Help an (aspiring) Hacker | Hacker News Reader

Help an (aspiring) Hacker

sammyliu.com

So, for those of us that got here too late to actually see the site live, what was this?

Ah sorry about that, basically I needed a computer cause my old one was dead and couldnt afford it and the kind folks here at YC News helped me out. Though skmurphy did have a point, and its probably not very entrepreneurial to ask for donations for something like this. Its resourceful though? :D Yeah. But thanks to all anyway and will pursue my dreams to have a tech startup =]

The essence of entrepreneurship is quid pro quo, I worry by seeking a handout you are putting yourself on the wrong path.

Truth, but if your company doesn't have the tools to work or startup capital, what do you do? Find venture capital? Yeah I know, you pay back those people with interest. I guess I could do that, except not for a long time :(

Work for pay. Save your pay. Buy your tools. If you can't save money when you are living with your parents at home you will never be able to.

A lot of time Universities have access to different subscriptions ACM, IEEE, and sometimes Safari Books online. So it might be possible to VPN into your dad's university to access reading material. It's worth looking into.

Thanks! My dad actually brings home those magazines (when he is working) cause he gets them at school. He also got me a Rails book.

Any recommendations for ruby books?

I'm quite fond of http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Way-Second-Addison-Wesley-Profess... while there are some people who love the pickaxe book (first edition is free on http://www.ruby-doc.org/docs/ProgrammingRuby)..and others.

As for free guides, I love pointing people to http://poignantguide.net/ruby/

I think I have Safari Books access through either my ACM or IEEE CS membership, along with the other perks that come with (lots of things to read like magazines and journals, elearning materials). Although, if I remember correctly it's a lot limited (selection-wise as well as ability to print/download) than the paid subscription, but if your university/college doesn't have access to Safari it's definitely still better than paying upwards of $25/month. I think when I had a student membership for both it was ~$50/year.

(Okay, instead of being a lazy butt, I actually looked into it. I'm not sure what benefit you'd get from IEEE book-wise, but my ACM membership comes with limited Safari Books Online and Books24x7 access. Not sure if you get them as a student.)

But it's worth pointing out that there are some free online resources and certain books worth buying that may be worth more than paying for any of those. All depends on what kind of stuff you're looking for.

2 tipjoys already, thanks so much!

though don't rely on that too much, better do some extra work. that's probably what lots of us did when we had financial issues in our youth.

you betcha, I have a job! It just...doesnt pay very much, and I need my computer to do my job ;_; cause I'm a web designer lol

iono what I'm gonna do if I dont get enough though..

we'll see, dealcatcher.com has cheap laptops sometimes =DDD

thanks again.

Ask work to pay for (or at least subsidize) a computer for you. Even if they say no.. well, they'll have said no. You're no worse off than you were, and they should theoretically be paying for everything you need to get your work done.

I second this suggestion.

hmm my boss might let me use his computer (its like a 4-man web design team) but I dont see him buying me one -.^

though I will ask, can't hurt. thanks for the suggestion.

Another good option is to ask around schools or businesses for computers that they're going to throw out. You won't get a blazingly fast quad-core machine out of this, but there's a good chance you can get something usable, or at least get the parts to put together something that will work. I've actually managed to get a couple of 1 GhZ machines with 512 RAM out of this sort of thing. Sufficient for work, but not amazing. (I use them for testing some hardware hacking I do occasionally, or for messing around with obscure OS stuff.)

It's not a laptop, but desktop machines are relatively easy to get on the cheap (or free) these days.

Good luck, and happy dumpster diving.

Thanks so much!

I didnt realize how much I collected until I looked at my jar again now. Some really nice guy donated $500. (to put it in perspective, I only had $30 or so before he donated). Thats enough to get an okay laptop for work/coding, so thats it. $530 bucks it is.

Small problem being I have to buy from amazon.com...didnt realize that till now...guess I'll figure it out somehow

I'll keep the dumpster driving tip though, never know when I'll need to do that in the future.... 0.0

Thanks to everyone that helped and made this possible for me.

Hey right on, congrats. Try newegg.com - I have seen decent everex laptops there.

If you know how to build/install/repair/maintain windoze boxes, I say go for it and advertise yourself. You MIGHT just end up running into a user that wants to throw out a system that simply needs to have the HDD formatted - I have seen it happen. You might also (seriously) go dumpster diving around apartment buildings where college students are known to live. Do not allow your mind to limit your options, as long as you are not stealing man, you are ok.

I wish I had a car :P I'm 17 and live in the middle of nowhere lol.

But does anyone by chance know where I can find boxes like that? That would work ok I think. I just need to know where to get them!

I see . . . ok, try craigslist and other analogous free ad places. Be upfront, say to readers that if they have hardware laying around that is not being used, or are considering/about to throw out some hardware, that you will take it off their hands. This is simply an online free ad twist to orib's post.

Back to dumpster diving: I have heard and read that college students are known to throw out laptops and other hardware come the end of the school year, granted, we are nearing the beginning of the year, however, it's worth a try.

Once upon a time, dumpster diving for electronics equipment/other hardware/whatever might be waiting to be found was an honorable hacker pursuit, kid. :)

I wish you the best of luck, and I have a feeling that you will succeed in your quest.

Hmm will try for fun, when I get a car =D

I live in a suburb though. do you know where I should go for a good dumpster drive? I live an hour from NY, though I have a feeling thats not exactly the place to go...

Well, I can't provide any info for your area, but there is:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.09/es_dumpster.html

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumpster_diving

Wish I could go, yet where I live (third world country) there's just no way.

Luck,

Ah thanks

I actually read the wiki right after you mentioned dumpster diving lol

shows a lot about my culture as a teen in this day and age... x.x

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