brosephius

you sort of imply that in order to have a fulfilling life, you should have children, which is not remotely true. I agree with your point that it's utterly stupid to look at raising children from a purely financial perspective, but choosing not to have any doesn't mean you're thinking only about money.

no, it's not. facebook, love it or hate it, has contributed more value to the world than the average well raised child. then again, some might say it's easier to raise a child well than to start another facebook :P

you're going to make a million dollars off this. seriously. only suggestion I'd have is to make the facial hair overlays less cartoony looking.

pretty neat...are these actual jeopardy questions?

>anyone who visits for the first time is pretty much forced to read what it is

I think you're overestimating the patience of the average web user. I spent about 8 seconds trying to figure it out before giving up an closing the tab. without any idea of what the site is, I have no motivation to invest any time in trying to figure it out. just my opinion, though.

    Are people angry at FB for being popular?

yes, pretty much.

an IPO doesn't necessarily mean the valuation will go higher.

for the sake of being contrarian, why all the freaking out? it's cool and all, but it's OCR + translation, two things computers are already pretty good at (not to mention word lens seems to be doing word-for-word translation, not context-sensitive).

yeah doing it so fast on a mobile device is impressive, but am I alone in thinking this isn't going to change the world?

every convenience of modern life impacts the environment. the solution is not to give them all up, especially something as important as air travel (whether it's for business or pleasure).

looking at the front page and the about text, I still have no idea what this is. "secure network" suggests it's something about a VPN, but the example looks like some sort of private social network. I think it would help to clarify what exactly the product is on the front page with more familiar phrasing.

the idea looks nice though.

maybe the stock market isn't predictable?

#4 doesn't really apply so much to newer employees. granted I don't know this for a fact, but at this point I'd be surprised if your average software engineer gets jackpot-level equity.

thanks for doing this! my question: http://metaoptimize.com/qa/questions/3089/how-far-can-you-ge...

if the IP is owned by an llc and you sell your shares of the llc, does that simplify things? in acquisitions in general, if the acquirer is buying you out by buying your shares, does that generally result in a capital gains tax, and not ordinary income tax? (if so, my daydreaming of starting and selling a startup for millions just got even better)

a good job ad will tell you at least some basics about what the company does and what the job entails. this reverse job app doesn't tell me anything about what I can expect from this candidate, except for some empty job-seeker cliches about how he's creative and a quick learner. no links to a portfolio, no examples of previous work, no recommendations from peers.

wait, it's the employer's job to dig for your resume? this "reverse job app" gives me no substantive data on what this guy's skills are, so why would I even bother? if you want a job, it's your responsibility to make the case for why you're worth hiring.

I dunno, for me "understanding" something implies an ability to reason about your reasoning. a rule-based AI can't do that, and even if interesting patterns emerge, it's still deterministic.

I think the "See a sample page" link should be more prominent. maybe it's just me, but I have very little patience for new web apps that don't let me see what they look like without signing up, so I was about to leave yours until I noticed that link down in the corner.

the intro video you have doesn't really tell you anything either, I'd replace that with a screencast of someone using the site.

what is the "social" part? I'm not entirely sure I get what the product is. is it the sort of thing where if you don't get what it is, you probably don't need it?

just playing devil's advocate here, but why is slapping together an API with some javascript worthy of a job offer? what's so exciting about YT instant? from hurley's twitter message, it sounds like he asked this kid to drop out of stanford to join youtube, which sounds a little crazy. maybe I just have no imagination.

(congrats to the kid in any case)

I appreciate that your intentions are good, but I think going that far is risky (except maybe in some specific cases/industries)...if you're going that far out of your way (and yes, in this day and age a written letter is going out of your way), it could very well strike someone as brown-nosing. not to mention it can be hard to convey 100% sincerity in written form. maybe I'm just a cynic...

it depends, but it couldn't hurt. I see such emails as fluff, but that's just me. I wouldn't hold it against someone either, because that would be incredibly petty. but, you never know, so why not? as long as it's concise and (at least sounds) sincere, only a total jerkwad would hold it against you.

(funnily enough, the job I have now is the only one I didn't bother sending thank you emails for, since after weeks of interviewing I got tired of the whole ritual. go figure.)

I hate it. I'm very precise with my queries, so it's faster for me to type the whole thing in. I particularly hated how the search field grabbed focus when you pressed a key anywhere on the page, because if you did it unintentionally it would register in the textbox and the search results would change. I dunno, maybe I'm just a curmudgeon, but I had no problems whatsoever with my previous search workflow.

the "slideshow" of changing descriptive text is (in my opinion) a poor design. when I first saw the page it seemed very bare and I couldn't really figure out what this thing is, and then a few seconds later I noticed the text changed. I don't want to sit and wait for the transitions to read about the service, nor do I need meaningless statements like "create a complete profile!". instead, put in some concise but descriptive copy explaining the service and it's advantages so I know what it is right away.

happened to me too. I didn't notice it until I heard the fan blasting, and it took me a while to realize what was going on :P

ugh, nevermind, I misread the text. I read it has pressing control+c to copy text, not to cancel something. so the distinction does make sense.

though I still don't like how you can't copy and paste files with cmd+c/cmd+v in os x :)

  It seems they don’t understand why it is useful to draw a distinction
  between control-C, used to cancel an operation in a terminal environment,
  and Command-C, used to copy content in a desktop setting.

anyone know what he's referring to? why is it useful to have a distinction?

  Microsoft also added a special key for opening contextual menus...
  it’s not only superfluous and clumsy for PCs using two button mice,
  but also less elegant than Apple’s convention...

I use the context menu key regularly. using a complex app without ever needing to reach for the mouse is pretty elegant, in my opinion.

  Microsoft’s contextual menu key is also typically placed on the right
  side of the keyboard, making it even more puzzlingly useless for
  right handed users. They’d have to hit the right side of the keyboard
  with their left hand while pointing the mouse with their right

I've never once used the context menu key that way, and that's not even how it works. it invokes the context menu of whatever element has the focus, not whatever element is beneath the mouse cursor.

an interesting history with unnecessary and obnoxious editorializing.

if you think it's too expensive relative to its operating costs, launch a cheaper competitor :)

you're still taking on the risk of waking up one morning to an accounting scandal rendering 5% of your portfolio worthless. unless you diversify so much that you're essentially an index investor anyway. the stock market isn't rigged against retail investors like many believe, but people are far too quick to assume a few years of good performance means they're "beating the market".

it engages your ego, like every other social networking service. it lets you feel more important than you really are. and by compelling you to contribute, it has the side effect of creating value for others to consume.