or the redemption process was a pain in the ass.
We also found something that surprised us. We assumed people would think it was rather impersonal. However, finding new ways to say "thanks for helping me move", etc., people found to be much more fun and personal - We also implied a level of custom-ability in gifting and had no interest in partnerships, big box or otherwise.
It is fantastic to see someone else taking this on as I personally think there is something huge here. There are so many nuisances to this and it is very interesting to see how each company is tackling them.
You should feel very lucky for having such struggles. It is a rare and wonderful condition.
I stopped looking for and setting goals, milestones, or anything else that was quantitive in measuring my progress a long time ago. Now I just listen to my gut and stop when I sense I am at a peak or my happiest.
Dharmesh Shah touched on this at Startup Bootcamp last year and expands on what petervandijck discusses. Effectively, there is a financial benefit (based on longevity) and financial cost (acquisition) to pricing, and the goal is to make the two overlap as little as possible. I highly recommend watching his talk:
http://onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/11042/Dharmesh-On-Start...
I think punitive measures generally do not work. What is great about this is that it breaks someones sub-conscience, snaps them out of their behavior (hopefully), at the very moment of corruption.
I usually overbuy bananas since they are so easy to eat on the go, but can also be quickly turned into the most amazing vegan ice-cream.
1. Freeze ripe bananas
2. Mash with strawberries/blueberries/mangos/etc.
3. (optional) Add agave nectar and coconut milk to taste
Reminds me of an incident I had with my account at NeSol some years ago. I used to get promotional cards in the mail from them, always in pairs, one addressed to my login account name and the other addressed to my password. It seemed inconceivable and I could never get them to actually believe me, even with scanned proof.
No matter the policy or level of security behind internal tools, it still potentially can leave more room for such errors.
For those of you in Chicago, you have to check out the Dominicks at Chicago and Damen... The cast of characters at this place are something straight out of Ghost World!
This captivating distraction aside, I am pretty sure all the Dominicks offer free wifi, descent work environment and of course cheap foodstuffs.
Couldn't help throwing my family's Armenian rice pilaf recipe into the mix. Any spiced meat/chickpea/falafel atop is fantastic! Lived on it in college.
It's really meant to be cared for, treated much like a risotto.
The Ingredients
1 1/4 Cup Long Grain White Basmati Rice
1/2 Cup Vermicelli Noodle, Chopped (No yolk Kluski European Noodles)
2 1/2 Cup Chicken Stock
2 Tablespoon Clarified Butter
4 Tablespoon Cubed Butter
Salt & Pepper
The How-To
Add 2 Tbsp. clarified butter and the 1/2 cup Vermacelli Noodle to a medium saucepan and put on medium heat.
Continually mix with a wooden spoon until the noodles are a nice brown (a little past golden) - about 5 minutes.
Add the 1 1/4 cup rice and cook and mix for 6 minutes.
Add the 2 1/2 cup chicken broth, 4 Tbsp. butter and 1 tspn. salt.
Mix for about a minute.
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes until broth has been absorbed/evaporated.
Taste.
Not done? Add more broth, 1/4 cup at a time until so.
thanks!
Very useful; I always lose my manuals.
Would love to see an iPhone app; Ability to take a photo of the barcode/serial#, say of my stereo receiver, and get the manual right on my iPhone screen.
I say no, but because of who it is coming from. Would this work coming from, say, Comcast? I know to me it wouldn't. I'd view it as pure advert. But if I got one from Wufoo it would simply validate, reassure and go along side with what I already know and feel about them; A company that is just great all around.
I agree completely.
I was actually an art major and one thing that I learned very quickly was that the last person to appreciate or even understand a work of art was the artist himself.
It's often very difficult to see the value in something you made simply because you were able to make it. Truly take a step back and look at the problem solved, not just the solution. I am sure you will see great value.
It's funny. The other day I recommended a friend signup for WuFoo as a tool for some feedback he wanted from customers. He was blown away by it! A basic form is something that many YCers probably take for granted, but since he had no comprehension of such a task and was able to complete the part he feared the most so quickly and easily, the benefit to him was colossal.
I also agree that you need to communicate your feelings to your partner. Maybe not so much that you think it's a waste of time, but try to understand his excitement; see if it's grounded.